|  SEP 1989

Mutual fund point & figure by Charles Idol

Mutual fund point & figure by Charles Idol The idea of applying point and figure (P&F) chart analysis to mutual funds causes some conceptual distress to P&F purists. P&F has no theory, but the basic concept says that the chart patterns are caused by the effect of supply and demand on the price of an equity. When you speak of mutual funds, you deal in a conglomeration of equities and, to make things worse, a conglomeration that changes as the fund manager adjusts the composition of the portfolio. ""So, you see,"" say the purists, ""you don't even know what stocks you are dealing with from day to day. How can you expect any coherent price behavior under those circumstances? The market doesn't set the price of the fund; it sets price of the varying fund components ."" ""Prattle,"" I retort. People watch the prices and yields of mutuals just like anything else. A fund turns out to be just one more equity in the market. To quell any argument, let's just say we are dealing in ""meta-P&F,"" or P&F once removed, when we address mutual funds.

by Charles Idol