Frequently-Asked-Questions

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hardhatinvestments.com

a guide for working folks

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to learn this?

According to a recent ProfitSharing/401kCouncil of America survey, almost 50% of companies offering 401k plans offer no investment guidance to employees. Of the 50% who did, less than 22% of participating employees used that investment guidance (employees who did take advantage of the investment guidance provided had account balances 5% to 10% higher than those who did not). We created this website to help the 49% who aren't provided any guidance by their company and to aid the 51% who have a hard time understanding the guidance they are provided!

How long will it take me to learn and use the information presented here?

That depends upon your current knowledge-level of investing and the amount of spare time you have to devote to learning the basic investing principles explained here. For folks with no prior investing experience, the self-paced Learning Center education modules can be covered in a matter of evenings or on a rainy Sunday afternoon. By using the weekly newsletter as a "real time" aid to the Learning Center, implementing these guidelines into your investment portfolio could be done in a matter of weeks or months. The amount of time it takes is really up to you - there's no need to rush through your learning process. You've got plenty of time to get it right.

Can I get one-on-one help from your website?

If you have trouble understanding any of the information presented on any page of our website, shoot us an e-mail with your questions. Contact information is available at the top and bottom of each page on the site. We'll get back to you promptly. In the event we get numerous questions on a particular subject, we usually answer those in a future newsletter to make sure that everyone understands, not just the folks who "raised their hands!"

Will I be given specific stocks or funds to put in my portfolio?

Under the old "teach a man to fish..." adage, you won't be given individual stocks or funds to invest in, but you will learn how to find them and when to buy or sell them.

Is this going to take up a lot of my spare time?

See above, but understand that the "learning curve" is always steepest at the beginning. However, once you have learned and implemented the investing guidelines presented here, you will be able to keep up with the markets and your investments in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Trend following sounds like "market timing." Will I have to be constantly be buying and selling investments?

Trend following does not anticipate, or time market moves, it reacts to them. Guidelines presented here will not get you into the market until a solid up-trend has been established and will keep you there until that trend comes to an end. Since long-term trends tend to last for months or even years, you will rarely have to touch your investments once they are set up in accordance with the current trend.

Is this type of investing a "sure thing?"

Most emphatically, "No!" There are no sure things when it comes to investing in the markets, no matter what you may read or hear. Trend following is simple and easy to understand; it is an investing method that has been around for hundreds of years and it still works. Adding some knowledge of market fundamentals to a simple trend following method will increase your investing confidence and greatly improve your portfolio's bottom line. That's as close as we can come to a "sure thing!"

Can you teach me how to navigate around my company's 401k/IRA website?

It is entirely your responsibility to learn and understand how to use your company's 401k/IRA website. Since each of these sites differ somewhat in set-up and execution, it would be impossible to guide every investor through the in's and out's of all of them. However, there are enough similarities in those sites that we would be glad to offer any help we could if requested by one of our subscribers.

Would trend following be a useful method in other types of investment accounts?

In some form or fashion, all investment strategies are built around trend following. Whether you are a day trader or a long-term investor, you only make money when the price of an investment you bought moves higher. The day trader is looking for an up-trend that lasts for a few minutes. The long-term investor is looking for an up-trend that lasts for a few months or a few years. So, yes, trend following is a great method to use not only for your 401k/IRA retirement accounts, but also for personal investment accounts, college savings programs, health-care accounts, trusts - any investment vehicle in which you make the protfolio decisions.

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