>3. Forbes publishes every August and early Septembrer
>its ratings of mutual funds and closed end funds
>(which I think was Sept.; the other was early August).
>I personally think this is one of the better ratings
>out there (money magazine does it, WSJ does it too, I
>think quarterly and annually) because rather than rate
>over a specific *time* they rate over *two complete up
>and down cycles.*
>
>4. Conservative financial advice is: stick with funds,
>not specific stocks, and stick with funds that have
>gotten good ratings in Forbes.
I'm deeply skeptical of these mutual fund rating charts. It is almost impossible to beat the market over the long term, and there's no reason why a fund that has done well in the past should do well in the future. In fact, given fees and trading costs, it's almost impossible to match the market. If you must consort with stocks, the best advice is probably to stick with an index fund and don't try to trade it. Even better advice, of course, is to organize and smash the capitalist state, but that's another story.
Doug