You know what they are. Little rat like animals that become so over populated that they decide to have a party on the other side of the valley. Everyone joins in and they start running. Unfortunately to get to the other side it is not wise to head directly there because there is a thousand foot precipice in their path. Oh well.

We have our own lemmings. We call them investors. They feed on the good news about how well the economy is doing. Unfortunately, how well the economy is doing and how the price of their stocks and mutual funds are doing are two different things.

The lemmings, oops, stockholders, have been taught to believe all the good news and buy when the talking heads tell them. Brokers and financial planners know so much more than the lemmings? They should not be questioned. Lemmings, there I go again, investors should give their money to the brokers and let them do anything they want with it. That’s what Wall Street says. Look at the millions they are making.

Right, but what about your account? What happened to it a few short years ago in 2000? You haven’t forgotten have you? Those who ran with the pack last time went over the cliff and lost most of their money.

Some of the lemmings decided they would not play in the stock market where they could lose everything. These smart ones chose to invest in real estate and have been doing very well. Nothing down or almost nothing down, get a low interest mortgage and watch the home values rise. Sell out for a big profit?

Real estate never comes down. Well, hardly ever and then not very much. Nothing to worry about here. Unfortunately, it seems interest rates are rising. Many of these homes and lots of the speculative ones have been bought with interest only mortgages. Many are due for upward adjustment this year. Suddenly that $600 payment could become $735. It will be a shock their bank account did not expect. Looks like another cliff for the lemmings.

House prices can’t possibly be coming down. Let’s hope not. Then tell me why the stocks of some of the largest home builders in the nation have fallen 50%. Do they know something the lemmings don’t?

Because most late comers to various investments whether it is stocks, housing, tulip bulbs, south sea islands, whatever almost never seem to recognize when the top has been reached and it is time to cut and run. Once the mind is set it takes a Caterpillar tractor to run over it to make a change. The professional investor will recognize a market top and get out with a small loss. Joe Sixpack doesn’t understand that a small loss is preferred to a big loss.

Now is the time to reevaluate your portfolio whether it is stocks, mutual funds or housing as the market is changing.

Don’t be one of the lemmings.