index mutual funds

Index Funds Quick Start Guide

An introduction to the pros and cons of index fund investing from www.lucky-dog-investing.com
Video Rating: 3 / 5

Online Broker TradeKing Announces Winners of Loyola API Challenge

Online Broker TradeKing Announces Winners of Loyola API Challenge

Fort Lauderdale, FL and Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) May 18, 2011

Online broker-dealer TradeKing (http://www.tradeking.com) today announced the winners of its TradeKing Loyola API Challenge. The TradeKing Loyola API Challenge was a first-of-its-kind contest to discover and showcase top technology innovation and business talent from a group of business and finance undergraduates from the Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola University Maryland. The Challenge encouraged students to leverage TradeKing’s new Application Programming Interface (API) to create innovative solutions, apps and mashups. The challenge resulted in the creation of some extremely innovative and ambitious interfaces and ideas. For the Loyola students, the Challenge offered the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and put their smarts against a real-life business challenge to show they have what it takes to create a first-gen, finance-focused technology application for investors. Students gained valuable skills in product management, technology/development team work and competitive analysis as they vied to create investor-ready apps that broke new ground. TradeKing and Loyola Judges sought unique solutions to common problems or tasks, as well as new but relevant approaches that were “outside the box.”

“TradeKing is taking a progressive step in opening to outside development a modern and accessible API to rapidly advance innovation,” said Dan Raju, CIO for TradeKing. “As part of that effort, we want the best, most intelligent developers to experiment with and drive innovation through the TradeKing API. The TradeKing Loyola API Challenge tapped the thinking of a talented group of undergraduate business and technology students, each of whom brought fresh thinking to the table. We congratulate the Challenge winners for the extensive time, effort and creativity they put into their work, and are extremely grateful to Loyola Professor Paul Tallon for his support.”

The Challenge, which kicked off on March 23 and concluded on April 30, judged students in four API-related categories, including 1) best and most creative use of the Tradeking API functions in a working app, 2) best combined use of the TradeKing API in a working app also utilizing another publicly available API (e.g., Google Finance, Yahoo! Finance, Facebook, Twitter), 3) best technical documentation of a completed and working app and 4) best submission of a Strategic Vision and Execution Plan document advising TradeKing on how to improve and expand upon its API strategy.

The response to the Challenge was overwhelmingly positive. Sixteen qualified individual and team entries were submitted, and the competition proved to be fierce among a number of extremely creative and diverse entries. Challenge winners were selected by a panel of judges including Raju; Don Montanaro, TradeKing Chairman and CEO; and Professor Tallon, associate professor of information systems and operations management at the Sellinger School. Challenge winners were awarded a cash prize.

“This was an amazing learning experience for our students,” said Professor Tallon. “To develop ideas for a next-generation application, students needed to draw upon a diverse body of knowledge spanning both IT and finance. They had to think outside the box. More importantly, they had to work in teams and under intense time pressure, knowing their classmates were equally driven to move their ideas from concept to execution. TradeKing has rewritten the rule book for how students learn in the classroom.”

About the TradeKing Loyola Campus Challenge Winners

Categories 1 and 3: Tony Florida & Stephen Febish

Florida, a Loyola junior who is also on the school’s varsity swimming team, and Febish, a senior who participates on Loyola’s varsity cross country and track and field teams, are both computer engineering majors. The team produced an innovative and well documented Android application that clients could use to interact with their TradeKing Accounts, WatchLists and perform multiple core brokerage functions. Florida said, “The Challenge was a wonderful experience for both of us. It was my first time working with an API, so I learned a great deal about that as well as trading stocks.”

As an outcome of his strong performance in the Challenge, Florida will also be joining TradeKing this summer as a paid intern in the firm’s Charlotte, N.C. location.

Categories 2 and 4: Paul Donovan, Paul Kelly and Michael Radovich

Donovan, Kelly and Radovich are all Loyola seniors. Donovan is a finance major and also serves as vice president of Loyola’s Financial Management Association. Kelly, a marketing major and information systems minor, spends time conducting marketing research for Howard County, Md. in an effort to better the community and drive the local economy. Radovich is a finance major and a member of Loyola’s Financial Management Association. He also writes investment articles for MarketNewsVideo.com and ETFChannel.com. The team created an impressive and thoughtful application that integrates TradeKing’s WatchList functionality with Twitter. Judges were particularly impressed with the team’s thought-provoking and relevant API vision document. The team said, “It was great to utilize what we learned in class and apply it to the TradeKing competition.”

About Loyola

Established in 1852, Loyola University Maryland is a Catholic, Jesuit comprehensive university comprising the Sellinger School of Business and Management; the School of Education; and Loyola College, home to the University’s arts and sciences programs. Loyola enrolls 3,700 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students from across the country.

About TradeKing

TradeKing (http://www.tradeking.com) is a nationally licensed online stock and options broker offering simple, low cost online trading fees ($ 4.95 per trade plus $ .65 per option contract, $ 8.95 per trade plus $ .15 per options contract for nine or more contracts) with no hidden costs or account minimums.1 A pioneer in integrating new financial social media as part of its innovative online equities, options trading and fixed-income trading platform, TradeKing has received multiple discount broker awards from top industry sources and was rated best in customer service by SmartMoney2 Magazine, ahead of OptionsXpress, Scottrade, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade. (June 2011 SmartMoney Broker Survey).

Follow TradeKing on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TradeKing,

Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tradeking,

YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/tradeking,

LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/tradeking.

Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. For more information, please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standard Options brochure before you begin trading options. Options investors may lose the entire amount of their investment in a relatively short period of time.

TradeKing provides self-directed investors with discount brokerage services, and does not make recommendations or offer investment, financial, legal or tax advice. The content of this press release is provided for educational and informational purposes only, does not constitute a recommendation to enter in any of the securities transactions or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented herein, and does not represent the opinions of TradeKing or its employees.

Online trading has inherent risks due to system response and access times that vary due to market conditions, system performance and other factors. An investor should understand these and additional risks before trading.

Member FINRA/SIPC.

(1)    $ 4.95 for equity and option trades, add 65 cents per option contract. Trade more than 8 contracts, and we’ll automatically lower your cost to $ 8.95 per trade plus 15 cents per contract. TradeKing charges an additional $ 0.35 per contract on certain index products where the exchange charges fees. TradeKing adds $ 0.01 per share on the entire order for stocks priced less than $ 1.00. See our Commissions + Fees page at http://www.tradeking.com/fees for details on commissions on low-priced stocks, option spreads, and other securities.

(2)    TradeKing was ranked #1 in Customer Service in the SmartMoney June 2011 Broker Survey based on the following categories: Commissions and Fees, Mutual Funds & Investment Products, Banking Services, Trading Tools, Research, and Customer Service. SmartMoney is a registered trademark of SmartMoney, a joint publishing venture between Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst Partnership. Supporting documentation for any claims, comparison, statistics, or other technical data, will be supplied upon request by calling 877-495-5464 or via email at service(at)tradeking(dot)com.

###

©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Find More Index Mutual Funds Press Releases

Mutual funds transferred to an Index fund?

Question by Franko Rizzo: Mutual funds transferred to an Index fund?
Hey, certainly not the right place to ask important financial questions but did need some quick clarification…

Listening to NPR today and one of the top performing investor’s overall recommendation was that basically, a basic index fund will, on average, out perform any Mutual fund. And, because Index funds have less fees associated with them, the investor really will make out far better in the long run. His advice was, of course, not to pull your money out of your investment account but to perhaps transfer it to an Index Fund.

Since this was really limited information, my question was really about how the mutual fund works. I’ve lost, say, 30k in the 3 different mutual funds I have now. Shouldn’t I just leave the money in (since it’s already a loss) and hope the value goes up in the next 10 years? Or, within the mutual fund are the stocks constantly trading so the stock my mutual fund holds now, will not be the same stock in it 10 years from now. If the later is the case, I can see why moving it to an index fund makes sense. But if investors usually keep the same core stocks, then isn’t transferring my money to an Index fund the same as pulling out of the market? Does this make sense?

Best answer:

Answer by donfletcheryh
Many mutual funds fail to even match the performance of an index fund. Because of this some mutual funds have been investing in index funds for significant parts of their holdings.
That way at least they come close to meeting the index.

If you use a graph of your fund against an index, and see that it moves in step with the index fund, but just a bit lower, the manager is either buying index fund or replicating it within his fund. In that case you can be confident that the index fund will make you at least as much money.

Some funds will make more money in a rising market than an index fund. some will lose less in a declining market. You can decide to go for the fund that works best in the trend of today, but don’t forget to switch before the trend changes.
Nobody ever does that, but hey, it is not part of portfolio balancing.

If everyone invests through index funds, we should have a further barrier to having investors give any guidance to our corporate bodies. Not that most investors do give any guidance.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Q&A: Selling Mutual Funds and tax implications?

Question by piccadilly96: Selling Mutual Funds and tax implications?
Hello,
I recently moved some of mutual funds (Traditional and Roth IRA’s) from a brokerage account to a FirstTrade account in order to save on trades and the overall expense of a broker who always puhsed loaded up mutual funds in order to attempt to stack his pockets. Anyway, I was wondering what it would cost me to unload some of my expense heavy mutual funds (all Hartford Cap funds which I have since trasferred) into my Firstrade Account and into some index mutual funds such as Vanguard Value ,Vanguard Int Value, 500 index etc. Although my current mutual funds, of Hartford Cap, have been performing well they have obvious expense ratios thaan the index funds listed above. I have held these for a few years and I was wondering if it would make economic sense to sell these expense laden funds and transfer them into a the index funds listed above or hold on to them?
So essentinally if I sell my Traditional and Roth IRA funds (currently loaded with Hartfod Cap funds) and buy Vanguard index funds for both my Traditional and Roth IRA funds within my Firstrade account I should not have to pay capital gains tax? I know that I can by and sell the funds for free within Firsttrade after 180 days. It was the tax implications that I was concerned about.

Best answer:

Answer by Marc C
If your accounts are traditional and Roth IRA accounts there is no tax consequence to selling them inside of a tax sheltered account.

Give your answer to this question below!

what is considered a low maintenence fee on an index or mutual fund?

Question by Fred W: what is considered a low maintenence fee on an index or mutual fund?
Financial advisors always advice investors to select a no-load mutual or index fund with a low maintentence fee. What is considered low?

Best answer:

Answer by John L
1 percent or lower.. index funds are pretty good.

Add your own answer in the comments!

Q&A: A diversified portfolio of index funds or target date funds?

Question by investoman: A diversified portfolio of index funds or target date funds?
Low cost index mutual funds seem to be the favorite among all money experts when it comes to creating a retirement portfolio. However, with the advent of no-load, low-cost target date funds and which provide automatic age based balancing and asset allocation, I’m torn between the two and need some advice on which one is the best option to go.

Best answer:

Answer by jlf
You get the same thing either way. With a target fund, the asset allocation adjusts automatically based on the target date. If you use “fixed” index funds, you have to do the rebalancing.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Warren Buffett Talks Index Funds

So many investors, brokers and money managers hate to admit it, but the best place for the average retail investor to put his or her money is in Index Funds. www.thewaytobuildwealth.org
Video Rating: 0 / 5

Index Funds: The Musical, Steps 10-12 of 12

Based upon IFA.com’s resources and the book Index Funds The 12-Step Program for Active Investors by Mark Hebner, this video is part education and part entertainment in helping you figure out the right way to invest.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

This process is fastest and easiest way that I know of to pick great mutual funds and I’ve been investing for over twenty-five years as a registered investment adviser (RIA). I am the founder of 401(k) Plan School at www.401kplanschool.com and First Capital Management in San Diego, California. 16776 Bernardo Center Drive, Ste. 203 San Diego, CA 92128 1.858.487.1339

Are index mutual fund returns monthly or yearly?

Question by Christopher A: Are index mutual fund returns monthly or yearly?
I’m new at this so bare with me. Hypothetically speaking, say I had $ 1,000 in a index mutual fund, and it has a return of say 10% per year. Now 10% of $ 1,000 is $ 100, is that paid or gained yearly or do I get 10% monthly? If it’s yearly $ 100 a year is pretty silly!? Thank you in advance!

Best answer:

Answer by pumpdatiron
It’s a 10% return per year. There is no payment to you other than a dividend or capital gain that occurs within the fund. If you want income, you should look for an income fund, or growth and income fund. Those payouts are usually monthly or quarterly. You won’t find any kind of investment that pays 10% per month.

What do you think? Answer below!

Buffalo Science & Technology Fund Celebrates 10 Years of Service

Buffalo Science & Technology Fund Celebrates 10 Years of Service

MISSION, Kan. (PRWEB) May 06, 2011

The Buffalo Funds Science and Technology Fund (BUFTX) celebrates its 10-year anniversary in April. The accumulation of ten years of historical data is a major milestone in the lifespan of a mutual fund.

“Many investors want to look at fund performance over a long period of time, and for many, once a fund hits 10 years, it becomes an active target,” said Clay Brethour, CFA, Science & Technology Co-Portfolio Manager. “Our investors take advantage of the fact that our fund extends beyond traditional technology fund boundaries.”

Many fund managers have a narrow view of “technology” in terms of their stock selection. Buffalo Funds managers use a broader definition, allowing them to select companies that create or support innovation that makes life easier and/or better. That opens the fund up for investment in health care, industrials, energy, and even consumer sectors.

Buffalo Fund managers follow a bottom-up investment approach, geared toward identifying sustainable growth trends that deliver better and more cost effective outcomes or involve new technologies that drive productivity and efficiency. The portfolio managers seek out well-managed and well-capitalized companies that are positioned to benefit from these common sense growth trends that are independent of broad economic recovery. This fundamental analysis emphasizes large market opportunities, sustainable competitive advantage and profitable growth.

“Rather than chasing the technology of the day, we select companies we believe have the potential to be sound, long-term performers,” said Elizabeth Jones, MD, CFA, Science & Technology Co-Portfolio Manager. “We follow a patient, research-based investment philosophy that seeks long-term growth and attractive valuation.”

The chart attached shows a hypothetical investment of $ 10,000 in the Buffalo Funds Science & Technology Fund from April 30, 2001 (shortly after its inception date of April 16, 2001) through April 30, 2011, would be worth $ 22,191.72, versus $ 19,756.67 in the NYSE Arch Tech 100 Index.

About The Buffalo Funds

For more information on Buffalo Funds, investors can call 1-800-49-BUFFALO.

Financial advisors can visit the advisor-only website at

http://www.buffalofunds.com/financialadvisors. Individual investors can visit

http://www.buffalofunds.com.

The Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The statutory and summary prospectuses contain this and other important information about the investment company, and may be obtained by calling 1-800- 49-BUFFALO or visiting http://www.buffalofunds.com. Read carefully before investing.

Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it concentrates its investments in businesses of science and technology related industries which can cause the Fund to experience significant volatility.

The NYSE ARCA Tech 100 Index is a price-weighted index comprised of stocks and ADRs of technology-related companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges that produce or deploy innovative technologies in the conduct of their businesses. You cannot invest directly in an index.

The Buffalo Funds are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

###

Attachments

©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.