Investment

AFTER I finished a talk at an investor conference in Newton, Mass., a woman approached me with a piece of paper in her hand. On it was written her investment portfolio. "There's just one thing I want to know," she said. "How could this happen to me?" Behind each investment on that paper, there was a story. Backing up each tale was one fundamental truth: With each purchase or sale, she had thought she was doing the right thing. Instead, she had wound up with a portfolio no investor would be proud to own, a mess of overlapping investments and strategies that, when viewed in hindsight, appear fairly certain to deliver mediocrity.

How do you teach children the basics of investing? Black Enterprise, June, suggests: "Review the family budget with your kids; let them see you pay monthly bills. ... Teach children to plan their purchases, avoiding impulse buying. ... Teach them to avoid the trap of `one-time' credit-card offers. ... Get your children to start investing early." CAREER CORNER: The best jobs for 2000 and beyond, according to Time, May 29, include: Tissue engineers ("25 years from now scientists will pull a pancreas from a Petri dish")

Psst! Want a high-return, no-risk investment?It's easy. Simply pay off your mortgage faster than you have to.That's what Juliette and David Heim of Lake Placid, N.Y., plan to do. By paying an extra $69 a month, they'll cut 129 payments and $62,400 in interest off their mortgage.When you pay extra principal each month you're effectively investing the cash at the same rate as you're being charged on the mortgage.On a 10 percent mortgage loan, that's like earning 10 percent on your money.True, the mortgage interest you're not paying would have been deductible, but you also would have had to pay tax on earnings outside the mortgage.

Take your time, don't look for quick fixes and don't go overboard.That's the cautious advice from investment strategists as President-elect Bill Clinton jogs his way into the White House.Favorably impressed with Clinton's popularity and his politically moderate Cabinet choices, they nonetheless fret that he may come up with some "worst case scenario" economic solutions, as they believe some other Democrats have in the past.The ambitious nature of a few Clinton economic goals may be tempered quickly.

VENTURING into the investment arena can be intimidating. With such a wide selection, where do you begin? Start by learning basic concepts. Once you've mastered them, it becomes easier to figure out a game plan. First, recognize that you'll have short- and long-term financial goals. A short-term goal might be taking a vacation this year or paying for a wedding in the next six months. For these obligations, you don't want to risk your principal by being aggressive. A couple of safe choices - money market funds and certificates of deposits - offer a better return than ordinary bank savings accounts.

"Here are tax-loss strategies for those investment `dogs,'" says Financial Perspectives newsletter: "Sell losing investments in the same year you realize gains. ... Buy individual stocks instead of mutual funds so you can better control sales and their taxes. ... Buy tax-free municipal bonds; the after-tax return ultimately counts." RISING SUN: "If you'd like to buy some of the hottest technology markets without paying excessive valuations, look to Tokyo. Japanese markets have been hit hard by spillover from Nasdaq weakness.

Q. With so much in the news about good health care, is Humana a good investment choice?A. It's a healthy opportunity. Humana Inc. (around $32, NYSE), specializing in acute care hospitals, is an attractive investment because it has a commanding presence in smaller towns with its clean and efficient hospitals, said Jeff Harris, analyst with Smith Barney, Harris Upham. "Humana's acquisition moves are another plus, because they permit it to enter larger metropolitan areas without extensive start-up costs," added Harris.

Maryland's economic development department has agreed toinvest $500,000 in a venture capital partnership co-run by John C. Weiss, who worked under contract for the state agency as an investment manager until five months ago.Mr. Weiss' group was chosen from about a half-dozen applicants for the equity investment, which is part of a program to stimulate capital formation and small-business growth in Maryland, state officials said yesterday.Newly formed Anthem Capital LP, for which Mr. Weiss is a managing general partner, has raised $12.6 million in equity investments so far -- including the state stake, $1 million from Baltimore City and $1 million from the state of Delaware, Mr. Weiss said.

Legg Mason Inc.'s renowned money manager Bill Miller wants to avoid a new streak - this time on the losing side. Facing another year of subpar returns, Miller is changing some investments to boost the returns of his record-setting mutual fund that stumbled in 2006 and lags behind its benchmark stock index again this year. Miller said his team at Legg Mason Capital Management has worked since August to "reposition" the Value Trust, one of the most talked-about funds in the industry. He said they hope to capitalize on recent market sell-offs sparked by disruptions in credit markets from the subprime mortgage crisis.

The First Couple and the rest of the 1946-1964 generation are hitting age 50 at the rate of seven a minute, a pace that will continue for 10 years.So the baby boomers, who have changed everything else they've touched for the past half-century, are seriously coming to grips with retirement planning and fund investment. What are the chances they'll hew to the conservative path of Mom and Dad?Day after day, month after month, and year after year, the voices of caution are accorded a respectful hearing, even though their track record for investment advice in the 1990s could charitably be called "spotty."