Posted on 08/07/2002 8:20:40 PM PDT by Libloather
INSIDE AMERITRADE
By J. Peter Ricketts, President
At Ameritrade, our number one goal is to make your online trading experience the best it can be. Whatever your investment strategy is, you have access to the tools you need to trade with confidence.
Whether you choose equities, options, mutual funds or bonds, you have 24-hour access to your account. Not only can you trade during regular market hours, but you also have access to the A.M. and P.M. Extended Hours Trading sessions (8:00 - 9:15 A.M. ET, 4:15 - 6:30 P.M. ET).*
And if you want some extra help understanding the ins and outs of the market, or need instruction on how to use our Web site, take a moment to visit our Education Center at: http://www.ameritrade.com/educationv2/amtd_splash.fhtml
It's filled with useful information about the market, definitions of terms, and helpful instruction on how to use our Web site.
From all of us at Ameritrade, I'd like to thank you for your business. We hope that you enjoy the tools and information provided on our Web site, and we look forward to serving your trading needs for years to come!
THE SKY ISN'T FALLING**
By Sue Stevens, Director of Financial Planning, Morningstar
This is a difficult time to be an investor. Spreading your assets across multiple asset classes is more important than ever. Finding an appropriate mix of cash, bonds, and stocks will help you through these nail-biting days.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
If you haven't put an emergency fund in place, do it now. You should have three to six months' worth of expenses in a money market or savings account if you're still working. If you're retired, the fund should cover at least 2 years' worth of expenses.
YOUR PORTFOLIO
Invest a portion of your portfolio in bonds, but don't ignore the risks: interest rates are very low now and will go up eventually. The longer the maturity of the bonds in which you invest, the more principal you stand to lose when interest rates rise.
As for stocks, diversify across sectors and styles. Position yourself defensively. If there are more Enron-style accounting scandals or terrorism threats, the stock market will probably continue to suffer - at least temporarily.
YOUR RISK TOLERANCE
Determine how much risk you can live with on a day- to-day basis. Perhaps you're willing to give up the potential for big gains in a good year in order to limit volatility and the chance of significant losses in a bad year. If so, you may need to pull back your portfolio's risk levels. Often, that means taking losses on some taxable investments. Most individual investors can carry these losses forward indefinitely.
By carefully sticking to your plan, you'll keep your portfolio on an even footing and make steady progress toward your lifetime goals.
THE AMERITRADE MUTUAL FUND SCREENER
As an Ameritrade(R) client, you have access to over 10,500 mutual funds. With so many funds, it may be difficult to decide which ones are right for you. That's why we offer a Mutual Fund Screener.
Search for funds by Fund Family, Fund Objective, Historical Performance, Years Since Inception, Manager Tenure, Expense Ratio, Load Type, and Minimal Initial Investment. Just submit your request and the Mutual Fund Screener works to give you a list of funds suitable to your needs.
Sincerely,
J. Peter Ricketts
President, Private Client Division
Why not? Any adept day-trader (or short-term trader) should be equally capable of selling short in a down-trend, as buying in an uptrend. This has been a fantastic market for traders who are not adverse to selling short.
Actually it's their customers who were doomed. The internet stock day traders got hammered, many lost all their money.
Well, yes. "Riding the surf up and down on a daily basis" is exactly what day-trading or short-term trading is about! Most of these so-called daytraders who have lost their shirts in the current bear market were really just opportunists who hopped onto a bull market rocket ride without any real methodology, understanding, or the tools to succeed in a non-bull market. Anyone can make money in a market like that. But that does not a trader make.
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