Regular readers know that I enjoy Barron's Weekly (subscription required) one of the best business journals around and that it has provoked some of my better investment ideas. However, even Barron's can fall prey to bad or incomplete reporting, (as if there were a difference), as they benefit from market activity and can stretch an idea too far, becoming all too common.

Barron's incomplete and common story was in the June 9, 2008 issue titled "Timing is Everything". What I find common, and thus objectionable, is the fact that they choose to tout Appel Asset Management's like so many brokerage houses do numerous funds (for the fees), ignoring basic tidbits like said fees, and taxes. The Appels seem to do an admirable job for their investors but they do not beat the indices, so who cares?

Their simple strategy is to invest in the two broadly based hot ETF's, counting on momentum lasting more than one quarter, and switch them out each quarter. This they claim takes only an hour of work every three months, how lovely. In the story they state "From 1979 through 2007, Marvin Appel would have (emphasis mine) returned 16% a year, before fees, better than the 15% a year performance of the Russell 2000 Value Index". They also leave out how long the approach has actually been in place.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, recently accused of running a prostitution ring serving Washington's elite, is upset about her stocks. After the government froze her assets, Reuters reports that she pleaded with a federal judge to let her sell her 5,000 shares of Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB), citing valuation concerns: "I believe it's reached its peak. I don't want it to waste away."

This is another reason to avoid high-turnover investing and stick with index funds for the long-term: If you are indicted on charges of running a ring of call-girls, the government could freeze your assets and not allow you to continue trading actively.

Another thing sex has in common with investing: Most people think they can be above average but the vast majority will have to settle for average or below-average performance -- no matter how much they spend on products that will supposedly enhance their performance.