If Your Stock Fund Lost Less Than 38% in 2008, You're Lucky

January 7, 2009 RSS Feed Print

If your stock fund lost less than 38 percent in 2008, you're gold. OK, relatively gold.

The stock-fund category includes both active and index funds, but the average loss for actively managed stock funds--that is, those managed by a real, live stock picker--was 41 percent in 2008, according to Morningstar. Investors also didn't find refuge in a particular size category: large-cap mutual funds and small-cap mutual funds both declined about 38 percent.

Surprisingly, target-date funds, many of which include a large chunk of bonds, lost an average of 22 percent. Health-care focused funds fared the best of all categories of stock funds, with an average 23 percent loss.

For mutual-fund investors, it's good riddance 2008.

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At this stage in US history the best strategy for stabilizing our economy is to put the money we have in local bank simple interest savings accounts. Money in the bank has always been the foundation of finance with stock market speculations an option. When the options of stock market investments become the standard, the risk of loss negates the firm reliance on hard protected cash as mutual agreements of financial risk put the money available without the backing of responsible equity.

mart of KS 5:48AM January 08, 2009

New Money

Katy Marquardt, a senior editor at U.S.News & World Report, takes a contemporary look at happenings in the financial world and aims to help young investors get going with their portfolios--or just sound cool at cocktail parties. Have a question? E-mail Katy at newmoney@usnews.com

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