Houston Based ArborInvestmentPlanner.com Releases Special Report on 'How to Profit in Challenging Times' by Ken Faulkenberry

Investors can profit in these challenging times if they have the knowledge and discipline to follow a few principles. "How to Profit in Challenging Times" notes the biggest mistakes investors make and offers solutions for profitable investing in stocks and ETFs.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 26, 2009 -- Investors can actually profit in challenging times if they have the knowledge and discipline to follow a few principles. For the decade the major stock averages and the average investor have lost money. The last 18 months have been devastating to both those who invest too aggressively, and to those who invest passively in equity index funds. Investors make several common mistakes that, if corrected, can help them profit in these challenging times.

The biggest mistake investors make is failing to properly diversified. Diversification is truly a free ride. Studies show properly diversifying provides free benefits that cannot be duplicated. Never put more than 5% of a portfolio in any one stock, even if the company is your employer. Enron and other major blowups are examples of how important it is to not have your job and retirement riding on one company.

Proper diversification requires having income, dividend growth, aggressive growth, and international exposure in your portfolio. Cash and hedges (a conservative portfolio strategy to reduce risk) should also play an important role in properly diversifying a portfolio to adapt to the opportunities and risks of a particular time.

The second mistake investors make is Buy High, and Sell Low. We should Buy Low and Sell High, but we let our emotions get the best of us. What do we do when the plasma television or car we want is 25% off? Why do we stop investing in our future when stocks are 25% off, but buy like crazy when they are at new highs? Buying when prices are low is what makes long term investing profitable! Selling when prices are not justified by the fundamentals also makes investing profitable by preserving capital for future opportunities.

Third, don't listen to others. This doesn't mean don't get good advice, it means don't compare yourself to what others say. People, in general, will tell you when they are doing well, but not when they are flat or down. Investor's decisions are too often influenced by the news and noise from the culture that is always telling you to take the wrong action. How many people were giving advice to sell in 1999-2000, or to buy stocks in 2002 or even in March of this year? Most investors listen to the wrong people at the wrong time. Get your advice from someone who can see through the culture clutter and chatter that usually misleads.

The Arbor Investment Planner uses stocks and ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) to achieve proper diversification in its' Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP). If an investor wants to manage their own portfolio, but lacks the time, resources, or knowledge to research individual investments and place them in a properly diversified portfolio; the Arbor Investment Planner provides the sound principles and methodical plan to achieve their goals.

More information is available at: www.ArborInvestmentPlanner.com.

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