Investing Articles & News
How Eating Bitumen Made Me a Better Stock Trader
Stock market trading is a fascinating activity. There are so many layers to it. And so many paths that you can go down. Soon after we first got interested in the stock market I became captivated by technical analysis. I finally felt that I was in control. It gave me great confidence to have all these tools to use. We bought some expensive charting software and I started playing with the hundreds of indicators that it contained. Exotic sounding devices with ...
How To Utilize Your Cash Investment In Your Home.
Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to get to the equity in your home? Recently I had a client come to my office who had quite a bit of equity in their home. I’m not talking about $50,000 or even $200k, I’m talking about over $250k. I was asked to get 80% out of their home so that they could re-invest the monies elsewhere. From an application stand point this person had no reason not to qualify. They had great credit scores, tons of assets and the loan-to-value on the home was nothing ...
Looking For A Safe Investment? Try A Certificate Of Deposit
If you are looking for a safe investment and you have between $100 -$1,000 to invest, you should consider a certificate of deposit or CD. When purchased through a bank, CD’s are federally insured up to $100,000.
Before You Start Investing
There maybe several reasons why you to want to invest your money. You may want to retire early, want to build your own business in the future, or to pay for your kid’s education. Should everyone start investing outside their retirement accounts right away? The answer to this question is that it depends on your financial situation. First, you must have a basic understanding in financial management. What would happen if you lose your job, accumulate large medical expenses, or losing ...
Find Your Investing Soulmate on the Jersey Turnpike
As a followup to a previous column, “Irreconcilable Differences,” I received an e-mail from a reader asking how she could ensure, ahead of time, investment compatibility with a future spouse.
In a Time of Need
As I take my leisurely walk with my dog through the older section of the local cemetery, I pause to read the details on the barely legible, weathered headstones. I am fascinated with the dates, for I know each stone has a story to tell, a history of its own time and place, but only enough space for identity. Proceeding up the rolling asphalt pathway, I am led into the new section of the cemetery. It becomes crystal clear as I compare the cemetery’s old sections with the new, Americans are ...
Mutual Fund Returns May Not Be As They Seem!
Arthur Levitt, during his tenure at the SEC, experienced many cases where the non-indexed mutual fund manager bought shares for their own accounts before the fund bought the shares. The fund’s purchases drove up the price of the stocks and the fund manager’s made a killing on the deal. This is called “front running,” and is illegal under securities laws.
Day Trading Strategy or Stock Trading Software? The Way You Pick Stocks Affects Your Results
The trading method you employ to approach the stock market can make a big difference in your results.
Mutual Fund Selection Made Simple By Indexing!
Non-indexed mutual funds try to keep it secret that actively managed mutual very funds rarely do better stock market indexes. The higher fees of the managed funds really make it hard for these funds to out compete indexed funds. Smart financial journalists occasionally rat out fund managers for not educating the public in this regard. When this happens the mutual fund managers make a feeble attempt at self defense by pointing to something called the 5% rule.
Advice for International Investors on How to Safeguard Their Profits
What are the risks? Today, investors are increasingly turning to global markets to find opportunities for profit, giving urgency to the issue of protecting returns from foreign exchange risk. While there are many excellent investment opportunities to be found all over the world, volatility in the currency markets can and does affect the profitability of these investments. An understanding of how currency rate movements can affect profits can help investors protect their bottom line ...
Invisible Mutual Fund Fees Erode Your Returns!
Many investors think that investing in mutual funds is free. What nonsense! Funds collect more than $50 billion a year in fees from investors. That is truly a ton of money. The first way you get hosed in a mutual fund is due to high fees charged. These fees can dramatically reduce your returns over time!
Almost Anyone Can Open A Rother IRA!
The Roth is kind of weird until you get used to it in terms of how much you can put in (contribute) each year depending on how much you earn (compensation). Because of this you really have two limits, one dealing with your compensation and the other dealing with your contribution. Let me explain.
The Perfect Economy?
The U.S. economic data reported this week showed strong output growth with tame inflation. Industrial Production expanded at about 1% in June, three times greater than expected, while both the June Consumer and Producer Price Indices were unchanged. Also, the June Capacity Utilization rate rose to 80.0%, and the June Unemployment Rate fell to 5.0%. The June data generally show there is neither strain nor slack in the U.S. economy. Therefore, the U.S. economy is expanding at an optimal ...
Missleading Fund Names Wreak Havoc On Investor Returns!
Mutual fund managers use fake fund names to part you from your money such that you cannot judge what a fund does by its name. Many funds have names that are outright misleading or even deceptive. In the late 1990’s, for instance, during the technology stock bubble, some portfolio managers took advantage of public’s desire to chase the latest fad by slapping “internet” in front of their fund names.
Caveat Emptor: You May Owe Taxes Despite 401(K) Losses!
One among many ways you lose money in non-indexed mutual funds is the tax trap. You may have to pay taxes even when your mutual fund loses money! To many people this is painfully unexpected. Here is how this counter intuitive event occurs. By law, mutual funds do not pay taxes. Instead, they pass on those taxes to you, the shareholder in the mutual fund. If the fund manager sells a stock for more than it cost the fund a profit is generated. This profit is called a capital gain and it ...
A Safe Port For Mutual Funds But Not You!
Soft dollars, a form of legal kickback, is a sly way you can get ripped off by mutual fund managers. Full service brokers give these kickbacks to non-indexed mutual funds in the form of a “rebate” to purchase research, software, and even computer equipment.
Discover the Foundation of Retiring Wealthy The IRA!
Let me tell you about some legal ways to avoid getting taxed on profits from the stock market. You can make a lot of money now with the stock market as low as it is at this time as I teach you in my home study course. The very best way is to buy and sell your stock through Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). IRAs can help you legally avoid taxes and add a fantastic boost to your retirement plans. The IRA was originally developed in 1974 for people not covered by a company pension plan. ...
It Is Never Too Early To Start A Roth IRA!
The Roth is kind of weird until you get used to it in terms of how much you can put in (contribute) each year depending on how much you earn (compensation). Because of this you really have two limits, one dealing with your compensation and the other dealing with your contribution. Let me explain.
The Past Does Not Equal The Future: Mutual Fund Returns!
A way that investors get ripped off and in a sense rip themselves off is based on the culture of performance in the mutual fund industry. If you stop and think about it there is absolutely no reason that the past has to equal the future. If you have not been particularly successful as a stock investor in the past, for instance, there is no reason that you won’t be unsuccessful in the future. One reason I hope that you are reading this article is that you want to improve as an investor.
Four Key Components To Building A Trading System
Need some insight on what you should really be striving for when you're building a mechanical trading system? When it comes down to it, there are really only a few criteria that are used in judging the merits of a trading system. The most obvious one is profitability - does the system work? But really, there's more to it than just that. The number of wins versus the number of losses is important too, but there's a lot of latitude there if the profitability is high. The size of ...
Tht Truth About Real Estate Investing Is It Right For You?
You have probably been hearing, seeing and reading that real estate investing is the best thing since sliced bread. There are many late night cable television infomercials spewing out sales pitches for courses that teach you how to buy residential real estate no money down or for next to nothing. Furthermore, polished pitch men on the advertisement emphasize that it is so easy that anybody can do it. They smugly show you that it is simple as they pencil out on the back of a napkin how you ...
Bad News Why The Financial News Media Can Cost You Money!
The communication innovations we have around us today like the internet, financial newspapers, and special interest television channels focused on investing like CNBC are a high speed pipeline of nonsensical chatter. All these sources of information mean that there is no shortage of media people trying to answer our questions about the stock market and specific stocks. You have to remember that the news media are constantly competing to survive against other stuff you can watch. If they ...
Making Your Investment Dollars Work for You
Investments are scary for some people, especially those who have never invested before. We grow up hearing horror stories about how this person or that person lost everything they had on some bad investment some odd years ago and it builds in us a fear of investing so profound that it is sometimes easier to get a confirmed agoraphobic to march in the Macy’s Day Parade than it is to get someone to put a few dollars into stocks or mutual funds.
Reading Between The Lines In Annual Proxy Statements
Upper Saddle River, N.J. - May 11, 2005 - Now that a large number of the proxy statements for public companies with fiscal years ending December 31, 2004 have been issued, those of us that scrutinize them for a living, as well as those that have invested in those companies, have an opportunity to analyze their executive pay packages in detail. With all of the attention on Corporate Governance and how to improve the level of transparency and insure that a strong relationship exists between ...
Gold and Silver Maple Leafs Get New Packaging
Gold Maple Leafs and Silver Maple Leafs are receiving packaging makeovers, changes clearly mandated by investor disfavor with packaging that the Royal Canadian Mint has used since the coins were introduced. Gold Maple Leafs debuted in 1979, Silver Maple Leafs in 1988. The changes appear to be good moves, which should increase sales of Silver Maple Leafs and help keep Gold Maple Leafs the preferred pure (.9999 fine) gold bullion coins.
The Economy Is Not The Stock Market
Several days ago, the Commerce Department reported that May's factory orders had increased by a 2.9 percent. This was well covered by 'the press', as it was to be a positive influence on 'the market' (yes, the quotes are intentional.....you'll see why). The enthusiasm was understandable - the $394 billion in orders of manufactured goods is the highest level seen since the current calculation method was adopted. Although being skeptical can be wise, the figure was (and ...
Shareholders Meeting Changing With Times
A significant number of corporations that settled accounts in the past year are ready to hold their annual shareholders meetings.
Get Wealthy With the Rule of 72
When it comes time to retire how many people would like to have a nest egg that is 2 or 3 or even 4 times larger than what they have? With an answer so obvious allow me to explain how you can make it happen for yourself.
Investing in New Zealand Learn how to Find Unique Investment Opportunities
Investing in New Zealand might be much easier than investing in other western countries, thank to the excellent infrastructure, the low taxes and the assistance of the supportive NZ government.
The Basics of Tax Free UK Financial Spread Betting
Financial Spread Betting (or Trading) offers a tax free method of speculating on financial markets.