A phone.

It varies for me.  I prefer product calls.  I rotate between UIT's, tax exempt money markets, CDs, and if I can find a bond I like. 

Lol - Thanks

Whats your favorite/easiest. (besides CDs)

UIT’s. They have a deadline and you can tell them that most people don’t know about them because they don’t pay us very well. It will make them question their own brokers motives.

[quote=Bobby Hull]UIT's. They have a deadline and you can tell them that most people don't know about them because they don't pay us very well. It will make them question their own brokers motives. [/quote]

Don't pay as well relative to what?  If it is an annuity, then that is true.  If you might typically invest in mutual fund C shares, then they pay better.

Also, what makes this series better than the one 3 months from now?

[quote=wallstreeter]

[quote=Bobby Hull]UIT's. They have a deadline and you can tell them that most people don't know about them because they don't pay us very well. It will make them question their own brokers motives. [/quote]

Don't pay as well relative to what?  If it is an annuity, then that is true.  If you might typically invest in mutual fund C shares, then they pay better.

Also, what makes this series better than the one 3 months from now?

[/quote]

Use your brain.

[quote=Bobby Hull][quote=wallstreeter]

[quote=Bobby Hull]UIT's. They have a deadline and you can tell them that most people don't know about them because they don't pay us very well. It will make them question their own brokers motives. [/quote]

Don't pay as well relative to what?  If it is an annuity, then that is true.  If you might typically invest in mutual fund C shares, then they pay better.

Also, what makes this series better than the one 3 months from now?

[/quote]

Use your brain.

[/quote]

Ok, in all seriousness, how did your UIT portfolios hold up in 2000?  This is legitimate as I was not in the business at that time.  Did you have any UITs that blew up?

In 2000?

I had a tech UIT that I bought in 1999 that was up over 100% by February of 2000. I was holding out to wait for the 1 year 1 day aversary so that we could take long term gains.

The market burped and all of a sudden I was up less than 100% but I was going to hold out for the bounce that had come so many times before.... It came, I sold! IT TANKED!

I slipped the dough into some funds that also tanked, but never so badly as the tech UIT I had stepped out of.

Point is that your question is dumb. UITs are made of specific portfolios and they are unmanaged so that there is nobody deciding to "go to cash" other than the broker. If the stocks in the UIT are going down, the UIT is going down ( and, believe me EVERYFRICKINTHING went down in 2000! Even "up" went "down" in 2000! You have no idea what a bear market is until you've lived through two or three of them)!

[quote=wallstreeter][quote=Bobby Hull][quote=wallstreeter]

[quote=Bobby Hull]UIT's. They have a deadline and you can tell them that most people don't know about them because they don't pay us very well. It will make them question their own brokers motives. [/quote]

Don't pay as well relative to what?  If it is an annuity, then that is true.  If you might typically invest in mutual fund C shares, then they pay better.

Also, what makes this series better than the one 3 months from now?

[/quote]

Use your brain.

[/quote]

Ok, in all seriousness, how did your UIT portfolios hold up in 2000?  This is legitimate as I was not in the business at that time.  Did you have any UITs that blew up?

[/quote]

Up 5.69%. One of the five was down 4.34%. Is that a blow up?

I like uit's. ive had good experience with large cap dividend stocks. but bad experience with fixed income uit's. the rips a decent too

I liked them until I found out that’s all BH does(inside his VA’s, of course). I haven’t sold one in about a month, now!

[quote=wallstreeter][quote=Bobby Hull][quote=wallstreeter]

[quote=Bobby Hull]UIT's. They have a deadline and you can tell them that most people don't know about them because they don't pay us very well. It will make them question their own brokers motives. [/quote]

Don't pay as well relative to what?  If it is an annuity, then that is true.  If you might typically invest in mutual fund C shares, then they pay better.

Also, what makes this series better than the one 3 months from now?

[/quote]

Use your brain.

[/quote]

Ok, in all seriousness, how did your UIT portfolios hold up in 2000?  This is legitimate as I was not in the business at that time.  Did you have any UITs that blew up?

[/quote]

I wasn't in the business then, but the one I use last had a down year in 1994.

Is there any explainable reason why some of these UITs have such great track records when compared to regular mutual funds?  I guess it might be easy to think that because there is active management, if something happens in the market, the manager could just move to cash with a mutual fund, but based on the returns, that seems wrong.  Is the UITs stock screener that good or is it something else?

Basically, what do some of these UITs do that make them so good?

[quote=wallstreeter]

Is there any explainable reason why some of these UITs have such great track records when compared to regular mutual funds?  I guess it might be easy to think that because there is active management, if something happens in the market, the manager could just move to cash with a mutual fund, but based on the returns, that seems wrong.  Is the UITs stock screener that good or is it something else?

Basically, what do some of these UITs do that make them so good?

[/quote]

Good Question.

I had a wholesaler convince me that the ValueLine Trust was going to provide unbelievable returns - The September '05

It had annual returns of 22% plus on average.

Yep - It went down 15+% ....needless to say, I haven't done anymore

I like UIT's, but you have to be very careful about how much meaning you take from the past  performance #'s.  Keep in mind, that you are looking at something that can't be purchased.  ie.  Somebody who bought a mutual fund 6 months ago owns the exact same fund as someone who buys it today.  You can't buy the UIT that somebody bought 6 months ago.  It has the same description, but it is a completely different UIT.

I think that the lack of daily active management is a positive.  High turnover really hurts the returns of many mutual funds.  UITs also have the advantage of less money in cash.   The fact that a UIT has fewer holdings also gives it the ability to have higher or lower returns. 

Yep - It went down 15+% ....needless to say, I haven't done anymore

It's also very possible that if you bought it one month sooner or one month later, your returns could have been very different.

[quote=FreeLunch][quote=wallstreeter]

Is there any explainable reason why some of these UITs have such great track records when compared to regular mutual funds?  I guess it might be easy to think that because there is active management, if something happens in the market, the manager could just move to cash with a mutual fund, but based on the returns, that seems wrong.  Is the UITs stock screener that good or is it something else?

Basically, what do some of these UITs do that make them so good?

[/quote]

Good Question.

I had a wholesaler convince me that the ValueLine Trust was going to provide unbelievable returns - The September '05

It had annual returns of 22% plus on average.

Yep - It went down 15+% ....needless to say, I haven't done anymore

[/quote]

What an ameteur. Can't stick to a strategy. You're making the same stupid mistake that most investors make. How do you add value?

[quote=anonymous]

I like UIT's, but you have to be very careful about how much meaning you take from the past  performance #'s.  Keep in mind, that you are looking at something that can't be purchased.  ie.  Somebody who bought a mutual fund 6 months ago owns the exact same fund as someone who buys it today.  You can't buy the UIT that somebody bought 6 months ago.  It has the same description, but it is a completely different UIT.

I think that the lack of daily active management is a positive.  High turnover really hurts the returns of many mutual funds.  UITs also have the advantage of less money in cash.   The fact that a UIT has fewer holdings also gives it the ability to have higher or lower returns. 

Yep - It went down 15+% ....needless to say, I haven't done anymore

It's also very possible that if you bought it one month sooner or one month later, your returns could have been very different.

[/quote]

So Anon, say you buy into a certain company's UIT because you see the returns and think they must be doing something right.  Obviously it doesn't mean they will continue to, but that's why you choose their process.  If the UIT is down and the market is looking fairly weak at best, would you sell out of the UIT or continue to hold being that you have subscribed to their 15 month cycle?  I guess what I'm getting at is that when buying a UIT, you put a lot of faith in the stocks they have picked to hold in your series.  I mean you could've bought a UIT in January a few years ago without Enron in it, and then bought the same company's UIT with Enron in April (I know it would take more than one stock to have a big impact, but i think you get the picture).  How much "managing" do you do with your UIT accounts?

I tell you what.

give me a $100,000

I'll be 7-8 Stocks for you, all with these criteria.

* Market cap less than $50 Billion, Greater than $5 Billion

* PEG Ratio less than 1.2

* Profit Margin > 25%, Debt/Equity < .5

WE'LL CALL IT THE 1 YEAR FREELUNCH UIT.

[quote=wallstreeter]

Is there any explainable reason why some of
these UITs have such great track records when compared to regular
mutual funds?  I guess it might be easy to think that because
there is active management, if something happens in the market, the
manager could just move to cash with a mutual fund, but based on the
returns, that seems wrong.  Is the UITs stock screener that good
or is it something else?

Basically, what do some of these UITs do that make them so good?

[quote=anonymous]

 Somebody who bought a mutual fund 6 months ago owns the exact same fund as someone who buys it today.  You can't buy the UIT that somebody bought 6 months ago.  It has the same description, but it is a completely different UIT.

[/quote]

This is not quite right. A mutual fund mgr can roll over a fund's entire portfolio within six months. The two buyers could be getting very different funds. As for the UIT, true if the UIT is of a different series. If the UIT is the same series then it exactly what the previouous investor purchased.

UIT's and MF's have their advantages. There is research that shows a static portfolio will outperform a managed portfolio. Especially in a down market. The active portfolio is beset with incorrect mgr input. AT least that's the theory. 

One advantage of a passive porfolio is knowing exactly what is owned. Another is the buy and hold nature of these porfolios.

As for the sectors or strategy UITs, yes more risky, but also more rewarding when they ework. If you believe a certain sector will benefit from an event or cycle in the economy sector UITs are another arrow in the quiver. They are really great for wave theorist. And usually the last place you want to be in a serious down market.

I use UITs and agree they are great for prospecting.