For years investors have been taught to look into the composition of a mutual funds. In other words the “experts” want you to take the time to analyze the stocks within the mutual fund portfolio, categorize them by industry group and try to understand the objective of the fund manager. This is nonsense.

When I go the track I look to see what the horse has been doing for the last several races. I don’t give a hoot what he had for breakfast. All I want to know is has he been fast? Is there a good chance he will finish in the money in the next race? I only want to know how he has been performing.

Most mutual fund managers, except those who follow index funds, are always trading. You have no idea that what is in the portfolio today was there yesterday or will be tomorrow. Some fund managers trade more than others, but you can prove this to yourself by looking at the fund prospectus at the beginning of the year and one of the updates that funds publish quarterly. Many of the stocks will still be there, however, you don’t know if the percentage holdings are the same.

By the way, don’t bother reading a mutual fund prospectus. They are worthless when it comes to making money. Consider that most of the information in it is about a year old by the time you read it. Think about this seriously for a minute. Is there anything you can find out in the document that will show up in your bottom line? I’ll wait while you think. OK? There really wasn’t anything was there? All prospectuses are basically worthless.

But you say the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) in Washington approved this. No, they did NOT. They don’t approve of anything; they just read it to be sure it meets the regulatory requirements for disclosure. There is almost no difference between the prospectus for the worst mutual fund and the best mutual fund and both of them may have been read by the same Dilbert in his cubicle at the SEC.

There is one excellent way to find out which fund to buy. It is based on performance. How much has the fund increased in price during the past 12 months? Just 12 months. Many financial analysts want you to look at 3-year, 5-year and 10-year performance. Remember that horse? I don’t care how many races he won 3 or 5 years ago. Can he run NOW? There are many publications and web sites that tell you the best performers. Investor’s Business Daily prints a list of best performing funds each day. You might have to see the paper every day as they sometimes just tell about the long-term performance. You want the last 12 months and the last 3 months.

Three years ago you could have bought the best performing fund on the street and today have a dog. I call a dog any mutual fund that is not outperforming the S&P500 index.

If you were a jockey you would want to ride the fastest horses because in many races you get a percentage of the purse. The same applies to mutual funds. You must own only the best performing funds at all times. Like the jockey you must pick the fastest horse if you want to be a winner.

You should review your fund holdings monthly to see that you are only in the best funds. It might take you an hour, but you will find that you will double the current return on your mutual fund investments. Do it!

Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street does not want you to know. 100 free stock trades by Stock brokers.

Home equity loans are perfect for bad credit individuals who cannot get approved for a personal bank loan. There are several advantages and disadvantages to obtaining a home equity loan. These loans gain a lot of attention because they are easy to qualify for. On the flip side, home equity loans are taken out against your property. Thus, you run the risk of losing your home if you are unable to repay the loan.

Advantages of Applying for a Home Equity Loan

The advantages of home equity loans are numerous. While these loans carry interest rates higher than first mortgages, the rate is noticeably lower than most credit cards. Instead of making a huge purchase using a credit card, homeowners may benefit by applying for a small home equity loan.

The loan terms for a home equity loan are shorter than first mortgages. Typical loan terms are five to fifteen years. On the other hand, if you were to use a credit card, it may take you many years to payoff a small balance. Home equity loans are perfect for emergencies and huge expenses. These may include home improvement projects, debt consolidation, college tuition, wedding expenses, or vacation.

Home Equity Loan Dangers

Before applying and accepting a home equity loan offer, it is essential to carefully weigh your finances and discern whether you can afford an additional monthly payment. In most cases, homeowners use the funds acquired from a home equity loan to payoff high interest credit card balances and other consumer debts. In this instance, homeowners may save money because the home equity loan payment is much lower than previous debt payments. Be careful if you are obtaining a home equity loan for another purpose, thus creating an entirely new debt.

How to Choose the Best Home Equity Loan

When selecting a home equity loan and lender, homebuyers must shop around. Money sources include traditional mortgage companies, banks, and credit unions. These lenders offer prime rates, thus they prefer to work with good credit applicants. If you have bad credit, a mortgage broker is your best alternative.

Mortgage brokers have access to various lenders that offer sub prime loans. These loans are geared specifically toward applicants with a low credit score or no credit history. By submitting an application through a local or online broker site, your application will be reviewed, and you will receive quotes from the lenders.

Try using one of ABC Loan Guide’s Recommended Poor Credit Home Equity Loan Lenders.

Before choosing a home equity loan package, homeowners should compare all quotes received. The mortgage loan interest rate offered is important. A low rate mortgage will lower your monthly payments, whereas a higher rate results in higher payments. To guarantee a low rate, homebuyers should attempt to boost their credit score before applying for a loan.

View our recommended lenders for Home Equity Loans . Best Online Brokers, Online Stock Broker Reviews

You’ve spent several months, perhaps years, putting everything you have into building a thriving, high-demand online business and now you have decided to sell your baby.

Thousands of businesses change hands everyday, oddly enough the channels you can use to get maximum price and exposure for your online business are extremely limited.

You have a few options:

1. Ebay. It’s perhaps the biggest venue for listing and finding new businesses forsale, but you have to be concerned over the quality of sites listed on eBay. For every quality site listed there are at least 100 crappy, low-priced, cookie-cutter sites that can put the wrong impression in the minds of your prospects. 2. Classified pay-per-listing sites. The leading online business listing site is http://www.buysellwebsites.com run by experienced professional Nelson Bates. This is a super service for sites under $50,000 with proven results and proven demand. A great technique for lower-priced sites, but perhaps not the right option for the site you want to get maximum exposure and price for. 3. Experienced and Focused Business Broker. You’ve invested heavily in your online business. A professional can help you through the sometimes complex tasks of placing a price on your business, getting it in front of the “right” buyers, helping to separate the tire kickers from serious buyers and take your deal to an optimal close.

Online business brokers can…

1. Get more money for your site 2. Get your site exposed to buyers with money 3. Reduce your stress by only putting you in touch with serious buyers 4. Handling the paperwork and forms associated with securely selling your high-value online business 5. Handling the uncomfortable “selling” role for you – you just decide which deal to accept 6. Let you move on to other things, confident that your online business is being represented by the best 7. Help you through an emotional process – they will be your rock through the entire process 8. Give you the benefit of experience closing many deals, something most sellers do not have 9. Open up new markets and opportunities you may not have even thought of yet 10. Help you wade through legal, tax and regulatory issues that can be quite intimidating.

What To Look For In An Online Business Broker

Finding a great business broker can make a massive difference to the success of selling your online business, getting the value you deserve.

Here are 4 characteristics to watch out for:

1. Experience with selling businesses. This one tops the list. Skillful business brokers have spent years mastering the art of negotiation and undersatnding the market. If you are selling an online business, then it is even more important that you find a specialized online business broker, someone who understands getting maximum price for internet-based businesses. 2. Proven Reputation. You want someone who has a rock-solid reputation with years of experience helping sell businesses. The ideal online business broker will have sold hundreds of online businesses already and can point out some specific examples. 3. Great Communicator. Selling your business can be a lengthy and detailed process, in order to get the most out of your online business broker, they need to be a great communicator – it’s absolutely necessary. 4. Must Ensure Your Confidentiality. You can’t afford to have your customers, partners and competitors know that you are about to sell your business. Look for a broker that guarantees confidentiality using appropriate protection forms every step of the way. 5. Specialize. Focus on a business broker that understands your type of business. Just as you wouldn’t go to foot specialist about your stomach problem, you want to make sure you find a broker that specializes in online business.

Finally, you can take the stress out of selling your online business by using an experienced, professional online business broker. Don’t leave the sale of your business to chance, consider consulting your very own online business broker today.

Find Out What You May NOT Know About Selling Your Business Right Here: http://www.webrokerwebsites.com. The International Business Brokers

Have you heard about or been interested in finding out more about option one mortgage loans? They are becoming very popular, but its important to understand how they work before you apply for one. I will describe, in this article, an overview of the most common type of option ARM mortgage loan or option one mortgage loan.

How do they work? Option one mortgage loans are basically interest only mortgage loans, except that the first year, you pay only 1.25% of the interest on the loan. The remainder of the interest that is accruing is being added to the loan amount. The second year of the loan you pay more interest until gradually you are paying either full interest only payments or fully amortized payments (interest & principle). The reason the loans are called option loans is because every time you have a payment due, you have the option of paying the less than interest only portion, interest only or a fully amortized payment. This option would be good in a situation where your income is sporadic.

This mortgage loan type typically gives you 4 payment options in every bill.

Here are your typical monthly payment options:

Option #1 – Pay a 15-Year fully amortized payment amount (p&i)

Option #2 – Pay a 30-Year fully amortized payment amount (p&i)

Option #3 – Pay the interest-only portion of the loan (Interest Only)

Option #4 – Make a partial interest payment (1.25% – 1.95% depending on your loan type) and defer paying the additional interest to the total loan amount. (Deferred interest can be counteracted by making bi-monthly payments and by property appreciation)

This type of loan is good if you want to:

Wait a while to refinance again – If interest rates drop again, so does your payment. If you want to accelerate your payments and increase equity quick, pay more on your loan and it will be applied to future payments & will be directly applied to the principle balance. Will you want a 30-year loan? Keep the option to pay your loan as a 30-year, 15-year, or interest only payments.

Have an adjustable rate mortgage but want stability – This loan has a payment cap. The interest rate on this loan is based on the 12 month-MTA index, the most stable index of the 4 main indexes (COFI, LIBOR, MTA & CMT). This index is always below prime. The interest rate is based on the world economic markets which have been steadily coming down over the last 3 years. This loan has a 5-year fixed payment option as well.

Invest your payment savings in something else – This could open up opportunities for you if you could invest in real estate, the stock market or another investment when you use the extra $500-1000+ a month you free up from your property payment. Pay off debt with your payment savings – You can use the payment savings to pay off other debt.

Have security and options in your mortgage loan – The main benefit to this type of loan is the security of a mortgage payment that you control. You decide at any time what kind of a mortgage you want. If all goes well in your future, you have the freedom to pay your 30 year loan into a 15 year loan without even consulting another mortgage broker. Get more home for your money – You can qualify for more home with these low payment options.

Who Can Qualify? Qualifying for this loan is basically the same as any other loan, it is based on credit, equity & assets, if you are strong in 1 of these or 2 of these, you could probably qualify and with lowest rate possible.

What if I want to take out a stated income loan? “Stated Income” or “No income/assets” loans are possible with this Option One Loan.

These are just general guidelines and information about this type of loan. You will want to discuss all of these details with your broker or lender before you actually complete the loan. These factors may vary with each individual lender. Many lenders do not offer their customers this type of loan. If you are seeking an option one or option ARM loan, you will need to talk to your broker about it or find a broker that can do this type of loan. To see our recommended lenders for this type of loan. Visit here: Option One Mortgage Lenders.

Written by Carrie Reeder, Owner of ABC Loan Guide . Calculate your home loan mortgage payments with our payment calculator