BackinlastOctober,Morningstarstartedtoofferanewgaugetomeasurehowaverageinvestorsfaredoveracertainperiodoftimewheninvestinginopen-endmutualfundsorETFs.ThenewgaugeiscalledInvestorReturn,alsoknownasdollar-weightedreturn,whichtakesintoaccountthetotalcashinflowsandoutflows.Before,Morningstaronlyhastotalreturndata.Sohowexactlyisinvestreturncalculatedandwhat'sthedifferencebetweeninvestorreturnandtotalr...[
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Inthepastcoupleofdays,IdidsomefurtherstudyonVFINXafterItookalookatthemarketvalueandsharesownedatthebeginningof2007ifIstartedinvestmentinJanuary1988withfourdifferentinvestmentschemes(here'sthepreviouspost).Inthisstudy,IwanttofindouttheannualreturnforeachinvestmentplansfromJanuary1988toJanuary2007andconsidertheriskofeachplanbycomparingtheannualperformanceagainstS&P500duringthesameperiod.
C...[
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InlateDecemberIwroteapieceonhowtousehealthsavingsaccount(HSA)tosavemoneyonhealthcareinthefuture.Today,anarticleappearedonKiplinger'sPersonalFinancewebsitefurtherillustratedtheideaofusingHSAasafinancialplanningtoolratherthansimplyahealthcareaccount.
Clickhereformore.[
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IgotthisideawhenIwasvisitingMoneyMonkyesterdayandreadinghispostonsavingalittlemorein401(K)bycontributing20%forthefirstthreemonthsand12%fortherestninemonthsoftheyear.SinceIstartedtocontributetomy401(k)plan,IalwayssetafixedpercentagepointatthebeginningoftheyeartheforgetaboutituntilnextJanuary.ThisisthesameasIdodollar-cost-averaging(DCA)inmytaxablemutualfundinvestments:automaticallycontribute$100to...[
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PowerSharesCapital,togetherwithDeutscheBank,launchedsevennewsectorETFsearlythismonth.Amongthenewofferings,oneisPowerSharesDBGoldFund(DGL).Accordingtothefundprospectus,DGLisbasedontheDeutscheBankLiquidCommodityIndex-OptimumYieldGold,whichhasthefollowingperformanceasofDecember31,
2006:
Clickhereformore.
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Firstofall,Iamabelieverofdollar-cost-averaging(DCA)andhavebeentakingthisapproach($100everymonth)eversinceIstartedinvestinginmutualfunds.ThereasonsIdoDCAare,1)conventionalwisdomtellsmethatbyspreadingtheinvestmentsthroughouttheyear,Idon'thavetoguesswhenistherighttimetoenterasnobodyreallyknowswhethernowisahighoralow;2)sinceIhaveadozenoffundsthatIinvestregularly,it'salittlehardformetoputthousandsofd...[
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IopenedanIGoBankingSavingsaccountlastSundayfortheir5.30%APY,whichisbetterthanwhatIamgettingfromHSBCandEmigrantDirect,twoofmyprimarysavingsaccount.LastMondy,January9th,twotrialdepositsweremadetomyBankofAmericacheckingaccounttoverifymyownershipoftheaccountthatIprovidedduringtheaccountapplicationprocess.Afterthesuccessfulverification,$10initialdeposit(IfundedtheaccountwithasmallamountsinceIwon'thav...[
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Acoupleofdaysago,whenoneofmycolleaguesmentionedaboutmakingfreecalltoChinathroughawebsitecalledFuturePhone.com,Iwasalittleskepticalofwhypeopleofferthiswithoutgettinganythinginreturnandthat'swhyIdidn'ttryit.
Clickhereforemore.
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SofarNortel(NT)isthebiggestloserinmystockportfolio,losingabout45%ofthevalueonpaper.ThelasttimeIboughtNTshareswasAugust7,2006,whenIadded320sharesat$2.00apiece(nowthat'sequivalentto32sharesat$20.00/shareafterthereversesplit).IhavebeenthinkingofunloadsomeNTsharesasIdidn'tseemuchhopeofthisstockgettingclosetothepricethreeyearswhenIbought1000sharesat$6.67anytimesoon.Iwillbeluckytobejustbreakeven.
...[
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TimeMagazinetodayhasanarticlewhichlistedThe10GreatestBooksofAllTimefromJ.PederZane'sTheTop10.Thereareseverallifetimes'worthofpromisingliteraryleadshere—544booksinall.An85-pageappendixprovidingenlightenedsummariesofalltheworksmentionedisworththepriceofadmissionallonitsown.Buttogetyoustarted,here,inallitsglory,istheall-time,ultimateTopTop10list,derivedfromthetop10listsof125oftheworld'smostcelebrate...[
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