The 2003 Shock Market recovery is now in its eighth month and it seems poised
to move even higher by year-end. It won’t be long before Wall Street market
mouths start bragging about how well their Mutual Funds have done. “WOW”,
you’
ll be told, “our funds have outperformed the Market and are up nearly 20% in
2003. Gosh we’re great. Invest with us!” CNBC “Talking Heads” will have
you
salivating as new issues start to appear and interviewees report that the Bull
is back.

Before you get all excited and take the bait, check the numbers a little more
closely. Sure their 2003 figures are special, but how close are they to
getting back to where they were at the beginning of 2000? Ask the question! Make
sure you get a truthful answer and don’t go near anything that doesn’t sport
a
positive five-year track record. You won’t find much. Here’s why: If it gets
to the 10,000 level, the DJIA will still need to gain 17.5% to achieve zero
growth over the past four years; at 2,000, NASDAQ will have to move an
additional 255% to attain that dubious milestone; the S & P 500 needs to gain an
additional 50%. Now there’s a WOW for you, Bunky!  “Ya wanna” know just
how bad
these guys really are? 

From 2000 through 2003, Issue Breadth on the NYSE has actually been
significantly positive: 56,000 more up ticks than down, 20% more days of
positive
breadth than negative, and 100% more stocks hitting new one year highs than
lows!
Based on these numbers, we’ve been in a rally for nearly four years. There
just
aren’t enough exclamation marks to emphasize just how badly the big time Wall
Street Money Managers have done! But they are poised to come after you again
with glitzy presentations and impeccably manicured statistics. 

Want more. During this same period of time, my personal sampling of
non-Mutual Fund, actively traded, high quality, NYSE, balanced (65% Equity/35%
Fixed
Income) portfolios gained an average of about 12% per year. Approximately 70% of
the families involved are at or near their highest portfolio values ever
today, October 10, 2003. Obviously, you need an investment strategy that makes a
whole lot more sense than the “hands-off”, trust Wall Street, approach that
you
’ve lazily capitulated to in recent years. Get involved. Get educated. Get an
advisor who knows about individual securities, closed end funds, and the
basic principles of investing. You can stage a comeback without investment
products. Just do it. 

Steve Selengut
steve@...
800-245-0494
----------------------------------------------------
Join <> the <> Investment <> Management <> Forum
InvestmentForum-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
-----------------------------------------------------
Conservative Investment Management That Works!
http://www.sancoservices.com





















[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]