Fund picks and pans stocks

Posts Tagged ‘market index’

Index Funds and dividends ?

September 3rd, 2010

I am thinking of buying some Vanguard Total Bond Market Index (VBMFX ) and Vanguard Total Stock Mkt Index (VTSMX ).

1- Do these index funds give dividends?
2- If so, where do you see that they do on google finance page for example or morningstar? I cannot find anytning that says dividends.

Thanks.

My Related Websites

Mail this post

Technorati Tags: bond market, dividends, finance, google, index funds, market index, morningstar, stock mkt, vanguard, vbmfx

Posted in Best Index Funds |

Tags: bond market, dividends, finance, google, index funds, market index, morningstar, stock mkt, vanguard, vbmfx |

3 Comments »

Is everybody aware of the power of leveraged index funds?

July 15th, 2010

I know, I know, the old mantra says that leveraged funds (whether they be 1.5X, 2X or 2.5X the market index) work both ways: yes, it can make you extra money (if the market shows positive returns), but it can also lose you extra money (if the market shows negative returns).

I’ve done a little experimenting and I’ve found that whatever time frame you’re looking at, if the period annualized positive returns for the market (and it is hard, perhaps impossible to find any 15-year period where this didn’t happen), any leveraged fund makes a GREAT DEAL more than a regular index fund.

From 1950 to 2006, ,000 in the S&P 500 realizes 8,744.20 in gains. With a 1.5X leveraged fund, ,818,647.36! And here’s the whopper: with a 2.5X leveraged fund, that ,000 turns into ,411,902.42!!!

I always thought leveraged funds expose you to extra volatility, and nothing else. I assumed that leveraged and non-leveraged funds arrived at that same point in the future. They don’t!