Here's Proof that Success-Based Pattern of Investment Can Pay Even in an Inflated Market

Investing in equities when the market is at its record highs requires an approach based on successful past experience. Here's a pattern that has proven successful for me. No matter what you are told, luck can have a lot to do with success. I once bought 2,000 shares of Apple Computer at $14 when everything looked grim for the company. That $28,000 investment today amounts to $170,000 with shares selling in the neighborhood in excess of $85. First word of caution: simply do not expect that kind of profit. You might do what I did ― sell at $25 per share. After all, the money had almost doubled, hadn't it? In other words, things happen that can derail the best-laid plans. Or gamble, for that matter. People just beginning to invest in the equities market can be inundated with advice, the best of which will warn you that past performance is not an indicator for the future. That's always true. But I have never lost in the market and am, perhaps, a bit unorthodox. About three years ago, in the spring of 2003, I decided that mutual funds as a whole were lower than a snake's belly, and about to rise as folks backed out of the safety of bonds and savings accounts. There was, of course, billions of dollars headed back into mutual funds after quite a respite. I bought the following funds: FRVLX, TFSIX, TASCX, OAKBX, GSSMX. I sold them in 2006 with an average return of 19 percent. The gain was nothing to shout about, but safe and solid. Now I have chosen a different breed of mutual funds, based on 50 years' experience in the equities markets and the current (2007) inflated value of the market. This selection has increased in value since August 2006 by 12 percent and should grow in value as much as 36 percent over the next few years. The difference between the tons of advice floating around about equities and this particular package is this ― it doesn't come from some armchair analyst sitting in an ivory tower. This is what I have put real money in. I expects it to grow. The package includes the following mutual funds: AIM China Fund (AACFX), Accessor Growth Allocation (ACGAX), American Century Disciplined Growth (ADSIX), AIM Constellation Fund (CSTGX), AIM Developing Markets Fund (GTDDX), T Rowe Price Emerging Europe (TREMX), and American Century Emerging Market (TWMIX). Some are rated five stars and some have no rating because they're new funds. Remember, past performance is not an indicator for the future. But if you're not in the market, you won't gain a thing (other than whatever your savings account is paying).