What's New

Crash?

04/04/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Feature Article

Oddly enough, the mundane (and molasses-in-winter slow) market events tend to hurt investors more over the long haul than sudden drops. Even adjusting for inflation, investors lost far more in 2002 than they did in 1987 - the year of the biggest one-day market decline in history.

Using Dividends To Divine Future Returns Part II

03/31/06 -

February 2006 performance review

03/17/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Performance Review

Interest rates were down in February, helping bond fund returns. Longer term bonds gained 0.77% for the month, while Vanguard Total Bond Index (which owns all types of investment grade U.S. bonds) rose 0.37%.

Wea Culpa

03/02/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Feature Article

Jensen has spent a lot of its existence underperforming the market – so why does the fund have a couple of billion dollars under management, and why does it garnish so many accolades in the press and in the analyst community?

Ask MAX: A Fee-Free IRA?

02/17/06 - Retirement Planning

Randy from Ohio asks:

I want to get an IRA started for my wife and I this year. I understand we can contribute $8,000 between the two of us. I have read several sources stating that a self-directed IRA will allow me to keep more of my money.

I have had no problem finding brokerage firms to set up IRAs, but how do I go about doing this without paying a broker? Also, many mutual funds have minimum investments of over $8,000. Are these funds out of the question for me?"

Individual Retirement Accounts were established by an act of congress in 1974, and have been confusing the heck out of individual investors ever since. With no less than eleven distinct varieties of IRAs, ever-shifting contribution limits and distribution formulas you need a degree in advance mathematics to understand, it’s no wonder we're all occasionally left scratching our heads.

February 2006 Trade Alert!

02/16/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Trade Alert!

We're keeping our broad bond/stock allocations in our Conservative portfolio to 70% bond and 30% stock (adjusting for a balanced fund). These are tough times for a conservative investor as bond yields are low and value stocks are not cheap anymore – making large allocations to value-oriented stock funds a bit risky. On the plus side, short-term bonds and money market funds finally offer a reasonable yield thanks to recent Federal Reserve rate increases.

Something's Happening Here

02/02/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Feature Article

The MAXadvisor Newsletter is now MAXadvisor Powerfund Portfolios. But don't worry. Besides the new name, a streamlined design, and some new features, not much has changed. We're managing our model portfolios the way we always have - by choosing the best no-load funds in out of favor categories.

December 2005 performance review

01/18/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Performance Review

The Conservative portfolio put in a decent 4.14% showing in '05 – about half of 2004’s 9.35% return, but then the stock market returned more than twice as much in 2004 as well.

Flippant

01/02/06 - Powerfund Portfolios Feature Article

Flipping is more commonly known as an inverted yield curve. In such a rare event, the yield on a 10-year government bond is lower than the yield on, say, a 2-year government bond (technically a note). What’s the big deal? Maybe nothing. Maybe something. Maybe a big something.

November 2005 performance review

12/16/05 - Powerfund Portfolios Performance Review

Stocks rocketed, but bonds were merely ho-hum in November. The Conservative portfolio rose 0.82% for the month. The S&P500 rose 3.78% while the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index rose just 0.44%. Smaller-cap stocks were hot, and tech hotter still – areas safe portfolios are light on.