MF sell

[cashrich]

I am planning to sell some MFs I have been holding which did not give me returns as I expected them.
***Question
Will it make any difference if I sell them today(31st march end of 1st quarter) Or wait till tomorrow and then sell.

Note - These are all having Long Term Gains. I am holding them since 2008.

I am planning to use the proceeds towards buying stocks once the amount is available for investing.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Slug]

The only thing you have to worry about regarding the end of the quarter is window dressing where the MF's may be selling losers and buying winners from the quarter so they have the appearance of being in the right stocks. I can't see that having much effect on the valuation though.

[jpg7n16]

I am planning to sell some MFs I have been holding which did not give me returns as I expected them.
***Question
Will it make any difference if I sell them today(31st march end of 1st quarter) Or wait till tomorrow and then sell.

Note - These are all having Long Term Gains. I am holding them since 2008.

I am planning to use the proceeds towards buying stocks once the amount is available for investing.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance!!!

What kinds of returns were you expecting? I hope you know that 2008 was a bad year for just about every fund.

And what would you plan on investing in? What would be your new asset allocation?

Why are you going from diversified funds to individual stocks?

What is the timeline for your investments? Is this money for retirement, or money you may need tomorrow?

[snafu]

Are you confident that you can select inndividual stocks more effectively than MF managers? Have you already selected the stocks you will buy? Have you looked at Exchange Traded Funds in the categories you have selected? I'm looking at COW-T or MOO-O as my next purchase [before weeks end]

[cashrich]

What kinds of returns were you expecting? I hope you know that 2008 was a bad year for just about every fund.

And what would you plan on investing in? What would be your new asset allocation?

Why are you going from diversified funds to individual stocks?

What is the timeline for your investments? Is this money for retirement, or money you may need tomorrow?

- I am planning to buy Dow 30 and some other Dividend stocks with atleast 4%.
- Planning for retirement as well as immediate needs.

[cashrich]

Are you confident that you can select inndividual stocks more effectively than MF managers? Have you already selected the stocks you will buy? Have you looked at Exchange Traded Funds in the categories you have selected? I'm looking at COW-T or MOO-O as my next purchase [before weeks end]

Yes based on the returns I have made so far in other stocks i feel confident my selections are better than MF managers. Earlier I use to think that MF maangers can do a better job for me but I was wrong.

[gambler2075]

Yes based on the returns I have made so far in other stocks i feel confident my selections are better than MF managers. Earlier I use to think that MF maangers can do a better job for me but I was wrong.

This may be true, but you have to consider a few factors...

As the market has been running up for 2 straight years, the biggest returns were made on some of the most speculative stocks. A mutual fund is going to be safer, with less returns than speculative stocks as the markets run up hugely (as they have already done). The problem is, when the markets start pulling back (and, they will at some point), then the people that get the most punishment are the ones buying speculative stocks. The ones holding mutual funds and other more diversified holdings, are going to get punished less.

Unfortunately, imo the risk/reward of the market has shifted tremendously, and I still feel that we are near a top. While I may be wrong about the exact top (maybe we get to 13K, who knows) the main point is that the markets are far more overvalued at 12.4K than we were at 6.4K. And so, imo the horse has already left the barn. If you weren't playing the most speculative issues (like individual stocks) as the markets ran up, then imo, now is the worst time to shift to doing that. I've started to shift my strategy towards more defensive issues, and if I were not a trader I would actually be going in the opposite direction as you (shifting away from trading individual stocks to buying mutual funds)

g

[snafu]

Am I the only one fearful of $4 Billion daily QE [quantitative easing]? $100 - $144 Billion unfunded SS & Pension I can't imagine how that gets fixed.

[jpg7n16]

In terms of the entire market, $4 billion's really not that much.

The S&P 500 had a total market value of $10.16 trillion back in 2001. (couldn't find a current statistic)

So 4 billion would have been like 0.03% - which by most standards is pretty much immaterial.