in lieu of gambling on organized sporting events, i'd like to try my hand in the other form of organized gambling, the stock market. does anybody currently do this? if so, what do you use and do you have any advice, etc?
Sam, I had no idea that you were an advocate of passive investing. I must say that I have a newfound respect for your financial beliefs. I guess you did go to The University of Chicago and buy into the whole efficient markets thing and the futility of active management. What's your stance on alpha? Do you deny its existance?
Why bother throwing darts when others can throw hundreds of them for me? As for the Alphas, most of them look like hogs but I would probably hit one if drunk enough.
fidelity.com has several no-load mutual funds. And they're helpful folk, too. Be sure to check their Morningstar ratings.
Read and learn about trading funds and stocks before doing it. Don't just jump into things. If you want a decent no-load fund company, try Vanguard - one of the few that doesn't try to screw you over with every fee imaginable.
All funds have CDSC's, contingent deferred sales charges. Don't let no-loads fool you. Morningstar is good, and "sin funds" always do quite well.
I've been an investor for 7 years. I don't think calling people amateurs is appropriate, especially from someone "running" a hedge fund. Do tell.
All funds have a load in some capacity. Most no-loads use CDSC's too offset the load, or fee. Hell, ever S&P 500 funds have some kind of load, and they require "no" management.
Yes. A front end loaded fund is called an A share. You pay the loads up front, and can get out whenever you like. These are good for people with a good chunk of money, because they can usually get a break-point. A back-end loaded fund is a B or C share. These are free to get into. However, with a B-share, you will have to keep it in for 5 years on avg. A C-share charges you a 1% load per year on avg., with no penalty for transferring. On A, B, or C shares, the CDSC is usually fairly small. Around 10-20 basis points. On "No-Load" funds, the CDSC is higher, anywhere from 20-200 basis points. The CDSC is not shown to the public, which is why "No-Loads" have their claim. In actuality, all funds have a fee. I hope I explained that well enough to understand.
All funds have CDSC's, contingent deferred sales charges. So what is the CDSC for Vanguard's SP500 Index fund? I know that Vanguard does charge a CDSC-ish redemption fee if you get out within 90 days (to discourage market timers).
