Investment Articles

The devil has the best tunes and he also, as it happens, has some of the best investments. Because if you are interested in making money during the current period of uncertainty it is hard to beat the returns offered by companies which take advantage of humankind’s failings. For my own part I subscribe firmly to the idea of socially responsible investment and I would never invest in any of the sectors mentioned in this article. The fact is that from a financial perspective there can be no doubt that vice is not just nice – it’s lucrative. Tobacco, gambling, alcohol, and armaments – to name the key sectors – have always shown consistent, above-average returns. Why should this be?

Whatever different governments and societies may ordain the fact is that vice, in all its many guises, never seems to go out of fashion. Indeed, whether markets rise or fall wars will be waged and people will seek comfort in such things as smoking, drinking and a flutter on the horses. Vice stocks are – like it or not – fairly recession proof, leading many investors to hold them as a defensive play against a possible slowdown in economic growth.

There is (so far as I am aware) only one managed fund specialising in gambling, tobacco, alcohol and defence related stocks. It is called, appropriately enough, the Vice Fund, and it was launched in the USA in 2002. Since then it has delivered a rather patchy performance. Over the last year it has shown a 12.65% return, over the last three years 16.60%, but over the last five years a mere 0.22%. In other words, it fell with the rest of the market after 2007. Charles Norton, the man who manages the fund, describes himself as ‘a conservative family man’ and stresses that he likes to invest in vice stocks because they are ‘very strong’ performers. It would be a mistake, though, to think that all vice stocks are equal. To achieve such gains on a regular basis requires an active investment strategy that takes into account both sector developments and individual company prospects. Here is a quick round up of the different options.

Tobacco

The Guardian recently (14.2.12) pointed out that £100 invested in BAT shares on 1st January 2003 would now be worth £749. In a long feature article on the subject of the tobacco industry the newspaper pointed out that: ‘The financial crisis has claimed many scalps – governments, banks, fraudsters by the dozen – but it has given a surprise fillip to one of Britain’s most controversial sectors, the tobacco industry. The stock prices of stalwarts such as British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco have hit record highs in the past 12 months – with BAT doubling to £30 as investors fled bank and retail shares in search of safer havens. Never mind that cigarettes kill six million people a year and the industry faces an onslaught from health campaigners who want to extinguish its commercial viability. On global stock exchanges, tobacco firms have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the financial dislocation in the developed world.’

Smokers in the first world may be quitting, taxes may be rising and countries may be leaping on the public ban bandwagon – but the tobacco sector is still thriving. Why? Analysts say companies have found a neat solution to the problem. Not only do they pass on tax rises to smokers, as one would expect, they also impose an additional price increase to offset the lost sales that are inevitable every time excise duties are raised.

Martin Deboo, analyst at Investec Securities, says: ‘These stocks are about the closest you can get to a bond on the stock market in that they offer a relatively stable income stream, not easy to find in the equities space.’

Gambling

The gaming industry has been dominated, over the last few years, by the rise of online gambling. There are around 2,500 gaming websites generating an estimated at between $9 and $10 billion a year. When the US government decided to crack down on online gambling several years ago – it is illegal to offer it to US residents – the whole sector took a hit. But since then shares have rebounded. To understand how the market is performing one need only look at the Van Eck Global Gaming ETF. This seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the S-Network Global Gaming Index (WAGRT), a rules-based, modified-capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted index intended to give investors exposure to the global gaming industry. The index has shown a very steady annual return since its inception amounting to 31.18% in the last three years.

Alcohol

The drinks industry has been going through a period of change. It was badly hit when countries began to ban smoking in bars, and the recession has meant that a growing number of people have decided to do their drinking at home. CNN ran a report on the sector in June 2011 in which it pointed out that: ‘Alcohol sales climbed with little interruption throughout the recent recession, and have continued to expand in recent months. This is in spite of, or maybe because of, the stagnant job market. So the old adage, that the booze industry survives in a recession because people drink even when they’re broke, appears to be true.’ Figures indicate that since the recession began alcoholic beverage sales grew by an average of 10% a year.

Aerospace and defence

If you visit a website called shareprices.com and search for its Aerospace and Defence Sector Index & Share Prices, you will see that the index has risen from c. 2300 to 3600 in the last three years. If you want further evidence of the sector’s stability then consider the share price and dividends of BAE – a company that regularly pays out an annual dividend of 7%.

Oh, and sex

I am reluctant to mention the ’s’ word, but without involving yourself in anything even remotely – ah – dubious there are ways to profit from ‘it’. Consider, for instance, investing in one of the growing number of firms to offer specialist pharmaceutical products such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly or Berlex; or one of the companies running fertility clinics; or maybe even manufacturers of a well known brand starting with the letter ‘D’ – SSL International plc – or one of their competitors. All these sectors have proved recession resistant.

In conclusion

If you are interested in investing in vice stocks then either you will need to do a considerable amount of detailed research – or ask a broker to assist you. Whichever route you opt for I would recommend visiting some of the different online investment sites including those that provide forums for shareholders to exchange information and ideas. One that I recommend is Yahoo Finance. If you keen to learn more about the Vice Fund I mentioned above their website is www.vicefund.com. Do bear in mind that this is a relatively high-risk fund and that you will be exposed to any fluctuation in the exchange rate between sterling and the US dollar. Remember, you should always take professional advice before making any financial decision.

Jim Storm’s articles on Alternative Investments appear regularly in The Schmidt Tax Report, a monthly newsletter aimed at showing UK taxpayers ways they can pay less tax.

Visit us at http://www.schmidtreport.co.uk to found out how we can slash your tax bill.

If you spend enough time in any business industry, financial patterns begin to emerge and become apparent. The longer you are in the industry the more patterns you will see develop. Making sense of investing patterns in the trading card industry is easy, if you pay attention to a few key mitigating factors, such as the popularity era of the sport you collect, the manufacturing quantities produced of the brand of cards you collect, and the historic market increases and decreases in the years you collect. Understanding these three factors when purchasing and selling your precious cardboard gold, may help move your fun collectable hobby into a potential investment opportunity.

Why do we collect trading cards? Hopefully, for the fun and fulfillment it brings to our lives. Therefore, collecting needs to be fun and needs to stay fun. Over-analyzing the investment possibilities may take away from that enjoyment. However, if done in balance, it is possible to achieve both an entertaining hobby and add an additional investment to one’s portfolio.

“How popular was the sport in the era I am collecting?” Understanding how to answer this question before buying or selling your cards allows you to understand the first financial pattern of collecting trading cards. For example, let’s use the nineteen fifties’ and nineteen sixties’ basketball era to help understand sports popularity era though trading card patterns. In the nineteen fifties, there was only one major manufacturer of basketball cards who produced cards and only one year in ten that they produced them…Topps, in 1957/58. Since the baseball card era of the nineteen fifties had more than one manufacturer, and baseball cards were produced for each of the ten years in that decade, we can surmise from this that basketball in the nineteen fifties was not as popular as baseball. If we move into the nineteen sixties era, we find the same scenario with basketball cards, as compared to baseball cards. Again, there was only one major manufacturer for that decade for basketball, Topps, and they only produced basketball cards for two years, 1968/69 and 1969/70. This can be compared to baseball cards, which again, had two major manufacturers producing trading cards for each of the ten years in that decade.

Trading card manufacturers do not release production numbers the majority of the time; however, understanding these popularity era trends, a collector can obtain enough information to make educated decisions when determining prices to be paid in buying or selling their cards. From our vintage basketball example, we can come to the conclusion that the production numbers printed of basketball cards would be much less than those of baseball, directly due to calculations of supply and demand that manufacturers use when determining how many of a product they want to produce. This moves us into our second financial market pattern that works in conjunction with sports popularity. What are the manufacturing quantities produced for the cards you are collecting?

How can we convert the knowledge we obtained, from understanding sport popularity and the manufacturing quantities produced, into our decision making process used when purchasing and selling sports cards as an investment? In our example of collecting basketball vintage cards, we understand without having production numbers from the manufacturer, that there should be far fewer basketball cards produced from earlier eras because the sport was not as popular compared to baseball. This is due to the lack of companies that produced basketball cards over the years. We can also conclude that since basketball card manufacturers’ production numbers are lower for these eras, that the quantities for high-grade basketball cards should be much lower, also due to the lack of interest in basketball trading card collecting during those eras. If the future interest of basketball trading cards increases, and new collectors move into vintage trading cards, the demand should supersede the supply. If you understand how markets work, it becomes evident that price increases need to occur in order to offset the demands need of lower supply availability.

Understanding historic market increases and decreases in the sport trading card industry can also be used in your investment strategy when purchasing and selling trading cards. To keep this concept simple, investors should do one thing: buy low and sell high. Trading cards is a market, the same as any other market in the general sense. When more people are selling than buying, a true investor is buying. And when more people are buying than selling, a true investor is selling. Markets go up and down, and investors are aware of these trends and take advantage when increasing or decreasing their inventories. Let’s take baseball card eras as an example. In the nineteen eighties, baseball cards was at a market peak for vintage nineteen fifties’ and nineteen sixties’ era baseball cards. Most collectors were targeting vintage cards from those two eras. The 1970’s trading cards were not popular but there was slow movement because of the few savvy investors that were capitalizing on a weak era. The athletes in the nineteen seventies’ era were at the end of their careers and the stars had not yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The nineteen seventies were weak and weak prices were a result. Looking back now, it’s clear that savvy investors, who looked uneducated at the time by buying the nineteen seventies’ baseball cards, are now known as the market bulls. And looking back now, trading cards from the nineteen seventies’ era are very strong, even with the manufacturers’ increase in the production numbers due to sport popularity. Enough time has passed and now those nineteen seventies’ cards have moved into vintage status, and the demands are now superseding the supplies once again. Knowing if an era in sports cards is strong or weak helps all investors make buying and selling decisions in the sports collectable card market.

All three market financial patterns, the popularity era of the sport you collect, the manufacturing quantities produced of the brand of cards you collect, and the historic market increases and decreases in the years you collect, can help any collector advance into a potential collectable investor. Keeping your hobby fun is an important factor when buying or selling your sports cards, but keeping your eye on trends in the market while you are having fun, will make your dollar go much farther. Keeping financial patterns in mind while doing your card buying and selling will help you balance your hobby as well as your bank account. Bringing balance into your life takes time and patience, but in the end… it can become very rewarding.

About The Author

Billy May is an avid collector and owner of Cardsone Trading Cards ( http://cardsone.com ) If you have questions about collectables investing, or trading send an email to rsales@cardsone.com

In today’s economic environment, I have become a firm believer in blue-chip dividend-paying stocks as strong investment strategy no matter how much or little you have to invest. Interest rates on bank accounts, CDs are abysmal and will not keep up with inflation. Real estate is risky and time-consuming. Tenants who don’t pay rent or unrented lots can quickly mount up expenses. Small businesses fail. Gold and precious metals are volatile. Growth stocks just as much. Blue-chip stocks, while not exciting, are not as prone to large market movements, and their dividend payments can help make up for market downturns in the long term, especially if one cost-averages down. Sure, you can buy mutual funds, but why pay someone to manage your funds when they are not guaranteed to do any better or worst than anyone else.

So, these are the stocks I like the best:

1. AT&T (T). They are part of an oligopoly on in the cell phone market, and have local monopolies in the cable business. Their dividend is very aggressive for a bell-weather stock at around 5%. They have been raising their dividend and still has room to grow compared to its 2007 levels.

2. Verizon (VZ). I like this stock for the same reason as T. High dividends, strong business, and it isn’t going anywhere. Owning both of these stocks might be redundant however.

3. Abbot Labs. (ABT). It is part of a strong sector, pharmaceuticals. They have been raising their dividend for decades. It is currently at a nice 3.5% as of this writing.

4. Pepsi (PEP). Pepsi has been around forever and has been raising their dividend almost as long.

5. iShares Russell 3000 Index Fund (IWV). Although I don’t like funds, Market ETFs tend to do better than buying stocks at random. It’ll give your portfolio diversity. You do not need a lot of money to buy any of these. $100 is more than enough. Buy shares as you can, average down when the price drops. Make sure you reinvest the dividends. It can take time, but once you get plenty of shares, the dividend reinvestments will grow your investment, even if the market isn’t performing. I also like tax-free municipal bonds, but am not familiar enough with them to recommend them strongly.

One of the best ways to invest your money that is less risky is to start an online business. You can start one with as little as 100 dollars down and you could be easily making 2000-3000 dollars a month. These businesses require little attention and you can literallyy make money while you sleep because the internet never sleeps.

Here is a great place to learn how to create your first online business. You can use this to create a residual income and start towards annual income of over 100,000. Check out http://www.makeamillionguide.com

Investors are increasingly forced to choose from a proliferation of investment options. They also have to deal with contradictory advice on how to achieve their financial goals and how to invest the savings they have accumulated during their lifetime. If you consider that there are more than 7 000 mutual funds available in the United States alone, and thousands of insurance products worldwide, making the choice that will satisfy them ever after is daunting, to say the least.

No wonder people so often ask the rather general question: Which investment is best? The first part of the answer is easy: No single investment is ‘the best’ under all circumstances for all investors. Personal circumstances, goals and different people’s needs differ, as do the characteristics of different investments. Secondly, one asset class’s strength in certain circumstances could be another’s weakness. It is therefore important to compare investments according to relevant criteria. The art is to find the appropriate investment for each objective and need.

The following are the most important criteria:

the goal of the investment
the risk the investor can handle
liquidity required
taxability of the investment
the period until the financial goal is reached
last but not least, the cost of the investment.

THE GOAL

Goals determine the characteristics sought in an investment. You will be in a position to choose the most appropriate investment only when you have decided on your short-, medium- and long-term goals. The following generic goals are normally involved:

Emergency fund

Emergency fund money should be readily available when needed, and the value of the fund should be equal to about six months’ income. Money market funds are excellent for this purpose. While these funds do not perform much higher than inflation, their benefit is that capital is saved and is easily accessible.

If you already have a ready emergency fund covering more than six months’ income, you could consider a more aggressive mutual fund

Capital protection

If your primary aim is capital protection, you will have to be satisfied with a lower growth rate on the investment. Those above 50 are normally advised to be conservative in their investment approach. While this may for the most part be sound advice, you should also keep an eye on the risk of inflation, so that the purchasing power of your money does not depreciate. It is not the nominal value of the capital that should be protected, but the inflation-adjusted one. At an annual inflation rate of 6%, $1 million today will buy the same as $156 255 in 30 years’ time. A 50 year-old with %1 million would therefore have to lower his living standard substantially if he only retains the &1 million until he was 80.

Income

Conservative investments like those listed above should form the normal basis for providing an income. Because of inflation risk, investments should be structured so that they can at least keep up with inflation. This means that at least a percentage of the investment source providing the income should be made up of other asset classes like property and equity mutual funds. The percentage would differ according to individual and economic circumstances.

Investors fortunate enough to have their basic budget provided for by a conservative fund could consider increasing their income with commercial property funds and tax-free income from dividends paid out by listed shares.

Capital growth

If an investor’s primary goal is to achieve capital growth, the real rate of return should be higher than inflation. This implies greater risk to capital in the short term. Investors aiming at capital growth should not be apprehensive, as they will reap the rewards in the long term.

The history of equity prices over the past 100 years proves equity investments to be the best performer, followed by property. This does not mean you should buy either of these investments blindfolded. Wait until the quality shares in which you are interested are trading at inexpensive price levels.

RISK

The investment with a history of the highest growth is not necessarily the one to choose. The Standard Bank’s Gold Fund increased by 178% during the period 13 August 2001 – 24 May 2002 (284 days). Judging only on the growth of the fund during this period, it performed exceptionally well. But would it be the right investment for a retiree? During the 805 days following this, the same fund experienced a negative growth rate of 44%! The problem with an investment that decreases by this percentage is that it will not reach its previous peak by increasing again by 44%. This is because the growth this time will take place from a lower base, so in fact the investment would have to increase by approximately 80%.

LIQUIDITY

Hard assets like Persian carpets, works of art and antique furniture may be good investments in the long term, but unfortunately they are not very liquid. The same is true of certain shares in smaller companies. Money market funds, on the other hand, are very liquid, but the returns may not always be as good as those from other investments. The need to liquidise the investment quickly is therefore also a criterion to consider when evaluating investments.

TAXABILITY

The taxability of an investment has a considerable impact on its value to the investor. When comparing the returns on different investments, the return after tax has been deducted should be used. The investor should always ask what will be left in his pocket after tax deduction.

PERIOD

Conservative investments with no potential for high returns are suitable for shorter periods, while investment-objectives with longer time horizons aspire to achieving higher returns. Money market funds are suitable for periods of one or two years. Income and conservative asset allocation funds for three or four years and flexible asset allocation funds, commercial property funds and value equity funds may be chosen for longer periods, dependent on the economic and interest cycle and the propensity of the investor to accept risk.

COSTS

The costs involved in an investment are normally things like administrative cost and commission. The percentage of the costs to the investment amount directly affects the value of the investment. Many of the currently available investment products are structured in such a way that investors can negotiate commission.

CONCLUSION

No investment strategy blueprint is going to be perfect for everyone’s circumstances. Investment opportunities should therefore be examined critically before any decision is made. It should also be kept in mind that there are different companies managing specific funds under the investment categories referred to above. Some are more effectively managed than others. Investors should therefore research investments as well as the managers thoroughly before investing. Otherwise, they could appoint professional asset managers to do so on their behalf. Time spent determining the type of investment you really need is time invested in your future financial well-being.

Dr. Manus Moolman has done extensive research on the issues of investing and wealth creation. He is dedicated to assist anyone, from laymen to professional traders, to invest successfully and become rich.

Want to contact him? Then please visit his website at: http://www.myebroker.info/.

Buying and selling ETFs isn’t as difficult as many people suspect. What regularly gets everyday people in trouble is going around the strategy in reverse. Most individuals rush out in to the investments and not have a strong financial savings foundation.

Investments must start off with that basis of savings for you to fall back on, any time an emergency shows up. Without the foundation, making any investment strategies is just too dicey. Think of the following as providing safety netting which will catch people in cases where their own financial situation changes or worsens. Having such a protective netting allows anybody to ignore those investments and live off of the emergency savings they have built up. This allows the invested money to do what it is supposed to do, continue to grow untouched.

Once you have built up a substantial safety net, it’s time to start putting money to work in the markets. The first thing to do is find out what exactly to invest in. There are several options to choose from like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or possibly exchange traded funds. Each asset offers it’s good and bad points but yet a number of these investment opportunities will fit any strategies. Lets assume the person makes a decision to actually make an investment by using a blend of exchange traded funds or ETFs. It’s best to have access to a reference point around that discusses how you can acquire ETFs. Something to refer to whenever challenges surface. As they start to get more and more at ease with all the exchange traded funds info, making money through ETFs will only get easier as they move forward.

Now that they have identified that they want to invest in ETFs, it’s time to find a very good discount broker to help in making your investments. Like any company, a range of discount brokers make a specialty of out of different investing options. Having a trading account through a broker which does not specialize in exchange traded funds is actually an awful idea. A couple of remaining things to watch out for is the quality of consumer support, lower price commissions and straightforward investing software.

Great customer care is really important when it comes to a low cost brokerage service. Remember this is your hard earned cash and dealing with any kind of difficulties needs to be as quick and / or uncomplicated as possible. Sure there will probably be a couple of bumps on the way, however they need to be easily fixed through with a simple call. Keep support services under consideration long before adding your cash in any sort of trading account.

Next worth addressing is affordable commission fee costs. I’d want to save on each buy and sell order and have average trading resources instead of spending more on a simpler, easier to use software platform. This most likely is not a factor for all of us. Especially if this describes someones first time with an on-line brokerage service. First time users may wish to go the straightforward trading resources route over the most inexpensive pricing. All of this will depend upon their own experience level.

Low fees still have their relevance, though. Every instant anyone creates a transaction, it will cost money. The more transactions they make, the more cash has to be generated in order to break even. For someone that is generally more of a trader then an investor, simply finding the lowest cost brokerage service is just about the best solution. Alternatively, for anyone basically performing a handful of home-based trades every year, that individual may possibly be fine having a more expensive commission rate from a discount brokerage that provides, for instance, better analyst tools. Find a broker that matches your specific comfort level.

Lastly, investment resources. The center of each and every discount brokerage will have to be trading tools. You may not fully grasp ways to use the application the very first day, the instruction explaining ways to use the specific tools need to be readily available and simple, to help you understand. If not, than customer support should be good enough to walk you through the procedure bit by bit. If you happen to be new at all to ETF trading, take some time researching what pretty much everything actually does at first, prior to you making that first investment.

Before making your first investment in ETFs, build up a sizable emergency savings account just before jumping directly into investing your money. Once it’s accomplished it’s time to progress and create the accounts with the brokerage service. Just don’t forget customer satisfaction, affordable cost as well as good quality stock trading tools and equipment.

Michael Fredricks is a financial planner and freelance writer for personal finance sites on how to invest in ETFs and other topics. His most recent contribution was for http://novelinvestor.com.

As the real estate market fails to recover, more and more people are looking at alternative investment strategies to make some money. One of the most interesting alternatives is proving to be tax lien investing. While this may seem like a way to take advantage of the misfortune of others, it is really nothing more than grabbing opportunities to make money in an environment where this can be very challenging. If you are tired of eking out a living at a moderate paying job, this could be your ticket to financial freedom. Here are some tips you can use to increase your success.

Focus on Smaller Areas

If you constantly look for tax lien investing opportunities in major metropolitan areas, you will rarely get the kind of deal that can really make you rich. You can practice enormous volume in these areas if you have enough money, but few do when they get started. By focusing on the smaller counties, you will have much less competition, especially from investors like yourself who are bidding from outside the local area. This requires a bit more research, but the profits can make it well worth your time.

Work When Others Aren’t

One of the biggest keys to success in any field is to make sure you’re working when others are taking a break. Well, this is true in the field of tax lien investing as well. When others are taking their lunch breaks or have already left a sale because it’s late in the day, you can make your mark. Also, make inroads with the personnel. Check for liens that went unsold or for those properties that were successfully bid upon, but the bidder failed to ever come up with the money. These are common situations and they can lead to a great opportunity for anyone willing to seek them out.

Do Your Research

You will always come out ahead of the competition if you put more into your tax lien investing than others. This means doing research. It means looking at the properties in question before the auction arrives, knowing the location, and figuring out mathematically how much you can afford to spend on a particular piece. Those who go in with only their own personal budget in mind are flying by the seat of their pants. They will only make good money in this field if they happen to get lucky. You can take luck out of the equation by doing your homework.

You should consider tax lien investing as an alternative to the real estate market. Don’t let a solid opportunity pass you by, visit www.civicsource.com.

When most people have extra money, they tend to purchase things that they don’t really need. While the items they’re buying may be useful, that extra hundred they just dropped on the latest in tech gadgets could be put to better use by investing.

Many people don’t even consider investing because they think they need thousands of dollars to get started. Not true. In fact, you can get started with as little as $25 a month. Any little bit helps and the earlier you get started, the better.

Having a Safety Net

Investing is a risk, even when investing conservatively. It’s not always a huge risk, but any risk is something to consider. For this reason, you should have an emergency fund.

Most experts will recommend that you have at least six months of income in the bank or in low-risk accounts such as CDs (certificates of deposit) and money-market accounts.

Savings accounts grow interest slowly. The interest grows so slow, that outside of the benefit of keeping your money in a safe place, the account isn’t doing anything else for you. A CD on the other hand, will grow interest much faster, but the downside is that you can’t withdrawal your money without penalty fees, unless you’re past the maturity date.

Money market accounts are more similar to the traditional savings account, but they provide higher interest. There are only a few limitations. In most cases, you will need to maintain a higher minimum balance in the account. You are also limited to the amount of checks you can write or withdrawals you make per month.

It doesn’t really matter whether you choose a CD, a money market account or a regular savings account, as long as you have money to fall back on. With your safety net in place, you should start investing with money that you can spare.

Creating an Investment Strategy

With investing, it’s important to set goals for where you want to be later in life. If you know where you want to be in 10 years, you can create a plan designed to get you there. Without a plan in place, you’re not likely to get there.

What is that you want your money to do for you in the coming years? Do you want to get married and buy a house in five years? If you have kids, perhaps you want start saving for their college tuition? Use these big time periods in your life to create a plan for investing.

You certainly want to plan ahead for retirement. When do you plan to retire and do you want to retire early? Where do you want to live when you retire?

Consider all of the details, such as the cost of living where you want to live after retiring. If you want to retire early, you might have to start investing 20% or more of every paycheck, if you want to have enough money to live on for the next 30 or more years. If you’re fine with working part-time in your retirement years, you can invest much less.

Types of Investments

Once you have your goals in place, it’s time to start thinking about how you want to invest your money. The three most common options are stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Mutual funds are great for beginners. Without a lot of money, it’s difficult to invest in a diverse group of investments. A mutual fund makes it possible, by pooling the money of thousands of investors and using it to buy a portfolio of stocks, bonds and other securities. Professional fund managers run mutual funds.

Bonds are another option, and are one of the safest ways to invest, but also have one of the lowest interest rates. With bonds, you are basically loaning money at a fixed interest rate. A treasury bond is a loan to the U.S. government, a municipal bond is a loan to the local government, and a corporate bond is a loan to a business.

Purchasing stocks means to buy partial ownership in a company. When you buy a share, you are entitled to a percentage of the company’s annual profits. Because of the constantly changing prices of shares, stock market investing can be considered aggressive. The general idea is to buy low and sell high, but it’s hard to predict something like that. For long-term investing, it’s safer to invest in companies that you’re sure will grow or companies that are already successful.

There are other types of investment options other than the three mentioned, but mutual funds, bonds and stocks are the most common.

Investing

Finally, it’s time to invest. You’ll need either an individually licensed agent or a brokerage firm to help you buy and sell bonds, stocks and mutual funds. At the most basic level, they can simply help you make the trades, but many professionals will also offer advice and portfolio management.

Brokers earn money from investors by charging commission and collecting fees. Discount brokers might charge as little as $15 or less per trade, but they will only execute the trade and nothing else.

A full service broker is often a professional financial planner or money manager, who will work with you to develop a strategy and maintain your portfolio. Full service brokers will charge anywhere from $100 to $200 per trade.

Always research the broker or brokerage firm before deciding to hire. Some have been accused of encouraging clients to make unnecessary trades in order to make more commissions. It’s not often, but it has been known happen.

Liesl Henderson is a marketing specialist and writer working with the California institute of Finance, a financial planning degree program at CLU.

Capital Alternatives: Climate change investment strategies

Economics of the world are moving towards attaining a low carbon growth which involves reducing carbon productivity and increasing energy efficiency. The phenomenon of weather change is, scientifically, recognized as a threat to the environment, which can be reduced by controlling the emission of greenhouse gases. Today weather change is not recognized as a social responsibility but as an opportunity which can provide continued returns over the years, and institutional investors are eyeing the global climate play for diversification and secure returns. Clean energy investments rose by 5% from 2010 to 2011, and institutional investors believe weather change investments provide returns of more than 10%.

The increasing level of Greenhouse gases

The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased after the Industrial Revolution significantly due to increased burning of fossil fuels and urbanization, which led to the process of deforestation and changed the concentration of major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide increased from 280 parts per million to 391 parts per million (Mauna Loa Observatory) in 2011 and it can reach the dangerous level of 500 ppm, if its emission is not reduced. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization predicted rise in food prices in the year 2012 and one of the causes for rising food prices is poor agricultural production in some parts of world due to change in global climate.

Why to invest in climate change?

Global investors are watching the carbon credit market and examining its capabilities. In a UN meeting in New York, institutional investors claimed it was a profitable area to invest. Some of the main reasons for investing in weather change are -

The value of energy efficiency market will rise to more than $500 billion by 2050 (Stern) and the demand for projects into GHG emission credits will rise to $100 billion by 2030 (UN).
More and more governments and regulators are supporting investment opportunities in weather change.
Diversified strategy of investment in environment offers secure returns.

Factors determining returns in climate change strategies

The returns in climate change strategies are determined by

Changes in policy and regulation
Forecasting and change in prices of carbon
Climate changes
Corporate responsibility
The government policies (Climate change policies are imposed either through the taxation system or the cap-and-trade regulatory system. Certain regulatory organizations provide incentives and subsidies for investment in green policies)

Why investors should invest in weather change?

Global organizations such as United Nations, regional organizations and global groups are demanding weather change initiatives.
State governments across the world are making policies to prevent weather change.
Institutional investors are interested in combining a variety of portfolios to their profile for diversification benefits.
Global and local governments are supporting investment into forestry and agriculture.

Two natural and easy ways of reducing carbon emissions

Land management (rice cultivation and planting trees) and forestry are two natural ways to reduce carbon emissions.

Forestry projects reduce the rate of destruction of natural forests and also prevent the loss of biodiversity. Primary untouched forests contain 2 times the carbon produced by secondary forests. The main challenge of forestry management – forest area density varies and it is exposed to danger of fire and destruction.

Planting trees is another way of reducing degradation of forested land and it includes either permanent managed forests or plantation for carbon exclusion. Forestation is eligible for generating project based Clean Development Mechanism credits and it requires land for forestation, and if forests are grown on land it may take 15 to 50 years to grow depending in on the soil and tree’s varieties.

Capital Alternatives options in Land management and Forestry

Capital Alternatives provides investment opportunities in weather change in forestry and land management projects located at different geographical regions of the world. Forestry projects are offered at Amazon Rainforest and Gola forests of Sierra Leone, and Land management projects are provided in Sierra Leone (rice cultivation) and Australia.

To know more about the investment opportunities, please contact – info@capitalalternatives.co.uk

This article has been written under the guidance of expertise that has the vast knowledge in alternative investment

Darwin is a modern, vibrant city in the top end of Australia. Tourists love visiting the top end with its best fishing, National Parks and thousands of years of indigenous culture. Darwin NT has a harbor size six times larger than Sydney harbor with 39 cruise ships visiting per year. It has a well advanced convention centre that hosted 94 conventions since its opening in June 2008. Also there is a top class international airport accommodating 2 million passengers per year which can be expanded to 40 million. This capital city with both territorial and unitary administration offers a multi-level economy and a vibrant multicultural youth population. Army, navy, air force and northern command are there for the protection of the country. Darwin boasts the serving of the best food in the nation. These factors provide the basis for well-paid tenants. So, if you are a potential investor looking forward to get rich from property investing, Darwin would be a sure place to consider.

Real estate has always been attracting millions of investors who work hard to make profit. There have been a lot of changes in real estate trends in this rapidly changing world. For instance it was once believed that people who want a big future in Australia must relocate to Sydney or Melbourne but now the statuesque has changed. Darwin NT is gaining wide popularity and importance. Darwin is about to boom in economic, infrastructural and business opportunities and of course investing in property there will benefit the people with immense profits when the boom occurs. There is solid evidence to prove that Darwin is going to be an economic hub in Australia within a short timeframe.

There are a lot of factors that can be considered as the basic indicators for Darwin’s growth into an economical and business hub and right now there is an oil and gas boom.

The Darwin port is a major one. It provides access to the wide markets of Asia and thus Darwin becomes Australian investors’ gateway to the Asian economy. The latest statistic put Darwin at a population growth of 2.2%, which is the third highest rate in Australia. The fully fledged infrastructure of the port city includes investments from companies such as inpex, prelude, abattoir, Darwin gaol and includes housing construction and a marine supply base. The unemployment rate here is only 3.7% which is the lowest in the country and there has been a great increase in the residential buildings approval by 10.3%. These facts will ensure that Darwin is going to be a great business centre where lots of investors across the world are flocking to and you can be assured that it will be profitable to invest in property in Darwin.

Darwin is the focus of much attention as there are still more factors which makes this port city the best place to make your investment. There are large investors currently focusing on iron, gas, coal, petroleum, phosphate and gold, a great sign for the city’s industrial development. Huge developments are taking place in the rail and road transportation facilities. Also, the government is supporting commercial estates which will have a great role in the economic development and growth of the region. The Wickham industrial estate and the Darwin business park are top class in this area.

As with any investment it is advised to get professional advice from a financial planner and seek assistance form a trusted mentor before you invest in any property that goes without saying and the advice you will be given is to do your homework and any probable problem that you feel you may encounter such as fire, damage, loss of rent and cyclones and factor these into your investment strategy. This also includes the possibility of job loss, and to efficiently tackle these risk factors, you should look for expert advice on investing in property. You should have a thorough understanding of the secrets and benefits of the investment. It would be essential for you to get a mentor to assist you in the investment. As mentioned above, Darwin will surely become an economic hub connecting Australian and Asian economies, which in turn result in a huge foreign investment at Darwin port. So, if you are looking forward to get rich from property investing, Darwin NT will be a promising city.

Australian Property Investment Mentor Elly Graham has available free market updates and Property Investment Magazine Subscription.

If you would like more information about creating long term wealth through investing in rental properties and saving through property invesmtnet tax provided by Australian Property Investment mentor Elly Graham you can visit her website where she provides free advice and an opprtunity to subscribe to her Property Investment Magazine. You will find good information on how to retire young through smart investing for early retirement if that is what you desire. Good luck with your goals and plans for your financial freedom.

There is a difference between being afraid to invest and be cautious. When you are considering whether or not to buy stocks, invest in ETFs or purchase mutual funds for your financial future being afraid to act does nothing but insure that you will not be successful.

Being cautious with your investments is totally different from being afraid. Caution should be part of every investment decision. But there are precise ways to exercise caution so you can be successful with your investments and grow your money.

Growing your money is what investing in the stock market is all about. If you grow your money you accomplish many key factors including:

• Less stress because your portfolio or checkboo9k is expanding
• Comfort in knowing you will have enough money to live in retirement
• Comfort in knowing you have a financial cushion if it is ever needed.
• Knowledge you can dream about big purchases or trips and they can become a reality.

So how do you invest cautiously yet with confidence and knowledge that your money will grow? A few simple premises:

• Pick a proven method of analysis to guide you in your evaluations.
• Pick a software program that enables you to invest to meet your objectives.
• Pick a software program where help from a real human being is just a quick phone call or email away.
• Back test your investment strategies or ideas to make sure they are most likely to see going down the road.
• Pick a software program that makes reading charts clear and easy.
• Pick a software program that goes beyond charts and evaluates your stocks, mutual funds or ETFs on other factors, especially in comparison to the general market and other stocks, ETFs or funds.
• Use a software program that tells you when to get out of the market and preserve your money.

If you follow these principles the fear of investing, the fear of losing, will be diminished. Will it go away completely? No. We are all human and all afraid of losing but if you invest with caution and base your decisions on solid recommendations your likelihood for success jumps dramatically.

Will you ever lose in the stock market? Yes. Not every decision, even with the best of analysis is going to turn out right. But remember that a successful baseball play is one who bats over 300 which means he gets a hit one out of three times. A successful quarterback never throws each pass for completion, just the majority. On the other hand if you can score a gain on 60% or 80% of your investments while keeping those losing choices to a bare minimum your portfolio, your checkbook is going to see substantial growth.

You can see substantial investment success if you follow these key principles.

Author Raymond Dominick is the designer of Dynamic Investor Pro investment software for stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. He has been investing in the markets since his teenage years. An experienced business manager and journalist, he has been a registered investment advisor representative, also a professional photographer who loves escaping to the wonders of Glacier National Park in Montana.

View his software at: http://www.dynamicinvestorpro.com