I hope someone here can give me some advice, either on the board or through email.

I have worked hard for years, and tried to invest wisely in IRAs.  I did my research, chose what I thought was a good mix of investments in mutual funds, and for a little while (1994-1995) saw some good returns.  However, in the past 6 years I have seen my investments go from $30,000 to about $12,000 (as of yesterday).

I was hoping that someone could give me some advice on what mutual funds to invest in, as I am getting tired of seeing things like a YTD loss of 25%.

Here is where the majority of my money ($9500) currently is:

http://moneycentral.msn.com-END Of Script Attempt-
s/webquote.dll?iPage=lqd&Symbol=THPBX

http://moneycentral.msn.com-END Of Script Attempt-
s/webquote.dll?iPage=lqd&Symbol=THPGX

So, I began to look around for the top-performing funds and came across these:

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s/webquote.dll?iPage=qd&Symbol=URPSX

http://moneycentral.msn.com-END Of Script Attempt-
s/webquote.dll?iPage=qd&Symbol=BEARX

I'm thinking - DAMN!  These guys are kicking ass, while I'm losing thousands.

So, any advice or help would be appreciated.  I don't work for a company with a 401k, so am forced to do this all myself and get no matching.

[email protected]

PS - I'm 36 years old and the wife and I are making about $50,000 a year.  No kids (none planned either).

$50K a year each, or combined income? If it's each I might try putting a little more away per year, assuming you aren't already investing in a company 401K or something similar.

As for what to put your money in...well, opinions are like....I'm sure you know and everybody has their own advice. I would tell you to sell everything and buy tech now while it's still in the dumpster while others will tell you the exact opposite.

It all depends on what you want to do with your money, and what your future plans are, how much you have total invested in the market, when you want to retire, ad naseum...

I don't mess much (read any) in mutual funds because I feel that I'm too young to worry about security right now and I'm still going for the big score. That outlook will change as I get older though. I must admit, your 25% loss sure looks a lot better than my 50 something % loss I was looking at the other day for YTD.

I would say put your money into Vecor/Group UZI machineguns. I talked to them at Knob Creek they said they had around 600 left and they should last about another 6 months. At that point all UZIs will be in private or dealer hands. No more new off the shelf UZIs. I would expect a double of investment in around 3 yrs time.