It's not new news that the majority of Mutual Fund Managers fail to turn in performance equal to the S&P 500. If you think about it, this is quite a feat. Mutual Fund Managers cannot match the performance of a group of stocks selected based on a simple minded formula. The S&P 500 represents the 500 companies that have the highest number when you multiply the number of shares outstanding by the stock's price. S&P gives no preference based on business factors, such as; growth potential, dividend return, historic performance etc.
I was interested to see the 2008 result. If ever there were a year when the professionals could trounce, (not just match), the results of the S&P 08 was it. Why was I so sure the managed funds would finally win in 2008 after 43 consecutive losses? Because by definition the S&P is always fully vested in the stock market and no mutual fund is 100% in equities. Hence, as the market dropped, the mutual funds had the cushion of all that un-invested cash sitting in their accounts thus giving them protection from the falling market and even earning a little interest to boot. On the other hand, the S&P was locked in riding the downward wave.
Yet, Fund Managers did it again: 68.6% of the large cap funds underperformed the S&P 500. If that's not bad enough, 77.8% of mid cap funds underperformed the S&P 600 Mid Cap.
P.S. In 2008, Mutual Funds charged investors over $200 Billion to hold and manage our money.
FREE – IRA ALERT; The quarterly newsletter exclusively for IRA owner. To receive a one year of IRA ALERT at no charge CLICK HERE. .
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. Simply go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President
Phone - 312-795-0988 Ext 11
Toll Free – 888-795-7950 Ext 11
E- Mail - dblitz@IRAclub.org
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Why This May be A Great Time for Your IRA to Invest in Real Estate
http://www.iraclub.org/
We all know that in a free enterprise economy the pendulum keeps swinging from one investment category to another. The idea has always been to invest when something is out of favor; thus making it possible to pick up the investment at a bargain price. Alas, this is not the way most people invest. They wait until they hear about all the people who are making a killing in an investment category and; not wanting to be left behind, they invest their money after the cost of investing has already been driven up.
So, let’s look at an out-of-favor category; Real Estate, particularly residential real estate. The fundamentals for investing in residential real estate at this time present a compelling case.
A. Everyone has to live somewhere; residential real estate is not going to go out of style.
B. No new supply. Since its pick in late 2007, each month has witnessed fewer new building permits and an ever reduced number of new building starts.
C. A Pool of Motivated Sellers. And not just on distressed properties.
Not everyone wants to take on the effort and work of owning real estate in their IRA. For those people, there are several very good real estate syndicators who have offerings available.
One hint: If you plan to invest with a real estate syndicator, always check out their history:
· How many syndications has he completed
· Are there investor complaints in their past
Are two good places to begin your background check.
So, let’s look at an out-of-favor category; Real Estate, particularly residential real estate. The fundamentals for investing in residential real estate at this time present a compelling case.
A. Everyone has to live somewhere; residential real estate is not going to go out of style.
B. No new supply. Since its pick in late 2007, each month has witnessed fewer new building permits and an ever reduced number of new building starts.
C. A Pool of Motivated Sellers. And not just on distressed properties.
Not everyone wants to take on the effort and work of owning real estate in their IRA. For those people, there are several very good real estate syndicators who have offerings available.
One hint: If you plan to invest with a real estate syndicator, always check out their history:
· How many syndications has he completed
· Are there investor complaints in their past
Are two good places to begin your background check.
*****
FREE – IRA ALERT; The quarterly newsletter exclusively for IRA owner. To receive a one year of IRA ALERT at no charge CLICK HERE.
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. Simply go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President
Phone - 312-795-0988 Ext 11
Toll Free – 888-795-0988 Ext 11
E- Mail - dblitz@IRAclub.org
The IRA Club
Web Site - IRAclub.org
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. Simply go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President
Phone - 312-795-0988 Ext 11
Toll Free – 888-795-0988 Ext 11
E- Mail - dblitz@IRAclub.org
The IRA Club
Web Site - IRAclub.org
Monday, December 22, 2008
Congress Suspends the Required Minimum Distribution Requirement for 2009
The House and Senate have passed "The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008". The President is expected to sign this legislation next week. We will review the Act in greater detail in a later release. For now, the Headline for IRA owners is:
The Act:
SUSPENDS IRA REQUIRED MINIUM DISTRUBITIONS FOR 2009
SUSPENDS IRA REQUIRED MINIUM DISTRUBITIONS FOR 2009
1. If you are over the age of 70½ in 2008, you must take your Required Minimum Distribution for the year.
2. The Act will not change your Required Start Date. (However, if your first Required Minimum Distribution was to have been in 2009, you will not be required to take that distribution.)
This will be a major benefit for two types of IRA owners:
A. Anyone who wants their IRA assets to recover before being forced to take a distribution.
B. Any person who wants to allow their IRA funds to continue to grow tax deferred.
B. Any person who wants to allow their IRA funds to continue to grow tax deferred.
FREE – IRA ALERT;
The quarterly newsletter exclusively for IRA owner. To receive a one year of IRA ALERT at no charge CLICK HERE.
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. To go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President
Phone - 312-795-0988 Ext 11
Toll Free – 888-795-0988 Ext 11
E- Mail - dblitz@IRAclub.org
The IRA Club
Web Site - IRAclub.org
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. To go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President
Phone - 312-795-0988 Ext 11
Toll Free – 888-795-0988 Ext 11
E- Mail - dblitz@IRAclub.org
The IRA Club
Web Site - IRAclub.org
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Are You Looking for Unbiased Investment Advice? - Look in the mirror!
Why Almost No Investment Advice is Unbiased…
and What to do about It.
By Dennis Blitz, President, The IRA Club
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a wise investment guru sitting in an unpretentious office who would listen endlessly to our goals, desires, and hopes? They would then gladly give each of us an unbiased and detailed road map to follow to maximize our investment returns and minimize
our financial frustration? Sadly there are four obstacles that explain why this mythical, person doesn’t exist.
1. The first obstacle is the set of rules that govern your Securities Broker. Security
regulations require that a Broker (a Registered Representative) may work for only one
brokerage firm [called a Broker/Dealership] at a time. All registered representatives are
captive sales people for a single broker dealer and may only offer the products of that
Broker/Dealer unless they are given expressed written permission to sell outside” products, which is referred to as “selling away.” Because the Broker/Dealer is legally
and financially responsible for the actions of its registered representatives, permission
to “sell away” is rare.
The consequence of this rule is that each broker has only limited investment products
that he or she may offer.
2. The second obstacle to finding a single source of investment guidance is that
everyone has their limits. It would be impossible for anyone adviser, sales person or guru
to understand the fine points of every investment category. The person who thoroughly
understands Real Estate Development may be out of his or her element when dealing with
Equity Indexed Annuities. In the same manner, the annuity sales person will be of
little help when you need help evaluating a real estate development project.
3. The third obstacle to finding a single source of unbiased investment guidance is that
the investment salesperson you are talking to is likely to be earning a commission.
There is nothing wrong with commissions. However, the commission may drive the sales
presentation. It is nearly impossible for a commissioned sales representative to be
completely unbiased.
4. And this may be the biggest obstacle: No one cares about your money as much as
you. The placement of your dollars and the monitoring of their progress is up to you. It
should be, it’s your money.
For more information on this topic and hundreds of investment ideas, pick up a copy of our newest book, Save Smart, Earn More or visit http://www.dennisblitz.com/.
Dennis Blitz is an active writer and lecturer on the topic of investing; he is President of The IRA
Club, an organization dedicated to providing investors with the education to achieve the greatest
growth in their Individual Retirement Accounts.
FREE – IRA ALERT; The quarterly newsletter exclusively for IRA owner. To receive a one year of IRA ALERT at no charge CLICK HERE. .
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. To go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President Web Site IRAclub.org
The IRA Club E-mail DBlitz@IRAclub.org
Chicago, IL Toll Free 888-795-0988 Ext 11
The IRA Club offers Self Directed IRAs and Checkbook IRAs for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49. To go to the IRA Club web site CLICK HERE.
Publisher by:
Dennis Blitz, President Web Site IRAclub.org
The IRA Club E-mail DBlitz@IRAclub.org
Chicago, IL Toll Free 888-795-0988 Ext 11
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Blog for IRA Owners
Making Charitable Contributions Directly from an IRA
The opportunity to make charitable contributions directly from an IRA has been extended to December 31, 2009. (There is pending legislation that may make this option permanent.)
For anyone planning to donate money to a charity a direct IRA-to-Charity contribution is a nice option to consider.
Who may use it:
IRA owners over the age of 70½.
How much may be transferred directly to the charity:
Up to $100,000 per year: (For now please assume that this feature will expire 12-31-2009).
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD):
The transfer to the charity can be used to satisfy the IRA owners RMD.
Why is this benefit?
Normally if an IRA owner wanted to make a charitable contribution they might take a distribution from their IRA, reporting that amount as income and then make the contribution which would be a deduction. On the surface there seems to be no real advantage to making the charitable contribution directly from the IRA. However, by making the direct contribution the funds that were inside your IRA never hits your 1040 form. This means, there is no loss of deductions because of higher earnings and no social security tax on the amount.
Who may not use this feature?
Persons under 70½, or a person who is transferring funds from an employer plan such as a 401(k).
Can you still deduct the charitable contribution?
No, as you never reported the income, there is not deduction allowed for the contribution.
Question: The charity I have in mind provides services to me, will that affect the transfer?
Yes, let’s say you live in a home provided by the charity or the charity regularly provides you with a service; than the contribution may not be made by direct transfer.
Question: My spouse and I are both over age 70½ and both have IRAs. Can we both make a direct charitable contribution?
Yes
How do we do this?
First contact the charity. They must provide you with the paper work that the IRS will want to verify the contribution.
The opportunity to make charitable contributions directly from an IRA has been extended to December 31, 2009. (There is pending legislation that may make this option permanent.)
For anyone planning to donate money to a charity a direct IRA-to-Charity contribution is a nice option to consider.
Who may use it:
IRA owners over the age of 70½.
How much may be transferred directly to the charity:
Up to $100,000 per year: (For now please assume that this feature will expire 12-31-2009).
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD):
The transfer to the charity can be used to satisfy the IRA owners RMD.
Why is this benefit?
Normally if an IRA owner wanted to make a charitable contribution they might take a distribution from their IRA, reporting that amount as income and then make the contribution which would be a deduction. On the surface there seems to be no real advantage to making the charitable contribution directly from the IRA. However, by making the direct contribution the funds that were inside your IRA never hits your 1040 form. This means, there is no loss of deductions because of higher earnings and no social security tax on the amount.
Who may not use this feature?
Persons under 70½, or a person who is transferring funds from an employer plan such as a 401(k).
Can you still deduct the charitable contribution?
No, as you never reported the income, there is not deduction allowed for the contribution.
Question: The charity I have in mind provides services to me, will that affect the transfer?
Yes, let’s say you live in a home provided by the charity or the charity regularly provides you with a service; than the contribution may not be made by direct transfer.
Question: My spouse and I are both over age 70½ and both have IRAs. Can we both make a direct charitable contribution?
Yes
How do we do this?
First contact the charity. They must provide you with the paper work that the IRS will want to verify the contribution.
FREE - IRA ALERT the Newsletter for IRA Owners.
For a free one year subscription go toIRAclub.org and click on “Free IRA Newsletter”
For a free one year subscription go toIRAclub.org and click on “Free IRA Newsletter”
The IRA Club offer Self Director IRAs and Checkbook IRA for investors who seek to take control of their funds. A self directed IRA can be opened for as little as $49.
Dennis Blitz Web Site: IRAclub.org
The IRA Club E-mail: dblitz@IRAclub.org
Chicago, IL Phone 312-795-0988 Ext 11
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