It’s time again for our quarterly lemon-squeezing ritual. That’s right, it’s time for us to expose the worst-performing mutual funds for what they really are — sour investment vehicles that will make your portfolio pucker. For Q1 2009, the Mutual Fund Lemon List contains 2,335 mutual funds totaling $718 billion in assets! Now to be classified [...]

Mutual funds control the majority of Americans’ retirement assets through 401(k)s, IRAs and annuities. Sadly, a gullible public has bought into the idea that steady investments in mutual funds, regardless of market conditions, is the way to make their financial dreams come true. This is one of the biggest fallacies of investing, and why mutual funds [...]

It’s no secret that most 401(k)-type retirement plans are in shambles as a result of the recent market meltdown. And while there is no simple, quick-fix solution for an ailing 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan, if you have the ability to self-direct your retirement assets there is a way to put yourself on the [...]

Consider taking cover if you hold any mutual funds in taxable accounts. Many mutual funds that absorbed big losses still will incur significant capital gains for the 2008 tax year. Those capital gains are caused by mutual funds buying and selling stocks during the year – even if a fund racked up huge losses. Investors looking [...]

After having just come back from the latest MoneyShow in San Francisico, I want to share with everyone the three presentations that I conducted for hundreds of individual investors. ETF Strategies In a Difficult Market Some pundits are saying that we are in a recession; others call it a mere economic slowdown. The answer in my opinion [...]

Want to here the latest update on my Lemon List, the list of America’s worst-performing mutual funds? Well, now you can take a listen to my chat with Fabian Wealth Strategies vice president David Fabian, who presented me with the highlights (or should I say low lights) of some of the most egregious mutual fund offenders [...]

As a subset of my lemon list research I have decided to pick out a broadly held mutual fund family and rate their funds according to objective criteria.  The American Funds is one of the biggest fund family’s in the nation with thousands of investors assets in their care. You can download my American Funds research [...]

One of my favorite things to do is speak at corporate events. I love interacting with the crowd, answering questions and meeting new people. The subject of my next corporate speaking event is how to “get real” with your finances now, before you find yourself in dire straits. The title of my talk is, [...]

Michael Fabian, Director of Client Services at Fabian Wealth Strategies, recently spotted an article on Yahoo Finance! about the explosion of wealth in the U.S. and how households with a net worth of between $1 - $25 million are becoming increasingly common. The real story here is that these wealthy individuals are not getting the [...]

Analyzing Your Mutual Funds Yesterday I read through the Los Angeles Times 2007 mutual fund review. The main thrust of the article was the modest gains equity mutual funds logged for the year. Well, during the past six trading days those modest mutual fund gains have largely evaporated. As of today, the average U.S. stock mutual fund [...]

Is your fund a lemon? The latest Lemon List has just been released with over 2,400 funds and almost $1 billion in assets. If you are a mutual fund investor, you must screen these funds. Check out the new lemon list out at www.mutualfundlemonlist.com.   Get Doug’s special report “Turning Lemon’s into Lemonade” [...]