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How to Be a Forbes 400 Billionaire... By Investing in Only One Stock
"I make more money giving advice than taking it." ~ Malcolm
Forbes
The Forbes 400 Richest People in America issue just arrived in
my mailbox last week...
I pay careful attention to this issue when it comes out every
October, for two...
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Different Kinds Of Investments
These days, you can't retire without using the returns from
investments. You can't count on your social security checks to
cover your expenses when you retire. It's barely enough for
people who are receiving it now to have food, shelter...
Halliburton Under Fire for Operations in Iran
The shareholders of Halliburton are trying to stop state-sponsored terrorism, using the same economic leverage that was effective against South African racism in the 1970's. Back then, shareholders used corporate resolutions to stop companies from...
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College Savings Plans – are they the best choice for my child?
College Savings Plans – are they the best choice for my child? College Savings Plans, also called Section 529 plans, are one of the best ways to save for college because they offer: -Tax advantages -A variety of investment options -Flexible...
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The Conflict of Interest Game
Disgruntled investors are going after Wall Street once again,
this time accusing one of investment bank Morgan-Stanley's
high-tech mutual funds of making biased stock picks.
Recent lawsuits allege the Morgan Stanley Technology fund was
influenced to buy and hold stocks of companies that delivered
huge investment banking fees - or could potentially bring big
business - to the investment bank.
According to the lawsuits, the Morgan Stanley fund followed
the biased recommendations of the firm's analysts - decisions
that have cost shareholders millions of dollars since the
portfolio's October 2000 inception.
The fund lost 48 percent in 2001 and was down another 50
percent during the first nine months of 2002. While Morgan
Stanley strongly denied the allegations, I fail to see how the
management of the fund is somehow distinct from the other
divisions of Morgan Stanley. Ultimately, they all work for the
same boss.
The suits further claim that the tech fund failed to disclose
that the firm had investment banking ties with a number of
companies whose stocks were part of the portfolio. They also
failed to reveal that those links could affect the fund's buy
or sell calls.
Why bring all this up? For one thing, it
is interesting to
note that Morgan Stanley offered four of these types of funds
in October 2000. Just around the time when we sold all of our
positions (Oct. 13, 2000) and it became clear, at least to
those of us who were tracking long-term trends, that a major
trend change had taken place.
More recently in the news it's been Merrill Lynch who had a
questionable deal involving transactions with failed energy
trader Enron. Of course, the financial services industry
regulates itself so well, that an $80 million payment to the
SEC is sufficient to wrap up this case without admitting or
denying wrongdoing.
What's the moral of this story? While it is impossible to
predict these alleged conflict of interest schemes, it is
definitely possible to follow a disciplined approach and be on
the “right” side of the market so you can avoid jumping aboard
a sinking ship.
About the Author
Ulli Niemann is an investment advisor and has been writing
about objective, methodical approaches to investing for over
10 years. He eluded the bear market of 2000 and has helped
hundreds of people make better investment decisions. To find
out more about his approach and his FREE Newsletter, please
visit: www.successful-investment.com
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