Investment Articles

Probably the second most common New Year’s resolution is to do better with finances (the top one is to lose weight). If one is looking to lose weight, obviously it is better to get advice from that friend who lost 50 pounds and kept it off than to ask the one who is overweight and keeps going on yo-yo diets. With making and keeping money, the people to follow are the wealthy who hold onto money – not the friend with the fancy car who is up to debt to his eyeballs. Unfortunately few of us know many wealthy people since the average person is deep in debt.

Luckily, in his book “The Millionaire Next Door,” Mr. Stanley has given us some tips drawn from actual millionaires. These are people who became wealthy and stayed that way. If your resolution is to do better with money, here are some tips from them:

1. Control your money. This means having a budget which says what you will do with every dollar you get for the month. This should include all of your expenses, money directed into savings/investing, and some money to be spent as desired (you need to have some freedom). If needed, use a system of envelopes and cash with labels like “groceries,” “clothes,” etc… to make sure you stick to your budget for each area. While it may seem restrictive, you’ll generally find that you have more money than you thought if you stop blowing money on unplanned purchases throughout the month.

2. Get rid of payments. Rich people don’t buy things on payments. If you are paying interest you are paying more for things than they cost and you will never have nay money to save and invest. Rich people save up and pay cash.

3. Build your pipelines. Rich people buy assets – things that grow in value and pay them money. Things like stocks, bonds, and real estate. This means that every month you’ll have more money coming in than simply what you earn from working. Use some of the money you get from these assets to buy more assets, and you’ll be putting your wealth growth on turbocharging!

4. Only buy what you need. Rich people don’t buy lavish houses, relative to their net worth. While Bill Gates has a multi-million dollar house, his net worth is also many billions. People with 1-10 million dollars don’t have McMansions in general. They have solid, well-built houses in established neighborhoods. They know that too much space means more maintenance and cost.

5. Spend your time at your profession or with your family. Rich people don’t fix the car or mow the lawn unless they enjoy doing it or it is the only way to get the job done right. Rich people would rather spend the hours they would be doing such tasks making more money at their profession and hire professionals with the right tools for such jobs. Spending extra hours at work can also help you get ahead – spending all day fixing a water heater will not.

6. Find ways to make money that can multiply your time. If you rake leaves in yards for $50 per yard, you can only make about $200 per day since you can only rake so many yards. If you hire people to rake leaves, pay them $40 per yard and keep $10, you can make as much money as there are yards to rake. The easiest way to become wealthy is to do something that can multiply your time. Write a book. Start a business with employees. Invent something.

Everyone can become wealth. Make it your New Year’s resolution to start on your way.

To learn more about stock investing, stock picking, and growing wealth, please visit the Small Investor: http://smallivy.wordpress.com. Find hundreds of articles on investment strategies, tips, and tactics for investing and growing wealth.

The primary measure of farmland investment performance in the United States is the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) Farmland Returns Index. The index provides investors with a measure of the investment performance of a large pool of individual agricultural properties acquired in the private market for investment purposes. According to the index, US farmland returned 8.6% in 2010, and 5.85% to quarter 3 in 2011.

Regional U.S. farmland growth figures vary from state to state. A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City showed a 12.6% increase in mountain states farmland values over 2011.

The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank District reported farmland values as of second quarter 2011 up 17% from the same period a year ago, while the Kansas City District reports farmland prices up 20%.

Nebraska has seen one of the largest increases, with non-irrigated land up 30%. Oklahoma ranchland, suffering from a prolonged drought, saw values up just 6.4%, with what increase there was driven by oil and gas exploration.

There has been some concern amongst the agricultural community in the United States that land values have spiralled out of control, with demand for assets fuelled almost entirely by Investors seeking to diversify out of the stock market and into tangible assets. Don McCabe, an accredited farm manager with Soy Capital Ag Services said recently at an investment forum that, about 60% of all farmland is being purchased by active operators, with 15% purchased by nonlocal investors, 13% by local area investors, 7% by institutions and investment groups and 5% by other entities.

In Canada, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) monitors the value of a basket of 245 benchmark farm properties every six months. On average, Canadian farmland increased 7.4% in the first six months of 2011, and 9.5% for the year ending June 2011. Saskatchewan farmland led the nation in farmland price increases, up 11.6% in the six months ending in June, and up 14.3% year on year.

New York-based TIAA-CREF, the largest U.S. pension manager for teachers and academic researchers with $469 billion of assets said in October 2011 that farmland investments may return 8% to 12% per year as global food demand increases. The company has $2.5 billion in farmland investment assets and owns about 600,000 hectares.

Investors considering farmland investment should consult with an experienced Advisor in order to plan the most relevant and effective farmland investment strategy, identify suitable opportunities and identify and mitigate risk.

David Garner is Partner at DGC Asset Management, an alternative investments boutique specialising in property transactions in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors.

Around 225,000 people are added to the global population every single day, all of whom require food and fuel. At the same time, incomes in developing economies are rising, causing a shift toward a more expensive and more resource intensive westernised diet based on meat. Considering that 1kg of meat requires the input of 7kg of grain as animal feed, this combination of more people and higher consumption per capita adds tremendous strain to already stretched agricultural productivity.

The amount of farmland on the planet is actually falling. Urbanisation, soil degradation, water scarcity and climate change all converge to reduce the stock of land suitable for growing the essential crops we need.

In light of this on-going and increasing disparity between supplies of farmland and demand for agricultural commodities, investors are turning to farmland in order to capture financial gains as food prices rise and productive land becomes intrinsically more valuable.

There are a range of farmland investment strategies to consider, from simple acquisition of land and leasing to farmer, through to sharing crop revenues in a joint venture under a contract framing agreement. But certainly the most profitable agriculture investment strategy is greenfield development; the acquisition of land with agricultural potential and converting into productive agricultural assets through the establishment of infrastructure such as irrigation, storage facilities and road, as well as amending the soil profile to ensure maximum productivity.

Greenfield farmland developments add substantial capital value to previously unused land, as well as positively impacting the current black hole in agricultural productivity that leave over 1 billion people hungry around the world each year. Investors also benefit from on-going income from crop revenues as newly converted land produce an annual yield from the production of crops.

The majority of future growth is widely expected to come from developing regions including Asia, Africa and Latin America, where economic growth outpaces that of the west by a huge margin. It is these key growth regions that the appetite for agricultural commodities will grow the most. In fact, in Germany the population is expected to get smaller in the next 40 years, whilst in China the population is expected to expand by some 30% in the same period.

It is fair to say then that agriculture investments based on the development of suitable land, in close proximity to key growth regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America offer investors the best opportunity to capture not only short term appreciation through development, but also long-term growth and income driven by population growth and rising incomes.

David Garner is Partner at boutique alternative investments boutique DGC Asset Management Limited.

Newspaper headlines of late are quick to detail what little sign of national economic stability they can; some job growth here or a sign of stock market recovery there. And while it may be true that the S&P 500 is up 77 percent from the lows of March 2009-especially good for big-time stock market gamblers-median household incomes are falling at faster rates during this so-called “recovery period,” than they were during the actual recession years. As you can see from the chart below since the beginning of 2009 the median income has dropped sharply while unemployment rises significantly.

In the meantime, the National Association of Realtors (NRA), in addition to providing evidence of continued decline in home sales, also reported a record-high affordability index, which when taken together simply do not add up. How are homes more affordable when the median income continues to decline? Another example of how the media, along with agencies like the National Association of Realtors try to make things look better than they are. Low consumer confidence and tight lending policies by the banks pose definite difficulties, however there is more to be gained than lost as the cyclical nature of the economy will not provide such optimal investment opportunities for long. Now is the perfect time to start to invest in real estate as rates are low and you can make a great return on your money due to cash flow.

There are also great opportunities to purchase property with built-in equity as the banks continue to liquidate their inventory. Taking control of your future is more important now than it has ever been. As median incomes continue to decline the middle class will be pushed into poverty IF they do not do something about it. There are plenty of available resources and alternative investments the middle class can make right now but education is the key. Unfortunately the media is controlled by stock market advertising dollars which control the education base of the American public. Now is time to get educated about alternative investments instead of putting money in the stock market where all one has is hope the values will continue to climb, which is highly unlikely in the current volatile economic times. Stop hoping and enact an investment strategy that works. Stop investing for capital gains and invest in cash flow. A cash flow investor can weather economic instability much more than capital gain investors.

Owens Consulting Group founder Mathew Owens is a California licensed CPA and a full time real estate investor. He has completed over 100 transactions in the past three years, representing approximately $10 million in real estate, most of which has been sold to cash flow investors. He does multiple live educational events and online webinars. Find out more info about him and his blogs at http://www.ocgproperties.com

What are the best Australian investments in 2011 and for the coming years? This article describes five of the best investments in Australian based on data and information provided by several of the leading advisers and institutions in Australia. While views and opinions may differ on the viability of these investments it is felt that these segments offer he best potential for a return on investment in both the short term as well into the foreseeable future. It should be noted that the information presented here is offered as opinion only and should not be considered as professional investment advice. For professional advice seek the services of a registered and licensed Australian financial adviser.

Property and Real Estate:
Property in both residential and commercial varieties remains a stable investment. Australian has seen significant growth in property values over the last ten years and this trend is set to continue into the future. In the second quarter of 2011 the Australian real estate market saw a 1.3$ increase in property values. The majority of experts in this are agree that a real estate bubble is not likely to occur making this a solid investment both today and into the coming years.

The Share Market:
The Australian Share market while affected by the global economy has not seen the major fluctuations experienced by overseas markets. Some of the hot share markets and segments to consider and those which are expected to increase in value over time are:

Energy

Financials

Health Care

Industrials

Materials

Telecommunication Services

Utilities

Managed Investment Funds:
Managed investment funds allow investors access to a professionally managed portfolio investments through a single security or contract. With managed investments an investor owns a percentage of the overall investment portfolio in consideration of the size of the investment and are therefore entitles to profit and dividend of the portfolio as well being subject to loss in circumstance where the portfolio values declines. As an investor it is important to compare the financials managed funds in order to determine their viability. Consult with a financial advisor to discuss various funds and management opportunities available to you.

While there are many more investment strategies to consider in Australia the three outlined here may be your best bet for the remainder of the year as well as into 2012. Remember to develop a reliable resource of research data and information to help make your investment decision informed ones.

Investing doesn’t need to be difficult. To quickly learn more about investing in Australia including shares and property investing visit http://investingaustralia.com.au

You work hard for your money, and you want your money to work hard for you. We all need savings and investments to retire comfortably or to fall back on should unexpected circumstances arise. To that end, common investment vehicles include the stock market, mutual funds and retirement/superannuation accounts. But whichever investment vehicle you opt to employ, it pays to ensure that you are familiar with the mistakes commonly made by new investors.

1) Not having an adequate plan. The saying goes that failing to plan is planning to fail, and in the case of your investments, you not only need a solid strategy as to how to invest your funds, but you need to have realistically mapped out the regular contributions you will be able to put into your investments. If your investments are not tailored to suit your age and situation and managed according to current market conditions, then you basically have a glorified savings account.

2) Placing all of your eggs in one basket. This is not only a risky strategy, but one which is certain to limit your money’s growth potential over time. The reason you need to have a good combination of stocks, bonds and other investment options is that different investment vehicles will perform differently, depending on the economic conditions at the time. A diverse investment portfolio has a greater potential to endure an unpredictable economic climate.

3) Too much emphasis on high-risk investments. The age-old concept of the “get rich quick” scheme is a common pitfall that many people are aware of, yet continues to burn investors. A new investor must keep in mind at all times that their investments are a long-term strategy, and as such, a potentially high short-term gain is simply not worth pursuing when it is weighed up against the risk of losing your hard-earned money.

4) Overly conservative investing. Although this is of far lesser concern and it may even seem counter-intuitive at first, it is worth keeping in mind that a lack of market knowledge could lead an individual to be too conservative in their investments. This can ultimately result in a lack of sufficient returns to meet the investment goal.

5) Investing with debt. Of fundamental importance when you are laying out your overall investment plan is to make an honest assessment of what you can afford to set aside for investment contributions. Put simply, your money must be free to invest. If you have already racked up credit card debts for example, and you are being charged upwards of 19% interest on this debt, then your first priority should be to pay off that debt. As your investments are unlikely to pay you a return anywhere near the interest on your debt, the elimination of debt ought to be the higher priority.

6) Paying astronomical commission fees. Just as you would with any other product or service, you should take the time to shop around and compare prices before you invest, once you have decided upon a course of action. It pays to take into account an investment professional’s background and level of industry experience.

7) Failing to seek the advice of a professional. Mastering finance and investment requires many years of industry experience and expert knowledge. In the same way that you would trust your health & wellbeing to a medical professional, so to you should consult an investment professional when you are planning for your future and financial well-being. As much as it can be useful to conduct your own research to gain a broad understanding of investment strategies, a qualified financial professional will take your own particular circumstances into account when making recommendations.

Provided that your investment strategy reflects a long-term focus, has enough inbuilt diversity to withstand market volatility and is managed with the aid of experienced and professional advice, you should reap the benefits of a robust investment portfolio that will yield excellent returns on your hard-earned income.

This article was written by James T. Hannagan for Australian-Dollars.com, a site that follows and investigates the Australian Dollar against the world currency market, with a view to investment in this heavily resource-backed currency amidst global economic uncertainty.

The Thrift Savings Plan currently offers ten investment funds. Five are U.S. and international stock and bond index funds: they replicate the performance of broad market indexes. The other five TSP funds, the Lifecycle Funds, are professionally managed portfolios which consist of a specific target allocation of the 5 individual TSP index funds.

The TSP Funds contain a diversified portfolio of thousands of individual stocks and bonds. Investing passively in index funds such as these is generally considered to be a good retirement savings strategy. The alternative is for you or an investment manager to actively pick individual stocks and bonds to buy and sell. Apart from being impractical for individual investors, this latter strategy usually also leads to inferior investment results: research has shown that most professional active fund managers under-perform a passively managed portfolio of index funds such as the TSP funds.

Here’s a summary of the five primary TSP Funds:

The G Fund is invested in U.S. Treasury securities which are guaranteed by the U.S. government. The nice thing about this fund is that it’s practically risk free (your investment is guaranteed not to lose any money), and yet the interest rate is substantially higher than what you would earn in other safe investments like bank savings accounts, certificates of deposit, or money market funds. If you are very risk-averse, this is definitely the place to park your savings.
The F Fund is a bond index fund, invested in high-grade U.S. government and corporate bonds. Its performance is very similar to the private sector iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond ETF.
The C Fund is a U.S. stock index fund that mirrors the returns of the S&P 500 Index, which consists of large U.S. corporations. Its returns are essentially the same as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF.
The S Fund is invested in the stocks of small to medium-sized U.S. companies. It’s designed to complement the C Fund, so if you invest in both, you basically own shares in almost all U.S. stocks. There aren’t a lot of index funds that track these companies, but if you own both the TSP S Fund and C Fund, then your investment returns will correlate closely to a broad U.S. stock market index fund like the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF.
The I Fund is allocated to international stocks. It allows you to diversify your portfolio by investing in the stocks of companies in more than 20 developed countries in Europe, Australia, and Asia. There are several private sector equivalents to the I Fund, including the iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund.

The other five funds, the TSP Lifecycle Funds, consist of professionally managed investment portfolios designed to meet investment objectives for a specific target date (the date on which you plan to begin withdrawing your money). The L Fund assets are invested in the individual TSP funds (the G, F, C, I, and S Fund) according to a target portfolio allocation which is adjusted every 3 months. The target allocation starts out risky, with a large percentage of stock funds such as the C, S, and I Fund. As the target date approaches, each L Fund becomes gradually more conservative, by shifting a larger portion of your assets into bonds such as the F Fund and G Fund. This investment strategy assumes that, while you’re still a long time away from retirement, you’re willing to take on greater risks in order to increase your potential investment returns. Also, while you’re still at the start of your career, you have a longer period to recover from potential investment losses, considering that you’ll continue to make monthly contributions to your account for many years.

Depending on your personal circumstances and target retirement date, you choose one of the five L Funds: L Income, L 2020, L 2030, L 2040 or L 2050 Fund. The L Income Fund is the most conservative asset mix and assumes that you’ve already started withdrawing your savings. The L 2050 Fund is the most aggressive allocation, currently 90% stocks and 10% bonds.

Benefits and Disadvantages of Investing in the TSP Funds

Many investment advisors recommend that for long-term retirement savings, you buy and hold a low-cost, broadly diversified portfolio of domestic and international stock and bond index funds. With the available TSP investment funds, you can do an OK job at this. By investing in all five individual TSP funds, or in one of the Lifecycle Funds, you’ll have a decent portfolio, with an ownership share in thousands of U.S. and international stocks and U.S. bonds. And the TSP funds have extremely low annual expense ratios, several times lower than comparable private sector mutual funds and ETFs, keeping more of your money working for you.

So what’s wrong with the list of currently available TSP investment choices? Some investors want to own Emerging Markets stocks (in addition to the Developed Markets international stocks in the TSP I Fund). Or an allocation to real estate (REITs), or inflation-protected securities (such as TIPS). And some would even like access to more exotic investments like international bonds, high-yield bonds, and other hedges against inflation (commodities and precious metals like gold and silver). Professional advisors would differ on how suitable these investments are. Most would agree that TIPS are a good idea, and for more risk-tolerant investors, perhaps a small allocation to REITs and Emerging Markets stocks.

One great benefit of investing in an L Fund is simplicity: it’s a “set it and forget it” investment plan. You choose an L Fund, determine your monthly contributions, and the fund administrators take care of everything else: regular portfolio rebalancing, and gradually adjusting the asset allocation as you approach retirement. But there are also a few downsides. First, the L Funds with the longer time horizons are fairly risky allocations (for example, currently 90% stocks and 10% bonds for the L 2050 fund), and you should make sure that you can stomach the inevitable volatility as a result of owning a portfolio dominated by stocks. If you’ve owned stocks for the past decade then you already know this: it can be quite a bumpy ride. Also, some investors want more control over their exact portfolio components, when to rebalance, and how soon to start shifting the allocation to a more conservative asset mix as they approach their planned retirement date. Some investors also prefer a tactical asset allocation, shifting their mix based on asset class trends, economic circumstances or other criteria. Owning a portfolio of the individual TSP funds will work better for these investors.

Learn more about the TSP Funds and get daily price and performance updates at http://www.tspfolio.com/tspfunds

First of all, choosing an investment strategy is a lot like finding your dream job. If you don’t like what you are doing, you will hate it and try to do the minimum possible just to get by. This will result in you not getting the best out of the experience and being very very miserable. On the flip side if you enjoy what you are doing you will constantly try to find new ways to do a better job. Investing is A LOT like this. So, here we go!!

Step 1 – Identify your strengths and weaknesses

The first thing you want to do is identify your strengths and weaknesses. Think about all the activities you have ever done. Try to remember examples where the work seemed fun and easy. Try to think of examples where people constantly complimented you on how good you were at doing this task or job. Doing this exercise (identifying the EASY WORK) will help you to figure out your strengths. Make a list of the examples.

Another method would be to take a personality test. Personality tests are great at helping you to identify what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are. I have taken several personality tests and Meyers Briggs is a very popular test. You should be able to find personality tests online or at your local career center. Taking a personality test is as easy as taking a survey. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses.

Step 2 – How much money do you want to make and how much do you have to spend to get started.

There are some investing strategies that require absolutely no money (buying real estate, article writing, affiliate marketing, mystery shopper, online surveys) to get started. On the flip side, there are strategies (stock market investing, tax lien investing, buying a business) that are impossible without some startup capital. Decide whether or not you want to spend money to get started or if you want to do as much as possible without spending your own money. Contrary to popular belief YOU DO NOT NEED MONEY TO MAKE MONEY!

Step 3 – Think about how much involvement you want to have with your strategy (active or passive)

Passive (residual) income strategies require very little involvement to keep them going once they are setup, hence the term “passive” income. On the other hand there are investing strategies that WILL require your constant involvement in order to be successful. A perfect example of an active strategy would be buying a stock option. Stock options lose value over time, so with this strategy time is working against you. The passive strategy to options investing would be if you were to “sell” stock options. With this strategy, time is in your favor and once you sell the option you usually don’t have to do anything.

Step 4 – Do a search on different types of investing strategies and make a list

Run a google search on “investment strategies” and you will get millions of results. The goal here is to get a sizable list of the different different investment strategies that are available to you. Write down as many strategies as you can find, have fun in this step. Think of if as a scavenger hunt to find investment strategies. They’re out there, just waiting to be discovered by you!

Step 5 – Do Further Research on Each Strategy in your list

Once you have your list of different strategies, you will want to do some further research on each one. Some will be strategies you may have already heard about and some won’t. Either way do some research into these strategies. You will want to find out how these strategies line up with the requirements from steps 1- 3 above. Basically you should have a checklist that factors in your your personality and interests so that you can screen the strategies. Use that checklist to eliminate the strategies that don’t match up.

Step 6 – Narrow your list down to five strategies, screen again then pick the top one

Once you have used the checklist to narrow down your list of investment strategies, get even more information and go through the list again. Identify the pros and cons (good and bad) of each strategy and then use that to pick the best strategy. Choose the investment strategy that most closely matches up with your personality and requirements from steps 1 -3.

Step 7 – Get Started!!

Once you have your strategy in hand, the only thing left to it, is to do it. Get started and start making money now.

Note: I followed a similar process to determine that options investing was the right strategy for my personality type. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by leaving a comment.

Dale K Poyser has been investing for 11 years and has done meticulous research on various strategies that can add residual streams of income to your life.

Not only does Dale personally practice the methods he writes about, he has also coached many others in these methods to show how easy it is to make money with residual streams of income. You can read more about Dale’s options trading strategies at http://creatingresidualincomestreams.blogspot.com/

The “socially responsible” and green investment market has been growing exponentially over the last few years, making up over 11% of all assets under professional management. This should not come as a surprise, considering that more and more top CEOs and institutional investors are adopting a decision-making paradigm that requires social and environmental impacts to be carefully considered before money is lent or invested.

Yet despite all of this growth, research shows that this market is far smaller than it would be if investors were more fully informed about how competitive the returns could be. Luckily, this inefficiency has and could pay off for those investors who have stayed ahead of the investment curve. As we learnt with the internet boom of the 90s, it is generally the early stage and informed investor who ultimately succeeds.

The challenge of green investing is twofold: To increase personal wealth while avoiding harm to people and the environment. This can be a daunting task, but new breed of investment consultancy companies specialising in green investment projects in rapidly growing, emerging markets, aim to provide unique green investment opportunities that will maximise the profit for investors, as they at the same time work towards a healthier planet.

These companies specialise in consulting on green investments, with the conviction that they are destined to make a higher, longer and more sustainable return on investment than traditional stocks and bonds.

Together, socially responsible and Green investing should aim to help make the planet a better place. As we collectively strive towards this goal, one thing is undeniable: Enormous profits are at stake as the World goes Green. Perhaps, the time has come where we are now witnessing the next social and technological revolution that will change the course of history.

The timing could not be more perfect for new investors. It should be possible to generate solid returns, capital wealth and environmental protection at the same time. Sustainable investment is the only investment that has a future, and investment strategies concentrating on this theme will also help to restore and maintain the health of our forests, fields and seas.

The main aim for Green Investors is to find new, ecologically responsible and profitable solutions to global environment dilemmas. Investment consultants have to understand that the only viable way to attract adequate investment capital to restore and maintain global health is to ensure that green investing is more attractive than the alternatives.

GlobalGreenCapacity Ltd. acts as consultant on green and socially responsible investments to the private and institutional investor community in Europe Our goal is to provide consultancy to managers of unique, green investment opportunities that will maximise the profit for investors, as they at the same time work towards a healthier planet.

The best investment strategy for 2012 and beyond will differ from the popular investment strategy offered by most investment advisers and financial planners today. The investment landscape has changed. Here’s a strategy for making the best of it.

Up until recent times you could stay out of serious trouble by simply allocating about half of your investment assets to stocks and the other half to bonds. That’s the traditional investment strategy often recommended for average investors, and most people deal with it by putting their money in stock funds and bond funds. Stock funds are the growth half of the equation and the risky part of the strategy. Bond funds are considered the relatively safe investment designed to pay higher interest income. Over the years losses in one fund type were usually offset by good returns in the other.

Welcome to the year 2012, where bonds and bond funds will likely not be such a safe investment. Stock funds are never safe and 2012 will be no exception to the rule. Asset allocation will be only half of the story going forward. Selecting the right funds within each category will be the other key to success. Let’s look at your best investment strategy in both fund categories, and the reason why certain funds will be your best choices.

Two things stand out about the so-called recovery the USA has supposedly experienced over the past few years. First, the economy did not recover as it has in the past after a recession – 9% of the working force is out of work. This makes for a weak economy and puts pressure on the stock market and stock funds. That’s why you’ll need to be careful about which stock funds you include in your investment portfolio.

Second, interest rates have been driven down to historically low levels to stimulate the economy in general and the pathetic housing market. Even with a 4% mortgage rate average folks can not qualify for a mortgage or afford to buy a house. Today’s ridiculously low interest rates mean savers can not earn a respectable interest income in truly safe investments. It also means that bond funds could be a trap in 2012 for people who don’t really understand bonds and bond funds. Let’s look at the best bond fund strategy first.

Even the best bond funds of the past few years could be big losers in 2012… if they hold long term bonds in their investment portfolios. When interest rates turn around and go back up the bonds they hold will lose significant value because new bonds will become available that pay more attractive (higher) interest income. Your best investment strategy for bond funds is to own funds that hold corporate bonds that mature in about 5 years to 7 years. CORPORATE BOND FUNDS pay more interest income than similar funds that invest primarily in government bonds. Funds that hold bonds maturing in 5 to 7 years (intermediate term bond funds) will be much less affected by rising interest rates than long term funds holding bonds that mature in 20 years or more. That’s a fact, and that’s how bonds work.

Your best investment strategy for stock funds will be to go with GROWTH AND INCOME funds that invest in high quality companies with a history of paying 2% or more per year in dividend income. If the stock market gets truly ugly in 2012 and beyond these funds will be your best bet to sidestep huge losses. In a bad stock market funds that pay little or nothing in dividends are usually the big losers.

Sometimes it pays to be aggressive and take on more risk. The year 2012 looks like a time to get more conservative and live to be a risk taker another day. Most investors need to hold stock funds and bond funds as well as truly safe investments like bank CDs. Your best investment strategy for 2012: allocate your investment assets with 40% going to INTERMEDIATE TERM CORPORATE BOND FUNDS and the same going to high quality GROWTH AND INCOME STOCK FUNDS paying 2% or more in dividend income. The other 20% of your investment portfolio goes to safe investments like bank CDs.

Author James Leitz teaches investment basics, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and how to invest in his investing guide for beginners called INVEST INFORMED. Put Jim’s 40 years of investing experience to work for you and get up to speed at http://www.investinformed.com. Learn how to invest.