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The holidays are the time of year when generosity, goodwill and good cheer are supposed to prevail. Ever the contrarian, let me adopt the countenance of Scrooge -- but just briefly -- to make a point about investing: To allocate your capital prudently, you need to be selfish.
 Let me take this point a step further: The best investors are selfish investors. The word selfish carries a lot of negative baggage, to be sure, but when it comes to your financial health, nobody can look after you quite as well as you. So put yourself first in 2004 -- ahead of your broker, your money manager and/or your financial adviser, and the result might be an improvement in your capital allocation.
In the spirit of Scrooge, then, here are my top seven ways to get selfish in your investing for 2004 and beyond. Don't rely on friends and family for your investments. I've seen it far too many times -- a woefully mismanaged portfolio, laden with losses and capital misallocation, which has been managed by a relative or friend. One of my neighbors pays a 2% wrap fee for account management by a major broker. He's invested in an 80/20 fund, with 80% of his capital allocated to equities and 20% of his capital allocated to 1% Treasury bills. That means he is paying 2% to earn 1% on the portion of capital invested in T-Bills. Who's the broker? It's his brother. The takeaway: Put yourself first, even if it means stepping on the toes of a friend or relative. Find and hire the best adviser, broker or money manager. If your candidates consist of relatives and friends, view that as a negative. Demand freedom. You should be free to leave an investment vehicle when it is in your self-interest, and you should pay no penalties in the process. Getting locked into a back-end-loaded mutual fund or annuity, for example, with a 5% surrender charge if you cash out, benefits your broker because that's how he or she gets paid a commission. However, it traps you into an investment that may or may not be appropriate for you over the medium term.
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At time of publication, Alsin and/or ACM was long Ethan Allen, Liz Claiborne, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Hasbro and Monaco, although holdings can change at any time. Arne Alsin is the founder and principal of Alsin Capital Management, an Oregon-based investment advisor and portfolio manager of The Turnaround Fund, a no-load mutual fund. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Alsin appreciates your feedback and invites you to send it to arne.alsin@thestreet.com.
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