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To: Michael Watkins who wrote (22382)	8/6/1999 7:15:00 PM
From: pater tenebrarum	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 99985

Michael, the 'buy-and-hold' strategy touted by every single WS firm will in the end cost many people a lot of money. i have seen a comparison of buying and holding the SPX from 1970 to today vs. a simple mechanical strategy of selling when the SPX crosses it's 200-dma to the downside and buying back in when it recrosses to the upside. needless to say, 'buy-and-hold' was far less profitable. the absence of a bear market for 18 years has indeed instilled a level of complacency like never before. people's expectations w/regards to future stock market returns are at extremes. well, all i can say is that advocating a buy&hold approach after such an extended bull market with valuations as high as they are now borders on the criminal. people were very angry at the mutual fund industry in '74 and many sold right at the bear market lows as they couldn't stand the pain anymore and the newspaper headlines promised continuing doom, just as they hold out the promise of eternal prosperity now. the truth is that the more extended a bull market becomes time and valuation-wise, the more painful the bear market will be that inevitably follows it at some point. regards, hb

To: Michael Watkins who wrote (22382)	8/6/1999 7:30:00 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 99985

Michael, the J6P is an essential part of the market and crucial for many corporation to show profit growth which cover the business mistake made by corporate brass.(includes IBM who is now plundering their own workers pension fund) I remember very well how in the early 90thies pension funds were under funded and many in corporate America were threaten to go belly up because of the pension funds deficencies. Carl Ichan lost TWA as a result and TWA never recovered since. GM got saved just by sheer luck for example.(or to big to fail - pick one) The continuation of capital gains enpowers corporation to contribute less to pension funds and by that to hide the true corporate profitability. As stock option are part of the compensation plan a corporation has less operating expenses, and therefore better profits and the story goes on. J6P and the dipsters are providing the cushion which enable the musical chairs to continue. They had just now this woman who runs EBAY on CNBC the way she runs a business is a shame. She is completely clueless. From what I gathered they are punishing their own clients by not reimbursing them for EBAY shutdown and EBAY management failure to provide adequate service and backup. I think they are in the business of cheering up WS and sell more of their own company stock not runing a business. My 2 cents BWDIK Haim

To: Michael Watkins who wrote (22382)	8/6/1999 8:05:00 PM
From: TWICK	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 99985

And what else should J6P do if the 401K and the stock options are the only vehicle the have to save up for retirement, and only advice the company's execs have is: "Here is your 401K. Here are the funds within this 401K. We can not tell what to buy, when to buy, nor can we tell you if the fund is a good or bad investment" I think J6P is very aware of his/her lack of knowledge in investing and the inner workings of the market and the 401K he/she is forced to dump money into very two weeks. I think there is hope out there and solutions coming soon to help J6P become a smarter investor. I found the following article that addresses this concern and introduces a company that is working on providing the support and solutions the company exec's can't or won't address. Retirement Plans Go Online While traditional financial-services firms offer advice, Internet startup Financial Engines wants to give you odds. By Michael Menduno Investors have turned to the Internet for stock quotes, research and other financial information. Almost the only thing financial sites lack is personalized advice ? the traditional stronghold of brokers and financial planners. Now all that's about to change. Internet entrepreneurs are bringing personal investment advice to the Web. thestandard.com Twick