investing news

The Right Guidance for your Electronic Needs

2010-12-12T03:22:00.000-08:00

In this modern era, there are many ways that you can do during your leisure time. Sometimes, some people are very interested in using various kinds of home entertainment gadget to fill their free time. They may be interested in using video or television that can be very helpful to fill their free time. There are some entertainments that you may easily find by using video.

If you want to make your home becomes more comfortable, you need to use the proper gadget for your mobility. It will be very entertaining if you are using television and video to watch movies. It will be very easy for you to know some information about that by going to Televisionandvideo.info. They give you the update information about the newest gadget for your needs. In television and video info, you can feel easy to browse the best selection of electronic products that you can use. This is become the best solution that you can do in order to get the right television video info. You can also read more about television and video guide if you are going to this web page.

You can make sure that television video guide will be the best option that you can do to know more about television and video. You can feel secure in finding the right choice of portable accessories products in here.

Choosing Blu-ray for Home Entertainment

2010-10-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

Blu-ray seems to be the next generation of disc player. What makes this disc player an innovation is the flawless image and sound served in our home. Watching Blu-ray is just like watching in a cinema in a high definition picture and surrounds sound. Blu-ray is serving up to 1080p picture, so if we are having Blu-ray player and supporting plasma TV, then matching movie in our home will be more satisfying than watching movie in the cinema.

Well, if we are having Samsung BD-P3600 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player, it does not mean that we will need to buy 1080p TV, one with 720p is able to give us high satisfaction. Some of Blu-ray players are completed with 3D compatibility, but it will be better for us to use it with supporting wide screen TV, so we can get total enjoyment. Various Blu- ray players are available from Sony to Yamaha BD-S667 Blu-ray Disc Player, Black.

Another gadget that we might have is VCR. None of us wants to miss our favorite TV program, so VCR can safe the day. Magnavox ZV427MG9 DVD Recorder and 4-Head Hi-Fi VCR with Line-In Recording can be a good choice because this VCR is completed with various features that will give us home entrainment enjoyment. For us who love movies, then Onkyo HT-RC260 7. 2-Channel Home Theater Receiver should be in our family room.

Get Free Download Links

2010-09-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

Some people prefer to watch movies online some people prefer to download and save it to their PC so whenever they want to watch the movies again the only that they should do is only replaying it. However, people just don’t know where they should go for reliable link of their favourite movies. Though they have found the link most of sites are required them to pay the membership before they can get the access to download the movie.

This is totally unpractical. You must be surprised that there are a lot of websites that are offering you free link download of your favourite movies. However, finding reliable free link is not an easy task to do. You need some helps from some websites that are especially designed to provide you information about free link download. I Want Free Download is one of the website that is highly recommended for you to go. In this site you can Search Free Download link of your favourite movies.

You don’t need to worry whether you will be asked to pay the membership because there is no membership and money required to Get Free Donwload link for that site. To ensure you more, please don’t hesitate to give the site a visit right away.

All about Free Download Links

2010-09-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Do you know that today internet is not offering you all kinds of information that is useful for you but internet is also offering all kinds of things that are free to download? Yes, today you can download movie, mp3, e-book, videos and many digitals products online for free. The only thing that you should do is just finding the free link which will lead you to the product that you are interested to download.

However, you have to really careful in using search engine to find the link download that you want because most of website is requiring membership from the user and membership needs monthly fee to be paid. When it comes to information about source of link download there is only one site that is highly recommended for you to go; it is I Want Free Download Info. This site has a very huge collection of link download from movies, mp3, videos and many more that you can download from wherever you are and all of those link download are free for you.

So, you can say ‘Give Me Free Download Info’ anytime you want because as long as you have this site in your side you will be able to find link download that you have been looking for.

Get Healthy Articles and Review in Health Abahjack

2010-07-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Healthy is very valuable thing in our life. It can not be measured by money or something. That is why we have to keep our body stay healthy. There are many factors that can influence our health such as our eating pattern, the needs of nutrition in our body, way of life, etc. It will be better for us to broaden our knowledge about health world. You can read magazines, watching healthy programs on television, or may be browsing at the internet to find article to enrich your knowledge about human health and its problem.

If you are looking for any kind or review of article about health and its problem, this site is the right place for you. It is a word press site where you can put or edit information in this site. There are many kinds of article that you can find in this site. if you have children, it is suggested for to know about their health. You can read the article that discuss about Children health in this site. If you want to do safe diet program, this site provides you information that contains Diet and weight loss program.

Furthermore, this site also provides you about Women health article. The article about Vitamins and its usage can also be found. If you need further and detail information, you can visit the site on Health.abahjack.com.

Solusi Lowongan Kerja Terbaru

2010-04-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Di jaman yang penuh persaingan seperti sekarang ini, mendapatkan pekerjaan adalah hal yang sulit. Dibutuhkan banyak sekali informasi untuk memulai tahap awal, yaitu informasi lowongan pekerjaan terbaru. Namun walaupun persaingan semakin ketat, informasi lowongan kerja terbaru semakin mudah didapat. Lebih fresh, lebih mutakhir tentunya.

Bagi anda yang ingin mencari informasi seputar lowongan pekerjaan terbaru bisa berkunjung ke situs lowongan kerja terbaru. ada banyak kategori lowongan terbaru, diantaranya Lowongan Kerja BUMN. Banyak sekali informasi lowongan BUMN yang bisa anda cari disana. Mulai dari lowongan pertamina, lowongan telkom, bahkan sampai lowongan PLN. Adalagi informasi Lowongan Kerja Bank. disini anda bisa mencari informasi lowongan bank terbaru dari bank-bank terkemuka di indonesia. Siapa sih yang tidak mau bekerja di dunia banking? Selain lowongan Bank, ada juga informasi Lowongan Kerja Swasta. di informasi lowongan swasta ini anda bisa mencari banyak lowongan dari perusahaan-perusahaan yang mencari calon pegawai seusai dengan keahlian anda. Dimulai dari pendidikan minimal SMU sampai S3.

jadi, tanpa harus menunggu lagi, dapatkan informasi lowongan kerja terbaru sekarang juga!

Tips to Rent a Car

2010-03-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

It is important for us to get any vehicles to mobility in our life. Sometimes, many people don’t like to buy car as their prior vehicle because they should earn more money to get a vehicle. Besides that, you should take care of your car every month and you should pay for the insurance too. Some people like to rent a car than buy a car, because they can use public transportation to mobility.

If you want to find cheap car rental, you can go to Cheapcarrentaltoday.info. It is the easiest way for you to find the best car rental. They have more information about car rental. You can also find how to rent a car in the online car rental. You can easily reserve car in car rental site and you can also get many discounts. Some of car rental require you to fill the tank when you will return it. You can find the cheapest type of gas to fill the car, so you don’t need to pay more money. You can save your money for the gas. Sometimes to get more discounts, you should go to the car rental which you usually use. If you come back to the car rental which you usually use, you will also get discount from them or you will get special coupons.

To get cheap car rental you should compare many car rentals, and before you want to pick your car you should make any reservation as early as possible. Besides that, you should pick up your car early in the morning, at the time the car rental open. You will get shortage on the cheap car rental.

Today You Can Get More Mobile Phone Options

2010-02-12T02:15:00.000-08:00

The mobile phone industry is an interesting topic to talk about. This is because the mobile phone markets are always busy in serving the customers. New products are launched frequently to fulfill people’s need of high quality mobile phone.

When you are surfing the net to browse mobile phone products, you certainly will find famous names in the mobile phone industry such as Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. These brands always come with innovation and style in each product that they launch. The latest mobile phone that attracts the attention of mobile phone lovers is the BlackBerry. The young generations love to use Blackberry to surf the net or simply send sms. Nowadays, the mobile phones are designed to be sophisticated for internet connection. LG and Motorola are two brands that also realize this feature. Motorola DEVOUR™ With MOTOBLUR™ And Android Phone allows you to access Facebook or Twritter with some easy clicks. Nokia also presents phone with great ability for internet on Nokia N97 Mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, and the new Nokia Booklet 3G.

With the great options on mobile phone, now finding a mobile phone for your daily activity is an easy task. If you want to know mobile phone options only on one site, you can visit Cheapgadget.info. This portal is a great reference for mobile phone world.

Free download Software, Ebook, Music, Game, And More In Give Me Free Download Info

2010-01-12T01:20:00.000-08:00

So many software in internet that we need for our life. Like office, security, business, and maybe for fun. But sometimes we dont know the best software that we need. Thousand or million link in internet that tell us wich is we need. I always try to find a good site to choose what i need. example, i want to download Microsoft Office 2010, or download #1 Video Converter 5.2.23 Portable, or download ZIP Password Recovery Magic v6.1.1.97 for recover lost password for my zip archives, or maybe download File and Folder Protector v3.4 and download Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra 9.0.2320.

Finally i find a good site for downloading software. And do you know something? we can Free download Software, Ebook, Music, Game, And More in this site! cool! Just go to Give Me Free Download Info and start your free download now! Search your fave software and download, just it ;)

Kontes SEO Astaga.com Lifestyle On The Net

2009-12-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

Mencoba peruntungan untuk ikutan kontes seo Astaga.com Lifestyle On The Net yang diadakan oleh portal berita terbesar, Astaga.com yuk?. Hadiahnya lumayan lho... mau tahu? ini dia hadiahnya :

Juara I : Netbook HP 5101 Mini Note Black + Uang tunai Rp. 5.000.000,-
Juara II : Blackberry Javelin + Uang tunai Rp. 3.000.000,-
Juara III : Blackberry Gemini + Uang tunai Rp. 2.000.000,-
Juara IV : HP Nexian + Uang tunai Rp. 1.500.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom
Juara V : Uang tunai Rp. 1.500.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom
Juara VI : Uang tunai Rp. 1.000.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom
Juara VII : Uang tunai Rp. 500.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom
Juara VIII : Uang tunai Rp. 500.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom
Juara IX : Uang tunai Rp. 500.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom
Juara X : Uang tunai Rp. 500.000,- + 2 ticket waterbom

Waktu perlombaan :
30 November 2009 pukul 00.00 WIB - 3 Maret 2010 pukul 00.00 WIB

Kata Kunci/ Keyword yang dilombakan :
Astaga.com lifestyle on the net

Jadi, kenapa tidak mencoba? namanya juga usaha... siapa tahu kecipratan hadiahnya. Astaga.com lifestyle on the net memang mangtap!

Searching For The Hot And Trend Information?

2009-12-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

If you are a smart people, always looking the hot and trend information in internet, http://hot-trend.info site is the right place to find the hot and trend information. In this site, you can find a lot of good articles, a lot of quality articles. like :

* Accounting
* Congestive Heart
* Day Care
* Dropshipping
* Harley Davidson Motorcycles
* Horse Blankets
* Hot News
* Kitchen Remodeling
* Memory Improvement
* Music
* Quilting
* Roses
* Travel And Maps
* Waterfront Property

Now people always try to find a hot and trend information to upgrade they skill, they brain, for a better life. Do you want like them? great! you can find all tips, trick, information in http://hot-trend.info now!

Be a smart people my friend ;)

Investing News - How to Find Silver Coin Dealers

2009-06-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

Investing News - The last couple of years have really dealt a blow to most of us who have worked hard all our lives with the belief that our 401k plan would continue to grow and be enough to fund our retirement. Now we are left searching for other ways to invest our money in the hope that we can protect the funds we still have. One of the most solid investments, silver, has been a reliable way to protect your income for generations.
There are reputable silver coin dealers all over the world but finding the right one can be a little daunting when you are brand new to investing in silver.

FIND COIN DEALERS THROUGH REFERRALS

Bar none, the most reliable source of information on finding silver coin dealers is by word of mouth. Your family, friends, and coworkers are feeling the same financial crunch that you are. Chances are pretty good that at least one of them has already invested in silver, and they will be able to advise you as to which dealers in your area are the right ones to see about starting your collection.

ONLINE DIRECTORIES

There are quite a few online directories that can be useful as long as you are being very careful to verify the credibility of the information they contain. Before you opt to do business with any of the silver coin dealers, you owe it to yourself and to your family to check out the reputation of a dealer. Don't stop with just one visit to one dealer; instead, treat this like an interview process asking the same questions of two or three dealers in your area.

This process will allow you to compare their answers, prices, and the knowledge and expertise of each one before you make a decision as to which you should do business with. Any reputable silver coin dealers will understand your trepidation and should be more than willing to help ease your mind and answer your questions and concerns.

The easiest way to think about it is this: If a dealer does not want to take the time to answer your questions, it should be clear to you that they don't want your business.

Investing can be scary enough without doing business with people who make you nervous!

Learn more about getting started with investing in silver by downloading my free A Guide to Silver Coin Investing.

Investing News - Local Coin Dealers and the Rush For Silver Coins

2009-06-29T00:50:00.000-07:00

Investing News - By now you have to have seen those ridiculous infomercials that seem to be on every channel these days telling you how important it is to invest in precious metals. They are ridiculous, right? I mean, in today's economy, are people really investing their money by looking for coin dealers and buying them out of silver coins?

The answer to the first question is yes, those commercials are ridiculous. The answer to the second question, though, is also yes. More and more people every day are coming to the newfound understanding that the government is not going to handle their investments for them - at least not well, and that by finding reputable coin dealers they can invest in one of the most stable commodities that's ever existed in this country.

LEARN FROM HISTORY

The time has come when people are returning to the mindset of previous generations who knew that their money was best protected when it was in their hands. My great grandfather was notorious for burying money in coffee cans in his garden, but he was also smart enough to have invested in silver when everyone else was throwing their money into the stock market. While those people were rushing to the bank to withdraw cash for their broker, he was carrying his coffee can to one of the coin dealers in town.

It wasn't until the stock market crashed in 1929 that people started to realize my great grandpa wasn't such an oddball after all; in fact, he was pretty smart.

MANY OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TODAY

Today, there are so many more coin dealers around than there were back then and, while that makes things more convenient, it also means that we have to be far more careful about knowing who we are doing business with. A simple search on eBay for the phrase silver coins brought up nearly 30,000 results!

While it is tempting to jump on board the silver rush immediately, it is important to first educate yourself on what it means to invest in silver and how to go about doing so in a careful and responsible way that will protect your finances, your investments, and your family for years to come. My e-guide, A Guide to Silver Coin Investing, was written with first time silver coin investors in mind and you can download it at absolutely no cost or obligation.

Invest smart!

Investing News - Secrets of Gold Buying and Selling!

2009-06-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Why should you invest in gold today? Because of the uncertaing economic times, with banks exposed for their tardy lending practices and wasting capital, gold is the commodity you want to have. Yes, as far as the security of your investment is concerned, nothing beats gold. Buying and selling gold can also bring you serious profits, and you don't have to be a jeweler or a gold trader, to do just that.

There are many reasons as to why people would sell gold at the moment. More and more people sell their jewelry, to pay the bills, as the credit crunch bites. As a result gold dealers are thriving. However, selling gold coins and jewelry is a world away from using the precious metal to make gold investments. When you buy and sell gold in that capacity then you will find it much more exhilarating and profitable.

If you choose to buy and sell gold at any point in time then you will find that it is incredibly valuable. This might seem a little like stating the obvious but it is a fact worth pointing out given that property, businesses and stocks have lost an awful lot in terms of their value in the recent past. Gold is one of the most stable commodities available for investment because it does not tend to lose much of its value as a result of political or economic change. Of course, the price when you sell gold always mirrors demand but it might be just the thing to put your mind at rest in the era of bank corruption and tumbling stocks and shares. So what exactly is gold investing and how could you buy and sell gold? Well, it is not as hard as most people believe it to be and certainly is not as complicated as it would be if you chose to invest in the stock market!

If you want to buy and sell gold for gold investment purposes then you should start by looking into the institutions and companies that can help you to do just that. There are many financially sound companies that can provide the means for you to invest in gold bars as and when you like. You might also be offered the choice to make an investment in a gold mining company by institutions that sell gold company shares as well. Stocks are not as resilient as gold. As with any company, if there are changes in management or problems within the company itself then the share price will go down. The gold price will not. Stick to actual gold if you can.

Yes, gold coins are much more popular amongst small investors than gold bullion and bars. Coins are my favorite form of gold investment, as they are easy to trade. It can be hard to deal in gold bars, as the quantities are too big for the average investor, right now! If you are looking to buy and sell gold then make sure that your investment is secure at all times. A safe deposit box at your investing institution might be a good idea, as might employing a really reputable company to manage your investment. Never do anything that you do not feel comfortable with though if you want to maximize your return.

Investing News - A Unique Way to Invest Your Money in This Tough Economy

2009-06-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

Investing News - 2008 and 2009 have proven to be one of the worst years for the stock market. It has hit all time lows and has basically everyone that had invested in stocks has lost money on their investments this past year. Because of that, a lot of people are now deciding to not invest in the stock market and just saving their money in traditional savings accounts which really do not earn much interest. For many people, losing half of the retirement or college funds has scared them into not wanting to buy stocks again. This is understandable but people should not be afraid to once again invest in the market. The stock market has crashed many times before always rebounding so if people are just patient, it will get better over time. Another great option is to be a bit more creative with your investments. One example is to use a DO, or a direct offering. This is a way to invest in a smaller company that has not gone public yet but is about to, they just need to raise capital in order to get there. By being one of the investors in that small company, you can choose to really know a lot of things about the company first.

How exactly would you find out about a direct offering? As someone who is deciding on whether or not to invest in a DO, you can find out about these smaller companies from a financial advisor or even by a search on the internet. Once you have found a small company that is available, make sure you research that it is a legitimate business and not something that is just trying to take your money and run. Once that is determined to be a good choice, you will be notified when the company's shares will go on resale to the public. You can invest a lot or just a little, that all depends on how comfortable you are with the risk factor involved. As with many things that could be lucrative, there is a risk involved and the possibility that your money will be lost. This however, offers those that are scared to go with larger companies that have already lost them money in the stock market a new unique way to possibly make some money differently. As we all know, all large companies that end up successful have to start out small at some point and this is your chance to do just that. By going with the direct offering idea, you also eliminate the middle man which could help with your end result as well.

With the difficult economy right now, people wanting to be wise with their money are looking for alternative ways on how to invest. This is just an example of how to do that and hopefully own shares of a company that once becoming a publicly traded company will continue to grow and therefore make you money unlike larger companies that are going under.

Investing News - Bullion Gold Bars - Invest in Your Family's Future With Bullion Vault

2009-06-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

Investing News - For years now there has been consistence all over the world and that is the recognition of what we simply call ... Gold! From the times of ancient Egyptians unto our modern day, gold has changed the lives of so many people. Today, Bullion Gold Bars are far ahead making that same rare distinction known all over the world for its easy diversification investments.

Bullion Vault enables people all over the world to own market gold and keep it in either of their secured vaults in New York, London, or Zurich in Switzerland. Bullion Vault guarantee the purity and weight of its gold whenever you buy or sell through its Good Delivery Form.

As a Bullion Vault customer, you save a lot of money by cutting out the middleman dealing directly with each other. Bullion Vault's public order board makes this possible with their open price competition between thousands of users which drives down the cost of trading gold.

Compared to other gold markets, Bullion Vault stays open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the convenience of their gold owners. Whether buyers or sellers, Bullion Vault is the only gold market that lets its customers compete with its own quoted prices to get all users the best possible deals.

You can purchase Bullion Gold Bars, coins, or jewelry right now for several reasons. Around the world inflation has led to a greater demand for gold. Also, gold production is either flat or falling around the world. However, there are certain strategies you can use to insure you buy at the lowest possible rates.

Make sure that you are dealing with a trusted dealer whenever you purchase gold online. Also, be sure that the gold is solid and true to avoid complications later down the road. There are legitimate dealers across the Internet but you must take caution each step of the way. This is why more and more people are turning to the most trusted name in the gold market.

Whether you're purchasing Bullion Gold Bars or gold coins for its beauty and collection, you should always exercise care when handling them. Before your gold purchase, always remember to check for the weight stated in Troy ounces, the purity percentage (on average this is 99.98% pure), and the serial number to the particular bar. This is a great time to invest in gold for the sake of your family's future.

Investing News - Organizational Investment Management

2009-06-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

Investing News - What are managed?
Essentially, Investment organization refers to the activities carried out by organizations to meet various asset goals. It also involves the supervision and operations related to the assets and securities of the organization. For instance, real estate is one of the valuable capital assets of any organization. Securities involve the negotiable instruments or fungible commodities that represent certain financial value. Also, common stocks are equity security, while debentures and bonds are all debt securities.

Why investment management?
By carrying out efficient asset management and meeting the various investment goals, the organization meets the expectations of the investors. These investors could be private stakeholders who are involved through mutual funds or other collective schemes for asset. The investors could also consist of other stakeholder organizations like various corporations and insurance companies.

What is the investment administration process?
The Investment management process fundamentally consists of deciding how and where to invest the funds. It also comprises of either or both fund organization and collective investment management. There are hundreds of 'investment advisors' today, both individual fund managers as well as dedicated firms offering their services in this segment. But there are many rich private investors who hire special teams for the sake of discretionary and advisory investment management and these teams or firms refer to the process as portfolio organization or wealth organization.

The asset organization 'industry' is responsible for the movement of billions and trillions of various currencies and various tasks are adopted in such a procedure. Firstly, this work requires a lot of analysis and financial research. Asset selection and asset allocation is dealt by the decision makers or advisory board. Bespoke funds are the strongly managed funds that satisfy particular investor requirements, and Blue Chip funds are 'reliable returns on asset' funds. Asset portfolio construction is another important task. This represents the various kinds of assets made by specific investors. Weighting of asset classes (stocks, shares, bonds) is done carefully, considering the relative financial bias.

All organization plans must be executed within a time frame, for maximum returns. A solid plan implementation move is undertaken by the asset organization firms and individuals. Past, present and future asset plans must be analyzed.

Career in investment management
The asset organization industry offers a lot of scope for career. There are fund managers who direct the investment, marketers who bring in funds, internal auditors who examine systems, compliance staff professionals who ensure that activities conform to regulations, financial controllers who account for the money owned and spent, back office workers who monitor and report transactions, computer operators and experts among other investment managing professionals. Independent firms involved in asset organization are known to produce best results.

Possible business problems
Firms who work on investment organization face problems of staffing, because the professionals who generate above-average results often leave the firm in order to manage personal portfolios. Also, the skilled professionals are expensive to hire. Good performance is not sustainable forever, and investors might not tolerate the tough times.

Yet, today the investment organization industry is vast and well spread out, with many countries showing immense potential.

Investing News - If You Are Trading You Are Making Implicit Macro Calls

2009-06-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Many traders and investors think that they can trade in isolation. For instance many value investors think that as long as they do their bottoms up research and always buy stocks when they are below their intrinsic value that they will always make money. In fact some books proclaim that you can have total certainty of making money if you buy supposedly undervalued companies.

What they try to do is make it sound like the overall economy is either too difficult to understand is that it is unimportant. Nothing could really be farther from the truth. In fact no matter what you are investing or trading every decision involves at least a little bit of macro data. Ignoring the global macro picture is foolish if you want to generate consistent and positive returns.

Still not convinced? Let's go through a few examples. Say for example that you find a steel stock and it looks amazingly undervalued. If you only look at book value it might actually have value but if that is all you look at then you are missing some of the biggest risks.

Why is a steel company a good buy? When it is cheap or when there is demand for steel? If you run a correlation you will find that more often then not the steel company moves very closely with the overall trend in steel. What does this tell us? It shows that if we are in a global recession that there will be little if any sustainable demand and that until things at least look a bit better the supposed cheap steel stock will not go higher. In fact if global demand worsens you can actually lose money.

There are literally thousands of example of how ignoring the macro picture can absolutely destroy your trading account. You can get stuck in value trap after value trap if you fail to look at the macro, or big, picture. By recognizing the reality of the situation you can better avoid value traps and large risks.

Investing News - Diversification - The Closest Thing to a Free Lunch on Wall Street

2009-06-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

Investing News - You may have heard the common old saying "There is no such thing as a free lunch." The saying proves very true in investing in the stock market, as there really is no such thing as a free lunch, or guaranteed returns without any risk. The beauty of the world of finance is that typically those who are willing to take more risks, but do so in a wise manner, are able to earn a better return over the long run than those who want to play everything close to the vest. While it is important to be able to speculate and take some risks when you invest in the stock market, the most important lesson you can learn is to make sure you always diversify your portfolio in the best way possible.

What exactly does the word diversification mean? The word diversification is a risk management technique that mixes a number of different investments from all different sectors, industries, and even countries into one portfolio. The intent of diversifying a portfolio is to lower the risk associated with investing in the stock market, while still allowing you to profit nicely from moves in the overall stock market.

What is the biggest risk associated with not diversifying your portfolio? The single biggest risk is a sudden sharp loss from a certain stock or sector that crushes your entire portfolio because of the huge weighting you have put on that particular asset or group of assets. Many people have seen their life savings flushed down the drain because they had their entire 401k in their company's stock and the company then goes bankrupt. You need to guard yourself against this kind of terrible financial pain.

Even when you diversify you must understand that no matter what you do in the stock market there will always be a certain amount of risk. There is absolutely no way of removing that risk entirely, and if there was it would be too easy and everyone could be a millionaire. It is also imperative that every investor try their best to match risk versus reward, meaning they take an adequate amount of risk in order to get the greatest reward possible, without taking on too much risk.

How can you become diversified? It can be difficult for many investors to diversify their own investment portfolio of stocks because they simply don't have the capital to do so. In order to be able to feel like you have diversified your portfolio of stocks you must be able to invest in at least 12 to 15 individual stocks. If you are spreading yourself too thin by doing that, then you would be wise to purchase a mutual fund, which is terrific for diversification purposes. If you are able to diversify your portfolio through purchases of individual stocks you can do so by getting into different industries, different countries, and different market capitalization companies. It is also a good idea to keep track of the amount of growth stocks you have versus value stocks.

The bottom line is diversification is there for you if you wish to reduce your investment risk. Be wise about diversifying, but if you don't heed the calls of diversification it shouldn't be a surprise if you find yourself fretting quite often about your portfolio.

Investing News - Five Reasons to Invest in Index Funds

2009-06-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Overview

First, a quick overview. A stock market index tries to measure a portion of the stock market spectrum. The most famous indexes are the Dow Jones Industrials (30 largest stocks) and then Standard and Poor 500, or S&P 500 (the top 500 US stocks by market capitalization). There are plenty of indexes that track a multitude of industries, capitalizations and other parts of the market.

An index fund attempts to mimic the behavior of stocks within a particular index. There is no analysis or decision making that is required, just making sure the portfolio continues to match the actual index being tracked. This means a lower number of trades and fewer capital gains - the result is that the fund is substantially lower to maintain. Over time, these costs savings can be significant - and they get passed on to the customer - you!

Reasons To Invest in Index Funds

Index funds are a great choice for most investors. Here are five compelling reasons why:
Costs - the management fees are significantly lower in these funds than actively managed funds. Over a 10-30 year time horizon, that can mean tens of thousands of dollars or more!
Tax Advantaged - since index funds are not actively managed, there are fewer trades and thus, fewer capital gains being passed on to you. This also means much easier taxes.
Performance - it is a proven fact that the majority of actively managed funds underperform index funds. While it is possible to outperform them, with the expenses and tax implications, the odds are stacked heavily against you.
Personal Time - researching investments, specifically stocks and mutual funds, requires time and understanding. Investing in index funds is much faster.
Beats Stocks - for most of the reasons above, index funds are a much better choice than stocks - you get built in diversification, less transactions, less research, lower fees annually.

Now you could invest in individual stocks, but it would probably be a more expensive hobby. Hopefully we have convinced you to at least consider using index funds at the core of your portfolio investments. Good luck.

Investing News - How to Spot the Next Ponzi Scheme

2009-06-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

Investing News - With the staggeringly high number of Ponzi schemes that had already been revealed this past decade, one cannot help but wonder why a lot of people continue to fall for this fraud. It is important to recognize that no two Ponzi schemes are exactly similar. It comes in all shapes, colors, and forms. Their differing characteristics make Ponzi schemes difficult to pinpoint. The only thing they have in common is investment returns that seem too good to be real. However, there are also times when the profits are not even that impressive. In most cases though, you can detect a Ponzi scheme if you are offered a consistent and above-average return every year.

How Does a Ponzi Scheme Work?

A classic Ponzi scheme involves the perpetuation asking for "investment" money but then turns around and uses the money for himself. He then comes up with fictitious profits when paying the investors. The said "profits" are actually other people's money. This scheme can continue until people realize that there is not enough money to pay off the investors. The Ponzi scheme soon collapses.

Though the financial damage brought about by this system can be great, the SEC is almost powerless to stop it at its roots. This is because there is no exact definition that describes what a Ponzi scheme is. Some perpetuations actually invest some of the money as promised. But he uses the remaining investments to pay off previous investors or lavish cash on himself.

Understanding Pyramid Schemes

Pyramid schemes are a variation of the Ponzi scheme. It essentially uses the same concept but it uses a large number of agents. For example, the main perpetuator will ask two people to "invest" in an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Assuming that the two individuals fall for it, they are given a chance to give the same "offer" to their friends and families. Meanwhile, they will derive a certain amount as commission. Theoretically, the investors are given a chance to recover some part of their investment by asking others to sign up. At first, it would seem that everyone is making money but eventually, the fraudulent system will be revealed once they can no longer recruit others into the pyramid.

In essence, both the Ponzi and pyramid system can be characterized by their reliance on money coming in from new investors, their requirement of new investors to pay off the returns, and the absence of effort to make honest and profitable work.

Investing News - How Trading Markets Can Help You Earn Easy Money

2009-06-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Today there are thousands of people looking for a chance to earn easy money through trading markets. Unfortunately many people don't know how to tap into this resource. The fact is that there are niche specific trading markets that mimic the Stock Market, right down to the exchange of real money.

Sports trading markets are one example of this kind of exchange. People buy stock in their favorite athletes and teams and then buy and sell their stock as market fluctuates. Unlike sports gambling, trading teams and athletes is viewed as investment that can turn even the most passive of sports fans into a lucrative way of making money.

If you purchase stock in your favorite football player, you have the option of investing in the player, meaning that you hold on to the stock, or you can trade the player and earn money on your trade. Many people join in on sports trading as a safer and more interactive option to sports gambling. Further, it's considered more acceptable than gambling as you have the option to hold on to the stock you've purchased until you are able to reach a higher return on your trade.

While nearly anyone can take part in the sports trade exchange, it is beneficial that you have some knowledge of the teams and players that are on the exchange. Odds are that you will be buying and selling stocks against someone who is extremely sports savvy. In short it's best to do some research on the teams and players that you're investing or you may wind up losing money; just as you would in the real stock market.

There are a number of online venues for you to join and get started in sports trading. An Internet search can put you in touch with sites that allow free accounts. From there, you can put down a small amount of money to purchase player and team stocks and begin playing in the sports trading markets. Bear in mind that while you may have fun playing, you also have the opportunity to earn easy money as well.
Easy money sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Well, here's your chance to make your move!

Investing News - Improve Your Finances, Cut Back Where You Can

2009-06-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Market changes have forced a lot of expenses to go up. If you notice, your mortgage payments and other costs are not at the same level as before. For the ordinary consumer, this means less purchasing power and lower standard of living. Fortunately, you can fight back by knowing the tips and tricks in saving money. We have compiled five tips that will help you financially during tough economic times:

• Check your mortgage - most mortgage lenders offer an introductory offer. If you took advantage of this, make sure that you know when it will end so that you can remortgage in time. With the variable rate of as much as 8.5%, no one wants to make even one late payment.

• Save on energy expenses - previously, consumers weren't that concerned about their energy bills. It was just something to be paid each month. With today's harsh condition though, every penny counts. If you make a conscious effort to cut back, you might be surprised by the amount of savings you can keep each month.

• Lower your grocery bills - it is easy to get tempted on the grocery. By preparing a list and sticking to it, you can eliminate a lot of unnecessary expenses. In addition, using coupons and buying items that are really on sale can dramatically reduce your expenses.

• Phone calls - although landlines are no longer popular as before, some people still rack up expensive monthly bills. If this is the case for you, examine your pattern and implement strategies that will help lower it. For example, getting an affordable package will help or you can make less-urgent calls during off-peak hours. It is even better if you can manage to call using the VoIP technology instead.

• Gym membership - it is true that investing for your health is good. In fact, it is probably one of the best investment policies out there. However, if you have an expensive gym membership that you barely use, consider some alternatives. For example, look into the gyms that offer pay-per-trip programs. That way, you only need to pay for the times when you actually exercise.

These tips are just an overview of what you can do to save on your bills. There are many more ways to save according to your unique circumstance. In addition, combining effective investment practices with your saving strategies will help you attain better financial health.

Investing News - How Bartering Can Get You Everything You Want in Life

2009-06-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

Investing News - What if you desperately needed something done in your life, maybe you needed to fix your car or your home, but you have absolutely no money to do it? What would you do? Well, simply take a tip from the millions of people all over the world who've been in the same boat as you and simply barter for what you need.

The concept of bartering can trace its history back to the earliest records of man. If you had something that somebody else wanted and in turn they had something you wanted you would simply trade. The system of bartering is extremely efficient and that requires no paperwork or wages to be earned but instead, is simply a gentleman's agreement that will satisfy two parties at the same time.

If you posses a particular skill or trade, then chances are you can find somebody to barter with. Hundreds of barter clubs have been formed all over the world and are popping up all the time. These clubs feature its members and the skills they possess and allow them the ability to communicate with each other to create specific barter relationships. Some people will do your taxes for free if you let them stay in your vacation home. Others will give you an old family car if you will paint their house. The types of barter arrangements are basically endless.

Now, thanks to the Internet, the system of bartering has brought people even closer together. Because there are some products and services that folks can provide electronically, someone in the United States can barter with somebody in Russia; this is something that was generally never possible before the advent of the Internet. One way to get involved in these online barter clubs is to simply begin making a list of all the skills and services that you can provide to someone. In addition, try to put a specific value on those services to help better gauge what your barter will be worth. Once you enter your information online you can search for all the types of barter arrangements being advertised. If you find someone looking for your particular skill and they're offering something that you could use, then make the barter and reap the rewards.

So remember, the next time your cash is low but your needs are high, bartering may just be your solution to getting exactly what you need.

Investing News - Gambling Or Investing?

2009-06-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

Investing News - A couple of years ago I was teaching a course at a local college and a student, knowing that I was in the investment management profession, stated that she thought investing in stocks was akin to gambling.

Was she right?

According to my American Heritage Dictionary, gambling is "Betting on an uncertain outcome; Taking a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage; or Engaging in reckless or hazardous behavior." Given the definitions, investing in stocks, bonds, or other securities could be considered gambling. After all, one never knows when they buy a bond if the company will be in business when it comes time to collect and pretty much everyone has figured out the stocks can go down as well as up.

Yet, I think that my student wasn't thinking of the dictionary definition of gambling, but rather was comparing investing in stocks to be the same as pulling the lever of a slot machine, throwing the die in a game of craps, or playing black jack. Is investing the same as these activities? It doesn't need to be.

Statistics show that Vegas-style gambling in the long run will lose you money. After all, that is how the casinos can afford to build pyramids, castles, and pirate ships. Investments, on the other hand, give you gains over the long run. Certainly all investments have some form of risk associated with them; risks that are accepted in the hope of gain. This is where we can take a lesson from Vegas.

What does Vegas have to teach us? You can put a quarter in a slot machine and win $100, $10,000, or even $1 million. How can the casino survive giving away money like that? You know the answer: because most of the time you put your quarter in and walk away with nothing. Sure, now and then someone walks away a winner (and tells all their friends back home) but most people most of the time lose money. The casino can survive because they are prepared for the occasional winner and can be quite patient while all the rest of us hand over our money. They don't close down the first time someone wins, distraught over their bad luck. They keep at it knowing that they'll get that money back and then some.

Many people don't have that kind of patience. All they see are the risks that abound.

To understand investment risk, investors must accept certain fundamental truths. First, there is no such thing as a risk-free investment. Second, investors seeking greater investment rewards must be willing to accept greater risk. Conversely, if an investor is unwilling to accept a given level of risk, then they need to lower their expectations. Third, the risks an investor faces can vary depending on how long an investor has to achieve her or his investment goals. Finally, while risk cannot be eliminated, it can be managed through careful planning and following a disciplined investment process.

One form of risk that everyone understands is "principal risk." That's the risk that you buy an investment (a stock, bond or parcel of real estate) that suffers a permanent decline in value. The Exxon bankruptcy is a perfect example, its bondholders may only receive pennies on the dollar for their interest-bearing bonds and stockholders have seen their investment go to zero.

This risk is easily removed by investing in a diversified manner. Don't buy just one stock or bond; buy dozens from different companies in different industries. Too hard? Then use a mutual fund to do the diversifying for you.

Another risk investors face is volatility. That's the chance that on any given day, the financial markets might value your investment at a price greater or smaller than it did yesterday. Almost all investments are subject to the risk of volatility. Even rock-solid U.S. government bonds fluctuate in value when interest rates move.

With volatility, owning a bunch of stocks, bonds, or a mutual fund won't get you out of that risk. Instead it takes time--time for the downs in the market to be overcome by the ups. Each type of investment has its own characteristics. Some require only a few months for the ups and downs to cancel out, some take decades. You will need to match your investments with the time you have for them to grow. The more time you have the better growth you can shoot for.

But the risk that most investors ignore is inflation. This is the risk (pretty much a sure thing) that the purchasing power of a dollar goes down. For example, over 25 years (the length of retirement for many people) an inflation rate of 3% will rob over half of the purchasing power of every dollar you have. Trying to avoid principle risk and volatility risk by sticking with CDs or other guaranteed income accounts makes it hard, if not impossible, for your investments to grow faster than inflation.

So, is investing the same as gambling? It can be. But if you diversifying your investments, have patience during the bad years, and match your portfolio to the time you have until you need the money you won't eliminate risks, but you can eliminate the effect of those risks. That's the way the casino owner can still smile when writing a $1 million check to a super-grand-mega-winner in slots. It's because he's looking at all of the other machines digesting a whole lot of quarters.

He's investing. Are you?

Investing News - Morning Obituary - Buy and Hold Investing

2009-06-16T00:35:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Based upon what I have been hearing via the market pundits, it appears as if the funeral procession for buy and hold investing has recently left the chapel. Without question the recent turmoil in the markets left most buy and hold followers wondering whether they were lemmings foolishly following the pack over a cliff. That maybe so depending upon your viewpoint, but I am not so sure I am ready to jump on the bandwagon and write it off just yet. First of all, "Buy and Hold is Dead" because it was never really born to begin with. It was never meant to be interpreted as buy and ignore which is what it had become. "Buy and Hold" was intended to be a phrase for promoting patience with an investment. Somehow this patience turned into a deep sleep as the go-go years of the past two decades proved that anyone could make money, even those who were asleep at the wheel. Because the markets were rarely challenging, over time investors became accustomed to consistent above-average returns. They learned with Pavlovian-like response that they could just throw their money at the market with no real strategy and their dreams of massive wealth would come true. Unfortunately, we learned this past year that things can change in an instant.

First it is important to understand a few things:
1. Unlike trading where you are jumping in and out of the markets based on short term trends and trying to make a quick buck, "buy and hold" refers to an investment strategy that involves buying investments and holding them through the up's and down's of their inevitable price fluctuations. This is done on the theory that doing so will be more profitable than the pointless efforts of market timing and oft hyped and oversold stock-picking strategies. This assumes the investments chosen continue to warrant holding until an underlying fundamental change takes place that threatens the businesses success.
2. Despite the near absence of a pure buy-and-hold strategy, in every bear market, like clockwork, attention and money driven market pitchmen across the country take the stage to administer holy rites and declare that "buy and hold" is dead and they have found the way to the fountain of eternal riches. This is in an attempt to capture the enormous number of disgruntled investors who have lost money and are looking for a new and foolproof way to make them rich.
3. Like most things in life, a "buy and hold" strategy really doesn't exist in its purest form. Most advisors I know who followed the buy and hold mantra were taught to rebalance their client's portfolios periodically to manage portfolio risks and capture diversification benefits. Additionally, advisors would adjust portfolio allocations to account for changes in a client's life circumstances or when their research led them to the new idea or useful new investment products (such as ETF's). The idea was to not actively trade a client's account but rather make strong up-front investment selections and hold until a compelling event signaled that a change was needed. That event could be triggered because specific investment event or even as importantly, a change in long-term economic fundamentals that was not present at the time the investment was chosen. The past (prior to 2008) economic and investment landscape was such that this methodology would facilitate success and was supported by compelling long-term statistical data. So, it was not truly "buy-and-hold" but rather "buy-monitor-and-change as needed."

Warren Buffett, the champion of the "buy and hold" strategy, has built a hundred billion dollar company by following this type of investment strategy. However, both Mr. Buffet and the "buy and hold" followers have taken it on the chin in the past year. People who employed this style of investing have seen decades of gains get flushed down the toilet in just a few short months. As such, for the average investor who is short on patience but long on memory, the "buy and hold" investment philosophy is likely to be dead for a while until faith in the markets has been restored. Investors will need to get excited again about the long-term prospects of the markets, and in order for this to happen, a sustained bull market will need to take place. There will always be the short term speculators who see an opportunity in any environment but true buy-and-holders are now very wary of the markets and have become gun shy towards investment risk.

In summary, buy and hold, properly defined, is not a static, one-size fits all investment strategy -- it is a philosophy -- one that speaks to the virtues that embody successful financial behavior -- simplicity, moderation and patience -- the same virtues that define the one investor that may embody this buy and hold philosophy more than any other investor -- Warren Buffett.

Like the Great Depression, the current crisis has changed the United States and possibly the world forever. While the final outcome is uncertain, what can't be denied is that in the years to come, because of their inexorable link, the world economy, investing and financial planning will never be the same. As such, investors will not only need to adapt to the current new investing paradigm created from the latest bursting bubble(s) but also be flexible and open to change because I expect to see dramatic changes going forward based upon structural shifts to the world's economic model which include. Some of these are in process and others will take a long time to unfold.

· Massive Governmental debt loads that could take decades to wind down
· Increased taxation or excessive inflation in an effort to reduce debt
· Ongoing consumer and corporate deleveraging (which will be offset by that taken on by the Govt)
· Increased regulation and oversight muting the liquidity and freedom of unabated market movements
· Increased consumer savings
· Global economic power shift from a US-dominated sphere of influence to a multi-national one
· Debasement of the US Dollar
· Reduced appetite for investment risk
· Muted long-term US growth
· Focused growth opportunities in demographically favorable countries

While one could argue that some the above shifts have been on the radar for years, they had been overshadowed and virtually ignored by retail investors due to the continued historical upward momentum of stock prices. This euphoria was driven by massive expansion of US consumer and debt fueled by the Fed's "cheap money" policies of the past decade and like all bubbles before it was doomed from the outset and was just a matter of time before it burst. Our past indulgences have come back to roost and will take years to unwind. As investors, never in the past have we faced so many obstacles with so many interchangeable moving parts that will affect our investment success. Considering the headwinds investors face, now is not the time to close your eyes, let your attention drift off to other things and hope that the previously successful "buy and ignore" strategy will thrive. Success will find those who have built a "buy and monitor" portfolio ready to not only weather but capitalize on the coming shifts. Additionally, each investor will need to remain actively involved because even in a poor economic climate opportunities will present themselves but until they do capital preservation and financial staying power is paramount.

Investing News - Finding You Own Trading Style

2009-06-15T00:34:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Some of us may start trading after attending a trading course in exchange for the knowledge imparted by some amateurs or experts. Some people may start trading after reading several books and paper trading for months. Some regard trading as a way of lifestyle, playing the game of who's right and who's wrong on the pricing of the securities. Some regard trading as a self discovery journey on how to deal with innate human emotions. Whatever the case may be, all of us began our own trading career some point in life with many different reasons. We have our unique own way of analysis and looking at things differently, not to mention on how emotions will affect our reactions in different market conditions. That is why we always hear people saying that the market is always in a constant flux of emotions. It is a chaotic place where greed and fear prevail. If there is ever a list of the toughest careers in the world, trading has got to be one of them. This is a career that will require your passion, dedication, full focus, discipline, lots of thinking and reading on your part to constantly upgrade your knowledge and trading skills, and most importantly of all, your ability to control your emotions and not let them affect your judgment

So what am i required to know if i am just starting out? One of the keys to successful trading, would be to find your own trading style. Are you comfortable investing for the long term, such as 5 years and above? Are you more inclined to making money in a shorter time frame like a few days to a week or even a few weeks to a few months? Are you hungry for excitement and willing to take risk by trading just a few hours to a day? This will have to depend on your emotions when you are trading. Each individual has a unique level of tolerance for risk and area of comfort. Some people may be a hybrid and comfortable in trading or investing over different time frames. However, every trader will have one comfortable trading time frame which suits their style. Unfortunately there are no guides to finding that. You will only discover your own trading style when you first start to trade. Only time will tell.

One thing to take note of, is to know that not everyone is a born expert trader. It is unsuitable and not recommended for the weak-hearted who allow their emotions to take over their thinking every time the market fluctuates. There is always a probability of losing money whether you are just starting out or already are a seasoned trader. The question will be how fast? Again, only time will tell. One thing for sure, every trader has lost money. It can be due to mistakes, emotions or something else. This is why it is crucial to your trading career to stack as many odds in your favor as possible.

Discovering your trading style is only one of the key factors to solving the puzzle. Trading can be very difficult and stressful. However, a piece of good news will be the implementing of many strategies accordingly and also the use of time frames to your advantage when you have discover your trading style. Slowly work your way up the learning curve. Unlock your trading potential by first discovering your trading style.

Investing News - Get 30%-50% Of Your Investment Monthly

2009-06-14T00:30:00.000-07:00

Investing News - A lot of investment program has evolve in the past promising huge returns, but some of them fail to produce or fulfilled there promises to there client.

Investment is one of the best way to make money with ease be it online or offline. Many people have enjoyed investment from many online investment companies in the past.

We also have been yielding profitable return from the past 4years...

But what king of company can you invest your fund with?
I will advice here that anyone trying or perhaps want to invest should ask his investment company what they do with there client fund.

HOW DOES OUR INVESTMENT PROGRAM WORK?
The simple way is that investors get 30% or even 50% of there initial deposit every month for five month... can you beat that... Many investor today have enjoyed investment that is when they see their returns flowing into there bank account every month.

BUT WHY SHOULD YOU INVEST?
Oh! I think we should all invest our money to make huge returns without us doing anything while the company involve should do all the work for us, while the investors keep banging in profit.

The best way for we all is to at least have saving that will guarantee us a returns, and our mind will be set aside that we have some backup fund invested somewhere. Our investment can be use for so many reasons like the following:

1. Buy a House
2. Own a car of your dream
3. Pay for annual wages
4. Your children can have it an inheritances to them and
5. To make you whoever you want to become in life

Investing is the livelihood of all human and if we must enjoy what we have worked for, I think we should all put our fund to earn us our dreams.

Investing News - Investing - An Art Or Just Pure Stress?

2009-06-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

Investing News - The key to making good investment decisions is to think properly. As rich and obvious as that may sound, consider that most financial decisions are indeed made emotionally.

Perhaps it's the financial complications that make it so difficult. I covered investment psychology recently so no need to go over old ground, but there is evidence that many domestic investors have indeed left the noise behind them to make timely investment decisions.

Only a month ago the world was ending according to the press. Some poor MP mentioned she could see some green shoots and was hammered for being positive. I was puzzled. They highlighted all the background data and asked how she could be positive with such a backdrop. She reluctantly took back her positive remark. Have I missed something?

Whilst these individuals had their heads firmly in their expense claims the financial world, which they clearly struggle with, motored on.

Investing is like driving a car. You look ahead, with the odd glimpse behind. Alternatively you could consider an approach of driving whilst looking straight at your groin and the rear view mirror. Which is the better thought?

At the end of March the Organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD) advised that global GDP would plummet. 'Wow, big headline' I thought. 'Time to bail out' might have been the next thought.

That is if you believe noise and journalistic drivel. One month later on the 11th of May the president of the European central bank (Mr JC Trichet) advises us that the downturn has now bottomed out. The OECD were just as quick to respond commenting that there were indeed signs of a pause in the economic slowdown in France, Italy, the UK and China.(1)

Sorry gentlemen, where on earth did Armageddon go to? It was as recent as late April that all major central bankers and finance ministers gathered in Washington and the international monetary fund said we would have a sharp contraction this year followed by a sluggish recovery in 2010.

At the beginning of March the FTSE allshare stood at 1781 and on the 11th of May it stood at 2262. So whilst they rustled through their views of the agony of the world and expense forms, the FTSE all share returned 27% (at current rates that's way over ten years growth in the building society). This return was achieved in the one month when all hell was declared. (2)

And now we are advised that there is a return to confidence within the business and consumer's sentiment. What a month!

Indeed JC Trichet had a one week turnaround in sentiment. Last week he was proclaiming that the 16 euro zone countries would be weak for some time, and only a week later he states that we were indeed at inflection point and that some countries were beyond inflection point. I have given central bankers enough abuse but the general summary is that the pace of shrinking of global economies is indeed slowing. Aaah a sigh of relief for us all. Or is it?

Well now that doomsday has been cancelled, much of the capital sitting in zero yielding cash has made its way back into investments and supported markets.

Remember however that the reason the Bank of England has extended the quantitative easing from £75bn to £125bn is because they believe it's needed.

It is generally felt now that equity prices are indeed moving north rather than south and as long as that sentiment is sustained the next self fulfilling prophesy will apply.

Be mindful that there will be more shocks and active management of your capital will be needed. This will be a bit like driving your 15 year old car out of a flood with misfires and splutters in abundance so make sure you take good investment advice.

Investing News - Make Small Investments and Big Profits in Oil, Gold, Or Real Estate

2009-06-12T00:28:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Make money when the price of oil, gold or real estate goes up, and do it the easy way! You can invest less than $500, or as much as you like.

What happens when the price of these "hard" or tangible assets go up? Speculators with a ton of money get rich trading commodities futures contracts or otherwise leveraging their money to the hilt.

Can the little guy make money without taking on heavy risk? You bet you can, and you can do it on a budget while limiting your exposure to risk.

When the value or price of these assets go up, so do profits for the companies that mine, refine, produce and invest in these arenas. For example, when oil prices are high so are profits for the oil companies. When gold prices soar, the increase in gold prices goes right to the bottom line of gold mining companies.

When real estate prices go up, companies that invest in commercial real estate like office buildings and shopping centers make big money.

When profits soar, stock prices follow suit.

You can invest in any of the above by simply buying and holding the appropriate mutual fund or ETF (exchange traded fund). For example, at today's prices you could buy 100 shares of an ETF with the stock symbol DXO for less than $400. If oil prices take off, so should DXO. Or, you could buy 100 shares of URE for about $400 if you prefer the real- estate game. There are also ETF's that track the price of gold.

An ETF is easy to buy, and you can sell your investment with the click of a computer mouse for a $10 commission, if you have an account with a major discount broker.

If you want to be more conservative, just buy mutual funds. Natural resources funds invest in oil company stocks. Gold funds invest in gold stocks, and real estate funds hold shares of real estate investment companies called real estate investment trusts (REITS).

You can speculate with small amounts of money in ETFs. Some of them give you 2X or 3X leverage. You don't need to borrow money personally to get leverage.

You can also buy the above mutual funds to add balance to your existing portfolio of stocks and bonds.

Investing News - Gemstone Investing - Is it a Good Idea?

2009-06-11T00:26:00.000-07:00

Investing News - In 1956 Warren Hancock, a Montana rancher and colored diamond collector, bought a 0.95 carat red diamond from his local jeweler for $13,500. In 1987 his heirs sold the diamond at Christie's auction for $880,000. It's fair to say that this was one of the greatest gemstone investments of the century.

This kind of extraordinary success leads many people to want to emulate Mr. Hancock. Especially in times when interest rates are low and the stock market is declining, gemstones look like attractive investments -- they are highly portable, easy to store and always maintain their worth due to their intrinsic value. The supply of natural gemstones is always limited and in fact many mines have already been worked out. It's not surprising that the prices of many gemstones have been steadily appreciating.

In many parts of the world, so-called hard assets such as land, gold and gemstones have been preferred over soft assets like stocks, bonds and even currency. But if you are considering gemstones as an investment you should be aware of some the differences between gemstones and hard assets like gold.

If you own gold jewelry, coins or bars, you can convert your gold to cash nearly anywhere in the world. You simply go to a gold shop or gold trader who will test your gold, weigh it and pay you the standard price for it. Gold has excellent liquidity, better than nearly any other asset.

Gemstones, on the hand, are like real estate -- it may not be very easy to sell when you want to. Chances are you will always be able to find a buyer, but the buyer you'll find is likely to be an opportunist who is only willing to pay a low price. You can find out for yourself by taking one of your favorite gems or pieces of jewelry to your local jeweler and asking him how much he'll pay you for it. That will give you a very good idea of the liquidity of gemstones.
If you're thinking of investing in gemstones, you might do best by emulating Mr. Hancock. Buy what you love and what you can afford. Buy colored gems to collect and not with the idea of turning a profit. If you hold your collection long enough, it may indeed be worth a lot of money some day. Mr. Hancock never lived to see the day when his best diamond was sold at auction for an enormous sum. But we can safely assume he derived a great deal of pleasure from his collection during his lifetime.

GemSelect is a leading online dealer in fine gemstones, specializing in sapphire, spinel, tourmaline, topaz and zircon.

Investing News - Making Money With Tax Lien Investing

2009-06-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

Investing News - In the 25 plus years I've pursued tax lien investing. I can't tell you the number of times I've been asked basic stuff like; how do you select what lien certificates to buy? What auctions to attend? Do you buy for the return on your investment?-or do you buy to own the property? What do you do after you bought a certificate? What's the secret of making money with tax liens that the guru's know that I don't and why won't they tell me? And on and on...

Does this sound like you?

If so read on. I'll try to explain the basics and how it relates to you making money. If you able to answer the above questions then just skip the article.

The basic Ways of Making Money with tax lien certificates.

There are many way to make money. But the two most common approaches are investing for the return that is offered and investing to gain full ownership of the property.

I will address Investing for the return in this article and get into investing to own in another post.

Investing for the return is by far the most common approach taken to investing in tax lien certificates. You attend a sale buy a couple certificates put them in a draw and wait for them to be redeemed.

It can't get much simpler.

In Louisiana state statute entitles you to 1 % interest per month and a 5 % penalty. If you spend $100 on January 1st and the property gets redeemed on February 1st you should get a check for $106. Not bad for an investment that is secured with a senior position on a piece of real estate. Now consider you go into a bank and buy a CD. Today that rate over the same period is .089% or a return of approximately 9 cents. Be still my heart! At least with 6 bucks you can head to the Mickey D's and get the happy meal. With 9 cents you get .....What ..... a stick of gum if you're lucky. Think!

This is by far the most common approach to making money with tax lien certificates. You attend a government auction, buy a certificate and wait for it to be redeemed. You don't need to do anything else. The only thing you need to know is when and where the tax sale is held. What's the statutory interest and redemption period and how does a tax debtor (homeowner) redeem the property. Pretty much everything can be answered by the tax collector in the county that is conducting the tax sale. And that's pretty much where most tax sale guru's end the discussion.

In Mississippi the return is 18 % per annum and a 2 year redemption period.
Alabama 12% return and 3 year redemption period.
Arizona 16% return and a 3 year redemption period.

...And on and on...

There is a lot more than that to investing in tax certificates. But I have yet to see a tax sale course take it beyond the statutory rate of return and period of redemption. You'll just have to trust me for now. That discussion is way beyond the scope for the time and space allotted here.

Of course all the guru's use the biggest teaser of all to sell their program.

When a property doesn't get redeemed and you end up owning it for pennies on the dollar. What could be better than buying a home for a couple of dollars? Owing a home for less money than a homeless guy shaking a can on a street corner for spare change collects?

The secret boils down to knowing the law and procedures for the county in which the property is located. State law dictated how the sales are to be conducted. In Louisiana article 7 section 25 of the state Constitution and Louisiana Revised Statuted Title 47 as well as the US Constitution are the guiding documents when it comes to conducting tax sales and redemption.

You are going to have to invest some time and familiarize yourself with the same in whatever state you intend to invest. There are no secrets. Everything is recorder and documented. You just need to know where to look.

If you are serious about making money investing in tax liens you are going to have to invest some time, energy and thought to make it happen. If you are just a dreamer then quit now. It takes work, dedication and a little bit of cash. But it ain't rocket science. On the other end the rewards can be better than you ever dreamed.

Investing News - Another Bubble in the Making?

2009-06-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

Investing News - The market has staged a very impressive rally since the March 6th low. At that time the S&P bottomed at 666 and is now around 900. This massive rally has occurred in just two and a half months. Some talking heads in the media are now saying that this is the start of the next bull market. Many call a move of 20% or more a bull market and perhaps by that definition they are correct. However, the decline seen last year should then be called a 'mega bear' as the S&P went from 1576 to 666 in just 18 months.

Some market technicians like myself, that follow cycles, were looking for a rally in the market in the month of March. It is very common to see major reversals or turning points in the months of March and October. Even last March (2008), as Bear Stearns collapsed it was the buying opportunity of a lifetime. The S&P bottomed at 1256 and rallied into May 19th, hitting a high of 1440. This current rally has been much greater in price and about average in time. The difference with this rally is that this market has not had much of a pullback off this meteoric rise. What is making this rally so much different from last year? Obviously stimulus and government intervention.

In 2001, the Federal Reserve lowered rates to 1% as the market was in a deep bear market from the tech bubble and the 911 tragedy. This sparked a housing boom that created countless jobs. The jobs created were in construction, banking, real estate sales, home flipping, and even trickled down to the local sandwich shop. This also spurred the home owners to use there home equity like an endless ATM machine. The bubble created was most likely the biggest created in over 100 years. The bust now is mirroring the Great Depression.

Many traders know that the markets are ruled by emotion. The late Jesse Livermore used to say that there are four main emotions that control the markets. They are fear, greed, hope, and ignorance. In October 2007 when the market was at its all time high, it is safe that we saw a lot of greed and a lot of ignorance. In 2008 we did see a whole lot of fear as the markets fell off a cliff. Fear is the strongest of all the human emotions and that is why markets drop so quickly as opposed to moving higher. Then, there is the emotion of hope. Could this market now be in hope mode?

The Fed has lowered the fed funds rate to 0-1%. They are also buying almost a trillion dollars worth of mortgage backed securities. Working with FRB, the U.S. Treasury has created the Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP). The accounting rules such as 'mark to market' accounting have been changed giving the banks profitable earnings instead of massive losses. The SEC has changed many rules regarding short selling and regulation. All of this and more has been done giving the markets hope. Hope has stocks up huge since the lows in March.

In 1930, during the Great Depression, many similar rules and efforts took place as well. At that time, the market bounced for six months off the lows retracing about 50% of the total fall made from the 1929 high. However, soon after, the market collapsed again. It made new lows and did not bottom until mid 1932. The irony is back then, the Republican party was completely swept out of office as is the case this time around. Can the U.S. re-inflate the markets or just create another commodity bubble? Are the job losses going to stop? Will new jobs emerge to replace the lost ones? Will it be different this time around? These are questions that still need to be answered. As for now there is just hope. My bet is with history.

Investing News - Protecting Your Portfolio - The Cost of Feeling Safe

2009-06-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Life often seems safest when, in fact, it's not. I was reading the January 12, 2004 issue of the New Yorker magazine, which had an article written by Malcolm Gladwell. If you are not familiar with Malcolm's work, he wrote a book called The Tipping Point. I consider his book to be one of the better books I've read. If you have time, check it out from the library and let me know what you think. Malcolm's article was titled, "Big and Bad: How the SUV ran over Automotive Safety." His article covers reasons behind the rise in popularity of the SUV.

One top reason expressed by consumers for buying the mega-sized SUVs is their safety, or should I say, perceived safety. People bought Cadillac Escalades, Ford Expeditions and the like because they were perceived as safe. Makes sense: If you want a safe vehicle, buy a 5,000 lb monster that sits three feet higher than the rest of the cars out there and, if needed, could plow over anything in its way. Without looking up statistics, the majority of the public, including me, would agree that these vehicles would be safer than, say, a Porsche sports car.

These SUVs are massive. But because they are based on truck standards, and not car standards, they don't have to meet the safety requirements for automobiles. In addition to meeting lower safety standards, these SUVs, because of their weight, lack the ability to dodge an accident. It's hard to move 5,000 lbs out of the way of something coming at you fast. The weight of an SUV literally resists you when you try to move it in a certain direction. In his article, Malcolm compared the Mega SUVs with Porsche Boxters.

The public would probably consider a Porsche less safe because of its size. It's small, sits low to the ground, and would not do well in an accident with an Escalade. But here's the detail: a Boxster can get out of the way of an on-coming car, truck or Escalade. Therefore, statistically, it is a safer vehicle to drive because the driver has a better chance of avoiding accidents.

This flies in the face of conventional wisdom. The Porsche is smaller, and if hit head-on by a truck, it would get squashed. The paradox is that Porsches don't get hit head-on (or from any side) as much as Escalades because their drivers are more aware and their vehicles are more agile. Porsche drivers are more aware because of the naturally reduced feeling of safety when driving smaller cars. SUVs are less safe because they make their drivers feel safe. And feeling safe means not having to pay as much attention to what's going on around you. "When we feel safe, we tend to be passive." And passive means not paying attention. Not paying attention means not being safe. It's a vicious cycle.

Compare this to the stock market. When people feel safe about their investments, they become very passive about the safety of their money. Most people believed that the stock market was very safe during the drop of 2000, 2001 and 2002, so they stayed invested through the entire drop. You could say that most people were in the "Escalade" investment mode, and because of the perceived safety of the market, they fell asleep at the wheel and got themselves into a financial accident.

Smaller cars like the Porsche are safer because they make their owners feel less safe. If you feel less safe, you pay more attention to what is going on around you. If you feel safer, you will pay less attention. As Malcolm states, "It's that feeling of safety that is the problem." People are starting to feel safe being in the stock market ... again. This blows my mind. I'm already hearing people talk as if they are driving the Escalade investment plan. People are talking about how they are going to make up their losses and still try to get to their financial retirement goals within only a year or two. This is very dangerous talk. We are not in safe times, even if the market is going up full strength.

We sit today at historic valuations. The S&P 500 has a P/E ratio of 29. This is where trends end, not begin. In 1982, when the market started its historic bull trend, the S&P 500 had a P/E of 8. The trend ended in March 2000 with a P/E ratio of 38. By the way, the historic average of the S&P 500 is 17. We are close to doubling that as we speak. Don't fall asleep at the wheel. There just might be something massive in our future that will need to be dodged. I'm not saying sell everything and put your money in cash. Don't do that. What I am saying is become agile and get ready to dodge what is ahead. I don't know when that dodge will be necessary, but the worst is far from over.

The markets could go up for another nine months, or 18 months, or two weeks, but they are absolutely not going to go up for another 18 years. That I do know. Stick with this insane upward trend for now, but don't fall in love with it, and be prepared to dodge the next correction (downturn). Read between the lines and set up stop losses.

Here's to riding the wave as it gets bigger and getting out of the way when it crashes.

Investing News - Preventive Maintenance

2009-06-07T00:20:00.000-07:00

Investing News - Every business requires money in order to operate and in turn make more money. No business can continue to operate without financial resources set aside as operating expense. This is what business is. When you decide to get into business, you invest a certain amount to get your business started. This is what you call Capital Investment. You use this money for your business space or location; you use it to buy all the necessary equipment that you will need for your business; you also use it to procure the raw materials that you need or your stocks. You also use a part of your Capital Investment as operational budget to initially cover your operating expenses at the start of your business until such time your business starts to make enough money to cover for your operating expenses.

Most businesses start to stabilize within the first five to six months from the beginning of operation. Within that period of time you must have enough extra money in your financial reserve to cover for the initial operations. Once the business stabilizes and starts to make enough money to cover for its operations that is also usually when the business starts to make profit too. At the beginning you still have to save what to save whatever profit you need until you reach ROI or return of investment. That's the point when the business made enough money to recover whatever amount was initially invested. Once you have reached your ROI that means you have regained everything that you have invested to get your business started. That's when you really start to profit from your business.

There are things you can do to reach your ROI sooner and one of those things is to try and save on your operating expense. Preventive maintenance is a good way to save on your operating expenses. All businesses use equipments ranging from computers to machinery for production or assembly. These equipments eventually breakdown if not properly cared for or because of normal wear and tear due to usage. Once they breakdown they need to be repaired therefore you spend money for their repair so that they can be used again. Regular maintenance of your equipment can save you money on repairs. Preventive maintenance of all office equipment can also save on the wear and tear of your office equipment. Not only you get to keep you equipment running in top condition but you get to save on your operating expenses helping you reach your ROI sooner. By practicing preventive maintenance you also get to reduce potential downtime of your equipments which helps in keeping your operations smooth.

The sooner you reach ROI the safer you are. That means that whatever resources you still have invested in your business is already a part of your profit. It's a lot safer for you because even if you are to lose your business now you haven't really lost anything except for your time and effort. There are many ways to save off your operating expense without sacrificing the quality of your products and services or the well being of your employees.

Investing News - The Background Behind Vega Asset Management

2009-06-06T00:20:00.000-07:00

Investing News - If you are an investor and you hear the name Vega Asset Management, you most likely automatically assume that this company has been around for decades, but you would be wrong. This company has only been actively investing since 1996 when it was started with a mere $25 million dollar investment by a man named Ravinder Mehra. The focus when starting this business venture was to concentrate on those who stood in the center of the hedge fund world. Not top investors, but those who are sitting idly in the middle. With the success of the middleman focus, by the year 2004, Vega had already created offices in Madrid, London and New York, quickly earning them well over $12 billion dollars worth of holdings.

Ravinder Mehra is considered a genius in investing. Starting out investing at Citigroup, Inc. Mr. Mehra quickly made his way up the investment path to the Spanish bank, Banco Santander Central Hispano. After that, Mehra, along with this business coworker established the first Vega fund and within a two year time span, with seed money from Banco Santander Central Hispano, Vega became solidified in the alternative investing world. Vega quickly rose to popularity due to the alternative way that they allowed investors to withdraw from their hedge funds. Generally, there is a strict rule regarding the amount you are able to take out of a hedge fund and how long the withdraw request must sit before the funds actually become available. Vega established a rule that investors need only request the funds 30 days ahead of time, an unheard of time frame to normal hedge fund investment firms.

One way that Vega Asset Management has thrived into the success business that it is today is because it constantly keeps investors up to date with the details of its big trades so that the investors are constantly aware of which direction Vega is heading. This is not the norm with other investment hedge fund firms, which makes Vega a front runner because of its personable, honest and forthright way of doing its business.

Investing News - Buy Gold and Make Money - How to Profit From Gold

2009-06-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

Investing News - One of the best ways to make money in any of the financial markets is to follow trends. Trying to predict the top or the bottom of the market is exceptionally hard. Any investor than professes to consistently doing this is either lying or disillusioned.

The best (and also one of the safest ways to make money is to wait until a trend develops then invest in it. Again do not try to wait to sell at the top of the market but instead set yourself a target sell price and stick to it. Predicting the opt and bottom of markets is a risky business and one that can cost you a lot of money. However riding the wave in between is a much safer way to make money form the markets.

In every financial downturn in the last 100 years (ranging from slow downs to recessions to outright market collapses there has always been a constant. Gold prices always rise. The reason is of course in such times of diminishing returns, losses and uncertainty investors seek to put their money in safe havens. Gold is probably the most popular safe haven in times of financial crisis.

The simple reason that gold always rises in financial downturns is down to scarcity. There is only a finite amount of it in the world and when everyone starts selling their poorly performing banking stocks and buying gold the price inevitably rises. Gold has been seen as the currency of crisis for many years, since civilization began really and there is no reason why this will not continue to be the case for many hundreds of years to come.

In the meantime gold prices are rising as the worlds financial crisis sets in and the global recession continues to manifest itself.

Investing News - Recession Proof Your Investments

2009-06-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

Investing News - The world-wide credit crunch is doing little to encourage individuals to invest their funds. Future uncertainty makes people want to hold onto their money just that little bit tighter. Any investments made before the recession have since been reduced significantly and they are no longer robust enough to provide sufficient liquidity during these more demanding times.

Diversifying where you place your money is a sensible way to secure your profits. If you have diversity in where your money is invested then stronger investments can carry along any that are weaker.

Property is one area that is popular in terms of investment potential, with many people taking the view that property is one of the few investments that we actually need and use as a basic requirement.

Although falling house prices have been stealing the headlines recently, it should be remembered that property prices have systematically increased in value over the past several decades. It can be tough to muster the confidence to invest in property during a recession, but a good time to buy is when house prices are low - if you time it right you can secure yourself a sound investment.

Instead of branching out on your own to look for - and secure - investments you may want to use a financial services company to give you a helping hand through the process. As with other financial products, various companies will offer different investment plans; therefore, do a little research to find out which one is best for you.

Some flexible investment plans give you access to a wide range of various funds from leading UK fund managers. Flexible investment plans generally require a lump sum investment with the minimum sum often set at around £10,000. This type of plan is a good way to increase the value of your money over the medium to long term - with the added flexibility of being able to make additional investments at any time, or taking regular or one-off withdrawals from your plan.

A straightforward investment plan offers many of the same benefits with 'multi-asset' funds, where you invest in assets such as property, stocks and shares and bonds. This is another way to diversify your funds and help spread the risk.

Other investment funds offer flexible charging structures whereby you can choose from a range of charging options based on the commission you agree with your provider. Of course, investments come in all shapes and sizes; therefore, the best way to wisely secure future investments is by shopping around, conducting some research and choosing whichever option suits your circumstances the best.

Investing News - Getting Started in Global Macro Trading

2009-06-03T00:11:00.000-07:00

Investing News - There are several ways to get into global macro trading. Obviously the first way is to get a job at a good global macro hedge fund. Shops like Clarium Capital, Duquesne Capital, Soros Fund Management, and Caxton are all great place to learn the business but what if you just want to trade the style and not do it all for a living? Well you can learn global macro on your own time.

The first thing that you should do is to learn economics and finance. Make sure that you realize that no theory is perfect but instead just a starting framework. One good way to get econ and finance out of the way is the CFA designation. Its a hard and strenuous process but it is worth getting.

The next thing that you should do is to get a subscription to the Economist, Financial Times, and Wall Street Journal. Read the Economist from front to back each week and you will learn a ton about the world and how everything is related and intertwined with money. If you read it and take notes each week then over time you should have a mental as well as physical database of facts and relationships of different things.

The next step in your global macro trading education should be to begin making paper trades based on your research and see how you do. For instance you could create a trade based on the relationship of oil to natural gas and pipelines in Nigeria. Or you could look at the actual rain fall in Brazil, expected coffee crop yields, overall coffee demand, and the trend of coffee itself to determine where you think it will go.

By incorporating all of these ideas into your investing then over time you should be able to spot anomalies that other do no and profit when others are losing their money. A sound understanding of economics, financial history, and what is happening in the world will put you miles ahead of the majority of your competition.

Investing News - An Investor Nightmare Waiting to Happen

2009-06-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

Investing News - In order to claw our way out of a scary recession, we've dropped interest rates to artificially low levels to stimulate the economy. What happens to our financial institutions and our pocketbooks when interest rates go back up?

The financial giants like major banks, brokerage firms, and life insurance companies lead us into this mess. Wall Street created and spread derivatives and toxic assets (like sub-prime mortgages) like a virus, infecting every corner of the globe!

The U.S. government is talking trillions of dollars to clean up the mess ... with borrowed money of course. When the large financial institutions finally get their reserves and their investment portfolios cleaned up, then what?

What kind of investments will they and investors in general be holding? As usual, they will be holding debt instruments like bonds and mortgage backed securities. Also, investors large and small will be holding equity investments like stock.

Portfolios might own cleaner debt securities in the not-too-distant future, but they will be holding securities that pay low interest rates. For example, today the yield for a 30-year T-bond is 4%, and folks can get a conventional 30-year mortgage for less than 5%. Since T-bills and money market funds are paying virtually nothing, many investors are chasing the higher yields offered by this long-term debt.

Now, picture interest rates soaring. And picture what would happen to the value of a long-term debt instrument with a fixed interest rate of 4% or 5% when prevailing rates zoom to 8% or 10% or higher. How much would you pay for a bond paying 4% when new ones offer double that? The value of bonds in investor portfolios would fall like a rock.

Financial institutions with tons of these low-interest-rate securities in their portfolios would again be in severe financial trouble, including pension funds. How do we clean up the mess this time?

How do stocks perform when interest rates soar? The economy slows down, as consumers buy less and fear for their jobs. Corporate sales slow, and the cost of financing goes up. The bottom line is that earnings fall, and likely stock prices as well.

I hope the nightmare of soaring interest rates never materializes, but all things are possible in the real world of financial markets.

Don't just buy investments, hold and ignore them. Pay attention and have a plan, an investing strategy. Get familiar with the various investment classes. Some do better than others when adversity strikes.
A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Investing News - Return Of My Money? Return On My Money?

2009-06-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

Investing News - "The return of my money is more important than the return on my money" Mark Twain.

That's an interesting sentiment.

When asked what your attitude to risk is, how many of you consider you are simply 'medium risk' or 'three out of five'.

"Risk comes from not knowing what your doing (Warren Buffet), or alternatively from appointing someone as your expert who doesn't know what they are doing!

Many investors agree their risk levels with an adviser, without really understanding what the parameters are and subsequently the decisions they make are of similar quality. The process of discussing your investment risk should take about an hour to two hours.

What does risk mean? To some, its how much money you can lose, to others, it's the potential for fluctuation.

Risk can be a very personal matter.

It's natural that we are 'high risk takers' when the market is rising (we know we can't lose), and 'low risk takers' when the market falls (we don't like losing).

Unfortunately markets don't work that way. You are one or the other.

To decide your risk you can follow the 'painting by numbers' approach used by some of drawing a pyramid and asking you which you would prefer to go for. Most people will go for a number 3 out of 5, or the middle section of a pyramid. Both of these examples are to bad decisions what the word 'boring' and politics are to each other.

To decide what your attitude to risk is, you must first decide what you want from your money. Understand your potential need and everything else will follow. Once you have decided that need, an investment adviser can tell you what potential fluctuation you might expect. If you are unhappy with that potential fluctuation you would simply have to reduce your potential for gain. There is no magical solution here and each are in line with each other.

The general need for risk comes from the requirement to beat inflation. Inflation erodes the value of your capital in real terms. Consider that from 1985 to 2004 your capital would have needed to have grown by 98% to stay at the same value as inflation had eroded that.(1) A building society would have returned 168%, or a real return of 3.68% per year. Hence most investors realise the need to invest to achieve the best real returns. Property, corporate bonds, equities and Gilts are just some of the investments chosen by investors. Each can fluctuate at different levels. A fluctuation upwards is called a gain and downwards is a loss.

The key when investing is to minimise the losses and maximise the gains and that can be achieved not only by understanding correctly what you are investing into, but also managing your investments on an ongoing basis.

For example in 2006 was it a good idea to say that property was a good idea to invest into because it had gone up so much? Hardly, it's a cyclical asset that performs well at certain times and you don't want to hold it when it isn't performing - the downturn can be for a very long period.

It is essential to review your attitude to risk on an ongoing basis. For example if you had been high risk and then had performed well, you might consider you are now a higher risk where actually it may be better to take a lower risk. A diversified investment portfolio is essential, as each of the aforementioned investment assets behave differently at varying points in the economy.

Finally if I could give one tip its that you take gains on your investments rather than believing they will continue to go up. This is the most ill-used investment discipline. Understanding it is knowing that no investment is good or bad, it's just your thinking that does that.

Investing News - What Are ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds)?

2009-05-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Exchange-Traded Funds, or ETFs, are basically like mutual funds that trade on stock exchanges, with a few important differences. This gives them many of the benefits of stocks while removing some of the disadvantages that mutual funds have.

Purpose of ETFs
Have you ever wanted to trade shares of an index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500? Well, you can't do that directly but you can do it indirectly through ETFs. The managers who run ETFs usually invest in the same stocks or futures that make up an index or commodity in an effort to make the ETF's value per share track a certain index or commodity up and down. This allows anyone with access to stock trading the ability to easily trade indexes or commodities indirectly.

Example: SPY - SPDR Trust Series I:
One of the most popular ETFs, its goal is to track the price and performance of the S&P 500 index. It will not be the same price as the index but its chart should have the same shape as the index, within one or two percent most of the time.

Example: QQQQ - PowerShares QQQ Trust, Series 1:
The goal of this fund is to track the Nasdaq-100 index by issuing and redeeming shares of all the stocks that make up the index.

Example: EEM - iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund:
This ETF seeks to track the price and performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets index, which tracks performance of international stocks. This fund is actually non-diversified, which means it is not as safe as other funds because it is focused on a specific sector.

Example: USO - United States Oil Fund LP:
This commodity ETF attempts to track the price and performance of oil prices, West Texas Intermediate light, sweet crude oil, to be exact. This is accomplished by continually trading futures contracts for oil, natural gas, and several other things. It is also non-diversified but a very convenient way to make trades based on oil prices.

Benefits of ETFs
The main benefits of ETFs include diversity, the same tradability as stocks, low costs, tax efficiency, and transparency of assets.

What are ETFs
ETFs are somewhat complicated to explain, but they are funds that can be structured in a few different ways. They are usually passively managed, which means the managers do not have to constantly decide which investments need to be bought and sold in order to increase the value of the fund. Instead, the managers simply have to make sure the fund tracks a certain index or commodity as closely as possible, which can be as simple as owning the stocks that make up an index and adjust the shares accordingly so that the price follows the index's chart.

Where to Find Them
Many financial websites, including brokerages, offer a free stock screener, along with an ETF screener. Yahoo! Finance has a good one that lets you view a list of the best performers in several different categories.

Investing News - Get a Bang For Your Buck With Bonds

2009-05-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

"How can the average person invest today and make good returns? I'm not looking for a fly-by-night investment scheme; I want a legitimate opportunity that I can place my hard-earned money and receive a worthwhile profit."

Over the three years of writing this column I have seen an increase in the numbers of people enquiring about investment options. They have a genuine desire to find out how their money can work for them. Gone are the days when the investment arena was occupied only by jargon-speaking financial traders and the super-rich!

While persons may have heard about the benefits of investing in the money market and the stock market, many people have never examined the possibility of earning big in the market for bond investments.

A bond is a medium-to long-term debt instrument, and it is used by governments and large corporations to finance their long-term capital needs. It's basically an official IOU that has terms outlining when the investor will be repaid the principal invested, how much, and how often interest payments will be made.

Types of Government of Jamaica bonds

In Jamaica, there are a variety of bonds for the average person to invest in. The Ministry of Finance periodically issues new bonds to the general public in the primary market, which can be accessed through brokerages and securities dealers. Debentures are the most common types of Jamaican dollar bonds bought by individual investors, as they can bring a fixed interest rate with usually quarterly interest payments.

Some bonds can offer foreign currency benefits. US$ Indexed bonds are denominated in United States currency, but investors pay for the bond with Jamaican dollars at a specified exchange rate. The interest and principal payments are made in the equivalent Jamaican dollars, based on the exchange rate at the time of payment. This type of bond can provide investors with a hedge against depreciation, without them actually having to buy the foreign currency.

Eurobonds or global bonds are issued by the government outside of the country in a foreign currency such as US or Euro dollars. These bonds are usually underwritten by large brokers and then re-sold immediately to international clients. Many local institutions, investment funds and individuals buy and sell these Jamaican global bonds.

Earning more with bonds

The length of a bond can be anywhere from two years to thirty years or more, so these debt instruments carry more risk than money market debt investments which only last for a maximum of one year. Who knows what the economic climate will be in ten years' time. This is one of the reasons why bonds typically offer investors higher interest rates.

However, the interest rate attached to the bond is only one of the ways that investors can maximise their investment returns. After the bond is originally issued, regular trading activity in the secondary market can present profit-making opportunities. Bonds have prices that can fluctuate according to supply and demand, economic conditions and interest rate changes.

So an investor could buy a bond when it is originally issued, collect the regular interest payments, hold it until it matures, then get back the principal invested. Or the investor could buy the bond with the specific intention of selling it back at a higher price to make a gain on the original amount invested.

The prevailing economic conditions aren't all bad, there are some positive spin-offs for savvy investors looking for deals. Jamaican government global bonds offer attractive interest rates on $US or euros of up to 11.75 per cent per annum. The prices of these bonds have been falling due to decreased demand and negative speculation; they can now be bought at low rates, some with almost a 40 per cent discount. Consequently, they offer investors the possibility of buying low now and selling at higher prices when the market rebounds.

Risks of bond investments

Like any other investments, bonds carry risks that should be evaluated by potential investors. There is a default risk that the issuer of the bond, the entity that is borrowing the money, may not be able to pay back the interest or principal. There is also a liquidity risk that the investor may not be able to sell the bond quickly to get back cash.

Bonds are also sensitive to changes in interest rates and other economic developments. These can lead to fluctuations in the prices of the bonds which can negatively affect their value. Therefore, if the investor is forced to sell the bond, he or she may have to take a loss in principal.

Despite the risks inherent in bonds, they still can be a viable investment option for individuals. You can buy bonds with as little as US$1000 at some securities brokers, so check around. Speak to a licensed investment advisor to get more information on investing in bonds.

Investing News - Let Me Explain Option Trading to You

2009-05-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

I am often asked to explain option trading and I understand why. Who in the world understands option trading?

It's not like you can go down the street and ask your neighbor to explain option trading to you. They may understand stocks or mutual funds, but few people understand options trading.

The so called "gurus" will gladly explain it to you, if you pay them thousands of dollars up front. My experience tells me that the options trading community is a very tight lipped community with a high price of admission. This is why few people ever learn how to trade, or know about stock options trading.

I have to tell you that yes, I did pay that kind of money to learn how to trade and yes, it was worth it, but my opinion still remains the same about learning. You shouldn't have to pay for the basics!

In this lesson I'll not only explain option trading, but also show you how profitable it can be.

Option Trading

The first way I'd like to explain option trading is in terms of what I do on a day to day basis. I'm an option trader and I trade stock options. As an option trader I'm essentially in the business of buying and selling contracts.

"Real estate investors" buy and sell homes. "Option traders" buy and sell contracts.

The contracts are stock option contracts, but don't be too concerned with the type of contracts. Just remember this simple definition: Options Trading is the business of buying and selling contracts.

Contracts? Yes contracts. You know, like the contract you sign to buy a house, or a contract you have with a lawyer or musician.

Contract: an agreement made between two or more parties.

I could explain option trading with the dictionary definitions of stock options, and options trading, but that would bore you. Besides, I'm sure you didn't come here for that. You most likely came here for someone to explain option trading in an easy-to-understand manner.

Now bear with me for a moment as I explain option trading in a way that has nothing to do with the stock market. This will help some people understand how buying and selling contracts can be so profitable.

Options Trading Example
Let's say you find an undeveloped piece of land that you believe will increase in value over the next few years. You don't want to buy it outright, but you would like to tie up the land with a contract that gives you the right to buy the land if you so choose to.

The land is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by 20 miles of forest on each side. You have it appraised and find out it's worth $25,000. You approach the owner and ask him/her can they draw up a contract with a time period of 3 years that will allow you the right to buy the land any time during those 3 years for a set price of $25,000.

Remember this is what the land is worth right now. There's nothing around it and its just boring, raw, undeveloped land. You pay him $2,000 for the rights of this contract.

You're not obligated to buy the land, you've just purchased the right to buy it. If you decide not to purchase the land your contract will expire, and you'll lose your $2,000.

You Hit the Jackpot!
Time goes by and two years later the city has built a new mall 15 few miles down the road. New housing developments have gone up and to top it off Wal-mart builds a super center right next to the lot that you have the contract for. This is now a prime real estate location.

Remember you have the right but not the obligation to purchase that lot next door for $25,000 AND you only paid $2,000 for the contract.

Now let's use a bit of common sense. Two years ago the land was only worth $25,000 because nothing was built around it. Do you think the land is worth more now that there are malls, housing developments, and Wal-mart next door?

Yeah, you bet your bottom that lot is worth more than $25,000. For exaggeration purposes lets say the lot is now worth $100,000. You're a happy camper! You own a contract that says you get to buy that land for only $25,000. So if you wanted the land you could exercise your contract and purchase the land for $25,000.

You would then be the proud owner of a $100,000 piece of real estate that only cost you $25,000. You could keep it, or sell it on the open market and pocket the difference between what you sold it for and what you paid for it ($73,000 or 270% return on investment).

Or you have another option. You could take the approach of an option trader. You could take that contract and sell it to someone else.

Remember you paid $2,000 for the contract. You now own a contract that says you have the right to buy a $100,000 piece of land for only $25,000. Do you think someone might be willing to pay you more than $2,000 to own that contract?

Yes any person in their right mind would.

Time to Make Some Money
You decide that you don't want to own land and you'd rather sell your contract to someone else. You sell your contract to a local land developer for $20,000 and you walk away happy because you just made an easy $18,000 dollars or a 900% return on your money.

So now you have an example of how buying and selling a contract can be profitable. It's also probably one of the easiest ways to explain option trading because as an option trader, buying and selling contracts is what you'll be doing.

**Tip** Do not dig deeper into the example. A lot of people try to figure out why a person would let someone tie up their land. Others want to know why the person who bought the contract didn't just buy the land. Keep your thinking on the surface level. Buying a contract and selling it at a higher price.

Here's the lesson: As a stock option trader you're going to invest a relatively small sum of money to buy a "contract" that controls something larger. Your research tells you that your contract will increase in value before a certain date. When it does increase in value, you're going to sell the contract for a higher price than you paid for it and pocket the difference.

That's the main objective you need to concern yourself with as an option trader.

Stock options can be hard to understand at first but understanding these examples will help everything else sink in later down the road.

Investing News - Hedge Fund Definition - What is a Hedge Fund?

2009-05-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

A hedge fund is a professionally managed portfolio of investments that is typically open to a limited range of sophisticated or wealthy investors. As the name suggests, these funds hedge their risks by offsetting potential losses by hedging their investments using different approaches, the most popular one being short selling. Nowadays, the term hedge fund is applied to funds that do not actually 'hedge' their risks but rather increase it because they expect to generate a higher return.

Mutual funds invest in a certain sector (e.g. technology) or use a specific approach (e.g. small cap growth). To determine whether a mutual fund has been performing well, its returns are usually compared to a the market benchmarks e.g. Russell Financials 1000 index. On the other hand, hedge funds seek positive absolute returns, irrespective of the sector performance or the market benchmark.

A constant complaint against hedge funds is that they are lightly regulated or largely unregulated. This is in comparison to mutual funds which are regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Hedge funds do not fall under the 1940 Act because they participate in 'private offerings' to sophisticated investors alone unlike 'public offerings' of mutual funds. This is also why hedge funds are not required to register with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Due to the rapid growth of hedge funds, the SEC was prompted to study the operations of these entities in greater detail. In 2004, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules that required hedge funds with more than $25 million in assets to register under the Act of 1940 unless the the fund held onto the investors funds for at least two years.

In the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the short-selling of the financial stocks by the hedge funds were blamed by the financial media to be one reason why the crisis deepened as quickly as it did. The fall of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was also attributed to the continuous short-selling of Lehman stock even though there were not enough shares to cover for those short positions. This is most definitely not the end of regulation of hedge funds as this crisis highlighted how little we know about the practices of hedge funds and how the actions of the money managers of these funds can move markets.

Investing News - Value Investment With ROE and ROA

2009-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Return of Asset (ROA) refers to earnings of a company that was generated from capital being invested. The debt and equity of a company are its assets and they are used for funding the company operation. ROA numbers are important to investors as it give an indication on the efficiency of the company in converting the money invested into net income. As the company earned more money with less investment, it reflects a good performance of the company.

An example will be if the company has a net income of US $2 million and a total asset of US $10 million, the ROA would be 20%. If another company in the similar industry earned the similar amount and has an asset of US $20 million, its ROA will be 10%. This will indicate that the company having a ROA of 20% is better in handling their investment and converting them into profits. It is never an easy task for the management to make good profits while limiting their investment exposure. Thus, a company having a higher ROA is definitely a good comparative measure against a lower ROA of a company in the similar industry. As such ROA is an important figure in finding a great company to invest.

Return of Equity (ROE) indicates the amount of profits that a company is generating with the money that the shareholder has invested in them. It is an important figure used to compare the company's profitability to that of another company in a similar industry.It is an indicator that the company has sustainable competitive advantage and should lead to higher share price for the company down the road.

It can be derived by the formula: (ROE) = net income / Total shareholder's equity multiply by 100.

The normal benchmark for ROE figure is 12%and above. Companies that could generate ROE of 15% or more are considered as very good investment but they are quite hard to achieve. One should able to find both the ROA and ROE figures in company's annual reports under financial performances or summary.

Investing News - Basic Investment Principles For Beginners

2009-05-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Beginners in investing should begin with some basic objectives and to fully understand them before putting in your first investing portfolio. The followings are some key pointers to guide beginners.

A] Income generation objectives

This is more concern about current income then capital appreciation overtime. Trading is an aspect to income generation where the time horizon is much shorter.

B] Growth objectives

Investors are concern about capital appreciation and ready to take on a longer term objective. An example will be today market situation is a good time to take on equities or funds position as extreme price bargain is available now.

C] Capital Preservation objectives

It is a concern on the risk involved especially when one reached near to retirement age. There is a need to diversify their portfolio into allocation of stocks, bonds and cash to minimize the risk. If one is near retirement age, he should not allocate more then 25% of his total funds on equities.

D] There are various types of investment instruments.

They are savings accounts, fixed deposit, Bonds, Stocks, Commodities, Mutual Funds, Derivatives like Options, Contract for Differences and Real Estate.

The common factors that investors need to consider in choosing the various instruments are as follows:

1] Time horizon of the investment.
2] Risk tolerance and management.
3] Rate of return or yield.
4] Diversification to spread the risk.
5] Taxation concern.
6] The size of investment units. Some stocks can only be purchase with a minimum of 1000 shares per lot in certain countries.
7] The liquidity and marketability of the stocks concern.
8] The security of the principle sum invested and the needed income that one would expect.

Investing News - A New Options Trading Strategy That Can Maximise Returns and Minimise Risks Without Owning Stocks

2009-05-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

Stockmarkets go up and down, and over time they generally return back to normal trends, and have done so since they began. There are numerous strategies to invest and potentially make money in the markets. Typically, the most basic is to buy a stock at a certain price, hope the price goes up, and sell it at the higher price sometimes in the future.

Implementing Credit Put Spreads is a good way to maximise returns while minimising risks without ever buying the stock.

Essentially, selling and buying and option in a certain stock in the market gives the buyer or seller the right, but not the obligation to buy or sell a stock at a certain price sometime in the future.

Example: XYZ share is trading at $50 per share.

You can buy a put option in that share for $49 that expires in 1 months time. If the share price falls below $49 before or once the month has ended, you can sell the share at $49, regardless of what the price is. Essentially, you are insuring your share for $49. Even if the price of that share falls to $1, you can still sell it for $49.

Conversely if you buy XYZ share at $50, you can sell a call option at $51. Because you have sold the option, you will receive a premium (usually a fraction of the share price, i.e $0.50) You keep that premium no matter what happens. The share price can go up, down or sideways, and you still keep the premium. If the share price goes above $51, you must sell it for $51 after the month expires. However, you bought it for $50, made $0.50 in premiums, and $1 in capital gain. Therefore you just made $1.50 even though the share price only increased by $1.

With a credit put spread, you are hoping the price of the stock goes up, sideways, and can even move down a little without any risk.

This how it works:

1. Sell a put option in XYZ share for $49 for say $0.50 per share.

2. Buy a put option in XYZ share for $48.50 for say $0.25 per share.

Therefore you are insured for $48.50 per share (i.e you have the right to sell your share for $48.50 no matter what happens).

The difference between the the sold put and the bought put is your income, i.e $0.25 per share.

Your maximum risk is $0.25 per share.

It sounds complicated, but really it's not at all.

Investing News - How to Buy Cash Flow Notes - What If the Banker Says We Don't Sell Notes?

2009-05-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

How to Buy Cash Flow Notes, a Common Hurdle

Let me share with you a common hurdle that one faces when looking for non performing notes.

So you've been busy cold calling banks and looking for notes to buy.

Several bank contacts have told you that either the bank does not sell notes or the bank does not have any non-performing notes.

When one hears these objections, should we accept them as the truth or just blow by them and try other contacts?

Two Responses to "Can I Buy Cash Flow Notes?"

Let's take a look at the two possible responses you can get:

1. "Sorry, we don't sell real estate notes".

2. "We don't have any non performing notes".

The former, I can believe. The latter, I can't.

If you get someone telling you: "Sorry, we don't sell non performing notes" there's probably a 25% chance that what they're saying is right.

If you get someone telling you: "we don't have any non performing notes" you know there's a 99.9% likelihood that they're either misleading you, or clueless.

The best follow-up is find someone else to call at the same bank!

When Learning How to Buy Cash Flow Notes, Find Contacts

If you got in via Loss Mitigation the first time, try getting in through the corporate HQ number and asking for the head of secondary marketing. Or try asking for the CFO of the bank directly.

There are always "multiple" ways to solve a problem. Don't let the first door shut stop your note buying pursuit.

How to Buy Cash Flow Notes - Will's Tip on Finding Contacts

I want to share with you a tip that one of my students, Will, has shared with me. A tip on finding contacts, follow these steps.

1. Go to thomas-law.com and select "mortgage banker licenses"

2. From there you can select the state and click on the link that says "mortgage lending division"

3. On the left side click on the "licensee records" link

4. From there you can select "82 licensed mortgage bankers"

Any one of those links will give you principal's contact info & email. You can do this for all 50 states. Now who has the bank contacts? Use them and buy some cash flow notes!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Investing News - Silver Coin Dealers - Finding Your Silver Lining

2009-05-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Investing in silver is a great alternative option to investing in stocks, bonds and other precious metals such as gold. One way that many silver investors decide to invest is by purchasing silver coins. Silver coin investment also seems to be one of the most prosperous silver investments. However, a very important question arises when you think about investing in silver coins; the coin dealer. There are many coin dealers around but does the coin dealer, that you have in mind, have what it takes to be a reliable coin dealing source? Here are a few tips on finding your silver lining with coin dealers.

Reputability and Experience

There is a large chance that you may not be familiar with the coin community so you may not know any of the major or minor coin players. Nevertheless, when referring to a coin dealer, investigate if the coin dealers that you are interested in are known in the coin community and what their reputations are. If no one has ever heard of a particular coin dealer, you should move down your list.

Once you have found some coin dealers that are recognized and established with good references and reputation, it is time to take a closer look. What experience does this coin dealer have? How many years has the operation been in business for? You are going to want coin dealers that have decades of experience who you can rely on in order to invest in silver coins. Another positive note about having an experienced coins dealer is that they will be more knowledgeable than the newbies and can offer valuable advice in current and historic coin investing trends.

Coin Dealer Guarantees

Coin dealer guarantees work on two levels; personal and legal. Both of which you should be interested in. On a personal level, do coin dealers have a good ethics code and assets? A coin dealer who is uninterested in his or her clients is not a person who is reliable to start your investments with. Also, you should be interested in knowing whether your coin dealer is financially well off since stability in the coin dealers world is a major factor for reliability and good business transactions.

On a legal level, coin dealers who are members of the PNG offer their clients more security. PNG members agree to resolving any types of conflicts regarding the purchase or sale of coins from their establishment. If you do not invest with a PNG member you may be putting your investment at risk since there will not be a legally binding agreement regarding your purchase of silver coins. By choosing coin dealers who are PNG members, this will help to avoid a lot of problems and conflict if there is a problem in the investment.

Investing News - Profitable ETF Trading Strategies - The Problem of "Maybe"

2009-05-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

A lot of professional traders manage the complexity of the human psychological dimension of trading by removing their emotional judgment as much as possible from the system by using a mechanical system. In other articles I have described how even mechanical traders will have to address psychological issues that are a natural consequence of trading in any form. Clearly though, discretionary traders or blended style traders will see it more often and with greater intensity.

The question of maybe will often arise when you are in a position and you wonder "Maybe I should exit this trade?" when you see it moving against you, or stalling, but it has not yet reached either a profit target or your capital preservation stop. Where does it come from? Maybe from our pattern-making brain which anticipates the near future and combines it with vivid imagery skills, is connected to our emotional brain center and our sense of risk. Maybe it just comes from a deep-seated sense that we are trading at too high of a level of risk for the volatility that's associated with the current trade. Our imagination will tend to exaggerate the potential future outcomes in both directions, expecting greater gains or greater failures than are likely to emerge. The more we think about the decision to be made, the more fuel we throw on the fire. We act as if our imagination carries the same force as the objective facts of current price action, and we are moved towards action, propelled by emotions and not facts. What can you do about the "Maybes"?

1. Trade at a lower level of risk so that you can let your rules work as designed
2. Invest in the effort and energy to establish the validity and value of your trading rules.
3. Analyze the quality of your decisions in the moment by comparing the results of the action you took with the action that would have occurred if your original trading plan were followed.

It should not surprise you to find that your memory of the individual trades turns out to be quite a bit different than the actual results when you analyze them. We will tend to remember those instances that confirm our opinions and forget all the times when it worked out the other way. Armed with facts and analysis, and trading at a level of risk that you are comfortable with, you may be equipped with what you need to bring more discipline to your trading.

Investing News - Learn Candlestick Trading

2009-04-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Japanese Candlesticks are much more than simple eye candy. Yes they do look good on your charts, but they offer so much more. If you are a serious trader of any kind, then you owe it to yourself to take them seriously and learn more about their power.

I am sure that most of you who have been trading for a while at least understand candlestick basics, but if not, I will give a brief overview here. The body of the candle signifies the area between the open and the close of the trading day and the wicks extend to the highs and lows respectively. If your looking at a bullish candle (or a candle that denotes an increase in price from open to close), the bottom of the candle will be the open and the top will be the close, with the top wick being the high for the day and the bottom wick being the low for the day.

If you are looking at a bearish candle (or a candle that shows a price decrease from open to close), reverse the order on the open and close. So the top will be the open and the bottom will be the close. The wicks will of course still show the high and low in the same fashion.

Japanese rice traders are the ones who created these candlesticks because they show much more information than a simple line chart. They had a complex method involving light boxes and lanterns to back-light the paper for their charting purposes. We are lucky to day to have personal computers and laptops that can update candles in real time.

Once you understand the basics, you should understand that the candlestick's true power comes from patterns. These patterns are of course called "Candlestick Patterns." Most traders are intimidated by these patterns because there are hundreds of them; however, they fail to realize that there are only a handful of patterns that they really need to know which produce consistent profitable results for those who know how to use them.

They are simple too. Most of these patterns involve three or four candles and are named according to their appearance. An example would be the shooting star pattern. It is a bearish reversal pattern that only has three candles in it, two long candles to the left and right of a smaller candle in the middle. If you knew about candlestick patterns then you would know upon seeing this that there is a good chance that price would reverse at that point.

Investing News - Is the Feeling of an Economic Recovery Just Spring Fever?

2009-04-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

It's hard not to notice that the markets have completely forgotten about fundamentals and instead are trying to bring "irrational exuberance" back into style. Raging bull markets that have lasted for years and years with one bubble after another, and a year of economic slump is just too much for everyone to handle. Instead of markets moving up on good news, they are now moving up on bad news with the only silver lining being it's not as bad as expected. All of the news outlets and of course CNBC are on hand to announce a bottom, and ready to light the fuse on another economic ICBM on every up day. This of course is all in light of tragic 1st quarter earnings and jobless claims that are reminiscent of the early 80's.

Oil is trading as if there was an immediate shortage and demand was burning out of control. The real story is that the storage facilities have enough oil to make everyone realize there is plenty of oil in the short term. Even gasoline supplies were up and that alone should have signalled that the recovery has not started. Stephen Schork, the well known oil analyst is throwing his hands in the air with the sheer frustration of the mob rally. So why is it happening? Why all of the forward momentum? Why are the fundamentals being ignored? I couldn't answer those questions today from a fundamental sense any better than yesterday, but something hit me last night as I was taking an evening walk with my wife through town. It was a beautiful night that was warm with the scent of spring, and I just had that incredible happiness that comes around this time of the year.

Throughout town there was one empty retail space after another, and one going out of business sale sign for every other one that claimed a bankruptcy sale. Definitely not the signals that a recovery was in play nor one that would let me know that it was time to start making investments.

In my own mind which I so proudly gauge as rational, I had an incredibly irrational thought. For a moment I ignored all of the evidence of an obvious economic decline right in front of my eyes and instead, thought that things are getting better all based on how I was feeling. It dawned on me that spring was here and everyone across North America and Europe must be feeling this. Could it be possible from a biological perspective that we are all feeling better physically and it is affecting our mental state positively enough to change our perspective, and in turn, our confidence? Could the markets and the economy have temporary spring fever? If so, what happens when the fever breaks?

Investing News - Who Needs a Broker?

2009-04-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

Not too many people are aware of what a broker does and how important a part they play in the average family or businesses lives. Pure and simple, a broker acts as a middleman between someone who provides services and someone who needs them.

The most common form of brokerage services that we encounter are insurance brokers. Insurance brokers can act of behalf or individuals or businesses that need to insure something, someone or some part of their services. If you need to insure your car, your home or business premises, its contents, your health and your life as well as your loved ones you will turn to an insurance broker.

Why would you need insurance brokerage services? Simply because an insurance broker has both the knowledge and the time to help you. Large insurance companies have neither the time nor the inclination to help you, and prefer to appoint local brokers to act as their agents and deal with individual clients. This is the way that insurance deals have been transacted since the 1920s. In recent years, with the birth of the internet, it is now possible to arrange your insurances on line, usually with considerable cost savings. More and more people are looking to this means of taking care of their insurance worries through an online brokerage service.

Do you need a stock broker? For those brave people who like to dabble on the stock market, you will rarely see an average "man in the street" trying to push their way through that famous crowd of sweating, aggressive and brightly jacketed young men who you will always see when watching a documentary or a film displaying even a typical day in the life of a stock market. Instead these people deal with a stock brokerage service, which buy and sell their shares for them on demand, either through a simple telephone call or through an e-mail or fax. Again the internet has changed the way that stockbrokers and their clients interact, with an increasing share of stock transactions being handled online.

There are many brokerage services available, designed to handle just about any transaction from the smallest and most mundane to the largest. These include insurance, buying and selling a home, a commercial property, an airplane or even an ocean liner. Since the beginning of commerce, buyers and sellers have preferred to act through a "middleman" or broker. The arrival of the internet has changed the way we can interact with our brokers and for the better.

Investing News - Directional Vs Non Directional Trading Strategies

2009-04-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

We can classify trading strategies followed by all types of traders into two broad categories as directional and non directional trading strategies. Both require different types of approaches, different levels of market knowledge and different trading requirements.

Directional trading strategies are strategies which include taking long and short positions in market. Traders profit when the prices of instruments in which he take long positions rises and when the prices of instruments in which he take short positions drops. Most of the trading strategies practiced by common traders are directional. Some common examples of directional practices are trend trading strategies, breakout systems, moving average cross over trading and pattern recognition practices.

Non directional trading strategies, on the other hand, are market neutral strategies. The trader does not take any net long or short positions; instead he matches his positions smartly. Most non-directional trading practices are complex systems which require very good automation and pre-defined trading rules. These strategies are for expert traders and big players. Some common examples are sector matching, pair trading, arbitrage and stock matching strategies.

Advantages of directional trading strategies include,
1. Most of them are simple and flexible, so that any kind of trader can follow.
2. They can be used to trade all kinds of financial instruments - stocks, options, futures, funds, bonds, currencies, commodities, all.
3. They need less automation and technical analysis skills.
4. The basic idea is to go long in an uptrend and to go short in a downtrend.
5. Traders can use basic risk minimizing tactics like stop losses and position offsetting.

The disadvantages are; most of them can only be practiced when market is trendy, there is higher downside risk and position sizing limiting, also traders are limited with their risk minimizing tactics.

Advantages of non-directional trading strategies include,
1. They suit you, if you are a large-scale trader with high position sizes.
2. Most of these systems demand calculated diversification, which is a good risk minimizing tactic.
3. Trades are done according to pre-determined strategies thus less human interfere (and emotion) involved.
4. Traders can limit their trading risks in may ways - traditional and innovative.

The disadvantages are; not suitable for all types of instruments and markets, require complex trading system and good market knowledge, and require extreme money management.

Investing News - The Horizontal Double Dummy - How Tom Siebel Avoided Taxes When Selling His Company to Oracle

2009-04-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

In 2006, when Tom Siebel sold his company, Siebel Systems, to Oracle, he wanted to avoid having to pay $58 million in taxes.

Normally, the way to avoid taxes in a merger is if the buyout consists of at least 40% stock. But Oracle did not want to dilute its existing shareholders by issuing so many new shares.

They finally decided to make the merger tax free by using a legal entity called the "horizontal double dummy". This technique was first used by Unilever in 1978. A tax expert once said that "back in 1978, this was the tax equivalent of inventing penicillin".

Here is how the Oracle-Siebel horizontal double dummy merger worked:

1. A new holding company called Ozark Holdings was set up.

2. Two subsidiary companies were set up under Ozark Holdings. These were the "dummies".

3. Oracle merged with the first dummy subsidiary in a 100% stock deal. In other words, Oracle stock was swapped for Ozark stock.

4. At the same time, Siebel Systems merged with the other subsidiary. This deal was done in a combination 30% stock and 70% cash deal.

5. At this point, Ozark Holdings now owned both Oracle and Siebel Systems in its two subsidiaries.

6. As a final step, the subsidiaries were dissolved, and then Ozark Holdings was renamed as Oracle.

This shows how, in matters of finance and investing, it's not enough to study who companies merge with. It is also important to watch how these mergers are structured. Large corporations have access to a lot of creative thinkers and tools when it comes to avoiding taxes and not diluting existing shareholders during mergers and buyouts.

Investing News - Is Short Selling Immoral?

2009-04-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 2008, as the Financial Crisis was underway, short sellers were blamed for the sharp drop in the price of financial stocks and short selling was temporarily banned for a list if 779 stocks.

But, did short sellers deserve to be the "whipping boy"? Is short selling immoral?

First, let's review what short selling is. In the stock market, if a trader feels that a stock is going to go down in price, he or she can capitalize on this view by borrowing shares through their broker, selling the shares, and then buying them back at a later time (hopefully at a lower price).

Short selling is also used by market makers to balance supply and demand in a stock, in order to maintain an orderly market.

In fact, this second use of short selling is seen as more "legitimate", and caused exchanges, traders, and economists to be outraged about the short selling ban. They warned that the ban could disrupt the flow of the markets. Eventually, the SEC modified the ban to allow market makers to short stocks.

But, what about short selling as a way to make money from falling prices? Is this a legitimate activity? Many proponents say yes. They argue that "investors are best served when they can hear both the reasons to buy and reasons to sell any given security."

In fact, there have been cases where short sellers, due to their "greed", have served to police the market place.

For example, in 2005, the state of Ohio invested $50 million of pension money in shares of Greg Manning Auctions - which bought and sold rare coins and stamps. These shares took off after a majority stake was bought by a Spanish company called Afinsa Bienes Tangibles.

Short sellers suspected that Afinsa was a Ponzi scheme that was paying off new investors with old money. They shorted the stock of Manning Auctions and got a reporter with the Toledo (Ohio) Blade to investigate. The company ended up exposed, and the short sellers made money while also being credited with saving the pensions.

Investing News - Don't Be an Investment Seminar Junkie

2009-04-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Are you an "investment seminar junkie" - addicted to books, tapes, DVDs, and seminars?

Getting an education in real estate or stock investing is a great thing. There are plenty of great courses out there that are invaluable for those of us who want to succeed in life, and become financially independent with multiple passive streams of income.

The pitfall, however, is when the courses and seminars become an end in themselves.

It is very easy to become a "seminar junkie", where it becomes a form of entertainment to take classes and seminars. You feel like you are making progress - without the temporary discomfort of having to take concrete actions.

In reality, however, "seminar junkies" are like "perpetual students" in universities - those people who get one degree after another, so that they can avoid having to work in the real world.

Even the best self-help and get-rich courses are not turnkey businesses. Reading and studying are only the first steps to becoming a successful investor. You then need to apply what you have learned. You must grow out of your comfort zone by taking action.

At first, you will feel like you are in an uncomfortable position, but then you will get confidence as you build your experience. You will really learn the material you have studied, and will have molded it into an investment system that works for you.

The best news is that once you have mastered the habit of taking action on everything you study, you will be ahead of the competition, because most purchasers of books, seminars, and DVDs never get this far.

Investing News - Forex Easy System - Is There Really Such a Thing?

2009-04-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Forex, Foreign Exchange or Currency Trading is a high speed volatile market. Primarily for this reason, it has been dominated by commercial and professional traders and the tools used to produce very high rates of return were kept confidential for years. Lately, the use of computers in general and A/I (Artificial Intelligence) programming in particular has been made available for individual traders. Computers have come a long way.

In a recent interview with Eric Schmidt, the Chairman and CEO of Google, he pointed out that the cell phones almost everyone carries these days, have more computing power than the sum total of all the computers that NASA used when the US put the first man on the moon. Therefore, it should not be much of a stretch to realize that current computer technology in the form of A/I can make it quite simple for the inexperienced and even the novice trader to expect to make profits on the currency exchange market.

Not only has A/I simplified currency trading for the beginner, but a level of accuracy in predicting profitable trades has progressed to the point that there are A/I trading systems claiming 100% accuracy in their buy sell signals. Some state that they expect a new trader with no Forex experience to be able to profit from the first trade by following a simple set of instructions provided by an A/I system.

As with any investment, there is always a chance for loss as well as gain and I recommend that anyone first use a "play money" account until they are familiar and comfortable with the procedure, before trading with real money. However, the handwriting is on the wall and computers have arrived as "The best way" to profit in currency trading.

Investing News - How Markets React to Fundamental News and Reports

2009-04-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

Markets that are freely traded, such as those for stocks, bonds, futures, and options, do not always react to fundamental news and reports the way a normal person might think.

For example, in August 2008, Burger King (BKC) reported its earnings. They greatly exceeded the earnings guidance that Burger King's executives had previously provided to analysts.

Based on these higher than expected earnings, one might expect that the stock went up. Instead, the stock went down sharply because, since their predictions were so far off, investors no longer felt that BKC management had any credibility.

As another example, Forbes columnist Ken Fisher has written about the "Presidential Stock Market Effect". Conventional wisdom might suggest that, when a Democrat is elected as president, the stock market should perform badly, because Republicans are more pro-business.

In actuality, the stock market has historically performed better during the inaugural years of Democrats, compared to Republicans. This is because of "reversion to the mean" - which is a key to contrarian trading.

The market expects the worst from a Democratic president when he takes power, but is then pleasantly surprised when they see that he maintains the status quo. In the same way, investors have high hopes that a Republican president will be pro-business. They expect the best, and get disappointed.

This is what makes trading on fundamental data very tricky. Not only do you need accurate and timely information, but you have to "out think" other market participants.

Like chess, you have to think many moves ahead, and try to piece together a puzzle based not only on what has just happened, but how other players will react, what actions they will take, etc.

Investing News - A New Twist For Trading Breakouts

2009-04-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

Many traders and investors like to use trend-following systems. They want to buy (go long) when prices are rising, and sell (go short) when prices are falling.

My personal trading system is now contrarian, but I have developed and tested a lot of trend-following systems over the years.

One of the oldest trend following systems - which is still popular today - is the N day high / low breakout. The idea is to buy the stock or commodity when it makes a new N day high, and then go short when the market makes a new N day low. The system was first developed by Richard Donchian, who called it the "4 Week Rule" because he used 4 week highs and lows.

With this system, you are always in the market, and your position switches from long to short.

The problem with breakouts is that, with all the volatility in the markets, your position is subject to whipsaws, so most of your trades will be losses. Also, since N has to high enough to avoid random fluctuations, these losing trades can be substantial.

One way to reduce the amount of each loss is to assume that any position you put on is wrong, unless it is proven correct. After a new N day high or low occurs, and you take a position, be prepared to exit the position if another new N day high or low does not occur quickly. Do not wait for the opposite signal.

Using this rule, you will not be in the markets all the time. Hopefully, you will only be in trades when the market is exploding in the correct direction.

Investing News - Combining Moving Averages With New Highs and Lows For Technical Trading

2009-03-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

When traders and investors study technical analysis, one of the first indicators they learn about are moving averages. It feels good to build a trading system based on moving averages because they are easy to calculate and, most importantly, they are straight-forward to apply.

Most people have an employee mentality. They want to know exactly what they have to do to make money. They are psychologically happy with the idea of a job description and a steady paycheck. Moving average systems seem seductive because all you have to do is buy when the current price (or a shorter moving average) crosses above the moving average, and sell if the price (or shorter average) crosses below the moving average. It's clean - no ambiguities.

The problem, of course, is that markets are not well behaved. Trading is not a predictable job with steady results.

In the case of moving averages, you can make money when the markets are trending.
But, as soon as the markets become choppy (and don't trend up or down), the moving average system will get whipsawed. This means that the trader will start to take losses by buying high and selling low. Over time, the winning trades and losing trades cancel each other out.

Is there a way to fix moving average trading systems, so that they avoid choppy markets?

One idea would to only recalculate an X day moving average when a new Y day high or low occurs.

For example, you might use a 20 day moving average, but then only recalculate it when a new 50 day high or low occurs.

During a trend, new high or lows occur frequently, so the moving average will be updated faster. In a choppy market, the moving average will not be updated as frequently, so it might give the market more room to breathe - thus generating less false signals.

Just remember that this is an idea, and not a complete trading system. Every trader needs to develop their own system, to suit their personality.

The trick to trading successfully is to find a classic method that appeals to you, learn its strengths and weaknesses, and add your own twist to improve it.

Investing News - Confused by Annuities? It's Not Surprising

2009-03-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

In simplest terms an annuity is an agreement to pay out a regular sum in return for a one-off investment. For example, if you could gave me £100 I could agree to give you back £10 a year for a set number of years.

In practice, annuities are a little like a 'reverse life insurance' policy and act as a way for you to release the value in your pension fund when you retire.

You spend your working life building up a nice fat pension pot. When you retire you hand that over to an insurance company by purchasing an annuity. In return the company selling the annuity agrees to pay out a set percentage of that amount each year for the rest of your lifetime (lifetime annuity). At the end of your lifetime whatever is left over is pocketed by the insurance company.

So, if you bought an annuity for £500,000 at 7%, then the provider would then have to pay out £35,000 a year for either an agreed number of years or until you pass away - in effect, giving you a regular income of £35k for life.

The longer you live the more you get.

You Don't Have to Buy Your Annuity from Your Pension Provider

Many people are under the mistaken impression that they have to buy their annuity from the company that provides their pension - you don't. Just like any other insurance product you can, and should, shop around to find yourself the best annuity rates available. If you buy an annuity without doing your homework, you could be needlessly reducing your income in retirement - for the rest of your life.

You can even personalize your annuity to suit your own personal income requirements. For example, you may choose to have the amount paid out increase with inflation - especially useful if you plan on enjoying a good long retirement - or run for a maximum or minimum number of years.

Of course they still need to make money so the amount you are paid annually will be based on factors such as age, sex and the current bond rates (i.e. how much they can earn from investments). It's not the nicest thought, but the insurance company 'wins' if you die sooner rather than later. Therefore, buying an annuity at 60 will almost certainly mean that it pays out less each year than one bought at 70 (but you do get an extra 10 years of income).

Is your annuity the most important financial question of your retirement?

It could be, yes.

Annuities are certainly one of the most secure ways for you to provide yourself with a guaranteed income for life. However, once an annuity is purchased it cannot be moved or changed in any way. With that in mind, it is hugely important that you find an annuity that suits your needs.

In other words you need to get annuity advice to get the best annuity rates.

Shop around, get expert advice and speak to an independent financial adviser - but whatever you do, don't just take the first annuity that's put in front of you by your pension provider. Whatever you choose, you're going to have to live with it.

Investing News - What is Option and How to Trade It?

2009-03-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Options are like insurance policies because they share many same characteristics. The difference between options and insurance policies that can be seen is their purpose; option and insurance have difference purpose. Both of them are used for different purpose. We bought insurance to protect something valuable that we deem is worth to protect. Usually, this is the thing that we do not afford to loss However; we bought options to earn speculative profit if we are able to anticipate the market direction correctly. Options also can be used to hedge portfolio that we existing have against opposite market direction. Besides that, options are marketable securities which can be traded, whereas; insurance policies are not able to be traded.

Option contract is a financial instrument that is market ready to be purchased and sold. If you are holding some option contract and wish to sell it to exchange money, you can do so as long as the market is open.

After an option has been purchased or sold, it is unnecessary to be held until expiration date of the contract. Option can be sold or purchased to exit from the market anytime as long as if you are not intended to hold it. For private trader, this is extremely good news because he or she can enter and exit the market anytime as he or she wishes. The correct title for options is Exchange Traded Options. This means that they are traded in standardized contracts based on the regulated stock or futures exchange. Based on this regulation, option buyers and sellers can get together to trade their options based on the bid and ask prices. Usually, it is over 100 of the underlying shares taken out in the stock market for an option contract whereas the right to buy or sell a single futures contract is constituted in the futures market. Novation is a process where the exchange effectively transforms to the other party of the transaction. This gives a further meaning that to exit the trade; you are not depending on the same party that you originally traded with. For you to exit, at any time, as long as there is any party that is willing to take the counter side of your trade.

Options are different from other financial instruments because it has five specific components.

These five components are as follows:
(i) option has two types that are call and put options
(ii) there is an underlying security for each option either shares, futures or an index
(iii) every option possesses an exercise price, which is also known as strike price
(iv) each option has a fixed expiry date and
(iv) each option has a premium attached together, which needs to be paid when purchasing them

With the call option, buyer has the right to buy underlying security at the exercise price at any time until the option expiration date. However, the buyer is not obligated to buy the underlying security. This means that the buyer does not necessary to buy the underlying security. Therefore, when the security price has dropped, the call option will be left worthless until expiration date. Premium has to be paid by the call option buyer to obtain this right, the right to buy the underlying security at any time at the exercise price until expiration date. While for the put option, buyer has the right to sell the underlying security at the exercise price at any time until the option expiration date. Same as the call option, the put option buyer is not obligated to sell the underlying security. This situation usually happens when the security price has gone up. The put option will be left worthless until the expiration date.

Investing News - Invest to Get Tax Breaks

2009-03-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Average investors need all the tax breaks they can get, especially when they invest for retirement. All investments are not taxed the same. Consider this your basic investment guide to understanding the tax breaks available to most investors.

Ordinary taxation offers investors no tax breaks. For example, you hold a CD jointly with your spouse or in your name only, and earned $4000 in interest last year. At tax time this is considered interest income, and is taxed at your normal tax rate. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, you will pay $1000 in income tax on the $4000.

Long-term capital gains is a tax treatment or tax break for investors who hold an investment long enough to qualify, and sell it for a profit. For example, you hold a stock for a couple of years, then sell it for a profit. Instead of your profit being taxed at your normal rate of 25%, it is taxed at a lower rate, like 15%. Note that this is only a basic investment guide, an example to illustrate a concept. Tax law here is notorious for changing.

Tax deferral is a popular tax break for folks who invest for retirement. The traditional IRA and 401k offer this advantage, as do tax-deferred annuities. For example, in a traditional 401k plan your money grows uninterrupted by income taxes. When you retire and pull money out of your plan the amount pulled out is then subject to income taxes at your ordinary rate. In your working years you avoided paying income taxes on earnings and interest, when you were likely in a higher tax bracket. In retirement you will likely be in a lower tax bracket when you pull money out and pay taxes on it.

Tax-qualified retirement plans like the 401k and IRA offer many folks tax deductions as well as tax deferral. For example, you invest $4000 in a traditional IRA. If you qualify, at tax time you deduct $4000 from your income as an adjustment. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, you just saved $1000 in income taxes.

Tax-free or tax-exempt investments or accounts should not be overlooked. Folks in higher tax brackets benefit from tax-exempt income from municipal bonds and mutual funds that invest in them. If you invest for retirement in a Roth IRA or 401k, you invest income-tax free. Your money grows free from income tax. The money you pull out in retirement is free from income tax as well, as long as you follow the rules. As a basic investment guide, tax-free investing is about as good as it gets for most of us. If you want to invest for retirement, consider Roth plans.
A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Investing News - Is Online Investing Safe?

2009-03-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

You can do just about anything online - often saving yourself time, money and headaches in the process. Investing online promises much the same attraction.

An increasing number of financial service providers are offering online investment services that have the potential to make investing simpler, give you more control over your investments and even save you money. Unsurprisingly, a lot of investors love the idea of being able to keep a closer eye on their investments. But, is investing online safe and what can you do to protect yourself from online fraud?

Is Online Investing Safe?

In short, the answer is yes. Provided you invest via a reputable firm and take some simple precautions, investing online is as safe as online banking or paying your bills online.

To begin with, you should do some research into the company behind the service. The normal rules about selecting a financial services supplier apply: check references, make sure they are registered and in good standing with the relevant regulators (usually the FSA), speak with them in person and find out what experience they have. You should also enquire as to the security arrangements on their site.

If they are unable, or hesitant, to answer any of your questions then you should probably go elsewhere.

Once you have chosen your firm, it is important that you take precautions yourself to ensure that no-one will be able to access your account. Choose a username and password that are unique to you and keep them safe. Avoid common passwords like your name or 'password' as well as any words that can be found in the dictionary - combining numbers with letters is usually a sound idea. You should also consider changing your password from time to time.

Just like online banking, online investment services do not email asking for you to confirm your details. If you receive any correspondence via email, confirm it by phoning the company directly before clicking on any links or taking any action.

What Else Should You Look For?

Online investing services can vary widely in terms of costs and features. With that in mind, it is always worth comparing your options - specifically in terms of fees payable. You may also consider what kinds of investments are available via the system.

If you are considering investing in unit trusts, ISAs or funds then you probably will not need access to the same kind of 'day trading' account that would allow you to buy and sell individual shares in real time. A 'fund supermarket' may be more appropriate for your needs. If this is the case, then you should enquire about the funds available via the site or if they have any ready-made investment portfolios for you to consider.

Some firms will offer access to all the funds on the market (there are well over 1000) whereas others may select just a small number of these funds - some do both. Other firms will have investment portfolios that they have developed themselves - often targeting different types of investor. The more questions you ask before you get started, the more useful you are likely to find the service you choose. Some firms can even arrange for you to trial the service as a guest.

Finally, being able to access good investment advice is hugely important - especially for the less experienced investor. Find out if the firm in question provides offline investment advice.

If you take a few commonsense precautions and do your homework, investing online can not only be safe but it can also be a great way to keep an eye on your investments 24/7, save on charges and take more control of your investments.

Investing News - Financial Adviser Fees - Are They Worth It?

2009-03-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

Getting a reputable financial adviser can be hard; in reality, a lot of them are terrible, so you have to be very careful in selecting the most suitable one to work with.

Given that I used to be involved in portfolio management for a leading asset management firm, for a huge asset management company, I am going to give you an insider's perspective on what you need to look for in access your the fee that you pay your financial adviser.

Financial advisers are most often paid in one of three specific ways. Older financial advisers (the ones that used to be pure stock brokers) get a commission based on any sales that they do in your account, which is paid to them whenever you purchase a stock, bond or mutual fund. This is a form of transactional payment, because the advisor is paid on the trades that they make for you rather than your bottom line account growth.

This fee is generally charged to the client right after the adviser buys an investment for them, which really doesn't do anything to encourage the adviser to do anything more than sell you things that he thinks you will buy. This type of compensation is definitely the most dated, which means that you should definitely be cautious about working with this sort of financial adviser.

The second type is an adviser that charges a residual fee, which is usually a percentage of the capital that you have with them. In the last decade, the wealth management industry has been going through a transition to this sort of structure.

In my experience, clients generally like this type of fee the best, since they pay of their adviser is directly related to their account performance. If the clients account makes money, the adviser get a higher fee; if the account loses money, the adviser gets a lower fee

The main problem with this sort of arrangement is that it encourages the investment adviser to allocate all of your money, because the fee that they charge doesn't usually include available cash position. If anything, the recent economic turmoil has shown that it isn't always smart to be fully invested, with this sort of fee plan making it far more likely that your adviser will try to convince you to invest as much as possible into the market.

Lastly, there is a type of financial planner that only charge you for investment consultation, rather then on your account balance or transactions. In this type of circumstance, you will generally pay on a hourly basis - or per session - and may not even have your investments managed by the adviser. The main issue with this is that such advisers may not take a longer-term outlook with your portfolio - or even give it a considerable amount of thought - since they are simply paid by the hour/by appointment, while the other two type often meet with new prospects for free.

With everything considered, I think that the best option would be the fee based on assets under management. The main advantage of this over the other two is that it favors a longer term relationship, and aligns your interests with the adviser's. Even so, you should fastidiously investigate any adviser, before you decide to give them your business.

Investing News - Forex Can Be Profitable For You

2009-03-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Trading the Foreign exchange or Forex market can be very profitable. Taking Forex courses to get the knowlege needed is the first step to making currency trading your new career. Courses in foreign exchange trading are sold all over the internet as well as through local community colleges. Many Forex trading guru's put out expensive courses offering not only trading know how and basic instruction, but also their unique take on making Forex trading profitable. Learning to trade money on the foreign exchange markets is a simple way to make money at home because all you need is a computer and internet access, but the learning curve is a bit high especially if you wish to be successful.

Forex stands for foreign exchange and is where currency trading happens. It's the clearinghouse where banks and official government institutions buy and sell foreign currencies.

The Forex market is the biggest financial market in the world with billions and billions of dollars changing hands weekly. Large volumes of currencies are traded 24 hours a day.

Good traders can easily make between $100,000 and $500,000 per year trading Forex. Those just starting out naturally will make less and could even lose money if they don't learn the ropes. Education is a must to avoid the pain of losing money. It is just as easy to lose a large amount as it is to make a large amount with Forex. There is good news for the newbie however. Brokers will let you set up a trading account and simulate trades usually at little or no cost.

There can be a large amount of information to digest, so it's best to find brokers who give you training as well as let you simulate trades. Home study courses in Forex trading are an integral part of your training to be a full time Forex trader. Many of these courses deal in psychology just as much as in technical detail. Psychology and getting yourself to trade correctly is the biggest problem with trading Forex. Sometimes you want to pull out and that's exactly when you should stay in. Sometimes you want to put all your money into a currency and that's exactly when you should not. Bucking the natural trend to seek pleasure and avoid pain by having a strict system is the way the pros make money.

Setting up a Forex trading account is easily done through a broker licensed and certified to engage in foreign exchange currency trading. You won't have any trouble finding lots of offers to get you on board with an account. The internet is full of websites for such brokers, many of whom offer Forex training courses and online tests to see if you have what it takes to succeed in this kind of activity.

Forex trading is not for everyone but for those who have the will to do it right it can be very satisfying. Many people make a full time living in Forex. They don't hold jobs, they don't have a schedule. They are their own boss. They are however tied to the computer several hours a day while trading. The nice thing is that they can take a laptop anywhere in the world, submit their trades, and be done for the day.

Investing News - Why Learn to Invest?

2009-03-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

There are savers, and there are investors. Those who do not know how to invest, or are afraid to accept financial risk save money and keep it in the bank. People who learn how to invest know investing basics, and know that they have plenty of latitude in tailoring their investments to fit their risk tolerance.

Savers take risks they may not even be aware of. Inflation and taxes can eat up interest earnings, leaving them with a smaller nest egg than they expected in retirement. For example, $100,000 at 4% interest produces $4000 in interest earnings a year. Income taxes in the 25% tax bracket would take $1000 of this, and inflation at 3% would eat up $3000. The net result is a real gain of zero.

The Rule of 72 drives home the investing basics, why you need to learn to invest and earn higher returns. Earning 3% a year the rule says that it takes about 24 years to double your money. At 10% a year your money should double in about 7 years. Simply divide 72 by the interest rate or rate of return to get the answer. For example, 72 divided by 10 equals 7 years (approximate).

Why learn to invest? Very simply, you won't make higher rates of return unless you do. Let's say you save $5000 a year in an IRA earning 3% interest for 30 years. After 30 years you have about $238,000. At 10% a year for 30 years you would have more like $822,000.

Here's a more extreme example to get you motivated to learn how to invest. Let's say you roll your retirement plan assets of $100,000 into an IRA. At 3% for 30 years it grows to about $243,000. At 15% for 30 years, your $100,000 grows to about $6,621,000.

Historically, over the long term, if safe liquid savings paid 3% a year, high quality bonds returned closer to 5% or 6%. U.S. stocks returned a bit over 10% a year. This is if you only bought and held stocks and/or bonds, without managing your investments.

People who really know how to invest and manage their investment portfolio can earn higher returns over the long term. The investing basics are this: You need to maintain a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds and other investments.

Once you learn to invest you can earn higher returns at a level of financial risk you are comfortable with. You can not eat your cake and have it too. It's all a trade-off, and comes down to accepting some financial risk in order to get higher returns.

Your financial security in retirement will likely depend on how you manage your financial assets. Don't cop out. Learn to invest.
A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Investing News - Wealth Creation and Protection in a Recession - Funds and Jeffery's Bay

2009-03-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Pain of 2008 seems to have flowed straight into 2009. I have lost count how many times I have heard a financial expert say "the Dow Jones has bottomed out and we have seen the worst of it". Conversely, I have heard many more commentators say that things are going to become a lot worse before they get better. One thing everyone has in common is that we all believe there is great uncertainty.

There is an old age question of which type investment is better shares or property. In 2009 there are numerous examples of where share prices have slumped dramatically and house prices are seriously depressed. In many examples the debt is now much greater than the equity.

Financial advisors, executives, planners, advisors and the mums and dads investors have all been hurt by this recession. Nevertheless there are a few opportunities for wealth creation and protection.

Whilst some managed funds and hedge funds were slaughtered in 2008 there are early signs that the market has turned or is at least turning. In late 2007 I invested in a fund that had a Net Asset Value of around $3.50 and I initially received some good growth. However, the recession hit this fund hard and in matter of months it had fallen to $2. Worse was still to come in that the fund was then frozen (which meant I could not retrieve my money) and the fund NAV fell to about 90c in December 2008. I was very upset.

Since about the start of February the fund has risen to $1.28 which is still a long way from the glory days of $3.50 but it is a 40% improvement in 2009. Whilst the cheap champagne is still very much in the cupboard and retirement is still some years away, I am a little relieved that things have improved. Market research undertaken in the Karmafinancialresearch.com shows that there are several other funds that are recording growth or are steady in 2009. Whilst many continue to flee the market may be it is time to keep your stock or even invest more.

Another investment I have been looking at is the property market in South Africa. Investors are increasingly aware of the attractive capital growth of some property investments due to increased capital flows into the property market, low supply of investment-grade property, tightening yields and rental growth through lease structures. I have noticed that whilst there has been some small decline property prices are still relatively robust and with several good opportunities particularly in the South African holiday spot of Jeffery's Bay. Whilst tourism is down world wide it seems the South Africans still love this spot with great enthusiasm.

Well located property that has strong credentials can offer investors with a relatively low risk option with good cash flow and capital growth. This does not mean investors should be less cautious it is a matter of doing research first. Email me at ktravers@bigpond.net.au should you wish further information.

Investing News - Incubator Hedge Funds

2009-03-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

What is an incubator hedge fund?

Simply put an incubator hedge fund is an investment vehicle designed for you (or you and your partner) to trade your own assets to establish a track record for trading. Incubator hedge funds are a low cost solution to beginning the process of starting and growing a full fledged hedge fund.

What types of incubator hedge funds are available?

There are many different types of incubator hedge funds which you can start up. Basically an incubator hedge fund can be started for any specific strategy and it will be based on the investment program you will use in the future to trade outside money.

One very popular type of incubator fund is a forex incubator hedge fund. In the forex incubator hedge fund the manager will trade in the off-exchange foreign currency markets. Because of the high leverage involved in forex trading, managers of forex incubators often have volatile returns. A forex manager should note that there is likely to be registration rules for managers in the future. The CFTC is working on proposing these rules and the NFA has already produced a test for the registration of managers - the Series 34 exam which is a 40 question, 1 hour exam for forex managers.

What are the biggest issues with the incubator hedge fund?

The single biggest issue with the incubator hedge fund is that you must trade only your own assets in the vehicle. The reason is that the interests in any type of fund are securities and if you "sell" interests in the fund to a party who does not have an active roll in the management of the fund, you will need to go through the whole hedge fund formation process and produce lengthy offering documents. This process is, necessarily, more costly and time consuming than starting an incubator hedge fund and it is a deterrent for those managers who simply want to establish a track record of their trading for later on.

Additionally, if there are outside investors in any type of fund structure there are potential investment adviser issues at the state level.

What is the incubator process like?

The incubator is a relatively simple process. You will start off by talking with a hedge fund attorney who has specialized knowledge of hedge fund formation. After the discussion, the attorney will begin to form the incubator entities and then help you to establish your trading account. The attorney will also provide you with background on all of the important rules you will need to know about creating a marketable track record.

This may be deemed to be attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.

Investing News - Does Forex Tracer Actually Work?

2009-03-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Right so some quick facts. The foreign exchange market is the biggest in the world with about $3 trillion being traded on a daily basis. So basically that's a lot and the opportunity for making a not insignificant profit is clearly there.

But you need to study it for years and years and years and be an expert, right? Maybe not. Forex Tracer is marketed as a trading robot (a system that literally pick trades automatically and gets in and out of them on autopilot, while you're doing whatever your heart desires). You set the system up and that's it.

But surely you would need to be an expert, again with decades of experience to set it up? Again, no. The system can be used by anyone, regardless of experience, all that's required is a computer and an internet connection.

So you're probably thinking, 'wow, this forex Tracer is magic, I bet it is very risky and costs a ton of money', and again, no and no. The system can be yours for an introductory price (its jut recently on the market) for $97 and you have 60 days to trial it. If you're not happy with it for whatever reason you can simply get a refund. It also comes with a 'stop loss' and 'take profit' which are very cool functions

So there you have it, its not often you come across something that has so much potential as the Forex Tracer EA (expert advisor), is relatively inexpensive and to top it all off allows you to trial for 60 days so there really is no risk to you. Seems like a great decision really, doesn't it?

Avoiding Investment Fraud

2009-02-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

I tell those who ask that there are two types of successful investors: the skeptical optimist or the optimistic skeptic. Either of these might have identified a number of reasons to stay as far away from Bernie Madoff as possible.

Avoiding fraud is not rocket science but then too, the regulatory authorities do not make it easy. In the Madoff case an objective observer might wonder how it could happen.

How were so many intelligent people, including professional money managers, duped for so many years? A quick and easy answer is that the client-victims seemed to have placed perception ahead of due diligence. An unkind critic might reverse the words in that phrase - "If you're so smart why aren't you rich?" The investors may have relied on reputation, image, and the word of other investors as the basis for their trust. It is the latter, client testimonials, that are the lifeblood of any Ponzi scheme. The client who unknowingly receives the principal investment of newer clients as his "investment return" can become the unwitting source of additional victims for the perpetrator.

A deeper examination reveals a higher level of complexity. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC is an investment advisor registered with the Securities Exchange Commission. This implies investor protection in the form of regulation and oversight. If an advisor retains custody of client assets then he must have independent audits performed in addition to the unannounced audits conducted by the Commission. If the firm does not retain custody (we are in this group), then the client has the statements of the third party custodian to match against the advisor statement. This check and balance system is virtually fraud-proof. In the Madoff case, the independent accounting firm was an obscure, two-person outfit. That relationship alone raises the first red flag.

However, a review of the advisory firm's ADV, available to the public at the SEC website, should have raised additional questions. Item 5 of the ADV application provides information about the advisory business. For example, for the answer to the question about how many employees perform investment advisory functions including research the box "1 to 5" was checked. Question B (3) asks how many firms or other persons solicit clients on your behalf. The answer checked here is "zero". For question C the box 11 to 25 is checked for number of clients served and that is confirmed in question F which lists 23 discretionary accounts totaling $17 billion in assets.

If you were a prospective investor from Palm Beach being solicited by an outside firm and you knew of at least thirty other individuals locally who invested with Madoff, you would need some clarification to those ADV answers. A look back at question D which asks about types of clients provides a clue. Here "51-75%" was select for item (6) - other pooled investment vehicles (e.g. hedge funds). It is clear now that your investment will be under the umbrella of a Madoff hedge fund and that S.E.C. oversight and regulation does not apply. Before making a decision to invest you could examine the characteristics of The KL Group, a West Palm Beach hedge fund that went under in recent years.

Despite the wide difference in scope, you would find the following in common:

The principals led a first class lifestyle, had a history of success, and were perceived as experts.
The annual returns were well above normal, almost "too good to be true".
Their offices were expensive and well appointed.
Their strategies were secretive and too complicated to explain.
They were selective as to client acceptance.
Their clients relied solely on company prepared reports.

Ka-Poom Theory - How to Invest in Bubble Economies With Black Swan Events

2009-02-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

In this post, we'll take a look at the Ka-Poom Theory, a framework for investing in "bubble" economies -- economies driven by the creation of asset bubbles.

Ka-Poom Theory: What It Is

Ka-Poom Theory is a theory that postulates how the asset bubble cycle works -- meaning how bubbles are created, destroyed, and reborn. It was developed by Eric Janszen, former venture capitalist who now writes commentary at iTulip.com.

Ka-Poom Theory offers the following framework for understanding bubble cycles:

1. The Bubble is created. Ka-Poom Theory posits that the creation of the bubble is a result of interest rates being kept too low by the central bank. This is the same conclusion reached by the Austrian Business Cycle Theory.

2. Also like Austrian Business Cycle Theory, Ka-Poom Theory expects the bubble to begin deflating at some point. In addition, though, Ka-Poom Theory expects a "black swan event" -- an unpredictable, external, outlier event that has a monumental impact and, in the context of Ka-Poom Theory, a deflationary effect. It does not, however, cause a deflationary spiral. Thus, Ka-Poom Theory refers to this state as disinflation.

3. The central bank will respond to disinflation with inflationary policies that will take approximately 12 months to impact the markets. The period of disinflation will be erratic.

4. The black swan event is the "ka" of the Ka-Poom Theory. The "Poom" is the subsequent re-inflation of the money supply. Deficit spending and inflationary policies initiated by the Fed dictate to what sector the re-inflation of the central bank will go.

Ka-Poom Theory posits this is what has been happening in the US economy since the dot com bubble, and thus is the current framework for understanding thus US economy.

Assumptions of Ka-Poom Theory

The most critical assumption the Ka-Poom Theory makes is that the central bank has the power to inflate the market at will, invariably. In other words, Ka-Poom Theory is based on the premise that if the Federal Reserve wants to inflate and create higher prices, it can -- by printing money, buying up assets, working through the credit market, or inducing foreigners to sell Treasury bonds and dollar holdings. It also assumes that the results of the central bank's actions are not instantaneous; the gap between their policy enactment and the corresponding re-inflation of asset prices is a period referred to as disinflation.

Because of this assumption, Ka-Poom Theory is essentially a framework for understanding how a planned economy works.

Implications of Ka-Poom Theory for Traders and Investors

To the extent that Ka-Poom Theory is valid, a few deductions can be made for traders and investors:

1. The period of disinflation -- what Ka-Poom Theory argues we are in now, which is characterized as the period between the Federal Reserve's policy enactment and the corresponding effects -- is deemed to be erratic. Janszen prefers to stay out of the market during these times.

2. In a debt-based bubble, the long-term bond market will likely be where the arbitrage opportunity is, in the sense that bond prices will fall as the market begins to re-inflate.

3. In order to understand what sectors will be set to inflate -- where the next bubble will be found -- Ka-Poom Theory looks at government spending to lead the way.

6 Things to Help You Choose the Right Financial Advisor

2009-02-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

Understanding the financial and investment world can prove to be a challenge. It appears that the industry has its own language with terms and expressions that industry employees use very casually but seems foreign to the general public. Have you ever watched the news or spoken with a broker or financial advisor that talks to you as if you should understand what they mean? Of course you have. As a member of the industry myself I often find that there are those "experts" who use language that I do not even understand. As a result, many fear talking with an investment professional out of fear of not understanding their language and looking like a fool. The truth is, though, that regardless of our lack of comprehension to the investment language it is still responsible to plan for your retirement, as well as, the unseen future. How to choose the right financial advisor can appear to be a daunting task especially when you are not even sure of what to ask and are uncertain of the advisement you will receive. How then can it be done? How can you choose the right advisor for you?

The first thing to understand in choosing a financial advisor is understanding that you do not need to know everything there is to know about the financial and investment industry. What is important to know is that there are different types of advisors and that knowing the difference between the small independent broker and the big brokerage firms with captive advisors can help you decide which is right for you. Having worked on both sides of the industry I feel that it is important for you to learn some things about the way big brokerage firms operate. Therefore, I have listed 6 things every investor should know about how to choose the right advisor.
Chemistry - I have heard many of my clients say that the reason they chose me over someone else is because they did not feel as comfortable with other professionals. Consider, for example, your relationship with your doctor. In order for doctors to know how to treat us they have to ask lots of questions, many of which are very personal things unknown even to our own family . How comfortable are we with our doctor when he examines us physically? Would you not agree that there has to be some type of professional and personal chemistry between us and our doctor in order to be helped? Certainly so. It should be no less for those we choose to advise us and direct us. If a financial professional talks over your head or talks down to you, if he/she sound as if is they are trying to impress you, or you just do not get a good vibe from them then go somewhere else.
Rule 405 - There are various regulatory agencies that govern the securities and investments industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the ultimate government agency that serves as a watchdog for our industry. The Federal Government, however, also allows self- regulatory agencies to exist under the watchful eye of the SEC and these agencies regulate their members. The majority of brokerage firms are members of these agencies since it is nearly impossible to operate otherwise. The two most popular self-regulatory agencies are the Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Rule 405 is a NYSE rule that is often called within the industry the KYC rule or Know Your Customer rule. It requires that financial professionals and firms collect specific information on each client at the time a new account is opened. However, this rule also means that each financial professional should know their client well enough and their circumstances to suggest a certain type of investment course or strategy. Some organizations, even some for whom I have worked, will call up individuals who they recently met trying to sell a stock or a bond. If Rule 405 states that a professional is to know their customer how can such a recommendation be made when they have no real relationship with the person? Just because an investment is a good quality investment does not mean that it is appropriate for your needs and circumstances. Be careful about buying investments. Investments and other financial products should be appropriate to help you reach your financial goals.
Contests, Rewards & Gifts - Most companies offer rewards to their brokers and advisors who reach certain production levels. While it is true that good work should be rewarded, it can also be a temptation for advisor to promote certain types of products or investments that pay a higher commission or put them in line to get an all expense paid trip to a resort destination. This can especially happen if a broker or advisor is near the end of the qualification period and is just shy of reaching that goal. The government requires that the companies and their advisors who are eligible to receive such gifts to notify and disclose such information to their clients. This is usually done in a fine print disclosure form...those forms that few of us rarely read. While there is nothing wrong with this avenue of employee commendation it should be noted that it can have an affect on the way a company representative advises. These types of contests are usually found among big brokerage firms and rarely among the smaller firms. Do not be afraid to ask your advisor what affect your business will have on his/her annual and seasonal contests.The government also has limitations on the gifts that an advisor may give you or that he/she may accept from you. It is allowable for an advisor to give gifts to his/her clients but they may not exceed $100 in value per person per calendar year. Likewise, the broker or advisor may not accept gifts more than $100 per person per calendar year. If an advisor offers you or gives you expensive gifts for doing business with him/her and its value is more than $100, NFL tickets, for example, he is breaking the law. The same would be true of accepting them from you. The offering of gifts to people often serves as an incentive to do business with them so know the law. If he/she is willing to break this one law for you what other laws would he/she be willing to break?
Free Lunch & Dinner Seminars - Free lunch and dinner seminars have become very popular among financial professionals. Some seminars are simply for the purpose of providing financial education to clients and the public while others are specifically designed to obtain new clients or sell financial products. Because many individuals have been taken advantage of by means of this environment, especially senior citizens, the government has begun evaluating how dinner seminars are to be conducted and supervised. The offer of a free dinner at a nice restaurant is very tempting. If you decide to attend you should never be made to feel pressured into buying a product, changing your investments, or moving from one advisor to another. It is important to keep in mind that the majority of the time dinner seminars are designed to attract you as a client. Never sign anything without taking the time to consider it and read it thoroughly. If an advisor truly values having you as a client he/she will want to be sure that you feel you are making a right decision.
Churning - Churning is a legal word that carries the following definition..."An unethical practice employed by some brokers to increase their commissions by excessively trading in a client's account." This practice violates the FINRA Fair Practice Rules. It is also referred to as "churn and burn," "twisting" and "overtrading." Such activities usually result in a higher tax bill for the investor. If an advisor seems to contact you quite often to invite you to sell one investment and buy another then you should contact his broker-dealer firm. Unless you have a signed agreement where this kind of action takes place be cautious of any advisor who regularly gets you to change investments. Sometimes a change is necessary but keep track of what changes are made and how often. Churning is difficult to prove and some advisors are good at covering their tracks. For long term investors a portfolio of quality investments and/or annuities should rarely have to be changed unless the quality of such investments fail or decline. A proactive approach with your investments on your part can help prevent such unlawful activity.
80-20 Rule - This is not a legal rule but a principle upon which many businesses operate. The 80-20 rule states that 80% of an advisors business comes from the top 20% of his/her clientele. I have personally sat in meetings where top producing advisors tell the others that they do not allow clients to use more than 15 minutes of their time unless they fall into the top 20%. They focus more energy on those top 20% than the bottom 80%. While producing income is the life blood of any business, all clients should be treated the same. The individual that invests $1000 worked just as hard for that $1000 as did the person who invested $1,000,000. Favoritism and financial prejudice should not exist in the work place but unfortunately it does. Small dollar investors may not be sitting on huge stock piles of funds but one day they may through an inheritance, a gift, a lawsuit or some other way. All clients should be treated equally. If you feel slighted in this way by your broker ask him/her why. Would you not want to be treated the same as everyone else?

These 6 things can help you in choosing the right financial advisor or professional for you. There are thousands of honest professionals who genuinely care about their clients. There are also those who only care about themselves. Be sure you feel comfortable with the person whom you choose and remember that there are laws to protect you. You have worked hard for what you have and you should feel that your advisor cares as much about your investments as you do.

Don't Let Fear Hold You Back From Investing

2009-02-19T18:07:00.000-08:00

"Some of my friends were talking recently about how they made some good profits in the stock market recently. However, it was my understanding that if you invest in stocks you can lose your money. I really have worked hard for my money and I don't want to get involved in anything where I could lose any of it. I'm wondering if there's something I' m missing by being afraid of investing in stocks."

I can relate very well to your fear of investing in anything that could lose money. Many years ago, when I had just started working in an investment brokerage, I had to do an exercise to invest some money in stocks and money market accounts. I didn't know anything about the stock market at the time, and I remember saying to myself "Why would anyone want to put money into an investment that could lose money?" I reluctantly placed twenty percent of my available funds (the minimum allowed) into the stock market, and prepared for the worst.

Three months later, at the end of the exercise, I realized that the twenty percent that I had placed in stocks had vastly outperformed the eighty percent that was invested in the money market accounts. I realized then that my fear of investing in an unknown product had stood in the way of me making a lot more money.

Many people struggle with different kinds of fear when it comes to making investing decisions. Fear based on a lack of knowledge about the investment world is one of the major drawbacks that prevent people for maximizing returns on their money. I have seen people with large sums sitting in commercial bank accounts earning less than five percent per annum, just because a savings account was all they knew about.

With access the internet, investing shows on cable television, and free advice available from most financial institutions, we really have no excuse not to find out how to make our money earn more for us. You don't have to be afraid of looking foolish by asking a lot of questions if you are not clear. Make it your business to learn and to try a new form of investment that may help you to achieve your goals.

Another type of fear that prevents people for taking risks to make more money is the fear of making a mistake with the investment. Many people with great business ideas don't even bother to take the plunge because they are afraid of not doing it right and losing all their money. Safety of their principal is more important than taking a risk that could mean great returns.

The reality is that you can get professional guidance that can reduce your risks in business or other types of investments like stocks or currency trading. Educating yourself is the first step, but if you really want to make more money this year, you may have to be willing to increase your risk appetite. Nobody likes to lose money in an investment, but I have personally found that every wrong investment decision that I have made, has taught me a valuable lesson that has helped me to eventually make more money.

A good way to start testing the waters is by investing a little bit of money in a riskier type of investment like the stock market. Some stock brokers allow you to start with as little at J$10,000, and you really only need to buy a minimum of 100 units of any stock. Make sure that you only invest what you can afford to lose without worrying, and use the exercise to learn more about the investment product.

Another dominant fear that prevents people from making more money is the fear of knowing how bad their financial situation really is. I have spoken to many clients who refuse to prepare a budget because they know that it will reveal their disastrous spending habits and their lack of assets. The fear of being honest about their situation keeps them trapped in an endless spending and debt cycle.

As we start a new year, decide to be honest with yourself and admit it if your financial situation is less than perfect. Taking that first step might be depressing at first, especially if your financial picture is less than rosy. However facing reality will help to empower you by revealing exactly what you need to do to improve your finances and to start making your money work for you.

So what are you afraid of? Face your fears today and visit a financial advisor who can help you to find solutions to your problems.

The Important Things to Know Before You Invest

2009-02-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

All of us want to make money when we invest, but it's important you understand your current financial situation before making a decision to invest in the market. This is true whether your investment is penny stocks or long-term blue chips. In order to determine this, you'll need to calculate your income and expenses, adjust the following to meet your personal requirements.
Mortgage
Taxes
Loans and credit cards
Day to day living expense
Emergency fund (make certain to put this in place)
Transportation expenses
Leisure activities
Student Loans
Other commitments to family and/or friends

When we begin thinking about investing,
we need to first look at our own financial situation to determine what amount we can safely invest each month. It's always wise (that should read crucial) to invest with your surplus, and not your rent (by rent we mean any monthly expense you know will be spent).

In order to accomplish this and not invest scared money, it's wise to first save (put aside some capital), and use that money to invest with. How much you decide to put aside is your decision, but many financial experts recommend 10% as an emergency fund, then an additional 10% for investing. Different people will have different takes on these suggestions.

If you're single, this may not apply but if you're married with children, always put your family first. We may be investing to help our family, but we don't want to put them in jeopardy in case something were to go wrong. In order to accomplish this, you'll want to make certain your debts are paid, life insurance in place, and emergency fund has sufficient assets to help the surviving spouse begin a new life.

We are each individual's, and deal with life in different ways, many of us enjoy the riskier investments, while others take a more conservative route. Take the time to determine what type of investor you are, then slowly but surely expand your investment horizons. While we recommend penny stocks as an excellent part of your portfolio, they are certainly not for everyone, and that is a decision you'll need to make personally.

The time tested piece of investment advice is this, diversify. While penny stocks have allowed this author to obtain wealth, that doesn't mean they are my only investment, I'm well diversified and so should you be. The market will always fluctuate, it has done so for years and I can see no reason it will change in the near future.

Always take the time to either research before you invest, or be involved with a quality expert or a newsletter that knows your niche. Often times you'll find the best investments are those that run contrary to what your financial advisor, (usually very conservative) may advise. Just like investors, there are conservative and risky financial advisors. Take anything that is said as advice, not fact then research on your own. There is no such thing as a Wall Street crystal ball, but there are ways to obtain good information.

Never chase a losing stock, this is most often throwing good money after bad, it is much better to take your losses, learn from your mistakes, and live to invest another day. While we have seen many penny stocks rise as much as 25% in a single day, many continuing to increase 100, 200, even 500% in a week, this is not always the case. When you're on board with a winner, take your profits, reinvest and celebrate your success.

Gold Coins and Gold Bullion a Great Inflation Or Recession Investment

2009-02-12T18:06:00.000-08:00

Gold coins are often considered during tough economic times. People are always looking for the safest place to place their financial portfolio to guard against the inflation or deflation of their investments. Gold has always been a strong contender for this protection.
Once the economy takes a strong position in altering someone's portfolio on short notice, gold coins are quick to be considered as the protection factor. The subsequent question is what kind of gold coins should you buy?

The current economy is so volatile you are probably not sure where to place or move your investment dollars at a time like we are currently seeing. Obviously, your best advice is to move the majority of your investments out of stocks and into the bond market, but precious metals should be another strong consideration. Precious metals are safer since they are a tangible investment and the market has always considered them to be essential in any economic conditions.

If you are looking to protect your longer term investments choosing gold coins that date prior to 1933 and can be a mixture of European and American gold coins. These type of gold coins have both historical and collector benefits which helps maintain their value over simple gold bullion.

Gold coins are often considered insurance against a person's portfolio, but just how much of a your portfolio should gold coins play as an insurance factor. The rule of thumb is a minimum of 10% and on the high end around 30 to 35%. This will give you an assurance that your ratio of diversity is well within the range of most gold coin investors.

The short term investors will often pass on the precious metals market if the economy is somewhat stable and the there are little swings going on with the economy. Now is not one of those times. Much like the oil market, precious metals seem to swing in union with the oil values. Investing wisely is to choose a commodity that regardless of the economy, your investments will not suffer dire consequences no matter how severe they swing.

Since gold coins and gold bullion are a safe investment, you should consider buying with your investment dollars to protect your financial portfolio. Buying gold is easy and selling is equally easy to sell. What more could make you feel better about any investment safeguard than that?

With any serious investing ask your financial planner how much of a percentage your investment should be in gold, but if they suggest anything less than fifteen percent, seek a second opinion, especially during these tough economic times.
Watching your gold coins or gold bullion values and how they continue to stay above most other investments you can check the current gold prices and values for yourself. Gold is not the highest valued precious metal, but when it comes to an affordable and safe investment that will see your investments safely through any economic conditions for the short and long haul, make sure you give strong consideration to adding it to your retirement portfolio as well.

Invest Like a Pro - Control Your Emotions

2009-02-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

One of the hardest things that you can do and yet also one of the most essential when you are investing or trading is to control your emotions. This is what separates the true pros from the amateurs. The more you can cut a clear and defined line between your emotions and your investments, the better off you will be.

Many people will hold on to an investment for way too long simply because they feel an emotional tie. Maybe they like the company or it has special meaning to them. But this can lead to some very large losses. For a long time, the rumors were out that Freddie and Fannie were going to fall and that it was just a matter of time. Yet many people kept their money ties into these two companies and paid an amazingly large price.

I still remember the day Fannie went from about $7 a share to 70 cents a share. Anyone that had their money tied up that day was looking at a 90 percent loss because they were not able to let go of whatever emotion they had tied into holding that particular stock.

Also, the emotion of greed came into play as many people had a false hope of that $ 7 stock being worth $ 70 again, which about an hour's worth of research would have told you was not EVER going to happen. Yet the emotion of greed made people make some bad judgment calls and they put as much money as they could expecting a future 1,000 percent return.

Control your emotions when you make your investments. Otherwise you would have better luck in Atlantic City or Vegas.

Savings Allocation

2009-02-08T18:02:00.000-08:00

First of all, I would like to define what do I mean by the word "Savings".

In plain english and simpler terms, Savings means money saved or left with us after taken care of

living expenses, bill payments, taxes, loan installment payments and any other important outgos from earnings.

I have allocated my savings amount in following proportion:

1. Bank accounts...15%
2. Tax Savings Mutual Funds (Lock-in 3 years)...20%
3. Public Provident Fund (P.P.F.)...25%
4. Diversified Equity Mutual Funds...10%
5. Fixed Deposits Lock-in 1year)...10%
6. ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan)...10%
7. Immediate Money (Cash for urgency, Physical Gold etc.)...10%

My Investment Strategy:

Identify top 5 (consistent over last 3 years) mutual funds in each category mentioned above and spread money across them in given percentage values respectively to minimise risks even further. Then Invest Fixed Deposit money in top 3 national banks giving good FD (fixed deposit) returns for last 5 yrs.

I would like to share my personal experience with you all:

Always Keep in mind one thing: "Try and Learn to save at least 5 to 10% of your earnings each year."

If you really like this article, please visit my blog and provide your valuable comments on this article.

This same article was already published on my blog in April 2008 and this was the first article that I published on my blog.

Disclaimer:

No one can claim us responsible for any investment failures/losses based on the ideas OR opinions OR suggestions mentioned here. Please consult Financial Advisor and/or Financial Experts first before taking any investment decision and/or investing money. The information on this blog might be in-accurate OR outdated.

How to Identify Which Asset Classes Will Do Best in a Monetary Crisis

2009-02-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

Regardless of what side of the inflation/deflation debate you're on, one thing is certain: false forms of value are being destroyed, and there is a "flight to safety" -- safe ways of preserving purchasing power. In our current environment, this has caused the US dollar to strengthen in the second half of 2008, and US government treasury bonds to rally as well.

So what's this mean for commodity prices? To answer this question, we will need to understand the origins of money.

The Origins of Money

Long, long ago, before the advent of paper money, people bartered goods. In other words, if you made shoes and I made pants, we might be able to work out a trade in which you would make a pair of shoes for me and I would make a pair of pants for you. In this way we would both be able to increase our wealth.

Of course, what if I wanted shoes but you did not need pants? We might then be able to have difficulty in making a trade. Unless, of course, you were able to accept my pants and trade them with someone else who wanted pants. And that is precisely what began to happen as economies developed. In such an environment, what became money was simply the most easily traded commodity. Such commodities typically had a few attributes:

1. durability -- did not deterioriate over time, thus allowing wealth to be accumulated and an economy to be built on savings
2. divisibility -- easily divided, thus enabling transactions of all sizes
3. recognizability -- so that people could accept it as money with confidence
4. portability -- so that people could take their money with them
5. scarcity -- because too much of it would encourage speculation and making savings difficult

Many commodities were tried as money, though in the end, two stood out as clear winners: gold and silver. Thus you will sometimes find passionate gold and silver investors who say "gold is money."

What This Means If You Believe Deflation is a Concern

If you view the crisis as deflationary in nature, the asset classes most appealing to you will be as follows (listed in order):

1. real cash -- i.e. US dollars, euros, etc
2. government issued bonds
3. precious metals
4. commodities
5. consumer goods
6. real estate
7. financial goods (stocks, bonds, derivatives)

Deflationists argue the supply of paper, government-issued money in the economy is contracting, and thus it is not in danger of being devalued by excessive supply -- and so its purchasing value will increase as the market moves to find real stores of value.

What This Means If You Believe Inflation is a Concern

If you believe inflation is a concern -- meaning that the government has excessively expanded the supply of paper money in the economy -- then the asset classes of choice will be as follows:

1. precious metals
2. commodities
3. consumer goods
4. real estate
5. financial goods
6. real cash
7. government bonds

Of course, this would depend on how much inflation there is -- cash would higher on the list in the event if there is not much inflation. And with respect to financial goods, those correlated to healthy companies will be higher on the list.

How to Trade This

The easiest way of trading this is to trade asset classes against each other; for instance, if you're a deflationist, going long cash while shorting financials. Conversely, you can look for potential arbitrage opportunities in which the market is not behaving as macroeconomics would posit that it does. In our current times, for instance, commodities have fallen more than financial assets; the DBC ETF, which tracks an index of commodities, has fallen 16% more than the S&P over the past 200 trading days. For this reason, many investment advisors are quite bullish on commodities, citing it as some of the best buying opportunities.

Of course, as the old saying goes, the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent, so such strategies looking to take advantage of economic inconsistencies may benefit most if coupled with trend-following technical analysis.

Commodity Hedge Fund - The Hands-Off Way to Profit From Commodities

2009-02-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

A commodity hedge fund is a type of fund that focuses solely on commodities. The net value of the assets of any such fund may run into the billions of dollars, and participation is usually limited to wealthy and sophisticated investors.

As with any other type of investment, there is a manager who is responsible for making the decisions about which assets to invest in, what part of the fund's total capital to allocate to each one, and when the get out of an investment.

Investors participating in a hedge fund are typically not involved with the fund's day to day operations; instead, they will rely on the expertise of the fund manager to profit from commodities. The fund manager does his best to maximize the profits that can be had from investing in this type of asset.

Commodity hedge funds typically invest in rice, copper, crude oil, ethanol, silver, and gold. In most cases, investment is done in a wide variety of assets which helps to offset any fluctuations in the price of any one of them. Therefore if the price of one of them falls, this loss is usually offset by the rise in the price of another one.

This strategy greatly reduces the risks as compared to investing in just a single commodity. If the price of that single asset were to change dramatically, then an investor focusing on just that one could lose his investment. Diversification is just one reason why this method of investment is so attractive to investors.

Has Your Kids College Savings Investments Declined? Little Pointers to Get Back on Track

2009-01-30T17:54:00.000-08:00

Trevor and Kelly married, bought a house and had children. When their two children were born, Kelly and Trevor carefully set up a college savings plan. Each month, they saved and placed money into the college savings plans for each child. This provided them peace of mind and allowed them to dream of a college education for each of their children.

Their oldest child will graduate this year. But, the end of the year news is grim. Due to the economic downturn and losses on Wall Street the money they carefully placed in the investment account for college savings has suffered a decline as well. Further, it may not be enough when the time comes.

Kelly and Trevor are devastated by this. They feel that they have made all the right choices and followed the experts' advice, only to come up possibly short of funds when it really matters. They can't tell their children about this. They can't sleep and they dread opening the next statement from their college savings plan. What should these parents do?

Stiff Penalties with Early Withdrawal

After watching months of declining values, as parents you may be sorely tempted to withdraw your money avoiding further losses. However, the penalties for early withdrawal reduce the actual cash available.

Rebalancing Your Portfolio

The first thing is to carefully analyze your accounts. Move funds into more conservative accounts within the college savings plan. Conservative investments are also less vulnerable to market swings.

Moving balances within the college savings plan portfolio will not cause penalties like withdrawing the money would cause and may offer you peace of mind that funds will be available when the time comes to pay your child's college tuition.

Keeping Your College Savings Plan

Wall Street's most knowledgeable investment experts have said that the stock market may not rebound immediately and that true economic recovery may take some time. You should be prepared to leave your money in your college savings plan for some length of time.

Borrowing Against Home Equity

You may need to seek alternatives for your child's college tuition costs until your college savings plan balances rebound. As homeowners, one alternative for you may be borrowing against the equity in your home for a few semesters. As the market gains momentum, your college savings plan balances may be sufficient in the future.

Mortgage Acceleration

However, if a home equity loan isn't an option, then another option for you may a mortgage acceleration program to provide funding for college. This method will allow you to build equity without spending and will allow the funds to be used for your child's college tuition.

Another advantage is that you will save 50 or more thousand dollars in mortgage interest over a 10 year period. This is mortgage interest that you would otherwise pay to your bank. This method allows you to still build equity in your home without spending more money.

These options should provide you with the funds you need for your child's college tuition, save mortgage interest, and avoid tax consequences.

Investment Banking BSC - The Key to a Bank's Success

2009-01-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

Most people think that regular banks and investment banks operate in the same way. In actuality, they are two distinct entities. Regular banks offer the public products, such as loans and deposits, while investment banks offer services, such as raising capital, providing investment advice, and the like. In investment banking, the risks are greater. In order to ensure the success of such endeavors, these institutions develop what many people call Investment Banking BSC, also known as investment banking balanced scorecards.

There are many factors to consider in developing a well-balanced scorecard. One has to take into consideration that investment banking is unlike any other industry. In this industry, the risks are indeed great so sets of standards must be defined in order to draw a distinct line between right and wrong. Another aspect to consider and include in the balanced scorecard are key performance indicators. Although these indicators may vary from one bank to another depending on their individual goals and objectives, some of these indicators can be applied to all.

One key performance indicator that should be included in the scorecard is the financial perspective. This aspect will cover a whole bunch of sub-aspects, such as ROI, average rise in investments, proportion of revenue contributed by each service being offered, and many others. Basically, this covers the whole profit generating function of the bank itself. These indicators tell you if the bank is healthy or not. They also help ensure a strong financial foundation for the bank.

The second indicator that banks should include in the scorecard is risk. There are many ways to calculate and evaluate risk. Risk evaluation is an extremely important part of investment banking because the industry itself is subject to the whims of the market as a whole. The ups and downs in the stock market will greatly influence the whole performance of the bank. Bearing this fact in mind, it would be prudent and wise to ensure that the risk evaluation capability of your bank is good.

Internal operations perspective is the third aspect that should be included in the scorecard. This aspect fates the efficiency and performance of internal operations of the bank from marketing to services offered to clients. Since this indicator is quite broad and covers the whole bank, periodic evaluations should also be carried out to ensure that it is able to cover all the operations of the bank.

Finally, the last aspect to include in a well-balanced scorecard is growth perspective. As with any other business or industry, growth is always one of the main objectives. The purpose of such indicator is to know if the goals are attainable in a given time frame.

In this industry, compromising one's performance is never an option. Specific parameters must be set up and strictly followed with the utmost vigor and zest. The risks are too great to be complacent. This is where investment banking BSC comes into the picture. This proper use of this managerial tool ensures the survivability and the success of the bank as a whole and a successful bank also means a strong economy.

The India Money Market Fall Since September 2008

2009-01-25T17:51:00.000-08:00

India market news is the topic of discussion for every investor nationwide. The global economic downturn since the last quarter of 2008 has been gaining grounds until the Satyam scam. The fourth-biggest software firm - Satyam Computers, ever since its drastic crash and financial wrongdoing revelations, has been in India news and global news headlines affecting the India money market. India has many foreign investors and the economy not being very highly affected despite the global recession, more foreign investors are looking towards India as a safe and secured investment destination. But as India market news make plain, the Satyam scandal may prove to be a huge loss to India, prompting foreign investors to leave India.

Strengthening of the Indian rupee and loss of dollar over the last week of December 08 and first week of January brought in a ray of hope amongst investors, thus raising the importance of India money market. Data released by the India news recorded buying of local shares by overseas funds. India market news further brought to light that with the Satyam scam, stock market indices witnessed a 7.1 percent slump. Despite the two weeks' rise of the rupee, it again slumped down due to the Satyam effect.

India money market is flooded with news like 'NSE removing Satyam from Nifty, replacing the position with Rel Capital', 'Satyam losing Rs 10, 000 crore in market cap', etc. The India market news on 7th evening shook domestic as well as global investor confidence affecting many other top companies. Overall, the situation is expected to improve and India money market is again going to witness a rise. Thanks to the corrective measures taken by the RBI as well as the government. With the lending rate cut by 350 basis points by the the RBI as well as the 200 billion rupee ($4 billion) stimulus package announced by the government will help materialize the 7% growth target. Duties cut on manufactured products further add to the boost. What the India news reveals currently is not expected to be the same. The scenario is certainly going to improve!

Finding a Fast Cycling Investment at a Yard Sale

2009-01-21T17:50:00.000-08:00

One man's trash is another man's treasures. I am sure that you have heard that saying, how about what one man spills another man gathers? They both mean the same thing, and they both would be the perfect slogan for yard sales.

There is definitely money to be made in this area. When someone is having a yard sale they just want to get rid of stuff. This is more than likely the reason that they don't take the time to list the auction on eBay. To them there time is more valuable than their money that is why they have the yard sale.

A Saturday morning is the perfect day to go barging hunting. It is important to take this serious. Remember the early bird gets the worm. The best bargains are out at the crack of dawn. There is an easy way to find the sales, look in your Saturday morning paper and there is usually a separate category in the classifieds. Get a highlighter and circle the ones that you are planning to go to, that way you will have a plan of attack.

Once you find all of your treasures it is time to take them home and make your cash. You are going to want to take good clear pictures of your items. The better the picture the easier it will be for you to sell it item. Once the item is sold be sure to ship it out right away. A happy customer will be a repeat customer.

Turn 10 Dollars Into a Million - Just Double Your Money 15 Times

2009-01-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

Yes you read it right. If you have 10 dollars you are just 15 steps away from being a millionaire. Yes I know that sounds way to good to be true, but I am here to tell you that all it takes is ten bucks and a little bit of planning. All you have to do to make your first million is decide how you are going to invest your money in order to double it just fifteen times. Now I will tell you as you get closer to the fifteen mark it is going to become a little bit harder, but if it didn't pose a tiny challenge at least would it really be worth it.

Obviously the original 10 dollar doubling will be a piece of cake. Everyone has that friend that is always looking for a gamble. Bet your friend double or nothing on a game, or anything that has a win or loss outcome. Of course you are going to have to win the bet or you will have to start all over.

Eventually you will rob him blind and have to move on, ha-ha that is after all what friends are for. Let's say you have managed to make enough that you can invest in a car, get a car fix it up and sell it for twice as much. Now we are into club investing money. Choose a night of a big event and be the clubs backer. Eventually with a little planning you will be living large.

Cheap Investments - Investing With Less Than 100 Dollars

2009-01-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

There comes a point in everyone's life when they have to decide when to invest and when not to. Even though investments are risky, when they succeed it is greatly beneficial for the person on the winning end.Even if you know the importance of investing sometimes it is not possible to devote the money they you need to in order to make the big bucks.Who is it that says how much money it takes to make money?

I am going to tell you right now that if you have been waiting to have money to invest that you are making a big mistake. Do not take the risk of losing a lot of cash when it isn't necessary. There are millions of people out there that have made more money than they will ever need and they did it with less than 100 dollars. For one reason or another, these people went against everything that they have ever been told and instead of chancing losing all of their money, the play with a small amount and they hit it big.

Let's think about all the things that you could invest in that would cost less than a hundred bucks. You could make a craft. Is there a club near you, invest in an upcoming event they are having. So to the goodwill and buy a 100 dollars worth of stuff that you know you can turn around and sell online for five times as much. There are off the top of my head. The sky is the limit when cheap investments are concerned.

Lucrative Investments - Are Meant to Be Fast and Simple

2009-01-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

Not everyone has the money that they need to in order to be able to invest properly for their futures. It is getting harder and harder to save money every day. Some people fear that if you haven't already started to invest then it might just be too late. Fear not I am here to tell you that this could not be further from the truth.

While some investments are out of your reach, there are countless more that you can partake in.
Take for instant the couple that doesn't have the time to play the stock market, if they lose their savings they are too old to take the chance because they will not be able to replace it. This couple is desperate to find something that they can do. After much consideration, they decide that they are going to invest their money into real estate. The market is down right now so they find a property that is selling for next to nothing and hold on to it until the recession is over. This would be a Lucrative Investment for this couple.

Now the couple has invested their money into something that if very real. The stock market is a gamble; you have no guarantee as to how your investment is going to turn out. At least with real estate the couple knows that at the very worse they will break even. If they can hold onto the property for a little while there is a possibility that they could double it.

Invest 400 Dollars in a New Laptop and Sell it on the Street For 800

2009-01-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

While this plan sounds shady at best, there is nothing at all illegal about it. Stores especially around the holidays will sell their merchandise at discount costs to get more people into their stores to shop. The latest hot item tickets are laptops. A laptop is something that every teenager wants this season so it is becoming harder and harder to get them. Take advantage of this. Buy the laptop in most cases it is the mini ones that everyone is asking for.

Once you buy it you can decide if you want to sell it right away or hold onto it until it is a little bit closer to the gift giving day. The closer it is the more people will want to pay you for it because they will be past desperate at this point It is always in your best bet to try to sell it early, at least this way you will not have to worry about being stuck with something that you did not intend on buying to begin with.

Make signs for your car. Make sure they have on them a picture of the computer while it is still sealed in its box, along with the price that you are asking for it and a phone number where you can be reached. Do not play the bidding war game. Make it a first come first serve basis. Remember that while you are making money, you are also making someone else's holidays a little brighter.

Fast Cycle Investments - Double Your Money Fixing Up a Car

2009-01-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

I am going to let you in on the secret that kept me living well when I was in high school. My freshman year I did the smartest thing that I could have ever done, while all my friends were busy chasing girls and taking the classes that they knew would be over ran with them, I was taking auto shop. This was the best thing I have ever done. Sure I didn't go on a lot of dates but I could fix up a car in less than a week and have double the cash that I had before I started.

Anytime that I would need extra cash I would go searching for the perfect project car. I liked the ones that had a few dents in them and a minimum amount of work to be done under the hood. I was a whiz with cars. When I would finish working on the car I would take to the end of my road and but it along the highway with my asking price and phone number. It never took more than a week for the car to sell.

I loved having the extra money. Fixing up a car that was in need of tender loving care and then reselling it was the perfect investment for me. If you are worried that you will buy a car, fix it up, and then be stuck with it, remember that there are kids turning sixteen every single day. The need for a car is never going to change.

Lucrative Investments - Two Ways to Double Your Cash Fast

2009-01-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

For whatever reason you have, you need to double the money that you have and you need to do it right away. Well rest assured I am here to tell you that not only can it be done, but I have personally done it. Keep in mind the level of difficulty that this could be, has a lot to do with how much money that you have to double. Let's just assume we are talking about 500 dollars, while that is not a huge amount it is not a small one either.

Your first option, is investing it in a project. By project I mean an old beat up vehicle. This will work great if it is tax time, because this is when people are getting new cars. Find the car that needs a little work, this way when you fix it up you will have no problem selling it. Do whatever you need to do to improve the appearance of the car. The better looking that you make it; the easier it will be for you to double your investment

The second option that you have is to invest it into a local event. Let's say there is a teen club in your area that is having a huge concert event. Talk to the owner of the club and tell them that you would like to give them 500 dollars to use anyway that they see fit; all you want in return is five percent of the profit that they bring in. When you are talking about working with teen concerts you can be sure that you will make double your money and then some.

Tips Trik Komputer Dan Internet

2009-01-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Perkembangan teknologi di dunia ini sedemikian pesat. Mengikuti perkembangan teknologi untuk sekarang ini adalah suatu kewajiban, apalagi banyak sumber-sumber di internet yang bisa dipergunakan untuk menambah amunisi pengetahuan tentang teknologi, khususnya teknologi dan tips trik komputer dan internet.

Saya menemukan sebuah blog tentang tips trik komputer dan internet yang bisa dijadikan acuan untuk mengikuti perkembangan teknologi dewasa ini. Blog tersebut berisi kumpulan tips trik seputar komputer dan dunia internet. Hacking, cracking, linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, serta pengalaman-pengalaman pribadi dari si penulis.

Jadi, jika anda membutuhkan sebuah blog yang berisi tips trik komputer dan internet , anda bisa menuju ke blog siwawan personal blog. Anda bebas menyadur, mengkopi, bahkan menulis ulang tips trik komputer dan internet ke dalam blog anda dengan catatan mencantumkan sumber tulisan tersebut.

Invest 200 Dollars in Yourself - Make Great Money With Crafts

2008-12-30T17:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wished that there was a way that you could make more money without picking up more hours at work? I am sure you have everyone has. If getting more hours at work is completely out of the question, then move onto to a different. Plan B involves you learning how to do a craft. Handmade items are among the top selling things on the market today.

Learn how to make something decorative. With items being mass produced people want something that is unique, something that they know did not come off an assembly line. Two hundred dollars is a great deal of money when you are talking about supplies. Let's say for example that you are good at painting. Freehand paintings sell like hotcakes, since they are free style it is a guarantee they are one of a kind. Supply wise, all you will need is a few brushes, some paint and a few pieces canvas, and you are well on your way to making great money.

Sell your paintings at local events, churches all over your town, have sales ask them about a booth that you can display your work. Make sure that you have paper so you can take orders. If you cannot find a place in your town list your pictures online. Sites like eBay and etsy are wonderful places to showcase your homemade items. You should start out small remember that you decided to do this to avoid extra stress at your job. Enjoy this, and you will make tons of money.

Turn $70,000 Dollars Into $1 Million - Land Development Will Pave the Way

2008-12-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

The best investments are the ones where you get in, and then as soon as possible you get out. Land development projects allow you to do just that. If you have the initial investment, you can easily turn $70,000 dollars into $1 million dollars.

Do your homework; you need a piece of land that is in an area that is in a good location, and water and sewage services should be assessable. The property should lend itself to an attractive development. Be sure there are no liens against the property and that you can get a clear deed. Be mindful of anything that may have been built on the land in previous years, it may not be a good idea to build homes on former slaughterhouse land or old cemeteries.

When you are confident that this is a good deal, purchase the land and start development. All you really need to do once you clear the land and make a roadway is to mark off half-acre lots. Price your lots to make money but still be affordable. This is also the time to set the development terms, each person who purchases a lot is agreeing to put a home on the lot worth at least a specific amount of money. This way, you can insure that you do not have a $90,000 dollar home on one lot and a mobile home with the wheels still attached on the other. People are searching for ready to build lots, and you should not have any trouble selling them. As soon as you finish this project, start another, and before you know it you will have turned your $70,000 dollars into $1 million dollars

Lucrative Investments - Discover What the Public Needs and Then Provide It

2008-12-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

The best way to choose an investment today is to consider what is going on in the world, how your customers are living their lives, and what may make life easier for them. Choose well and you could have a hit, you could have one of the most lucrative investments of the twenty first century. So, what are people into today? They are busy, busy, and even busier. And the cell phone has ensured that they are almost always in touch. So what could you possibly offer them?

Simple, turn back the clock and offer them vacation cabins. Once the hit of the money class, they can be quiet, restful and fun. Just find a location that has an acceptable view, no neighbors and perhaps a pretty little lake. If your property does not already have those features, you can create them with a little help from land development. Your cabin can have as many of the amenities as you wish, in some areas of the country, you can have electric, but your nearest neighbor may be twenty miles away. Choose your property wisely.

Set up a website for your country cabins, and list your cabins with the local tourism offices and state sites. Put in phone outlets, but leave the phones in the closet. Let the guest decide if they want to connect with the real world. Make arrangements to check on them on specific days and times to see if they need anything from the outside world and then promise to leave them to the peaceful quiet.

If you provide what you advertise and your customers are happy at your country getaways, your cabins will be booked year round. Invest your profits in other cabins for even bigger money!

Invest $100 Dollars in Dog Collars and Double Your Money Selling Them Online

2008-12-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of products on the market today that can be changed in small ways to make them worth a lot more money. One such product that lends itself to being revamped is the dog collar. You can find suppliers who will provide you with dog collars for $1 dollar each, and you can get a device to add studs and gemstones to the collars for under $20 dollars. You can sell these collars for $5 dollars a piece. If you invest $100 dollars in getting the products you need to start your business, you can easily double or triple your money.

Be very creative in embellishing the plain collars, people love for their dogs to look good. Just be sure that the stones or studs are placed in securely, you do not want them to come off due to shoddy workmanship. You need a good product, because some of your success is going to be based on repeat business.

Go online and set up a website for your dog collar business. You have an opportunity to make your website very creative and fun, remember, you want the customer to enjoy being on your site and you want them to come back. You have two ways to sell your product, you can depend on the website alone, or you can utilize an online auction site. Selling through the online auction, gives you access to customers you might not otherwise have and selling on your website, would allow you to offer higher priced personalized collars. Selling on both sites is great marketing.

If you choose to invest $100 dollars, you could open the door to untold riches, your business could easily add more products to make you even more money.

How to Invest $1 Million - Plowing the Roads

2008-12-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

When you are thinking of investing your money, you should consider investing in services that people need and will pay big bucks for. If you live in a part of the country where there is a large yearly snowfall, one idea that could provide big bucks would be to invest in snow plows.

Every time the snow falls, people go crazy. They want the snow off the roads, off the streets, and off the parking lots as soon as possible. The county trucks make a valiant effort, but the there may not be enough trucks to do the job, some counties will outsource the work, you would just need to check with the county commissioners to see about being hired when needed.

You can also plow parking lots for the local businesses, they would much rather hire you to keep the lot clear, than to pay the huge insurance premiums when they get sued by a customer who fell on the lot. There are also private roads and drives that will need to be cleared and you can negotiate a deal with owners to keep the roads clear for the entire season. You can very easily double your money on your investment in one winter.

Advertising your business online will give you access to not only your area but also neighboring areas. Make sure your website gives good information on how to contact you and what your base prices are. Add an area where the customer can email you to get more information. If you are looking for advice on how to invest $1 million dollars, just consider how frustrated you were last winter by snow packed roadways, how much you would have been willing to pay to have a clear road.

Fast Cycle Investments - Make Big Money in a Small Amount of Time

2008-12-16T17:16:00.000-08:00

The purpose of fast cycle investments is to put your money in and collect your profit as soon as possible. There are lots of ways to invest your money in short-term projects; you just need to look around you.

If you like gardening and plants and you know how to take care of them, one of the best fast cycle investments is a garden center. The biggest demand is usually in the spring of the year, but in warm climates, you can sell almost anytime. All you have to do is to pick a good location. If you know a business owner who has a good location and a large parking lot, you may be able to make a deal to use a portion of their lot for your short term business. Be sure that you make a deal to use the water on the property; your plants will need it.

The next thing you do is to check out the growers in your area, see if you can make a deal with them to purchase plants at a wholesale price. To get everything you want, you may have to deal with several. Most will be happy to deal with you as long as you are not putting your business on the next block. After all, why should they give you a price break on something they can sell for themselves at retail pricing?

Put up fliers and design a website to let people know you are ready for business. Then you are ready to sell your plants. It will depend on how many plants you purchase but you can count on at least doubling your money. With a good location, you could be sold out in a week.
If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Compound Money - Put Your Money to Work and Don't Allow it to Retire

2008-12-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

When you want to get rich, there are many ways to accomplish you goal. However, you must per persistent. You will need to be focused, because the best way to grow wealth is to compound money. And one great way to do that is by reinvesting it. Many people make lots of money, but their common mistake is they think they are rich after the first deal, and they forget about the initial investment, they collect the profit and they think that's it. They may start another project, but with the initial investment, they are off on an ocean cruise, or they purchase a new car. While there is nothing wrong with getting things you want, you are not increasing your wealth.

If you want to be rich, you need to keep your money working. When you recover your initial investment, you need to put that money into something with growth power, but little risk. Usually an account with compound interest is the best. Then start another project with your profit. When this project sells, put the initial investment money into your original account with the compound interest, and use the profit to start your third project.

For instance, suppose that you have an initial investment of $15,000 dollars to spend. You find a nice little boat that you purchase for $8,000 dollars and make $1,000 dollars worth of repairs; you have an initial investment of $9,000 dollars and $6,000 left of the monies available. Then you sell the boat for $20,000 dollars you have your initial investment back to bank and you have a profit of $11,000 dollars to put into another project. Start looking for new projects as soon as possible and do it all again.
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