YAHOO ANSWER: Mutual funds that track the IAI index?

Friday, May 11, 2007

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Are there any mutual funds that track the “Dow Jones U.S. Select Investment Services index”?

I know there is an exchange traded fund (ticker symbol “IAI”), but I’m looking for a mutual fund that tracks this index. Thanks.

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Not that I am aware of.

The more interesting question is why are you interested in such a fund?

Hopefully you have heeded the Wall street axiom of “no more than 5%” and never invest what you can’t afford to lose. There are folks on the Street who specialize in niches; I’m guessing if you have to ask here, then you’re not one of them. Then, my advice is to retreat at full speed.

Mutual Fund Investing should be part of an overall comprehensive strategy. If you’re buy’em’n’holdem, then you really don’t want to be so narrowly focused. If you’re a timer, then you really want the ETFs. (Remember these things are not created for your benefit.)

If you’re looking for a mutual fund because you can’t make the minimum buy in an ETF (which for the one you cited will probably be 6k) or if you can’t meet the broker’s “suitability” obligation, then you shouldn’t be in this space to start with. Then, you might be “gambling” as opposed to “investing”.

I’d be interested if anyone these apply.

If they do, you’d be better off in a stodgy Vanguard Mutual Fund, or a casino. At least, at the casino, you’d get a free drink. Maybe at Vanguard as well. Coffee that is.

Now where is my guaranteed insured variable index life insurance annuity with joint survivor option and guaranteed return? (Bad joke about another hugely bad idea that gets pushed on small investors for “retirement”. Who’s retirement? The broker’s of course.)

# # # # #

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Posted by reinkefj

TECH SERVICE: FEEDBLITZ misfires; misses 7 posts over 2 days!

Friday, May 11, 2007

MISSED POSTS

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01===

RANT: USATODAY top 25 meltdowns
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/rant-usatoday-top-25-meltdowns/
http://tinyurl.com/39asjn

02===

FUN: Explaining Libertarianism to the un-converted
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/fun-explaining-libertarianism-to-the-un-converted/
http://tinyurl.com/2j3vx5

03===

JOBSEARCH: Define yourself based on your capabilities
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/jobsearch-define-yourself-based-on-your-capabilities/
http://tinyurl.com/2xz6hh

04===

YAHOO ANSWER: How can I get a corporate job after not working for the past 5 years?
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/yahoo-answer-how-can-i-get-a-corporate-job-after-not-working-for-the-past-5-years/
http://tinyurl.com/3xnch5

05===

LIBERTY: The Federal Reserve ain’t
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/liberty-the-federal-reserve-aint/
http://tinyurl.com/2hq5mk

06===

PRODUCTIVITY: How many email accounts?
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/productivity-how-many-email-accounts/
http://tinyurl.com/2t9g4x

07===

RANT: Gooferment loses a disk drive?
https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/rant-gooferment-loses-a-disk-drive/
http://tinyurl.com/3ap994

===

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Argh!

Some of my best work.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Mail rates going up

Thursday, May 10, 2007

http://pe.usps.com/RateCase2007/DMM300_HTML/pub268.htm

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service
Domestic Mail Manual Introduction
January 8, 2006

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Rates and Fees

Effective
May 14, 2007

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Can you figure how many penny stamps I have to add to my old stamps?

Argh! I don’t want a manual. Show me pictures. I’m an injineer.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: USATODAY top 25 meltdowns

Thursday, May 10, 2007

http://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-meltdowns.htm

They did what, said what?

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VOTE FOR YOUR TOP CHOICE

Moments of unscripted behavior — good and bad, but mostly bad — capture our attention and become bookmarks of our times. Here are 25 memorable public meltdowns that had us talking and laughing or cringing over the past quarter-century. If you have different nominees, let us know at usatoday.com. We’ll post your picks.

*** and ***

#10 Defining moment

President Clinton parsed a single word in an Aug. 17, 1998, grand jury testimony. Asked whether he was having sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Clinton said, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” The videotaped testimony was made public, and in December the House of Representatives approved four articles of impeachment; the Senate acquitted him.

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This is my personal top. But you can only pick among the top 5. Argh!

I have never heard a cogent explanation of what “is” means. I don’t understand his adamant refusal to repudiate a lie. If it wasn’t for the inept Republican … …

(If it was inept?For a smart guy, he certainly seemed dumb. With all the obvious flaws and scandals around Clinton — not that the Republicans are much better, he pick on the trivial nonsense. You have to wonder if it was all kabuki.)

… … the country might have been better off with a good enema.

Now, it’s no secret that I don’t care for politicians of either ilk. It’s like dumb and dumber. I’m not sure that they all are lying when their lips move. Or if they really believe the “barbara streisand” that they are saying. Either way we are the worse for wear and tear on it.

I just know that, in the Oval Office of Thomas Jefferson, we have allow some pretty sorry people to sit down and “lead” us.

Maybe we’d be better off with no gooferment. Anarchy couldn’t be worse. Could it?

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Posted by reinkefj

FUN: Explaining Libertarianism to the un-converted

Thursday, May 10, 2007

How to explain Libertarianism to a Luddite!

REINKE20070013

All in good spirits, of course. Notice that I was nattily attired in my http://www.freetalklive.com t-shirt. Slimming wasn’t it?

1 Comment | FUN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: Define yourself based on your capabilities

Thursday, May 10, 2007

http://www.execunet.com/e_resources.cfm

About the movie “FIRED”

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Nan Stothard, regional vice president of Right Management Consultants, concurs, saying in the film that the stigma of being fired “used to be huge, but it is now matter-of-fact.”

While that might offer minimal comfort to those who are still smarting from an unceremonious dismissal, the movie offers some optimistic messages. Walter Scheib III, the former White House chef who Gurwitch found to be the only outgoing member of the Bush administration to say he was fired, suggests avoiding being classified by the role you just lost. “Define yourself based on your competencies and your capabilities. You walk away with your skills and capabilities.”

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I rave about UPV (Unique Value Proposition). Most seekers have no idea what they offer to someone. If you don’t know, why should I have to figure it out?

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Posted by reinkefj

YAHOO ANSWER: How can I get a corporate job after not working for the past 5 years?

Thursday, May 10, 2007

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How can I get a corporate job after not working for the past 5 years?

The last job I had was in 2002 and I have been self-employed for the past 5 years. I am seeking to enter back into the corporate setting, but I am not sure how to market myself. I have always been under the impression that hiring managers usually like people with steady employment, but this is a pretty big gap. Furthermore, my previous experience is clerical, which is what I am seeking again.

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Unless you hit the lotto and we’re relaxing on an island somewhere, I think you were working. So clearly, you need to work on your thinking. Those words imply a lack of self-confidence and fuzzy thinking.

You can use Execunet to find a coach to help you with your thinking. You can use JibberJobber to organize your networking activities. You can visit my “turkey farm” for jobseekers to “steal” some of my thinking.

You have to find your Unique Value Proposition. What can you do, that is unique to you , that will unlock value for someone else. Put that on a piece of paper and half your search is done. (It’s not that easy to express. I’m still developing mine after all these years. It’s like playdough.

Hope this helps, let’s us know how you do,
fjohn

1 Comment | YahooAnswers | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: The Federal Reserve ain’t

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods66.html

Why Do They Love the Fed?
by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

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The Fed doesn’t just benefit the well connected; it also harms those who aren’t so well connected. We know inflation hurts people on fixed incomes (since their incomes stay the same while the prices for the goods they buy go up), but what people usually overlook are the distribution effects of inflation. More money in the economy normally means higher prices. But when the government spends billions of dollars created out of thin air (yes, the Fed can do this) on the defense industry, for example, defense firms get the money at the very beginning of this process, before prices have commensurately risen. In effect the economy doesn’t yet know how much the money supply has increased, and prices have not yet adjusted accordingly. By the time the new money makes its way through the whole economy, prices will have risen throughout most if not all sectors. But while this process is taking place, the privileged firms that are lucky enough to get the new money early benefit from being able to make their purchases at the previously existing price level – thereby silently looting those from whom they buy. By the time the new money finally makes its way to the average Joe, prices have already been rising for quite a while, and he’s been paying those prices all this time on his existing income.

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The Federal Reserve Bank ain’t.

It ain’t “federal”; it’s as “federal” as FedEx. It ain’t a “reserve” of anything; except maybe paper. It ain’t a “bank”; try and transacts some business there.

So what is it? It’s is a tool of the banking industry and the old money elite to allow inflation to erode the value of money. It also destroys savings, the savings ethic, and out moral fiber.

Good for Ron Paul to point this out.

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Posted by reinkefj

PRODUCTIVITY: How many email accounts?

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

http://www.itsecurity.com/features/
25-common-email-security-mistakes-022807/

http://tinyurl.com/3brc5e

The 25 Most Common Mistakes in Email Security
25 tips to bring newbie Internet users up to speed so they stop comprimising (sic) your network security.

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1. Using just one email account.

Individuals new to email often think about their email account like they do their home address, you only have one home address, so you should only have one email. Instead, you should think about your email address like you do your keys, while it may be okay to use the same key for your front and your back door, having a single key open everything is both impractical and unsafe.

A good rule of thumb for the average email user is to keep a minimum of three email accounts. Your work account should be used exclusively for work-related conversations. Your second email account should be used for personal conversations and contacts, and your third email account should be used as a general catch-all for all hazardous behavior. That means that you should always sign up for newsletters and contests only through your third email account. Similarly, if you have to post your email account online, such as for your personal blog, you should only use your third email account (and post a web friendly form of it at that).

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I have 25 active email accounts.

Not counting “shadow accounts” at gmail. For me, a “shadow account” is one that received email from a real account, allows GMail to subtract all the spam, and then me to retrieve it into my email client. (Currently Outlook or its evil twin LookOut. But, eventually Thunderbird.)

I have one dedicated to just the financial aspects of my life. This makes any phishing attempt funny when the email comes in on the “wrong account”.

The accounts represent the various personas or purposes I have. I think it makes me more productive.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Gooferment loses a disk drive?

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,131603-c,privacy/article.html

TSA Hard Drive Missing
PC World – 21 hours ago

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The airport security agency acknowledges it can’t find an external drive storing personnel records. The US agency responsible for securing the nation’s airports says it can’t find an external hard drive packed with the personal records of about 100000 …

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Ahh, yes, your gooferment at work. And, you want to give these bozos your “real id”?

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Posted by reinkefj

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