FIRM OFFERS NEW SERVICE

Financial Planning and Information Services Inc., a local investment advisory firm, is offering a new service.

"We're making our American Funds market-timing service available to clients," said Philip Dame, owner of the firm. "Most people are disappointed with interest rates available in the market place and would like to increase the yield on their invested assets," he said.

Dame said a good case can be made for investing in the stock market.

"The average annual total return from 1975 to date for the S&P 500 Index has been 15.77 percent," he said. "That's almost double the 8.27 percent return from fixed-interest accounts for the same period.

"This means that $10,000 IRAs invested in each of the above hypothetical accounts on Jan. 1, 1975, would be worth $116,232 for the stock account versus $37,816 for the fixed-interest account," he said.

Dame said many people have never invested in the stock market and others have ventured into stocks only on a limited basis. Many, he said, have not been very successful.

"There are two big reasons when people are unsuccessful in the stock market," said Dame. "These are bad timing and wrong selections."

Dame, who is listed in the Registry of Licensed Certified Financial Planners, said: "It's impossible to predict what the stock market is going to do. But by using a combination of several technical indicators it is possible to measure the relative risk of being invested in the stock market each day.

"My strategy is based on the theory that technical indicators make it possible to tell what the professionals are doing and to act on that information," he said.

Currently, Dame said, he is using the American Funds Group.

"With this program, assets from clients' money market accounts are switched into stock mutual-fund accounts when indicators show that the professionals are starting to buy, and switched back into money market accounts when the indicators give a sell signal. American Funds sends each client a report following each transaction."

More information on the program may be obtained from Dame's firm at 2005 Independence.