Rydex Nova Offers Risky Way To Run With The Bulls

If you’re really bullish about the outlook for large-sized U.S. company stocks, there’s one sure-fire, albeit risky, way to make some money. Buy the Rydex Nova Fund.

The fund aims to generate returns that can be 1.5 times better than the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by investing in futures and options that mimic the benchmark stock index, said Thomas Michael, the fund’s portfolio manager.

The fund was introduced in mid-1993 and its performance ranks among the nation’s top “aggressive growth” stock funds over the past three years as the S&P 500 soared.

That performance history could change radically if the rally in U.S. stocks suddenly ends. If the market turns, Rydex Nova will be among the nation’s worst funds.

“If you’re bullish on stocks buy Rydex Nova,” Michael said. “If you’re not, don’t buy the fund because you’ll regret it.”

People interested in buying a Rydex fund must make a minimum initial investment of $25,000.

“We want it that way because funds like Rydex Nova aren’t your typical mutual fund,” Michael said. “The people who buy our funds tend to be professional money managers.”

Medical savings accounts

Anyone who’s self-employed knows what a headache it is finding affordable health-care coverage for themselves and their workers.

The best advice from the financial doctors: Take two aspirin and call for an MSA in the morning. Medical Savings Accounts, or MSAs, were established earlier this year through the federal Health Reform Act of 1996 as sort of an experimental remedy to help control costs. The accounts combine a high-deductible insurance policy with a tax-sheltered savings account that can be used to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses, like routine doctor visits or prescriptions.

Over the next four years, 750,000 eligible taxpayers - those who run their own business and employees of companies with fewer than 50 employees - can set them up.