S&P 500 hits highest level ever
Source: Reuters
The benchmark S&P 500 index on Wednesday rose to its highest level ever, breaking a record that had stood since October 2007.
The S&P 500 earlier hit 1,567.10 to break its previous all-time intraday high by 0.01 point.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 57 points or 0.39 percent, to 14,730.46 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 16.11 points or 0.5 percent, to 3,253.96.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/10/us-markets-stocks-idUSBRE93006T20130410
Joel thakkar
(363 posts)boomerbust
(2,181 posts)Around October 2016
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)I've been switching to dividend-paying blue chips, and diverse ETFs and mutuals.
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)An index fund means fees are low, which beats paying someone to manage a fund that has a small chance of beating the S&P 500 in the first place.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Why pay someone 2% per year to take bets with your money when you can pay something like 0.1% for a Vanguard Index fund?
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)The problem with the index fund was that they kept adding lame "tech boom" companies to the index at grossly inflated valuations. When those companies blew up, it poked a hole in my S&P 500 index fund investments.
Contra still is turning in good results. I am considering reentering it.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)In 2012 it did beat the S&P but only by 0.26%.
In 2011 when the S&P total return was +2.11% the Contrafund actually lost money.
http://performance.morningstar.com/fund/performance-return.action?t=FCNTX
I don't like those odds.
Kolesar
(31,182 posts)If you play with the sliders on the bottom of the Morningstar chart
In the five years since 1/1998, you can see the effect of those "tech companies" ruining the index. The index was flat, but Contra was up 17%.
Even in the last ten years, Contra way outperformed the S&P 500: 276% vs 221%
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)Over a 10 year period, actively managed funds only have a 27% chance of beating the S&P 500, and you wind up paying the higher fees whether they do or not.
joeglow3
(6,228 posts)I would have rather have a near guarantee at a good return than a small chance at a great return.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Which being a Mets fan is not an unfamiliar concept for me.
BTW it might be interesting to see if the manager changed between the good period and the recent bad period. In any case, I wish you luck with your investments.