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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1990)
Mutual funds 4wise’ investment Financial consultant says graduates should consider investments By Julie Naughton Senior Reporter_ Graduating seniors interested in the investment market should con sider mutual funds, said Craig Hundt, financial consultant for the invest ment firm of Shearscn Lehman Hut ton, 206 S. 13th St. Although equities offer the high est rate of return, he said, the safest bet for recent graduates are mutual funds. Mutual funds require a rela tively low investment and offer di versification and professional man agement, Hundt said. Recent graduates also should keep about three months of “emergency money” in a savings account, Hundt said. Once a student has that amount of money in savings, he or she should consider putting money in other types of investments that yield higher than regular saving accounts. A graduate’s minimum investment at a larger investment firm would be about $500, Hundt said, because there is a high cost for the investment firm involved. “It used to be, in the early days, that you could buy 10 shares of this or 15 shares of that,” Hundt said. “The market is no longer like that.” The minimum number of shares has gone up, and the price of doing business has gone up T .undl explained “The cost of trading won’t allow a major firm to do small trades,” he said. “For that reason, most major firms, including Shearson, cannot open an account with an investment of less than $500.” Hundt said both the major firms and discount brokerage houses re quire an investment of about $500. Unlike investment houses, discount brokerages will buy stocks, but the customers must do his or her own research. In a full-service investment -4 4 If you 're going to be a serious investor, you will lose money. • . . But you must be willing to stick with it. Hundt financial consultant •-f f firm such as Shcarson Lehman Hut ton, an investment consultant will take care of these matters. Hundt said the minimum ticket price for a full-service investment firms is about $50 while the mini mum ticket price for a discount bro kerage is about $35. The accounts that offer the best yields, Hundt said, are foreign closed end trusts. For instance, one called the Mexico fund yielded more than 400 percent of the original invest ment over four years. However, Hundt said these trusts are not the safest place for a new graduate to place his or her money. Mutual funds, he said, are much safer. Hundt said that in the last 10 years, the top mutual funds have averaged a rate of return of 20 percent or more. However, he warns, this rate is not a guaranteed one for the future. Another wise investment for gradu ating seniors, Hundt said, would be certificates of deposit, or CDs. He said CDs can be short- or long-term investments. “Major league” growth funds - proven, name-brand funds — usually require a minimum investment of $500 and contin ued deposits. These depos its can range from $50 to $500 or more, Hundt said. “A disciplined graduate could open an account and put in $200 each month. That would be an optimal investment situation,” he said. But, Hundt said, graduates must have patience to put money in invest ment securities. “The key is discipline,” Hundt said. “Most people don’t have the patience. They put money in, and when they see that the market is clown, they pull their money out. But if the market is up, they don’t get out and take their profit.” Hundt said experience is the best teacher. “If you’re going to be a serious investor, you will lose money. I’ve lost my own money in the market. But you must be willing to stick with it.” Campus Notes VlfcLL sow. THAT'S COUGH .COUGH THE E*tt> OF VOUC PLEASE CAP TMl?P VEM?.T BEX XM TPVIN6 WUttE AN1U0USTO TO EAT. VOUR HOMEV RUNS VIHKT AND cxrr Nfc*T VEAR MAKE XTHlNVC VOU SKOOD MONC V-.. ODME TO VJJORR PDR VJ KVsJ. TUE ODHPANV AND QUIT C*A\M\NG \ THOSE CARTOONS \ by Brian Shellito jVES, MWE MONEV j VW RENT, WORK l*tE6UI>R _>0B, Vpw b»lls... I l_u J&? Iliil . Graduation En»a no» „ seen Is enroute to apeak at a and graduation ^ Diploma Bpy ceremony..., ' awn—rim imyMiTTWMniuiHii~M Decisions Continued from Page 6 university, to a side of it I hadn’t seen before. Finally, I came far enough back to reach a particular room in a par ticular basement, full of familiar typewriters and unfamiliar faces. Through an act of kindness, I found my way back to the printed page. I was given a reason to sit down once a week and write. Gradually, itgave me back some self-respect. A simple requirement. ‘‘A poor thing, but mine own,” to quote a friend. But it has made the difference. This small business, this call for 60 lines once a week, has pierced inward darkness and through this pinprick has become a camera ob scura look at what lies outside, a notion of where I would like to be. It would not have come to me, I think, in the halls of the dusty li braries my former path of least resistance was leading me to. In some ways, it is as if the cere mony last spring never happened. Last week, tucked in the comer of a jewelry box, I ran across the honors medallion I wore; the same day, the headline on my column referred to me as “graduating.” The year has been painful emo tionally, difficult financially, but satisfying inwardly. The untidy stack of yellowing newsprint cluttering the footlocker in my room means as much to me as the sheet of uni versity bond handsomely mounted in its red folder they handed to me last spring. 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