Bear
Market End in Sight?
The bear market, which began in March 2000, has
continued with a roar in the
past four months. Since May, the average mutual fund lost 17% of its value! This loss was led by technology, losing 32%, followed by growth funds losing 22% and value funds losing 13%. The big declines came in June and July with August ending up as a break-even month, in spite of roller coaster volatility. At this point, no one can possibly predict when the end of the bear market will be, but a growing number of commentators are very cautiously suggesting that we may be bumping along the bottom. Until we see a trend, I continue to recommend holding value oriented, conservative equities balanced by a generous amount of bonds and cash. We will continue to monitor the situation, and look for openings to reinvest into to the market place.
Welcome to Harrisdirect
The quarterly report is coming out one month late. This is mostly due to getting on track with Harrisdirect. So far we have had to get used to new account numbers, new communication systems, new monthly statements, new authorization forms and new password protections. Harrisdirect has an excellent website and offers a very favorable commission structure. On the other side, I have found dealing with far away telephone centers to be frustrating and I miss the lack of personal contact that we
enjoyed with a local brokerage office. On balance, I give Harris the benefit of the doubt and will stay with them. However, we will examine other alternatives from time to time to ensure that you are getting the best brokerage service available.
Top
Secret Message:
Harrisdirect requires a password to access your account on-line, plus you must also enter your old account number from Freeman Welwood as your Harrisdirect ID number. The password is required to be 6-8 characters. The first time we encountered this password protection, Harris suggested using the word “pumpkin.” Accordingly, we have used this word as the standard (top secret) password for our investment advisory accounts (please let us know if you have changed yours to something different). To access your account, you simply go to harrisdirect.com, click on the login tab, and then type in your old account number and “pumpkin.” Please call me at any time if you have difficulty accessing your account, or if you ever have any other investment questions.
-Roger D
Werner, CPA