Wendell from Florida Asks:

Gold gets most of the precious metals investing attention because gold bugs and other crazed anti-central bank fanatics think that gold is money, not a mere commodity like silver or platinum. Get these quacks going on about the good ole’ days and they will wax poetic about how unstable the world has become since we got off the gold standard — ignoring the 13-fold increase in stock prices and explosive growth in the economy that has happened since Nixon put the gold standard to rest for life (we hope). Meanwhile, gold and silver are still cheaper than they were over twenty years ago. ...read the rest of this article»

Yehuda from Brooklyn asks:

Take your hands off your keyboard and step away from your E*TRADE account. Jim Cramer is probably wrong, and is definitely not the guy to go to for sound investing advice.

We love watching Cramer's new show as much as the next guy. We love his sixteen-cups-of-coffee delivery, his aggressive-as-a-rabid-Pit Bull stock picks, even the dopey sound effects. 'Mad Money' is unquestionably the liveliest show on the toned-down, post-Enron, post-Nasdaq 5000 CNBC.

But while Cramer is a bright guy with a lot of real world investment experience, his show is first and foremost entertainment. We wouldn't base our investment decisions on Cramer's television rants any more than we would on the advice Uncle Earle gives us at Thanksgiving dinner. Okay, Cramer is probably a safer bet than Uncle Earle, but you should be wary of all famous (and oft-wrong) market prognosticators. ...read the rest of this article»

Yousef from Idaho asks:

We've reviewed hundreds of 401(k) plans for our Private Management clients and for investors who have used our MAXadvisor 401(k) Planner service. While many of those plans offer funds that normally charge a sales load to investors outside of tax-deferred accounts, the vast majority of those plans waive the regular load charge to people who invest through a 401(k) plan. We've often seen Templeton funds offered without a load charge through company-sponsored retirement plans that would cost investors 5.75% if they bought it at Etrade outside of their 401(k).

There are, however, some very lousy 401(k) plans out there that do, inexplicably, force participants to pay load charges. The dubious rationale behind paying load charges is that some investors need help choosing the funds that are best for them from the ten-thousand plus funds available. How this rationale holds up in a 401(k) plan in which investors have limited choices is beyond us. ...read the rest of this article»

Chris from Tempe asks:

You're right on about stock funds being too risky for a short-term investment. There really is no stock or bond fund that is immune from at least some degree of volatility. Even the MAXadvisor Newsletter's Safety Portfolio can get hit with short-term losses, which is exactly what investors like you don't want when they absolutely, positively don't want to suffer any loss of capital.

As you mentioned, your bank's savings accounts are certainly safe (in fact, they are largely insured by the government), but the amount of interest they generally pay is so low (especially for smaller balances) that you could do almost as well burying your loot in the backyard. Fortunately there are several attractive options for a guy in your position. Here's our short list ...read the rest of this article»

Broadly speaking, there are three asset classes: stocks, bonds, and real estate. Cash, or money market funds, are really just a type of bond – very short term and very safe. While investors can gain access to all three with mutual funds, most own real estate directly. For many, real estate is their biggest, and often their best investment.

There are three main reasons real estate has generally been a successful investment for most people: 1) by buying a home, investors are effectively paying themselves rent 2) a mortgage is essentially a forced savings program paid into each and every month 3) because of the nature of the investment, real estate investors tend to avoid the poor decisions they make when they invest in other major asset classes.

Unfortunately, this last factor may be changing. ...read the rest of this article»

Leena from Maine asks:

You’re referring to this article in which we advised Matthew, a young Navy sailor serving in Iraq, to invest in the Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth fund via an auto-investment plan. Matthew was starting out with just $2,000 (while adding $500 per month), and we told him to invest in this single Vanguard fund because it would give him a high degree of diversification (this particular fund is a collection of funds that owns other Vanguard funds) with a low initial investment requirement.

We told Matthew to stick to the Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth fund until he had grown his portfolio to $15k, then to come back to us to discuss where he should go from there. While the fund has risen more than 5% since Matthew asked his question back in November, we’re pretty sure he hasn’t reached the $15k threshold yet – but we’re guessing he wouldn’t mind if we answer your question in the meantime. You are starting out with more money than Matthew, but you are facing similar problems. Every investor, no matter how much money they are starting out with, should aim for certain goals when building an investment portfolio: diversification, low fees, and the right risk level. ...read the rest of this article»

Holly from Santa Fe asks:

First, let's tackle the "can you" part of your question, then we'll move on to the "should you".

Can You? The answer to this question is relatively simple to determine. You can convert from a regular to a Roth IRA if your adjusted growth income is below $100,000. That figure applies to both single filers, married couples filing jointly, and heads of household.

If you're married and you're filing separately, you're out of luck. Rules concerning conversions specifically forbid married persons filing separately from converting their IRAs.

That's about all there is to the "can you" part. But now things get a bit more complicated. ...read the rest of this article»

Katherine from California asks:

Most people don’t start investing until they have more money to invest. However, investing smaller amounts of money for a longer time period can be even more beneficial than investing larger amounts later in life.

It sounds impossible, but $20 invested today could be worth $500 when you hit 70 years old – and that’s using a fairly conservative growth rate below the historical stock market return.

Sadly, it can be difficult to invest small amounts of money. While you can always save in a bank account or even in a money market mutual fund, you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck in a lower fee mutual fund that invests in stocks. Mutual funds allow a small investor to invest in dozens of stocks for a reasonable fee.

Most good mutual funds require investors to fork over $2,500 to get started, although there are many good ones that require $1,000. Better for your situation, some waive the minimum if you agree to invest a small amount of money each month. ...read the rest of this article»

One inalienable rule in the mutual fund business is that funds with hot track records bring in the most money. Like it or not, this is a business of performance chasing. But occasionally this law of past performance does not explain investor excitement over a particularly popular fund.

A good example is when Merrill Lynch brought in over a billion dollars into their new internet fund, which they launched in early 2000 – just in time to destroy investor’s money. There was no hot past performance, just clients of the broker who were hungry for Merrill’s expertise in an area that made other investors rich. In this case, the past performance of other funds in the category was enough to bring in investor money.

This year we are seeing another illogical success story in new fund launches, and this one is not even in a particularly hot category. ...read the rest of this article»

We love mutual funds. Mutual funds provide cheap and easy investment diversification, they're easy to get in and out of, they're highly regulated, and they allow investors access to expert financial guidance at a low price. As investments go, we think that mutual funds are far and away the best option for the vast majority of investors in America.

But there are a couple of things about mutual funds that we don't like. Fund investors never know exactly what they're invested in. Mutual funds sometimes charge fees that are too high. Mutual funds can also hit investors with large and unexpected capital gains distributions. ...read the rest of this article»