A.I.M. Users Bulletin Board

[SFSecurity]

Sounds like you decided to invest by STYLE. The s+p has 9 funds that invest in exactly those 9 segments shown on your chart with importantly no overlap of holdings. So you can own every stock in the S+P 500 with no overlap and the individual funds will have more volatility.

Actually not style as much as recognizing that markets go up and go down based on business cycle and where a given sector fits. I assume you mean Standard & Poor's when you say s+p, correct? Where do I find a listing of the sector funds to follow up on your sound advice?

As an aside, one of the oddities of disasters like hurricanes is that they are good for business. Have to replace what has been blown away or damaged beyond repair. So it is good to buy construction when there are no hurricanes and things tend to slow down, then sell near the peak, or just after, of the hurricane season. I thought this was wacky, but a friend who lives in Florida has done this for a few years and done quite well. But then he knows the companies and what is happening with them much better as the news is local. Since I've known that there are cycles in wheat that have been documented back to the 1200's and we can trace business cycles back to at least tulip mania I figure business cycles are here to stay for a while.

As to age, I'm more than double your 30 reference, but I have enough from SS and a pension plus other monies to do well enough. What I'm doing is getting out from under a broker/dealer that my mother had, but I don't want to rush into it as I'm still a novice. Many years ago I did some stock stuff and found I didn't know enough to get out of my own way nor did I have the time to learn. Then I started to get into it back around 2002, but wife and life got in the way. But I'm now in a position to do something and the $40k is just the starting point.

Warmest Regards,

Allen