There are dozens of world currencies being traded around the clock on the foreign currency exchange, and no one can possibly monitor them all at once. That is why many traders rely on forex signals to keep them apprised of movement in the market.

Many brokers and other forex-related businesses offer forex signals to subscribers. Forex signals are simply recommendations to buy or sell based on mathematical algorithms and professional know-how. Usually these signals include specific entry, stop and target levels. They might say something like, in essence, “Right now the EUR/USD bid is at 1.2529 and dropping. When it gets to 1.2465, sell.”

Forex signal providers usually charge for their service, sometimes as much as $100 a month. For this the subscriber gets 1-5 signals a day, sent via e-mail, text message or instant messenger. The trader is under no obligation to do anything with the information, of course. They are advisory in nature, and the trader is free to ignore them entirely if he wants to. But most traders generally go along with the advice that comes to them through forex signals. They wouldn’t pay for the service if they didn’t find the advice useful.

There are two schools of thought about forex signals. One says that you’re a sucker if you pay for them, with the reasoning that if the people behind them are so good at playing the market, why do they have to sell signals to make a living? The opposing point of view says that since signals require analysis and experience to create, why shouldn’t the people who distribute them get paid for their efforts?

If you do choose to pay for a signals service, you should get a trial membership first. Be wary of a service that won’t give you a free trial period before you start paying, or that only offers a trial period of a couple days. (What do they have to hide? If their service is good, showing it to you for a week or two will only help sell it to you.)

On the other hand, one maxim usually holds true: You get what you pay for. Sites that offer free forex signals may not be as reliable or experienced as the professional sites. And in either case, you shouldn’t blindly follow the advice of forex signals. A smart investor will look at the trends himself to make sure he agrees with the signals he received. The decision to buy or sell is ultimately his, after all.

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In the rush to be a part of the exciting and profitable world of mutual fund investing, many investors make mistakes. It’s human nature and nothing to be ashamed of, but they can and should be avoided. Here are a few helpful tips in avoiding the common mistakes that many other new investors make.

First off, a cardinal sin that many new investors make is that they only look at a mutual funds previous performance and not at the possible future. Sure, a stock or mutual funds performance in the past is a good sign of how its been managed and it always is a good sign to surround yourself with people who know what their doing, but you have to take the current state of the market into account. For example, funds that may have been heavy on dot.com’s did great in 1998 and 1999, but if you had a fund that was heavy in tech stocks in 2000, you probably lost your shirt. Past performance doesn’t mean as much as people think it does, and you would be wise to not put as much emphasis on it when you go to invest.

While the percentages listed in the prospectus might seem low, operating expenses for mutual funds really do matter. If you’re looking at a fund that might have a higher than average percent fee for running the fund, you might want to look at other funds, instead. Most market experts think that the percentage of returns over the next few years will be down, and so that fee for running the fund takes a bigger and bigger bite out of your profit. It may not seem like much, but it can really add up over time, especially if profits are down.

A small but important part of investing is checking out what your fund manager has on his plate. This can be done by checking the prospectus the fund company sent you. Remember, if your fund is doing bang up business, it’s likely that the fund manager who is overseeing it is going to get more funds to manage or a promotion to look over an entire group of funds. This could likely take away from the time he has to look over YOUR fund, and while we wish fund managers all the luck in the world in their career, you want someone who is going to be focused on making money for you.

As long as there are people investing in mutual funds, there will be mistakes made. While they can’t be avoided completely, a few common sense tips can help you avoid the biggies and keep your money working for you.

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