You may need to start looking for a new financial advisor if your current one has put any of these high-fee, low-return "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market" into your portfolio.

High fees plus poor performance: It's a pretty simple formula for a bad mutual fund. Some are worse than others - and some are so bad that they have earned a "Strong Sell" on the Zacks Rank, the lowest ranking of the nearly 19,000 mutual funds we rank daily.

First, let's break down some of the funds currently part of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market." If you happen to have put your money into any of these misfires, we'll help assess some of our best Zacks Ranked mutual funds.

3 Mutual Fund Misfires

Now, let's take a look at three market misfires.

Franklin Real Return R6 (FRRRX): This fund has an expense ratio of 0.48% and a management fee of 0.63%. Without even doing any in-depth analysis, just the fact that you are paying more in fees than you're earning in returns is reason enough not to invest. FRRRX is a Government - Bonds option, and holds securities issued by the U.S. federal government in their portfolios; these funds focus across the curve, meaning the yields and interest rate sensitivity will vary. The fund has lagged performance-wise, so perhaps a simpler index future investing strategy might be more effective.

Wells Fargo Absolute Return A (WARAX): 1.53% expense ratio, 0.72%. WARAX is classified as an Allocation Balanced fund, which seeks to invest in a balance of asset types, like stocks, bonds, and cash, and including precious metals or commodities is not unusual. This fund has yearly returns of 0.07% over the most recent five years. Another fund liable of having investors pay more in charges than what they receive in return.

Alger International Growth C (ALGCX) - 2.21% expense ratio, 0.71% management fee. This fund has yielded yearly returns of -0.32% in the course of the last five years. Too bad!

3 Top Ranked Mutual Funds

Since you've seen the most noticeably lowest Zacks Ranked mutual funds, how about we take a look at some of the top ranked mutual funds with the least fees.

T. Rowe Price Science & Technology Adviser (PASTX): 1.06% expense ratio and 0.64% management fee. PASTX is a Sector - Tech mutual fund, allowing investors to own a stake in a notoriously volatile sector with a much more diversified approach. With an annual return of 15.53% over the last five years, this fund is a winner.

MFS Research R5 (MFRKX) is a stand out fund. MFRKX is a Large Cap Growth option; these mutual funds purchase stakes in numerous large U.S. companies that are expected to develop and grow at a faster rate than other large-cap stocks. With five-year annualized performance of 11.1% and expense ratio of 0.48%, this diversified fund is an attractive buy with a strong history of performance.

Janus Henderson Enterprise S (JGRTX) has an expense ratio of 1.16% and management fee of 0.64%. JGRTX is a Mid Cap Growth mutual fund. These mutual funds choose companies with a stock market valuation between $2 billion and $10 billion. With yearly returns of 14.41% over the last five years, this fund is well-diversified with a long reputation of salutary performance.

Bottom Line

Along these lines, there you have it - if your financial guide has you put your money into any of our "Mutual Fund Misfires of the Market," there is a strong likelihood that they are either dormant at the worst possible time, inept, or (in all probability) filling their pockets with high fee commissions at the cost of your financial objectives.

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Excerpt from:
Are You Invested In These 3 Mutual Fund Misfires? - December 02, 2019 - Yahoo Finance

Over the past few years global trade has had a hard time. Sanctions and the continued threat of trade conflicts are having their toll. Even manufacturing wonderland Germany is feeling the pain despite the fact that together with America it currently accounts for around 30% of global GDP and nearly 20% of world trade.

But German growth is slowing, and only last month there were real fears of a recession. Now a new report by KPMG, supported by the Kantar Emnid research institute, brings the situation into focus.

A big imbalance

Long partnerships have their ups and downs. On top of that the relationship between Germany and the US is a marriage of unequals. In 2018, American GDP exceeded $21 trillion (19 trillion), while Germany came in at only $3.8 trillion. The same year Germany exported goods worth $125 billion to the US while only buying $57 billion.

This is the big trade imbalance that Donald Trump keeps trumpeting. It also gives America the upper hand in negotiations, and the threat of tariffs makes German manufacturers quiver. On top of that foreign direct investment in Germany declined by two-thirds in 2018 compared to the previous year.

The report pointed out that only 24% of thecompanies asked intend to invest 10 million or more in the next three years in Germany. This is a drop from 47% in 2017. Even more dramatically, now 13% say "they did not want to invest in Germany" compared to just 6% two years ago. What accounts for this change?

Not all gloom and doom

Overall US direct investment in Germany has been in decline since 2014 as companies have pulled back investments and focused "more on core business as opposed to expanding existing businesses or making acquisitions," Warren Marine, leader of US practices and capital markets at KPMG, told DW.

Surely theuncertainty of Brexit plays a role. So does the general slowing down of the global economy. But the report points to some very specific German problems like its bureaucracy, high personnel costs and lack of investment in infrastructure.

The study also found that a mere 17% of those asked "feel optimally supported when it comes to backing business establishments and expansions," which means that over 80% do not feel like their businesses are being helped along. Additionally, 21% think the country is "among the least favorable countries in terms of taxes and levies."

The report highlights still another area where Germany is behind: digitization. The country is still very much a builder of things and not a builder of the internet of things (IoT). Germany is well behind in the number of artificial intelligence companies and even in simply bringing fast internet to all corners of the country.

Not an easy fix

Frank Sportolari, the president of the US Chamber of Commerce in Germany, agrees that more needs to be done. "The signals have been out there for a few years. American companies have been talking about the problems with digital infrastructure, energy costs, bureaucracy, and interestingly one of the positives they always mentioned was political stability and now we can't even really talk about that anymore."

Yet perhaps Americans' shyness to invest is part of a general trend of looking inward. Nonetheless, many companies see Germany as a strategic location for working in the German-speaking world. And German subsidiaries provide a big part of group revenue for many international firms, a number expected to grow in the next years.A stronger world economy will only add to this.

Putting aside trade differences will put Germany back in focus for investment by foreign companies. Fixing its tax system, supporting foreign businesses, training more skilled workers and building up its portfolio of innovative technologies will keep it on the path of sustained growth and global importance.

"There is certainly work that needs to be done and there is too much at stake to not take these kind of surveys seriously," concluded Sportolari.

Continue reading here:
US businesses less willing to invest in Germany - DW (English)

Despite facing federal investigations regarding its accounting practices, stock in Under Armour, a fan-favorite athletic apparel company, has still performed well over the last decade.

The company launched in 1996 solely making sweat-wicking athletic shirts. But it has since expanded into nearly every area of athletic apparel and footwear, including running shoes and womenswear. It has also signed deals with top athletes, including basketball star Stephen Curry and golfer Jordan Spieth. Compared with its peers, Under Armour is still known to be more focused on performance than fashion. In some ways that has hurt the brand, as Lululemon's sales have skyrocketed while Under Armour has been struggling of late.

Although the company's sales have slowed recently, those who invested in Under Armour 10 years ago would have earned a healthy return. A $1,000 investment in 2009 would be worth more than $4,700 as of Nov. 22, 2019, for a total return of around 370%, according to CNBC calculations. By comparison, in the same time frame, the S&P 500 had a total return of around 250%. Under Armour's current share price is hovering around $16.

CNBC: Under Armour's stock as of November.

While Under Armour shares have done well over the years, it's stock has fallen 21% in the last six months. And so, it's important to note that any individual stock can over- or underperform, and past returns do not predict future results.

On Nov. 15, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who is scheduled to step down from his role as of Jan. 1, responded to reporting by The Wall Street Journal that said the athletic apparel retailer borrowed business from future quarters to cover up slowing demand at the end of 2016. Plank said Under Armour's integrity "is unshaken" despite ongoing investigations by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission over the Baltimore-based company's accounting practices.

"Given recent events that have entered the realm of public opinion without full context, it is disappointing to have our integrity and reputation called into question," Plank said in a memo sent to employees, which was obtained by CNBC.

Reporting by Journal describes practices employed by Under Armour as it "scrambled" to meet aggressive sales goals. The company allegedly moved around inventory and shifted sales from quarter to quarter to improve financial metrics in the final days of a given quarter. These tactics, and others, were allegedly used to prolong a 26-quarter streak of 20% sales growth through late 2016.

Stephen Curry Under Armour basketball shoe is displayed in San Rafael, California.

Getty Images

As a result of the SEC's probe into Under Armour, Goldman Sach's removed the company from its conviction buy list, which is a listing of stocks the investment bank's research team expects to outperform.

Despite the controversy, the company's third-quarter earnings and sales announced in early November still topped analyst expectations.

When it comes to shoe sales, Under Armour's focus on performance hasn't been paying off. While other athletic apparel companies, such as Nike and Adidas, have partnered with celebrities like Kanye West and Beyonce, to release high-profile collaborations, Under Armour has maintained its focus on innovation and, as a result, revenue fell 12% in the third quarter, CNBC reports.

Not all of Under Armour's recent headlines have been negative, however. At the end of October, the National Lacrosse League re-signed its sponsorship deal with Team 22, the manufacturer of Under Armour lacrosse gear. As part of the three-year contract, Under Armour will provide gear and equipment for the players.

Additionally, Under Armour is taking its advanced apparel line into space. In mid-October, it was announced that the company would make spacesuits to be worn by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic astronauts during upcoming flights. The collection, which is said to be the first line of spacesuits "created specifically for private astronauts," will include a spacesuit, a training suit, footwear and a limited-edition jacket.

When it comes to Under Armour's overall stock performance, the athletic apparel company's shares haven't always been on the rise. In 2017, its stock fell more than 50% as demand for products slowed. And while its shares have been making a steady recovery ever since, Under Armour could be up against a rough end to 2019 amid the investigations.

If you are considering getting into investing, experts, including Warren Buffett, often advise starting with index funds, which hold all of the companies in an index, such as the S&P 500. Because index funds fluctuate with the market and aren't tied to the performance of a single business, they're less risky than individual stocks, making them a safer choice for beginners.

Here's a snapshot of how the markets look now.

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Continued here:
If you invested $1,000 in Under Armour 10 years ago, here's how much money you'd have now - CNBC

The corporate travel segment has had huge investment rounds poured into it in the past year, with startups in the space claiming it needs fixing.

Longer term observers of the sectors are a little more sceptical of the so called "disruptors" and often question whether they offer anything different.

As founder and senior director of investment firmCertares and executive chairman of American Express Global Business Travel, Greg OHara is well-placed to comment.

During an executive interview at the Phocuswright Conference in Florida last month, OHara discusses how the Amex GBT joint venture between American Express and Certares came about in 2013.

He also talks about current developments in airline distribution such as IATAs New Distribution Capability and on the high valuations of startups in corporate travel (TripActionset al).

OHara contrasts some of those large funding rounds to the sums Amex GBT invests in technology as well as the companys potential to make further acquisitions and grow further.

Continued here:
VIDEO: American Express GBT on NDC, TripActions and tech investments - PhocusWire

In 2017, Snap (NYSE:SNAP) was one of the hottest IPOs of the year and was the largest to hit the markets since Alibaba went public back in 2014. The camera-based app has proven to be a hit with young users, and that's made Snap a popular platform for advertisers seeking to reach younger audiences. However, with the company facing some major problems, its stock has sent investors on a bit of a roller-coaster ride.

Although the stock was initially priced at $17 a share, it actually began trading at $24. It was a great early profit for investors who were able to buy at the lower price, but for the vast majority of us, $24 would've been the price available at the open. A $10,000 investment would have been enough to buy 416 shares of Snap. As of Friday's close, shares of Snap were trading at just $15.26, more than 36% below its opening price. If you had invested $10,000 in Snap on Day One, your shares would be worth just $6,348 today.

While it's a sobering realization for people who might have expected Snap to be the next big thing in tech, investors could have lost a whole lot more had they sold their shares back at the end of 2018 when the stock was trading below $6.

Image Source: Getty Images.

Snap's shares have struggled over the years for a couple reasons. The first has to do with the company's growth. While there's no question that Snap is a popular app, there have been questions regarding whether the company misled investors about its growth potential and the danger that Facebook poses to its business.

Questions surrounding Snap's user base were growing in 2018, when the app started to see its daily active users (DAUs) not only stall but even decline. Without a growing user base, it would be hard to convince investors that the stock was investable, especially since the other big problem for the company was its poor financials.

Although Snap's sales have risen significantly over the years, from $59 million in 2015 to $1.5 billion over the past 12 months, the problem is that the company is actually farther away from breakeven today. In 2017, its losses reached a peak at more than $3.4 billion, and while that came down to $1.3 billion in 2018, it's still been a massive problem for Snap. The company has been burning through lots of cash along the way, with free cash flow being more than negative $800 million in both 2018 and 2017.

The good news for early investors is that Snap has recovered in 2019 in a big way. The stock has risen more than 160% year to date, and in its most recent quarter, it posted a loss of $227 million. That was a sizable improvement from the loss it incurred a year ago, which totaled $325 million. And thanks to a redesign of its app, Snap has been able to see growth in its DAUs in recent quarters as well:

Image Source: Snap.

The big test for Snap is whether the company can continue to build on these results. It's going to need more good performances in order to be able to convince investors that it's an improved company. Getting back to its IPO price could prove to be challenging, because the stock is still an expensive buy today, trading at 9 times its book value and around 14 times its sales.

Investors who bought the stock at the IPO and managed to resist selling it during the lows of 2018 might as well continue holding on to see if Snap can prove that its recent results are just the beginning of a much bigger recovery. After all, the company's ability to hold its own against Facebook's efforts to copy its features should provide some confidence to investors.

The tech stock is still a risky one to hang on to today, but it's nowhere near as concerning as it was a year ago.

Here is the original post:
If You Invested $10,000 in Snapchats IPO, This Is How Much Money You'd Have Now - The Motley Fool

As 2019 winds down, its time to get serious about what 2020 holds. In this episode of Moneyline, Matt McCall has investors covered. He has broken down six major trends that hes confident will generate not only money, but financial freedom, for those who take the plunge.

Unsurprisingly, marijuana stocks make the list. This has been a rough year for what once were darling names. Canadian cannabis companies have tanked over supply issues and black-market competition. And in the United States, legalization is slow moving.

But McCall knows it isnt time to throw in the towel just yet. Over the next few years, these companies especially U.S. ones will thrive. Investors who stay in now will reap large profits ahead.

Not all that glitters is green, though. Several of the other investing trends for 2020 that McCall identified come from disruptive tech. In the world of healthcare, he sees big changes coming through medtech, or medical technology. This category includes everything from medical robots to individualized drugs. These up-and-coming biotech companies will eradicate diseases and develop treatments curated specifically for each patient.

Plus, these health trends connect to two more on his list. Youve probably heard of big data or at least heard of data centers that dominate suburban towns but how exactly should you be investing in it? Well, the biggest database is yet to come. Once scientists can crack the code to genome sequencing, companies that sort and store DNA data will be like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) andAlphabet(NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL). McCall is still looking for the perfect investment opportunity, but he knows one is right around the corner.

If youre not quite ready to believe (or invest in) the possibilities of gene editing, then what about wearables? Thanks to the Internet of Things trend, companies that produce and monitor medical wearables will be riding a cash wave into 2020. Just like Apples(NASDAQ:AAPL) smart watch offerings, the future will hold devices that monitor your health and alert doctors when necessary. These trends are disrupting the healthcare world as we know it. These devices will make day-to-day monitoring a simple process and radical new treatments will change lives. You dont want to miss out on what the future holds.

Tune in to Moneyline with Matt McCall for more groundbreaking trends and a little insight on why exactly you should be investing.

Matthew McCall left Wall Street to actually help investors by getting them into the worlds biggest, most revolutionary trends BEFORE anyone else. The power of being first gave Matts readers the chance to bank +2,438% in Stamps.com (STMP), +1,523% in Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and +1,044% in Tesla (TSLA), just to name a few. Click here to see what Matt has up his sleeve now. Matt does not directly own the aforementioned securities.

Originally posted here:
6 Giant Investing Trends for 2020 That You Dont Want to Miss - Investorplace.com

December 2, 2019

Stephen Bonnyman, MBA, CFA, is Co-Head, North American Equity Research and Portfolio Manager of AGF Management Limiteds Canadian and global resources portfolios.

Working closely with the AGF research teams, Mr. Bonnyman focuses on identifying resource companies with solid balance sheets, advantaged cost structures, attractive valuations or unrecognized growth. Mr. Bonnyman is a member of the AGF Asset Allocation Committee AAC which is comprised of senior portfolio managers who are responsible for various regions and asset classes.

In this 2,879 word interview, exclusively available in the Wall Street Transcript, Mr. Bonnyman reveals his best bets for investors in real assets.

AGF Global Real Asset Fund was constituted in the first quarter of this year looking for a solution for clients to provide an inflation hedge and a market hedge that didnt require them to be active traders.

The real asset fund effectively is designed as a long-only public market portfolio to hedge against inflation and to be uncorrelated with the broader market.

We do that by focusing the investment universe on infrastructure, utilities, real estate, energy, materials and precious metals.

The fund has the capability of investing globally in equities, in debt, in physical precious metals, and it utilizes a derivatives overlay strategy to either enhance the yield or modify the risk characteristics of the securities within the portfolio.

In the interview, Mr. Bonnyman reveals many of his top investment prospects:

We have a bias toward production since, for the most part, what were trying to do is gain leverage to the gold price and reflect that into the portfolio. But we do own explorers.

As I had mentioned, where we see mispriced opportunities or where we see a catalyst in place, where a stock can make a material difference in its valuations over a couple of years, we will step in. In fact, one of our larger precious metals positions is a company called SilverCrest (NYSEAMERICAN:SILV) where they are approaching a production decision. Its an extraordinary geological opportunity, and its been a great stock for us.

Get the rest of Mr. Bonnymans exclusive 2,978 word interview, only in the Wall Street Transcript.

Continue reading here:
Liquefied Natural Gas, Silver and Gold Can Be the Best Investments for 2020 - The Wall Street Transcript

Marilynne Robinson occasionally comes close to denouncing the entire project of modern thought. Photograph: Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

Marilynne Robinson belongs to a rare and attractive category of thinker: the contrarian of high moral seriousness. That is, her contrarianism stems not from congenital misanthropy, but from the union of a fertile system of values with an instinctual mistrust for consensus.

I became interested in Robinson not through her much-loved novels, but through her recent essay collection What Are We Doing Here? Reading her felt faintly transgressive, in that one is not accustomed to modern intellectuals writing at full tilt from the starting point of an unabashed belief in God.

When Robinson writes about religion, it really does seem a more coherent stance towards existence than whatever is meant by atheism: religion has its origins in the human intuition that reality is rooted in a profounder matrix of Being than sense and experience make known to us in the ordinary course of things. By theology I mean the attempts to realise in some degree the vastness and atmospheres of this matrix of Being.

Robinsons earlier collection, The Death of Adam, reappraises certain historical figures and schools of thought around whom our views are so cosily consensual that we have long ceased thinking about them: a campaign of revisionism, because contemporary discourse feels to me empty and false.

What could be more countercultural than a spirited bid to rehabilitate John Calvin, that scarecrow-signifier of religious gloom and Christian self-hatred? My heart is with the Puritans, Robinson admits with an air of dignified mischief, while taking pains to distinguish the genuine, self-effacing morality she admires from mere priggishness (signs by which they make themselves recognisable to others and to themselves as virtuous).

Decrying the societal and ecological carcinogen of free-market economics, Robinson traces the brutal anti-values underpinning them to the more or less explicit calls to exterminate the weak found in Nietzsche and Darwin. Occasionally she comes close to denouncing the entire project of modern thought itself. In going after such big game, an author could make herself ridiculous; Robinsons patent sanity and earthed, life-loving conservatism make me trust her.

Read more:
The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson (1998) - The Irish Times

In-home streaming workout programs are the latest trend to sweep the fitness industry and competition is emerging from every corner, from Mirror to Aaptiv to Echelon, as well as the most recent addition to the on-demand fitness market, MYX Fitness.

The Greenwich, Connecticutbased company offers hundreds of digital classes ranging from cycling, cardio dance and barre to yoga and meditation. MYX Fitness's biggest competitor in the market is Peloton, one of the first, and most popular, streaming services for exercising at home.

The influx of on-demand fitness services poses a question: How can competitors stay afloat in such a saturated market?

"Peloton is like Netflixthey were the first movers in the industry. Now, everyone is claiming a lane in the market," MYX Fitness President Heberto Calves told Newsweek at a launch event for the company in New York City. "But there is a gap in the market. We need to do something for a broader set of consumers."

MYX Fitness aims to set itself apart from its competitors by reaching a larger piece of the market. Experts in the fitness space have found that two factors cause at-home fitness programs to reach only a narrow audience: motivation and money.

"While the at-home products are incredibly sophisticated, they remain expensivewhen equipment is requiredwith only a small percentage of the market being able to afford it," said Walter Thompson, former president of the American College of Sports Medicine and author of the ACSM's "Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2019."

MYX Fitness offers two packages priced at $1,199 and $1,499, which include all the equipment. It costs $29 per month for the library of classes.

"The second reason the at-home market has not yet caught on is a compliance problem," Thompson added. "Only those who are intrinsically self-motivated do well with at-home fitness programs. The at-home market will be successful if there are motivating instructors. They make it personal"Great going, Mary. Push it harder"and the clients experience success."

Bonnie Reed, a certified personal trainer for over 20 years, has seen the success of Peloton, specifically for people who are wealthy and self-motivateda major demographic for at-home fitness companies. "The way of the future is a Peloton-like thingfor the cream of the crop, people that can afford the money to put down, plus the monthly fee. It is definitely for people who are motivated and have that extra money," she said.

Self-motivation is crucial to getting the most out of an in-home fitness program. Consumers who aren't already motivated may find it difficult, and not worth the money, to invest in such a program. MYX Fitness hopes to bridge this demographic gap through its expert digital coaching. Although the coaches can guide and motivate, the person still has to do the exercising in the proper way and continue to use the service on a frequent basis.

"The most successful companies will employ energetic instructors with both knowledge and experience working with less than motivated consumers," Thompson said.

MYX Fitness also aims to stand apart from the competition with its all-in-one platform, which combines all aspects of health and fitness into a single service. As Calves explained, what every company in the market does is relative to the consumer and his or her fitness goals.

A customer who purchases Peloton, which focuses on cardio, may also belong to a gym or yoga studio in order to work on other areas of wellness. In contrast, MYX Fitness combines cardio, strength, stretching, mindfulness and recovery, along with emotional support and motivation, to give consumers a full mind and body workout platform without the need to purchase another membership or service.

"Right now is just really a transitional phase. Things are definitely shiftingpeople are looking and experimenting with these new resources. In the past, it was either a gym or a personal trainerwe didn't have Peloton and all these apps," Reed said. "But when it comes down to consumers making a decision, it is about a person's resources and what fits with their lives."

The fitness industry is always evolving, and new trends are constantly developing. MYX Fitness wants its personalized holistic program to assert itself in the market among the more established competitors.

Read more:
MYX Fitness Aims to Break Away from Competitors in Saturated Digital In-Home Fitness Market - Newsweek

Genesis Health System is warning patients about a scam about DNA testing.

A Genesis patient reported receiving a phone call about a doctor requesting a DNA test, said Craig Cooper, Genesis Health System spokesman.

"If you receive a phone call from someone offering you a 'free' DNA test or screening, it may be a scam to obtain Medicare information for identity theft or fraudulent billing purposes," Cooper said in an email. "It has been brought to our attention that Genesis patients have received such fraudulent phone calls, stating that their doctor requested DNA testing.

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"Please note: Genesis providers/staff will not call and request a DNA test."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General also has an alert on genetic testing scams.

"Scammers are offering Medicare beneficiaries 'free' screenings or cheek swabs for genetic testing to obtain their Medicare information for identity theft or fraudulent billing purposes," the alert reads. "Fraudsters are targeting beneficiaries through telemarketing calls, booths at public events, health fairs, and door-to-door visits."

To avoid this scam, be suspicious of anyone who's offering free genetic testing and requests your Medicare number. If you're sent a testing kit in the mail, don't accept it unless it was sent by your physician. Medicare beneficiaries should be cautious of those who ask for Medicare numbers unsolicited. Don't provide that number to anyone outside of your physician's office.

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!

Here is the original post:
Genesis Health System warns of genetic testing scam - Quad City Times