English Corpus

If you know me then you already know how I like to talk about
the preservation of the classic American cars and muscle cars, I
can’t emphasize enough how important it is to keep these cars on
the roads, so we have a presence of them around.

Isn’t it enough that our country is getting inundated by
imports, and the fact that people are always saying how much
better other countries are building cars then we do, well
without Henry Ford none of them would be building cars as we
know them today, and if I remember correctly he was an American.

We need a heavy presence of American cars, just to help put way
the dull drab looking imports, you know cars that have a little
style and character to offer, not just these cookie cutter
expensive, yet cheap built imports, how much better is a BMW,
Mercedes or any other import then a good old American car.

Buy American people, all I hear is people bitching about the
economy, well it seems to me that if we were to buy our own
country’s products, it would improve our well being, and that we
would have a better economy, we would all be a lot happier, if
you buy an American car from an American dealer or an
individual, you have done your part to help the economy.

Let’s say that you bought a car from a dealer, he’d have to pay
taxes, and that would help the economy, and the car manufacture
of American cars would hire Americans to build the cars, and
that would also help the economy by keeping the money that the
manufacture pays it’s employees in our country, and buying
things from American companies, therefore improving the economy.

This brings me to the whole point of this little rant, if we
were all to buy an old classic American car and restore it to
it’s original glory, we’d be buying parts from American
companies and having American businesses restoring those cars,
and thereby infusing money back in to the economy, to help build
our country’s economy back to it’s stable old self, we all need
to think more like this.

muscle car community

musclecar restoration

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Suppose that the market dropped 20% in one year (as it did in 2001 and again in 2002). You might have to spend the bulk of the next big move up in the market just getting back to even, instead of making money. But suppose we were able to walk away with a flat return…or just a small loss instead. Would you agree that we’d be in much better shape heading into the next move up in the market, if we could avoid “the big hit?”

Now, there used to be a time (throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s), that absorbing just a small loss in a year where the market drops 20% would be called “significant performance” compared to (or relative to) the rest of the market. This is because folks in the market were more interested in “relative returns” back then, not “absolute returns.”

The reason so many were interested in “relative” returns back then was because throughout the ’80’s and ’90’s, we were barreling down the highway in a secular bull market. Every pull back along the way was simply a terrific buying opportunity. You were dubbed a hero if the market dropped 25% in one year and you were able to lose only 10%.

Not so today!

We’re not interested in “relative” returns and neither should you. What we are interested in is absolute returns.

The methods we use (a blend of fundamental analysis and point and figure technical analysis) are not perfect every time. But they do an excellent job of telling us when supply overtakes demand. This is true whether or not we are looking at a particular mutual fund, an individual stock, a sector or the market as a whole. Whenever supply overtakes demand, lower prices are certain to follow. And we should take the steps needed to protect our retirement dollars at that time.

Look, losing money impacts your returns for many years, not just one year. That’s because if we have a year where we lose 20%, we’ll need to make 25% just to get back to where we began. It’s really important that we do our very best to avoid big losses in our account…whether that account is our regular brokerage account, or our 401k account, or some other retirement plan.

So what do you do to avoid big losses when the market is crashing?

In 401k and other retirement accounts, we have a “safety valve” option which, if used properly, allows us to sidestep much of the damage. It is often called the “stable value” fund or the “stable income” fund.

The stable fund is often a guaranteed insurance contract (or “GIC”) that will give you a safe place to park your money, out of the stock market. There are millions of people (yes, millions) who have all of their money in their retirement plans invested in the stable fund.

In 2005, many of the plans that we advised had stable funds that generated yields in the neighborhood of 3% to 4% for the year. Listen: if you stayed in the “stable fund” for all of 2005, you beat the entire Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

But this is really not the goal of the stable fund.

The “stable fund” is an investment that really should be looked at as a “parking place” or a temporary spot, to hold your funds while the market is going down, or on defense.

In secular bull markets, we’d have little use for the “stable fund,” since we’d want all of our funds invested all the time. But that is not the current environment we have in 2006.

When the market begins to drop, we’ll often recommend that a certain percent of your money go to the stable fund, instead of some other investment. This is because it’s better to just stay out of the game than to take a risk, when everything’s going to the dogs.

Sometimes we may recommend you have most of your money in the stable fund. It really depends on your age, your tolerance to handle the fluctuations of the market and where things are heading at that current time. If a new client comes to us when the market is falling, it may take as long as four to six months to get most of the money back into the market. It all depends on where the market is at when we begin.

The stable fund is an instrument we can use to generate decent returns in an otherwise bad market. Nobody’s perfect when it comes to investing, but making use of the stable fund is a useful tool to have inside of a retirement plan. It gives you more flexibility.

By the way, were you aware that close to 80% of all participants in 401k plans (and other retirement plans as well) make their investment choices on the day they join the plan…and then never change them again?

Since Social Security is a mess and pension plans are disappearing by the minute, managing the returns in your 401K has never been more important.

Thomas Mullooly, President of Mullooly Asset Management, works one on one with individuals so they can regain control of their investments. To learn how to stop making simple investing mistakes and to sign up for Tom’s email alerts, visit http://www.mullooly.net, today! Or call Tom at 877.223.7300 to request to see for yourself, in writing, how to manage the risk in your 401k plan.

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Many have heard of yoga and Pilates. But, not everyone realizes
that there are several differences between these two types of
exercising regimens. In fact, yoga is hardly classified as just
an exercise program. Each of these methods are quite powerful
tools to allow you to feel and look better. But, they are also
very different. In order to help you to make a choice between
yoga and Pilates, let’s explain them a little further.

Yoga - It came way earlier

Yoga has been around for over 5000 years. It is something much
more than just a way of exercising. In fact, it is a lifestyle
change that many people need to take seriously. This type of
program is centered on the spiritual healing of the body as well
as the physical aspects. It uses a wide combination of breathing
and movements to get the body back into its targeted range. Yoga
is something that encompasses the entire lifestyle in ethical,
spiritual and physical form.

It is important to note that yoga is centered on meditation and
that the poses that are done are done to allow for better
concentration and better meditation abilities.

Pilates - It’s a whole different animal

Pilates, on the other hand, is a physical healing process that
uses movements and breathing to work. In Pilates, the body is
taken from one movement to the next in a fluid change. This
allows for continuous improvement in the body in a normal way.
Pilates uses Contrology in its dance form. In this, the poses
that are done are more fluid and provide for a more natural
movement from one to the next.

Both of these types of programs allow for individuals to improve
in their health and well being through breathing techniques.
Controlled, regulated breathing is very important to the success
of yoga or Pilates.

Which Should I Choose?

In order to know which of these you should choose, the best way
to know which the better choice is for you is to actually give
them a try. Sign up for a couple of classes and give them a try
each. Which methods and processes do you feel more comfortable
with? Which works the best for your lifestyle? The choice
between yoga and Pilates is something that you need to make on
your own.

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