Is it possible for small investors to beat the Warren Buffets of the world at stock market investing and earn 50% annual returns, legally that is? One author asserts this is possible via smart investing based on Buffett's own investment principles.

The Oracle of Omaha admits that he aims to beat the S&P 500 by several percentage points a year on average, but he can no longer outperform the market by as much as he used to. That's not because he is old, but rather because the size of his portfolio is so huge. Buffett bemoans the fact that he can no longer buy the high-growth, small-cap stocks that produced such stellar investment returns for Berkshire in its early years. Back in 1999, he said that if he had $10,000 to invest, he would focus on smaller companies because there is a greater chance that something was overlooked in that arena.

Alternative Mutual funds are gaining popularity amongst investors nowadays. Most Investors at the end of the year prefer to opt for a long term portfolio decisions, by investing into such areas which have good track records throughout the year. However they often have to differ from there targeted path.
Alternative mutual funds include commodities like precious metals, and bear market issues. As per the report submitted by Morningstar Inc. the precious metals funds kept losing at an average rate of 8% during the first half this year. Whereas as the bear market funds lost at a average rate of 1% during the same period.
Well looking at the current scenario dumping the precious metals funds seems quite appropriate, but during last six months 2010 these results were just opposite, the precious metal funds soared high compared to the bear market issues.

Many people are confused about the state of their retirement funds and other issues related to them. This fund promises a healthy life after the working age, but obviously it cannot cater to all the needs. Its misuse may lead to a total mayhem situation where no resources are available.
People make a mistake in having unreasonable expectations from the retirement funds without taking into consideration the factors that might affect the future of the fund. The rate at which these retirement funds expire is dependent on the lifestyle and also the rate of return on your investments.
You need a financial advisor to manage your retirement funds. The decisions regarding risk taking, longetivity of life, unforeseen medical emergencies and investments are meant to be taken after a thorough analysis of the resources available at hand.
Withdrawing a fixed amount of money from the retirement fund every month helps maintain a budget and a balance between the expenses and income from investments. Some people also go to the extent of spending only the amount they earn as interest and save the principal for their children or emergencies but that is only possible if they have a reasonable amount of assets.