You are what you Eat- watch your diet

admin — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 02:21:19 +0000

Being healthy is everyone’s desire, it takes discipline and a lot of care at the personal level. This section serves as a source of information for you and your family to get healthy living tips and knowledge. You will find below articles on topics of interest to you including healthy eating, fitness, wellness, and managing a busy lifestyle. We believe in helping everyone live a healthy life.

1.Watch your mood:

If you are agitated and irritable and can’t really blame your boss, spouse, colleague or client for it, maybe it’s time to take a look at your eating habits. Your diet can affect the way you think and feel in at least two distinct ways. One is by influencing the chemical messengers in your brain and secondly through its effect on your blood sugar level. So let’s take a look at the kind of food that can keep you in a good mood.

The Right Breakfast

A good breakfast is the key to keeping you in a good mood throughout the day. The mood enhancing breakfast should have the right carbohydrates such as whole wheat breads and breakfast cereals. Broken wheat (daliya) is an easily available whole grain. Whole grains are important because they are absorbed slowly and keep your blood sugar levels stable. Swinging blood sugar is a common cause of irritability. In addition, carbohydrates boost the supply of tryptophan in the brain, which in turn boosts serotonin synthesis.

Plenty of Water

Another common cause of irritability and fatigue is dehydration. Keep a bottle of water handy and make sure that you drink water at regular intervals. Tea, coffee and soft drinks are not substitutes for water. However, munching on some fruits such as apples and oranges can help you stay better hydrated.

Green Leafy Vegetables

Leafy greens are good sources of folate. Folate deficiency has been linked with depression in some studies. You can ensure that your diet is not folate deficient by regularly consuming some spinach, lettuce, and other leafy greens. Nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashew nuts) and legumes (all daals and peas) are also a good source of folate.

Fish and Walnuts

The benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are endless! You know that they are good for your heart and your arteries. Now scientists have found that they also influence metabolic pathways in your brain and can combat depression. Given all the benefits of omega-3s, it makes perfect sense to include some rich sources such as fish and walnuts in your diet.

Lean Meats

Lean meats such as chicken, pork and beef provide an amino acid called tyrosine. Tyrosine boosts the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, brain messengers that can help you feel more alert and focused. Meats also provide vitamin B12, which fights insomnia and depression.

Dark Chocolate

Now we all know that this one is a quick and utterly desirable mood booster. It provides two chemicals, caffeine and theobromine that have a mood enhancing effect. Have the darkest variety of chocolate that you can find for maximum benefit.

Baked or Mashed Potato

Baked or mashed potato can be a quick fix for a foul mood because it causes the release of serotonin in your brain. However, fried potato chips do not have the same effect because of the accompanying fat.

Seafood

Seafood such as oysters, sardines, clams, crab and fish produce a mood enhancing effect by supplying plenty of selenium. Selenium has been shown to have an antidepressant effect in research studies. Thankfully, many of the other healthy foods such as nuts, legumes, and whole grains are also good sources of selenium.

Stunning growth by Madura Garments- Press Release

admin — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:09:26 +0000

PRESS RELEASE

30 October 2010

Aditya Birla Nuvo reports results for the quarter ended 30 September 2010 Click here to view the results

Click here to view the quarterly investor presentation Aditya Birla Nuvo has posted strong growth in its operating performance driven by consistent improvement in earnings across the businesses:

Fashion and lifestyle: The business is capitalising on brand leadership and enhancing channel productivity to achieve profitable growth. Madura Garments has posted 40% growth in revenue at Rs. 478 Crore. Improved customer footfalls led to robust sales growth across the brands viz., Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England. Initiatives taken to improve retail throughput, inventory replenishment and brand communication also contributed. The wholesale channel posted 56% growth and the retail channel grew by 39%. EBITDA rose by five times to Rs. 45 Crore driven by robust sales growth. In the quarter, 36 EBOs were launched to reach a total of 454 EBOs across 9 lacs sq. ft. area. After the success of its Mumbai and Bengaluru stores, ‘The Collective’ – a premium international brands store – launched its third store in Delhi.

PRESS RELEASE30 October 2010Aditya Birla Nuvo reports results for the quarter ended 30 September 2010 Click here to view the resultsClick here to view the quarterly investor presentation Aditya Birla Nuvo has posted strong growth in its operating performance driven by consistent improvement in earnings across the businesses:Fashion and lifestyle: The business is capitalising on brand leadership and enhancing channel productivity to achieve profitable growth. Madura Garments has posted 40% growth in revenue at Rs. 478 Crore. Improved customer footfalls led to robust sales growth across the brands viz., Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England.

Initiatives taken to improve retail throughput, inventory replenishment and brand communication also contributed. The wholesale channel posted 56% growth and the retail channel grew by 39%. EBITDA rose by five times to Rs. 45 Crore driven by robust sales growth. In the quarter, 36 EBOs were launched to reach a total of 454 EBOs across 9 lacs sq. ft. area. After the success of its Mumbai and Bengaluru stores, ‘The Collective’ – a premium international brands store – launched its third store in Delhi.

What if you have a major illness?- By Wilma G. Anderson, RFC®

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:57:08 +0000

Educating consumers, your prospects,

and your clients in this challenging landscape

of health coverage has to become a

focus for every financial professional in

2011 and beyond.

You may not be selling

critical illness policies…YET… But you

sure better know what’s happening with

this emerging product!

The demand for

critical illness insurance is not expected

to diminish.We’re in a period of solid growth for critical

illness policies and a recent.

LIMRA survey

revealed that critical illness coverage

increased at a faster clip than any other

voluntary insurance coverage.

The majority of U.S. households are not

equipped to deal with the financial

consequences and potential changes to

their lifestyle when a critical illness strikes.

The family could sustain financial stress or

hardship when the chief breadwinner in the

family suffers a critical illness. Unmarried

folks or younger individuals between the

ages of 25-44 would probably be hit the

hardest.

One-third of the respondents to the

LIMRA survey who had suffered from a

critical illness said they had still not

recovered financially from the time they had

to take off to recover before returning to

their employment.

The hardship isn’t necessarily because of the lack of medical

coverage, but rather by the financial impact

their illness had on their family’s lives:

keeping up with mortgage payments, car

payments, and care-giving expenses were

the biggest concerns.

Your clients will probably see more high

deductible health insurance plans than

ever before as companies struggle to offer

benefits to their employees that are

affordable.

Your clients will probably opt

for a higher deductible instead of the

unacceptable alternative of no coverage.

There will be some big gaps to fill and YOU

can offer a solution.

So what do your prospects and clients

need to know about critical illness

coverage?

I think you’ll be surprised to see

these statistics from the LIMRA study:

• More than one-third (38%) of

employees said they didn’t know the

difference between critical illness and

disability insurance.

• More than one-third (38%) said they didn’t

know the difference between critical illness

insurance and medical insurance.

What If You Got a Major Diseas

• More than two-fifths (43%) said they

didn’t know the difference between

critical illness insurance and long term

care insurance.

• More than half (57%) didn’t know the

difference between critical illness insurance

and accelerated death benefits on a life

insurance policy.

As you can see, we have a

HUGE knowledge gap!

So what can you do to educate your clients

and prospects about critical illness coverage?

1. Start by getting appointed with at least

3 companies that offer this coverage.

Mutual of Omaha, Assurity, and American

General are 3 good choices.

2. Learn what each critical illness policy

covers. They’re all different in some

small but distinct ways.

3. Ask your clients if they have disability

coverage. Do they have critical illness

coverage too? Then ask if they know the

differences between those 2 types of

coverage. A critical illness policy pays the

policyholder directly and the policyholder

can use that cash ANY WAY THEY

WANT TO. Wow!

4. Doctors and Dentists who can’t

get enough disability coverage are

perfect prospects for this coverage.

Should a critical illness strike, they can

use the lump sum dollars paid to them

by the critical illness policy (up to

$500K) to cover office expenses,

keep their families lifestyle in tact,

whatever they choose.

5. A critical illness policy pays out a lump

sum to the policyholder after a critical

illness strikes. There’s only one claim

form to submit. And there’s no

continuing to prove that the disability still

exists or that care is still being provided

like a disability or long term care policy

would require.

6. Ask any of your clients and prospects if

they have a friend or family member who

had a heart attack, cancer, or stroke

unexpectedly and did that health episode

change their life while they were

recovering? Who couldn’t say ‘YES’ to

that question?

7. If you’re talking about long term care

coverage to a client, it may be hard for

them to imagine their health changing like

that.

8.With critical illness coverage,

EVERYONE can imagine their health

changing unexpectedly, but they fully

expect to be able to go back to work

after a time for recovery. And THAT’s

where critical illness coverage makes so

much sense.

9.OK. It’s time for you to take some action.

Get some knowledge about how

to sell critical illness coverage (see

www.criticalillnesscoach.com), get

appointed with 3 good companies, start

talking about this to your clients in 2011.

The clients will thank you, the commissions

are great, and at the end of this year, you’ll be

pleased that you’re now selling a product that

the clients and prospects cannot resist.

There’s NO sales resistance, it’s a product

for NOW, and it can keep you in the Winner’s

Circle as a Top Product.

Now, what could be better than that? 

Wilma G. Anderson, RFC® the LTC Coach, is

America’s leading LTCI sales trainer and a

practicing producer who has personally sold

over 7,000 long-term-care policies. She offers

personalized coaching sessions, workshops,

and routinely gives speeches about long term

care, critical illness, the VA Aid & Attendance

pension, and how to survive retirement

pitfalls. Let Wilma show you how to sell more

LTCI, critical illness insurance, annuities, and

investments to the senior market with less

effort!

Contact: 720 344 0312

wilma@CriticalIllnessCoach.com

www.CriticalIllnessCoach.com

0312wilma@CriticalIllnessCoach.comwww.CriticalIllnessCoach.com

NB. This article by Wilma Anderson has been copied from IARFC March 2011Journal.

Marketing Strategies by Dr. William L. Moore, Sr., CLU, ChFC, RFC®

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:01:15 +0000

Every professional can benefit

immediately from fine-tuning their

marketing efforts. Only one additional

client per week will produce substantial

improvement by the end of the year.

Here are proven marketing strategies.

These techniques have worked for

decades — and they will work for you.

1.Establish a client-builder cluster

group that meets each month.

2.Exchange information, introductions

and endorsements.

3.Write articles for your professional

journals or associations. Then send

copies to local papers and send reprints

to your clients.

4.Speak at civic and professional

organizations’ meetings. Ask them to

send a press release to local papers (or

let you do it) and be sure to distribute a

handout.

5.Have a client appreciation event —

perhaps a Thanksgiving week brunch.

Sponsor a community event such as a

10K run or golf tournament with a

charitable beneficiary.

6.Submit press releases to media

regarding your achievements, published

articles or books.

7.Send articles with information that will

be of interest to your present prospects

and clients.

8.Become credentialed to build

credibility — then announce to

prospects and clients. You can always

“re-announce” a designation by being

quoted or published.

9.Collect testimonials.

10.Refer new customers to your clients.

11.Donate a service or product to charity.

Be sure to get maximum publicity for

your contribution.

12.Agree to be interviewed on radio

or television.

NB. This article by Dr. William L. Moore, Sr., CLU, ChFC, RFC® has been copied form IARFC Journal for March 2011.

7 Golden Rules of Financial Planning

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 02:42:55 +0000

SEVEN Golden_Rules_of_Financial_Planning

How to have a Bigger Image for Financial Advisor-By Forrest Wallace Cato, RFMA, RFCR

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:33:43 +0000

Reality Check Number One:

Many RFC¡¦s and other financial specialists in

your profession will not use the

Cato Power Image Building SystemR.

Thus it is impossible for them to zero

in on the strategies of this system and to

reap the benefits that result from executing

this program.

Actually, most professionals who compete

with you (in your market area) will not use

any system for image building or for sales.

Therefore, they can not possibly experience

the benefits of any system.

Reality Check Number Two:

Average

agents or planners seldom have the

forethought to define and communicate

to their prospects that which is unique,

special, and precious about them.

Lew Nason, RFCR, of the famous Insurance

Pro ShopR says, ¡§Of course top producers

do this. But average producers never

do this.¡¨

Nason explains, ¡§Ultimately these dynamics

work to your advantage resulting in a system

which works for you and positions you

ahead of your competition.¡¨

Reality Check Number Three:

According

to Mehdi Fakharzadeh, RFCR, the

beloved MDRT and IARFC super-sales hero

¡§Believe it or not, most people who must

sell their financial services or products

consistently use no sales system, no

image-building system, or combined

systems. They do not invest in themselves.

They do not learn new techniques and

strategies. They do not plan carefully for

future sales. Since most people in your

specialty discipline do not apply Cato¡¦s

Power Image Building SystemR they can

not possibly benefit from this program. If

you fully use this program you are certain to

experience major benefits.¡¨

Do You Really Understand

How Fame Leads to Fortune?

Reality Check Number Four:

Insurance

legend Norman G. Levine, RFCR says,

¡§Most agents and planners are unable to

understand the connection between

being well known and increased sales.

They simply cannot make this connection.

The majority ¡X the non-users of this

or any system ¡X are unable to make

the logical connection between regional

fame and massive regional sales. Thus,

they see no value in an image building

program. The majority do not understand

the desired objectives of the Cato Power

Image Building SystemR which is designed

to enable you to create, establish, and

maintain your desired image within your

target markets.¡¨

Reality Check Number Five: The majority¡¦s

failure to create, establish, and maintain

their desired image in your market area

works to your advantage. This enables you

to hugely benefit by putting a proven

system to work for you. You gain the image

advantage by default.

Should You Rescue Your Image?

Reality Check Number Six: CPR can save

your life! You probably need a like a

fast-track CPR for your image as a financial

professional. Proven techniques can help

build, preserve and save your image and

lead to fame and fortune in the ten

following ways:

1. A fast-track system works well for you

because most people in your position

do not use it.

2. A fast-track system allows you to make

the connection between personal

recognition and increased sales when

your competition fails to do so.

3. A fast-track system allows you to

understand how the relationship

between being well-known and

accepted in your market area leads to

mega-sales when your competition fails

to understand this concept.

4. A fast-track system demonstrates the

value of media exposures, status, and

an enhanced image publicly while your

competition does not have a clue

about these strategies.

5. A fast-track system demonstrates

the significant benefits from a

strong rejuvenated image when

your competition is unable to even

imagine this.

6. This fast-track system demonstrates the

clear connection between fame and

fortune while your competition cannot

make this connection.

7. A fast-track system shows how you

can achieve fame and that this fame

is not limited to celebrities and

our leaders.

8. A fast-track system will show you the

connection between image power and

sales power while your competition

remains clueless.

9. A fast-track system will demonstrate

how your prospects will take

advantage of what is unique, special,

and precious about you rather than

your competition.

10. A fast-track system demonstrates

how you are capable of being

noteworthy or of being a local

market leader while your

competition does not even

consider these possibilities.

Napoleon Hill, author of the classic

book Think and Grow Rich, said, ¡§The

successful professional person must

attract attention to himself or herself

in a positive and continuous way.¡¨ If

everyone used an image building system

then it would be far more difficult for

this system to work, as this program would

be much more difficult to implement

(and far more expensive).

But the majority of the financial

professionals in your market area (and

in your specialty discipline nationwide)

The Register | March 2011 Page 15

will do little or nothing to create, establish,

and advance or revitalize their images.

Amateur self-promotion efforts avail little.

History shows us that the top sales

achievers have executed a skilled on-going

image building plan.

Reality Check Number Seven: Thus

you can easily ¡§out-smart¡¨ or ¡§out-market¡¨

the competition in your local market

area. Some of these average performers

will wonder how you became so

acclaimed and well-respected over

such a short period of time while

they remain essentially unknown

year-after-year. You can advance your

sales upward while they remain ¡§Just more

agents or planners with nothing special

about any of them.¡¨

Reality Check Number Eight: This

image building system I have been

assembling was created over a

thirty-year period of trial-and-error.

This system was continually revised

and adjusted for the specific needs

of financial products and services

representatives. Many people who

aggressively implemented this system

become among the most successful,

most productive, and most powerful

sales people in our industry. They

made the connection then they made

changes. Without making changes

there are no changes. Either you

understand the connection between

local fame and local sales, or you do

not! It is that simple. If you understand

the connection then you will

act accordingly.

Reality Check Number Nine: What would

you really like to do? Remain the same or

improve your image with the Cato Power

Image Building SystemR?

¡½ If you would like to remain basically

unknown in your market area then do

only what you have done until now.

Do not make any change.

¡½ If you would like to remain a typical

sales producer then do only what you

have done until now. Do not make

any change.

¡½ If you would like to remain at your

current sales level then do only what

you have done until now. Do not

make any change.

¡½ If you would like to retain only your

current sales abilities then do only what

you have done until now. Do not make

any change.

¡½ If you would like to advance at your

present pace then do only what you

have done until now. Do not make

any change.

¡½ If you would like to remain

essentially unrecognized in your

market area then do only what

you have done until now. Above all,

do not make any special effort to

create, establish, and maintain a

revitalized image for yourself!

Do not make any change.

Without changing there will be no change or

improvement of how you are perceived in

your market.

Your Revitalized Image is Available

To Work for You by Default

These exact image building techniques

are now successfully used and endorsed

by most of the famous leading sales

producers in our profession. Ask the

top MDRT, FPA, IARFC or NAIFA

producers. By using this system they

have established all-time sales records.

But the majority of financial professionals

never understand that image power

leads to sales power in their market

area. They never invest anything significant

into their image, thus they relinquish

to you the ability and availability for you to

position yourself as the market leader in

your area.

Reality Check Number Ten: Most

financial sales professionals are intelligent

people. They want to make enough

money to pay their bills. They are

satisfied when they can pay their monthly

expenses. Many financial representatives

know that most of the sales improvement

speakers, books, tapes, videos, CD¡¦s, ¡X and

especially the sales gurus ¡X all over-promise

and over-charge. The ¡§man in the field¡¨ or

the ¡§person on the front lines¡¨ grows

suspicious about sales ¡§aids¡¨ and cynical

about sales consultants.

Because of this they do not want to

learn or attempt anything new or

different. They do not want to make a

change. So they reject everything

including the power of image

dynamics. They leave the door to

greater sales wide open for you.

Some people can make the connection

between fame and higher sales.

Those people understand how local

fame (image) influences local

prospects and clients. They build

their image and at the same time they

build sales power.

Who Knows What Is Unique,

Special and Precious about You?

If you have never bothered to figure-out

what is unique, special, and precious

about you, then how can you possibly

communicate to your prospects, clients

and others what is actually unique, special

and precious about you? Communicate this

on a planned schedule and you can

become the most famous sales leader in

your market area.

If you too are unable to understand and

appreciate how local market fame fosters

greater local market sales then possibly

you need more experience before

applying this system to your situation.

Study the top market achievers and notice

how they create, establish, and maintain

their desired images within their target

markets. Notice that they cause their local

market fame to result and this impacts their

local market sales. „

Forrest Wallace Cato, RFMA, RFCR is

considered an ¡§industry thought leader¡¨ in

the financial services profession. His

articles, essays, interviews, op-ed pieces,

reviews, biographies, critiques, and

editorials, are widely printed world-wide

and span over 28 years. His media

advocacy services have enabled many

advisors to enhance their personal image,

with a corresponding increase in their local

status, public recognition and their income.

His mission is to help financial advisors

¡§Cut A Bigger Image!¡¨

Contact: 770 516 9395

forrestcato01@bellsouth.net

www.CatoMakesYouFamous.com

Forrest Wallace Cato, RFMA, RFCR

N.B.: This article has been copied from IARFC, USA. March 2011 Bulletin.

Mutual Fund Schemes

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:43:00 +0000

1. Equity Schemes

The investments of these schemes will predominantly be in the stock markets and endeavor will be to provide investors the opportunity to benefit from the higher returns which stock markets can provide. However they are also exposed to the volatility and attendant risks of stock markets and hence should be chosen only by such investors who have high risk taking capacities and are willing to think long term. Equity Funds include diversified Equity Funds, Sectoral Funds and Index Funds. Diversified Equity Funds invest in various stocks across different sectors while sectoral funds which are specialized Equity Funds restrict their investments only to shares of a particular sector and hence, are riskier than Diversified Equity Funds. Index Funds invest passively only in the stocks of a particular index and the performance of such funds move with the movements of the index.

2 Debt Schemes

Debt Funds invest only in debt instruments such as Corporate Bonds, Government Securities and Money Market instruments either completely avoiding any investments in the stock markets as in Income Funds or Gilt Funds or having a small exposure to equities as in Monthly Income Plans or Children’s Plan. Hence they are safer than equity funds. At the same time the expected returns from debt funds would be lower. Such investments are advisable for the risk-averse investor and as a part of the investment portfolio for other investors.

3 Balanced Schemes

Balanced Fund invests in a mix of equity and debt investments. Hence they are less risky than equity funds, but at the same time provide commensurately lower returns. They provide a good investment opportunity to investors who do not wish to be completely exposed to equity markets, but is looking for higher returns than those provided by debt funds.

4 Exchange Traded Scheme

The investment objective of the fund is to seek to provide returns that closely correspond to returns provided by price of gold through investment in physical Gold. However the performance of the scheme may differ from that of the underlying asset due to tracking error.

Introduction

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:41:24 +0000

Mutual funds have become an important medium for investing money. Nowadays, bank rates have gone down and they are nowhere matching with the inflation rate. Therefore, the investors’ minds are changing from keeping their money into bank accounts to investing in mutual funds. There are other investing options like investing in stocks etc., but a common investor is not informed and competent enough to understand the intricacies of stock market. This is where mutual funds come to the rescue. As we discussed in chapter 1, a mutual fund is a group of investors operating through a fund manager to purchase a diverse portfolio of stocks or bonds. Mutual funds are highly cost efficient and very easy to invest in.

There are following types of mutual fund products available in India:

Closed-end funds: A closed-end mutual fund has a set number of shares issued to the public through an initial public offering.

Open-end funds: Open end funds are operated by a mutual fund house which raises money from shareholders and invests in a group of assets

Large cap funds: Large cap funds are those mutual funds, which seek capital appreciation by investing primarily in stocks of large blue chip companies

Mid-cap funds: Mid cap funds are those mutual funds, which invest in small / medium sized companies. As there is no standard definition classifying companies

Equity funds: Equity mutual funds are also known as stock mutual funds. Equity mutual funds invest pooled amounts of money in the stocks of public companies.

Balanced funds: Balanced fund is also known as hybrid fund. It is a type of mutual fund that buys a combination of common stock, preferred stock, bonds, and shortterm bonds

Growth funds: Growth funds are those mutual funds that aim to achieve capital appreciation by investing in growth stocks.

No load funds: Mutual funds can be classified into two types – Load mutual funds and No-Load mutual funds.

Exchange traded funds: Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) represent a basket of securities that is traded on an exchange, similar to a stock. Hence, unlike conventional mutual funds

Value funds: Value funds are those mutual funds that tend to focus on safety rather than growth, and often choose investments providing dividends as well as capital appreciation.

Money market funds: A money market fund is a mutual fund that invests solely in money market instruments. Money market instruments are forms of debt that mature in less than one year and are very liquid.

International mutual funds: International mutual funds are those funds that invest in non-domestic securities markets throughout the world.

Regional mutual funds: Regional mutual fund is a mutual fund that confines itself to investments in securities from a specified geographical area, usually, the fund’s local region.

Sector funds: Sector mutual funds are those mutual funds that restrict their investments to a particular segment or sector of the economy.

Index funds: An index fund is a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund) that aims to replicate the movements of an index of a specific financial market.

Fund of funds: A fund of funds (FoF) is an investment fund that holds a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in shares, bonds or other securities.

How to Read a Mutual Fund Table

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:27:51 +0000

Columns 1 & 2: 52-Week High and Low – These show the highest and lowest prices the mutual fund has experienced over the previous 52 weeks (one year). This typically does not include the previous day’s price.

Column 3: Fund Name – This column lists the name of the mutual fund. The company that manages the fund is written above in bold type.

Column 4: Fund Specifics – Different letters and symbols have various meanings. For example, “N” means no load, “F” is front end load, and “B” means the fund has both front and back-end fees. For other symbols see the legend in the newspaper in which you found the table.

Column 5: Dollar Change -This states the dollar change in the price of the mutual fund from the previous day’s trading.

Column 6: % Change – This states the percentage change in the price of the mutual fund from the previous day’s trading.

Column 7: Week High – This is the highest price the fund traded at during the past week.

Column 8: Week Low – This is the lowest price the fund traded at during the past week.

Column 9: Close – The last price at which the fund was traded is shown in this column.

Column 10: Week’s Dollar Change – This represents the dollar change in the price of the mutual fund from the previous week.

Column 11: Week’s % Change – This shows the percentage change in the price of the mutual fund from the previous week.

Choosing a Mutual Fund

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:25:05 +0000

Buying and Selling

You can buy some mutual funds (no-load) by contacting the fund companies directly. Other funds are sold through brokers, banks, financial planners, or insurance agents. If you buy through a third party there is a good chance they’ll hit you with a sales charge.

That being said, more and more funds can be purchased through no-transaction fee programs that offer funds of many companies. Sometimes referred to as a “fund supermarket,” this service lets you consolidate your holdings and record keeping, and it still allows you to buy funds without sales charges from many different companies.

Selling a fund is as easy as purchasing one. All mutual funds will redeem (buy back) your shares on any business day. In the United States, companies must send you the payment within seven days.

The Value of the Fund

Net asset value (NAV), which is a fund’s assets minus liabilities, is the value of a mutual fund. NAV per share is the value of one share in the mutual fund, and it is the number that is quoted in newspapers. You can basically just think of NAV per share as the price of a mutual fund. It fluctuates everyday as fund holdings and shares outstanding change.
When you buy shares, you pay the current NAV per share plus any sales front-end load. When you sell your shares, the fund will pay you NAV less any back-end load.