"Of what use are determination and will without a goal and plan?"

MISSION

Who We Are:

The SDW is a "mutual fund" that invests in the stock market for capital gain.  Profits are allocated depending on how much one invests (click here for further details).  The SDW is run by two U of M students, Kendall Shen and Matt Nehmer.   

Our slogan says it all: "We have only one goal - Making money for YOU."  This is the foundation of the SDW Fund; it is the approach that we began with and will forever adhere to.  The fact that no commission is ever charged is a testimony to this statement. 

We are primarily engaged in investing in the technology sector because it is currently the area of greatest growth.  We are transforming into a world of wireless telecommunications, Internet-based transactions, and genetically-based drugs.  By owning stock in companies leading the technological boom, we are essentially sharing in their profits.   

Our broker is Suretrade, the Internet trading site offering the lowest transaction fee.  Suretrade is a subsidy of Fleet Securities, Inc.  

Why invest in the stock market?

Though there are many areas where one may invest, the stock market offers both high profitability combined with relative safety.  Since January of 1996 to the present, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained over 120%.  That is much smaller than the Nasdaq's 300% rise.  And if you invested in an individual stock such as Microsoft, you would be sitting on gains exceeding 500%.  Compare this to the average 1-year savings rate that a bank gives of 6.5%.   

Why invest with us?

commission-free: This is the chief advantage that we hold over traditional mutual funds.  The SDW Fund has been and  will remain commission-free.  However, this does not exclude any applicable capital gains taxes which will be deducted during the April tax period. 

safety and power in numbers:  The SDW manages over $10,000 in assets.   This allows us to invest in more stocks; if you tried to invest $100, you would only be able to purchase a minimal number of shares of a large company.  You would be exposed to a great deal of risk because your money is dependent upon that company.  However, investing your $100 in the SDW allows you to own stocks of all the companies that the SDW purchases (at this point, four or five; we invest in more as we gain more capital), minimizing risk and maximizing gains.        

$50 minimum entry fee: To invest in the SDW Fund, a minimum of only $50 is required.  This is opposed to typical mutual funds which at least require hundreds of dollars.  

Unique Trading Technique:

We invest via the 3VR system:

Value: We are not momentum investors; therefore, we will not overpay for a stock.  We prefer to buy companies that are showing weakness in share price but will likely rebound.

Variety: Also known as diversification, this is a theory that we strictly stand by.  Though we have a strong bias towards investing in technology, there are dozens of industries within technology.   Through diversification, we minimize risk.   If one industry such as semiconductors is falling, another such as biotech may be thriving.  The SDW Fund has currently invested in everything from conservative, neutral stocks such as DuPont to extremely volatile, high-flying, new economy firms such as JDS Uniphase.

Vision: Kendall and Matt monitor the technology sector closely.  They try to capitalize on the current hot sector to make money in the short-run.  In the long-run, they act as visionaries, purchasing stock in what will be the movers and shakers of the technology industry of tomorrow.    

Research: This is the most crucial element of investing.  Every company that we purchase is thoroughly researched by Kendall and Matt.   Everything from the company's core operations to asset management to institutional investment to future profitability is assessed.   

We trade both long and short-term.  Holding stocks short-term allows the greatest profit potential because as a stock oscillates, you can buy and sell several times, making money each time.  All stocks have certain patterns on their charts which allow you to somewhat anticipate when they will go up and down.  We take advantages of these "hot spots" to buy and sell short term, often generating quick and fairly significant profits.  Here is an example: