It’s safe to say the stock market has been kind to investors this year. The S&P 500 is up about 17% with a handful of trading days left. A great year for any investor. Still, the S&P is just an average with many outliers. Which brings us to the 2012 Best and Worst Market Awards. A collection of outliers that helped form the S&P 500 performance for the year.
But first a rehash of the rules and a quick disclaimer. Just like last year’s awards, I eliminated all penny stocks and kept the list to well-known companies. Fund categories make up a range of possibilities from asset specific to sector specific and leveraged funds weren’t considered for obvious reasons.
Here’s the disclaimer. One, a good or bad investment doesn’t end because a new year begins. Two, research and valuation dictates a good or bad investment not past performance. Like every year, there are greater rewards and risks to investing outside of a total market fund. Even when the focus is on sector specific funds. With that, on to the awards. Continue Reading…
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For decades the savings bond was the gift you knew would last past the year. That was the idea. It was the easiest way to gift money that would grow over time.