Be Mindful of Loads and Fees

Q I'm invested in some mutual funds with big front-end loads — 8 percent for one and 5.5 percent for another. Should I sell them and go with no-load funds?

— R.B., Tallahassee, Fla.

A Those loads are whoppers, but you've already paid them, when you invested in the funds. So look forward, not backward. If you don't like the funds' performance, consider selling them. There are lots of great no-load funds out there. (Learn more at www.fool.com/ mutualfunds/mutualfunds.htm or www. morningstar.com.) Also look at the funds' annual fees. If you're paying a lot more than 1 percent, that's not promising. Many index funds will charge you less than 0.10 percent.

Q After I bought some shares of pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb, they went through a few days of solid price increases, but then dropped a fair amount. I haven't found any dramatic bad news on the company. What gives?

— P.S., online

A It might have dropped to adjust for a dividend payment. But in general, understand that the stock market, and prices of individual stocks, rarely go up or down in a straight line. There will be some up days and some down days, sometimes tied to news about the economy or about an industry or company. There often won't seem to be any reason for a rise or fall.

Don't worry about short-term volatility. Focus on what you think the stock is really worth, buying when it's well below that and selling when it approaches or surpasses that. Or just hang on as long as the company is healthy and growing. The prices that really matter are the price you bought at and the price you sell at. Don't be swayed by fear or greed.

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