Using leveraged mutual-funds to beat the S&P 500
文章来源:
JR98
于
2007-04-09 10:02:33
BILL DONOGHUE
Anything but average -- Commentary: Using leveraged mutual-funds to beat the S&P 500
By
Bill Donoghue
, MarketWatch
Last Update: 5:26 PM ET Mar 18, 2007
SEATTLE (MarketWatch) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is now almost 5% cheaper than it was a month ago. Some see this as a bargain, a time to add to holdings. The index is the average of the 500 largest capitalization stocks in America. If you invest for the long-term, you might wish to invest now.
There are two "slam dunk" strategies for beating the S&P 500
(
SPX
)
that don't add much risk to your portfolio (over and above the risk of investing in the benchmark itself) and which you or your financial adviser could implement.
Strategy #1 uses the Rydex Nova Fund
(
RYNVX
)
. Using leverage, this mutual-fund's investment objective is to earn 150% of the S&P 500's daily return.
The fund has met its daily objective consistently. That does not mean it will earn 1.5 times the S&P 500 over a longer period. That multiple is determined by the compounding of the daily returns; the steeper and more consistent the rise, the greater the multiple; the more volatile the rise and fall, the lower the multiple.
In a down market Rydex Nova will lose more than the S&P 500. During down markets like the 2000-2002 bear market, both the fund and the index should have been avoided.
Rydex does offer a mirror image Rydex Inverse S&P 500 Fund
(
RYUAX
)
designed to earn positive returns during down markets.
See related story on inverse mutual-funds.
Leveraged options
Only a very few fund families offer a leveraged index fund like Rydex Nova. Strategy #2 offers a customized alternative.
Invest half your portfolio in a ProShares Ultra S&P 500
(SSO
)
ETF with a 2.0 beta leverage. In this way, half your money will earn the same as a typical S&P 500 fund.
Then invest the remaining 50% of your portfolio in a money-market fund (let's assume a 5% annual return), Guess what? Your portfolio will earn roughly 2.5% more than Vanguard Index 500
(
VFINX
)
, the biggest S&P 500 index product. Moreover, the money fund return is virtually risk-free. Most of the portfolio's risk hinges on the S&P 500.
There are even more choices: Rydex, ProFunds and Direxion funds give you access to index-funds and ETFs that leverage the S&P 500 up to 250%.
Invest more or less in these funds to match the performance of the S&P 500. For example, put 66% of your portfolio in Rydex Nova with a 1.5 beta; invest 50% in ProShares Ultra S&P 500 or ProFunds UltraBull
(
ULPSX
)
with a 2.0 beta, or invest 40% in Direxion S&P 500 Bull 2.5x Fund
(
DXSLX
)
with a 2.5 beta.
The higher the beta, the less assets needed to match the S&P 500 return and the more cash you have left to invest in a money fund.
Strategy #2 is easily actionable and probably the safer strategy, as you can buy both the double-beta fund and your choice of money fund. You could also follow these strategies with the small-cap Russell 2000 Index
(
RUT
)
A third strategy could even be better: Why wouldn't a fund buy only the best 400 stocks in the S&P 500 and drop the 100 worst? A fund manager might even double-weight the top 100 favorite stocks. No fund has ever tried that, to the best of my knowledge. You are paying for investment management; maybe you should demand more effective management.
The first two options are available to those with self-directed IRA brokerage accounts or, for that matter, in Nationwide Financial Services' retirement plans that include Rydex funds. Maybe your employer or third-party investment adviser should offer these strategies in your 401(k).