Podcast 290 - S&P 500 FUNDS ARE FLAWED

Send us Fan Mail I do not like mutual funds of any shape or size. Thus, when a friend asked me for help in selecting ETFs for his multi-million dollar portfolio, I was quick to let him know my feeling about funds. This week's podcast gets into my concerns about funds and it brings back memories of seeing my portfolio of supposedly safe mutual funds lose $300,000 over three years. As I explain this week, with a fund you are blindly sold on putting your money into something that you have no control over, whose contents can change on a fund manager's whim and is almost impossible to determine its strength. You are much further ahead to build a portfolio of 20 financially strong diverse companies paying high dividends who for the last two decades have shown consistent growth in their share price and dividend payouts. Each of the managers of these 20 strong dividend stocks would have proven they know how to make a profit and grow a company. With a fund all you have is a big blob of stocks that are almost impossible to analyze today and may change at any moment. Ian Duncan MacDonald Author and Commercial Risk Consultant, President of Informus Inc 2 Vista Humber Drive Toronto, Ontario Canada, M9P 3R7 Toronto Telephone - 416-245-4994 [email protected]