We like to pick growth Exchange Traded Funds that are tied to some long-term cyclical positives around the world. We think that the following ETFs are either good investments or good ticker symbols to put on your watch list as you manage your portfolio.
Here are our five favorite ETFs for growth:
FRAK – small, focused on natural gas infrastructure
PBW – clean energy
VEGI – global food companies
DXJ – Japanese stocks
EEMV – conservative stocks in the emerging markets
As always, if you have questions about the state of your portfolio, how to use ETFs or market action, email questions or concerns to askdoug(at)dougfabian(dot)com.
This is a podcast summary. For more information, please listen to the entire broadcast here.
Strategies are very important to us and we think that every investor should have one – particularly when it comes to the issue of legacy.
How do you want to be remembered, and what’s most important to you? Most people want to make sure that their loved ones, favorite causes and estates are taken care of. It’s very important to have a living trust, in order to avoid a long, painful and expensive experience for your family in probate court.
You want to pass on your assets to your children and grandchildren, and you want to avoid NIGO – a financial insider’s acronym for “Not In Good Order”. If something is messed up – a signature missing, a plan out of alignment, a trust written in order to keep your legacy intact and in good standing for your heirs and loved ones.
If you’ve built up a sizable portfolio, you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and your values to have clarity about your legacy and your expected tax burdens and concerns for the future. Call us today to discuss your needs, legacy, charitable wishes and hopes for your future, at 1-800-391-1118.
This is a podcast summary. For more information, please listen to the entire broadcast here.
ETFs globally hold about 1.7 Trillion dollars in assets.
Over 1400 ETFs available for U.S. investors
Pros of ETFs: low cost, low trading fees, liquidity and transparency
Most ETfs are index-based
We believe that ETFs are excellent vehicles and we use them for the majority of our client portfolios.
However, there are some very good mutual funds out there, as well, and we encourage you to not get locked into only one investment style. If there’s a mutual fund that manages risk and implements a strategy that cant be duplicated with an ETF, we will definitely use it if it’s reasonably priced.
So, don’t get sucked into a ETF vs. Mutual Fund debate. Both can be used effectively with the right education, goals and portfolio outlook.
This is a podcast summary. For more information, please listen to the entire broadcast here.
The stock market is impressive right now, and we understand that investors are afraid of being left out. Better opportunities to enter the market are coming, and now is not the time to put capital to work – in our opinion.
Market crashes are once-in-a-generation events – good for headlines, but not typical. Remember that markets are psychological, not logical. You can live with lost opportunity much easier than you can live with lost capital. We think that you should be more concerned about lost capital than anything else right now. Have a sell plan and protect yourself against changes in the market.
(For more information on this topic, check out our April issue of Successful Investing.)
This week, we got an email from a client, asking about taking on more risk in their portfolio. We believe that this is not the right time to be taking on more risk. The markets are risky right now and there is a lot of uncertainty out there.
However, this email got us thinking. Investors have a tendency to get into the market too late. For instance, many people got into real estate market too late in the recent boom a few years ago, which had unfortunate consequences in their portfolio. Here are some other common “unprepared investor” problems: They don’t know when to sell, they try to commit to an investment for the long-term and they sell at worst possible time when they get scared. In short, most unprepared investors get in too late and out too soon.
Don’t allow your portfolio to be another statistic of unprepared investing. This is not when you want to make a serious commitment to risk assets. Be careful out there, be safe and be prepared.
As always, email any investment questions or concerns to askdoug(at)dougfabian(dot)com. We want to help you make the best possible decision for your portfolio. This is a podcast summary. For more information, please listen to the entire broadcast here.
This week, we are discussing our last piece of advice for success in investing: actively manage your portfolio.
Basically, this means that you need a detailed plan for your investments: when are you going to buy, what are you going to buy, when are you going to sell, what is your risk strategy, etc. Are you fully invested? If you are, whats your strategy to manage risk or exit that investment?
The great thing about active management is that you make the rules, based on your goals, your net worth, and your exposure. You can decide to have a “do not sell” list or a sell point. You can make your own rules, but the important thing is that you have a goal and rules in place to accomplish that goal. Our encouragement is to look at risky investments and make sure that you know where to take action.
On the other hand, if you’re sitting on cash and being very conservative in your portfolio, we encourage you to have a buy list. What are you looking for? What are your goals? How can you accomplish those? (Hint: you can’t reach your goals by sitting on cash).
This might all seem overwhelming, and we understand that. But knowing where you are, where you want to be and how to get there is as essential in investing as it is in any other kind of journey. We know that these can be complicated and difficult decisions – if you’d like, give us a call at 800-391-1118 and we’d be happy to discuss your goals, your portfolio and what you need to do to succeed in 2013.
As many of you know, we have a comprehensive list of ETFs on our website. Our latest edition of the Fabian ETF report recently came out, summarizing 1200 funds and highlighting 100 new ETFs for 2012. To get a copy of our ETF report, click here.
Another great way to hear our strategies is through our exclusive teleseminars. Our next teleseminar is titled: Strategies for Growth in Uncertain Times, and will be presented by Doug Fabian, on Tuesday May 8th at 1:00 p.m. Pacific (4:00 p.m. Eastern).
If there is one statement we can all agree with – we are living in uncertain economic times. Half of the countries in Europe are in recession, China is feeling the effects of slowing global growth, and the U.S. is struggling with trillion dollar deficits that are needed to keep the economy afloat.
In what will likely be a very challenging summer for the markets, having the right strategies in place to both preserve and grow your capital is absolutely critical to your investment success. Now is the perfect time to decide how you should position your investment dollars to achieve your financial goals for the remainder of 2012.
In this special one-hour presentation, you will learn:
Doug’s three favorite growth strategies over the next three years.
How to stay ahead of inflation with your portfolio.
A global economic update and how world events can impact your money.
The latest product innovation in the exchanged traded fund world.
Plus much, much more
While this teleconference is FREE, attendance is limited, so please be sure to register HERE and reserve your spot today.
So why are we talking about the next three years, when so much is changing this year?
The answer is realistic, if not optimistic. We believe that our national habit of deficit spending will have to be dealt with in 2013 and beyond. If we don’t see sufficient austerity from the federal level, we think that interest rates will go up.
It’s important to note that debt-related troubles are coming from more than just Washington D.C.. Deficit spending gets a lot of attention at the federal level, but many people don’t notice or know how much trouble local counties, cities and states are in as well. There are many places in the U.S. which are simply running out of money, which means austerity that is on its way.
Austerity doesn’t just mean lower income, it also means higher taxes. We are seeing the effects of high unemployment and austerity in Europe, and those problems (and with them, civil unrest) might be coming to the U.S. in the next couple of years.
You need to be aware and prepared for these challenges. It’s going to be very tough for any politicians to make good decisions on our behalf, and it’s critical that investors understand the risks in the market and what might soon be coming.
So, how do we achieve financial goals over the next three years? Our three-step plan is:
Capital preservation should be your highest priority
Monitoring and analyzing your portfolio positions in light of these risks
Know your exit strategy
Despite rising markets, risk is extraordinarily high, and investors need to avoid getting lulled into complacency by a seemingly safe market.
(If you read this blog and enjoyed it, listen to Doug’s podcast this week for even more details on these topics, and please share this information with others who might benefit from our perspective.)
Stocks appear to be topping, and may have already peaked. There was a relief rally last week which we believe had much to do with the appearance of everything being OK (activity from the Federal Reserve, the controlled default in Greece, etc.), and not with the fundamentals.
One reason for continued investor confidence is that Apple Computer (AAPL) stock has been soaring. Also, American investors especially seem to be excited that it appears that America is decoupling from the rest of the world and they hope this means that we won’t be as affected by adverse global trends. However, we still believe that there is reason to be concerned, because of what we’re calling the triple threat.
The triple threat is:
Europe is in recession
China’s economy is slowing down
U.S. profit growth prospects are slowing as well
Also, equities are going up, along with oil and bonds going up as well, so this is a very unusual circumstance. Bonds rising in value are usually associated with depression and deflation, but the stock market is soaring. Something strange is happening here, and John Hussman wrote last week that is a bad time to invest too heavily, based on historical similarities, and we agree. We encourage all of our readers to check out his piece on the market trends, here.
This is a podcast summary. For complete details on the items discussed today, please listen to the full audio here.
We discussed gold and the buying opportunities to come in the teleseminar in January.
We think that gold mining stocks are going to be a good investment later this year, as there seems to be a disconnect between the price of gold bullion and gold stocks. Gold bullion prices are up, but gold miners appear to be under-performing so far this year. We think that gold stocks are vulnerable to a sell-off with the overall market if conditions begin to deteriorate.
We advise you to continue to exercise caution, but to keep gold on your investment radar, as it may soon become a great buying opportunity.
Here are three action items for every investor:
The widely-held perception is that risk is low in the market, which we obviously disagree with. However, you should pay attention to the market sentiment and don’t be lulled into this false perception.
If you own risk assets (those which are going up so far in 2012), have a plan to exit those positions if we start to see a pull back in stocks.
We are advising caution. If you need more clarification on what makes this specific environment so volatile, please check out our blog from yesterday on the fundamentals of the market.
Also, please check out our special report for more information on how to invest wisely. If you have questions about your personal portfolio, give us a call at 888-300-3684
(Also, if you read this blog and enjoyed it, listen to Doug’s podcast this week for even more details on these topics, and please share this information with others who might benefit from our perspective.)
