My Personal Finance Blog

The best stock funds when the economy is robust and growing are usually growth stock funds. In 2011 and beyond this scenario appears unlikely. Since stock (equity) funds belong in the average investor’s portfolio, what are the best stock funds if 2011 fails to produce good economic growth?

Even the best growth funds rarely pay a significant dividend – that’s not the nature of growth funds. These funds focus on price appreciation or rapidly rising stock prices as an objective by investing in companies with higher than average prospects for growth in sales and earning or profits. The stocks they invest in plow their money back into the company instead of paying it out to investors in the form of dividends. Without a significant dividend as a cushion, growth funds generally experience greater share price fluctuation, which means greater risk.

If uncertainty remains high and the economy remains sluggish in 2011 and beyond, growth funds are not your safest bet. When it’s time to be defensive, it’s nice to own equity funds that have a good track record for paying dividend yields of 2%, 3% or more. A dividend of 3% might not sound like much but it does provide a cushion under stock prices. With today’s interest rates 3% looks rather attractive, and many major corporations have a surplus of cash available to increase dividends.

As a conservative play the best stock funds for 2011 to stay invested in equities and decrease the risk of big losses: equity-income or “value” funds that invest in major (large) dividend-paying companies. Don’t worry so much about the name of a fund because names can be misleading to the average investor. Instead start by looking for equity funds that have dividend income as a primary objective. Such a fund would fall under the general category of DOMESTIC (U.S.), GENERAL DIVERSIFIED equity funds.

They can be further classified as value funds, equity-income funds, or maybe DIVIDEND growth funds. The latter tend to invest in large companies with a history of paying stable and/or INCREASING dividends over the years. Make sure that the fund you pick invests in high quality major corporations. Some value funds invest in smaller less-stable companies that “appear” to be cheap, and these funds can be quite volatile (risky). Every fund gives investors a general description of its objectives and what kind of investments it intends to make. It’s often in the fund’s introduction or summary, so look before you leap!

In my opinion, the very best stock funds for 2011 and going forward would also be classified as NO-LOAD and INDEX equity funds. You can cut your cost of buying an equity fund by 5% by avoiding sales charges or “loads”, by simply buying no-load funds. You can save 1% to 2% on YEARLY fund expenses by going with INDEX funds that simply track a sector of the market instead of trying to outperform. Few funds outperform their benchmark (index) on a consistent basis and many under perform it. Why pay to take this added risk?

In summary, to avoid high risk and stay invested in the stock market in 2011 and into the future, here’s how to find the best stock funds. Get info from the major no-load fund companies like Vanguard, Fidelity, T Rowe Price, and Century Funds. Look under the category of EQUITY INDEX funds. Make sure that there are NO sales charges. Look for a DIVIDEND YIELD of 2% or higher, and make sure the fund tracks an index of large-company or large-cap (capitalization) stocks, like the S&P 500 Index.

Over the long-term the best stock funds reward investors with higher fund prices (values) and dividends. The very best funds for most investors also offer a bit less risk than their competition and a lower cost of investing.

Just in case you do claim, the policy includes every possible way of avoiding payment on the claim. So all the headlines in the quotes and on the front page of the policy sell you the idea of coverage. All the small print later in the policy limits and excludes the insurer’s liability to pay. It should all be so straightforward. The policy is a simple contract between you and the insurer. You pay a premium. If any of the following things happen to you, the insurer pays for your treatment. You look down the list of injuries, diseases and disorders. Ah, if only life could be so simple.

The first problem is who you want to treat you. Some people are happy to have anyone with MD after their name prod them, nod wisely and write out a prescription. Others will only accept someone with experience in the particular problem. The difference between the two can be thousands of dollars. The doctor in general practice will charge only a small fee for a quick consult. If you go to the nearest specialist and you are put through a battery of tests to confirm the diagnosis, the total bill for the same prescription could be relatively astronomical. Then we come to the question of the treatments. The quick solution is usually a drug but taking, say, a painkiller when what you actually need is surgery to relieve the physical cause of the pain. . . Well, if you want a cure and avoid dependence on the painkillers, your insurer must be prepared to pay a lot more money.

The problem with medicine is the uncertainty. Science has only progressed so far, identifying many possible diseases and disorders, but never being totally sure what the best treatment is. One of the current hit TV medical dramas is “House” where the problems of diagnosis are presented as entertainment. What the program fails to tell you is how much the hospital would bill Gregory House’s patients. All it does is show you the alarming number of very expensive tests you could be asked to pay for without any guarantee they will provide the definite answer. So, when you get health insurance quotes, try to get a feel for three key areas: what diseases and disorders are covered, who is allowed to treat you, and what are the limits on the treatments? Yes, there will be jargon, but never accept health insurance quotes at face value. Always try to get answers to these three simple questions. Most plans place real limits of your freedom of choice. In fact, the lower the premium, the less choice you will be allowed. Only the top-of-the-range plans leave you with a reasonable amount of control over what happens to you and your family. This leaves us with an irony. The rich who have least need for health insurance are actually able to buy the best terms. The poor cannot pay and are not covered. The rest scrape the barrel to get what treatment they can.

Most individuals look up for cheap car insurance, and it is understandable within the context of increasing costs and the uncertainty of the family’s financial balance. But, the program is really complex and somehow tricky, that occasionally, the insurance consumer has issues figuring out where the actual financial savings really lie. Here are a handful of aspects that you simply have to cautiously consider before putting your signature on any insurance policy.

1. You could advantage from cheap car insurance with great coverage and reduced excess level by constructing up the no claims bonus. There are famous insurance businesses that discount their car insurance offer with up to 65% if you hold car insurance for over 5 years without making any claims.

2. It is greatest not to include young drivers to the car insurance if you would like a great financial offer for a comprehensive policy.

3. Policies with greater voluntary excess are the least costly. Cautiously assess your scenario before deciding for this kind of cheap car insurance, because within the scenario of the accident, you will need to pay an excellent offer of the repair costs. This isn’t usually the most handy option even when it means reducing the premiums.

4. Drive securely! There are insurance businesses that even organize training to educate you about increasing security as well as safety while driving. In the event you attend this kind of a course, you may decrease the costs and obtain cheap car insurance.

5. In case you own a number of cars, you need to check the multi-car insurance policies that most businesses now provide. But, you have to carefully evaluate between the policies to find out these with the greatest cost-coverage proportion. Special discounts for multi-car insurance could attain up to 23%. And if you include other special discounts, you could make severe financial savings.

6. Get a car with a more compact engine. It might not be this kind of a bad idea to change your high-power engine vehicle for a more compact one. This could extremely well be just a change in dimension, not in level of quality. Then, you could actually appreciate cheap car insurance, without sacrificing the policy coverage.

There are lots of extras or additional choices that could be additional to car insurance, and each and every insurer has its unique offer for a wide range of clients. The good part concerning the extras is the fact that they enable a particular flexibility and customization chance for that insurance policy holder. This really is actually what makes them attractive.

But, you could only get a fair and square idea concerning the correct cheap car insurance by performing a little of research and evaluating a number of existing choices.