Where is the beef? Or maybe it should be where is the bull? Market, that is? The chief investment strategists and analysts of the major brokerage houses have been promising us a new bull market. So far the bull hasn't come in from the distant pasture. Some of the cows have been wandering back. I see stocks and mutual funds with names like Small Cap Value, Real Estate, Leisure Group and Gold, but all the rest of the herd are not coming to the barn. If you look at the herd, as scattered as they are, they don't seem to want to participate in any kind of a bull move. If you are a very smart farmer (investor) you know which ones are the best ones to milk right now. The others should not be fed any more of your green. And you know what that is. When I look at the 10 largest mutual funds in the U.S. I see there is only one that is going up and that is a bond fund. All the rest are now headed south again looking for those September low prices. Why are you holding on to losers that can only get worse? When I lived on the farm and we noticed livestock might be runts we immediate took them to market and sold them. It was better to get a few dollars now than to keep feeding an animal that would not make a profit. My Dad would take that money and buy another animal. When you are in the stock market you must have the same philosophy. You cannot fall in love with a loser. It will only break your heart and your pocketbook. |
