This week's answers come from:

Lou Stanasolovich

Louis P. Stanasolovich, CFP™ is Founder, CEO, and President of Legend Financial Advisors, Inc. (Legend), a fee-only financial advisory firm with its headquarters located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Legend provides Wealth Advisory Services, including Comprehensive Financial Planning and Investment Management, to affluent and wealthy individuals as well as business entities.  Mr. Stanasolovich has been selected by Worth Magazine as one of “The 250 Best Financial Advisors in America” six successive times, by Medical Economics as one of “The 150 Best Financial Advisors in America for Doctors” four consecutive times,” and for the second year in a row by Mutual Funds magazine as one of “The 100 Great Financial Planners in America. ”His investment process has been profiled in Bloomberg Wealth Manager, Barron’s, Business Week, Investment Advisor, Investment News, Morningstar Investor, USA Today, Worth, and on the Internet publications CBS Marketwatch.com and TheStreet.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at legend@legend-financial.com, via the website - www.legend-financial.com, or at (888) 236-5960.

Questions and Responses

What's a good fund for a two- to three-year plan?

How can I get information on carry forward fund losses?

What's a good fund for a two- to three-year plan?

from Lito

Q: If you had 50K to invest in mutual funds, can you recommend some funds for a 2 to 3 year span?

A: We never recommend any equity funds for that short of a time period.  Given the timeframe that you are looking at, we would suggest a short-term bond fund such as the PIMCO Low Duration Fund or the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Fund.  These funds will provide you with a good short-term return and subject you to only a small chance of loss.

How can I get information on carry forward fund losses?

from Winthrop

Q: Where can I find information on Carry Forward Losses that Mutual Funds have accumulated (and yet to use)?

A: The information on mutual fund losses being accumulated within mutual funds are few and far between.  Morningstar publishes this information in their print publication and on Morningstar Principia Pro CD ROM product. 

Another and perhaps best source for this type of information is to call the mutual fund directly.  Some mutual funds may be willing to release this information.  You may also be able to determine this from the last annual report (this could be out of date, but is the same source that Morningstar utilizes) within the financial statements.

Investing in equities involves a serious principal risk, and no assurance can be given that the techniques described here will be successful. Returns vary and you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Index returns shown are historical and include the change in share price, reinvestment of dividends, and capital gains. Indexes are unmanaged and do not reflect the impact of transaction costs. Transaction costs would have reduced the total returns.

International investments, especially those in emerging markets, entail greater risks (as well as greater potential rewards) than U.S. investing. These risks include political and economic uncertainties of foreign countries, as well as the risk of currency fluctuations. These risks are magnified in countries with emerging markets, since these countries may have relatively unstable governments and less-established markets and economies.