Investment Articles

As the UK heads into a period of extended inflation, low interest rates and volatile stock markets, investors are looking for safe investments to preserve and grow capital. Many investors are turning to gold as prices continue to rise due to an increasing demand from investors, but more savvy money men consider farmland to be the safest investment in 2010 as demand for food continues to rise and a severe shortage on the supply side continues to push up prices and create safer investment returns.

Farmland is considering a safe investment as it is a renewable resource, constantly reproducing the commodities that the population needs – food! Therefore consistently generating an income for landowners and retaining its value, especially in times of inflation.

The value of agricultural land in the UK has risen by 13% for the first six months of 2010, and by 19.7% for the twelve months to July according to the Knight Frank Farmland Index, the industry standard for measuring agricultural land values. In fact there has not been a single seven year period since records began, where farmland in the UK has not risen in value quicker than the rate of inflation, providing safe investment returns for landowners. The income generated from leasing good quality land to commercial farmers also goes some way to replacing the lost risk-free income on cash deposits due to such low interest rates.

There is always of course an element of risk, land values could fall for example, but as demand for food is rising at the fastest pace in history and the amount of land per person on the planet has halved from 0.42 hectares to 0.21 hectares, the next seven years is extremely unlikely to be the first time that agricultural land values will fall. There is also a risk that your farming tenant could default on his rent, but this risk is also minimal as agricultural occupancy rates in the UK are close to 100% year round.

So those investors looking for the safest investment possible should carefully consider whether a well-place agriculture investment in the form of good quality farmland will have a good fit for their portfolio, It would certainly provide growth and income and a very low risk profile.

To learn more about investing in agricultural land, or farmland as an inflation hedge, download the Agricultural Investment Guide at www.dgc-ai.com/btl-farmland

David Garner in Managing Partner at DGC Business Consulting – http://www.dgc-ai.com – a property investment boutique for high-net-worth investors. DGC specialise in sourcing off-market assets at deep discounts to valautions and design and deliver innovative low-risk pruchase and holding structures designed to minimise risk and maximise the potential for upside returns.

You need the best investment guide you can find in this messed up economy and tough investment environment. You’ll also need a good guide to investing for beginners to navigate the rough waters ahead. Investing has never been more difficult or confusing. It’s time to learn how to invest, and here’s how to go about it.

First, you’ll need to get a handle on the investment universe including any investments you might already own. This is not that difficult if you have a good investment guide, since there are only 4 basic investment alternatives out there. Second, you’ll need to learn how to invest and put together a sound investment strategy that will work for you in both good times and bad. That’s what a good guide to investing for beginners can do for you.

In other words, learning how to invest successfully over the long term is a two step process. Skip step number one and you won’t understand step two. Without step two you won’t be able to put the investment knowledge you learned in step one into action. Up front I stated that now is a tough time to invest. Now I’ll back that up with my 35 years of investing experience, in terms of the 4 basic investment alternatives available to all investors. Consider this a mini investment guide and a wake up call. Investing for beginners is no picnic today.

Your 4 basic investment alternatives in order of safest to riskiest: safe investments, bonds, stocks, and alternative investments. Safe investments like bank accounts and money funds pay interest, and these days they don’t pay much. The score in late summer 2010: 1-yr. CDs at less than 1% and money funds at less than.05%, or one-twentieth of 1%. This is not normal, and is in fact downright scary. The government can hardly push rates lower to stimulate the economy as they’ve done in past years. We are already looking at zero interest rates in the money markets.

In order to earn higher interest income of 3% or more, average investors are moving money into bonds in the form of bond funds, which are not really safe investments. Simply put, when interest rates go UP, the value of bonds go DOWN. That’s a basic investment fact you can count on – interest rate risk. If you believe that interest rates will fluctuate as they always have and will go up in the not-too-distant future, bonds are not exactly great investment alternatives at this time. With two down and two to go, we move into the riskier choices that involve assuming the risk of ownership in order to earn higher returns.

Any guide to investing for beginners can point out that on average, over the long term, stocks have returned about 10% a year. The problem is that over the past 10 years the average investor would have done better with his or her money in safe investments in the bank. And over the past 3 years, a loss of about 10% a year was common for the stock funds that invest money for millions of average investors. Investor confidence in the economy and the stock market is not high, as billions of dollars are being pulled out of stock funds and moved someplace else (like to bond and money funds) in search of greater safety.

In the past when uncertainty was high and confidence in the stock market was low, smart investors turned to other (alternative) investments like real estate to find opportunity. That’s been a problem this time around, because the financial system seems unable to get the traction needed get things moving again. High unemployment won’t go away and millions of mortgages are “under water”, as people decide to just walk away from their financial obligations. Gold and silver have done well compared to other investment alternatives. If history is any guide to investing, that’s not exactly a cheerful note. People buy and hoard gold in times of fear and desperation.

Out of our 4 basic choices, none looks like a screaming BUY opportunity. Some of the best minds in the investment world are suggesting that investors need to start viewing the investing game differently and lower their expectations. I suggest that you start with the basics and curl up with a good investment guide on a rainy day. Then, you’ll want to follow up and learn how to invest with a guide to investing written for beginners. Once you start to get up to speed you might even begin to enjoy the challenge. And make no mistake about it… investing today is a challenge.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com.

Knowing how to invest is more important today than ever before. With Social Security and company pensions questionable at best, Americans need to learn to invest for their own future financial security. Here are some pointers and major mistakes to avoid if you don’t feel real comfortable as an investor.

Learning how to invest is really not much different than learning how to play any other game. First, you need a general understanding of the objective and the rules. Second, focus on the basic aspects of the game. Then, concentrate on avoiding major mistakes while you hone your skills and develope a winning strategy.

Your objective as an investor should be to earn higher than average investment returns over the long term with only a moderate level of risk. To do this you will need to manage a diversified investment portfolio that includes safe investments, bonds, and equities (stocks). It’s a major mistake to keep all of your money in the bank at low interest rates because at that rate of return you won’t stay ahead of inflation after paying income taxes. Totally trusting a financial planner or going it alone without any investment help can also be expensive mistakes for the average investor.

So, the question is how to invest with a diversified portfolio and investment help you can afford and trust. The answer is to invest in mutual funds: money market funds for safety and interest, bond funds to earn higher interest income, and equity or stock funds for higher potential returns and long term growth. Mutual funds are designed for folks with little more than a grasp of investment basics. They select the individual investment securities for their investors as a group and professionally manage a portfolio based on the fund’s stated financial objectives.

By investing across the board in all three basic mutual fund types you can achieve balance while keeping risk at a moderate level. For example, losses in stock funds can be offset in part by the relative safety and interest income from money market and bond funds. As a general rule of thumb, all but the oldest of investors need some money in stocks to boost profits and stay ahead of inflation and taxes. How much of your total portfolio you allocate to stock funds vs. money market and bond funds will depend on your age and risk tolerance.

If you’re not real comfortable with how to invest but know that you need to anyway, start investing in mutual funds. If you invest equal amounts in all three of the basic fund types you can get started with only a moderate level of risk while avoiding major costly mistakes. Then take your game and investment strategy to a higher level by doing some homework with the assistance of a good investing guide.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com.

The following information will be really useful for those people who are going to invest their money into some of the investment programs that are available on the market today. The main theme of this article is whether it is possible to determine unsafe investments via the level of profit rate.

It should be started with that before you start dealing with high profit investments option you should think about what can be used as a source of that huge income that is offered. Well, this might be:

1. Lucky chance

For example, it might happen that you trade Forex and then, by a lucky chance, the currency goes your way and this consequently means that you earn a really huge amount of money. But, once again – this is a chance, so you will not have a stable income.

2. New technology

You invest into some new technology and this can really bring you very good returns. But, you should understand that nothing is stable. In other words it just means that time passes and that new technology will become old and useless – so, you will stop benefiting from this investment option.

3. Some high yield niche

Let’s say that there is niche that is known to a narrow range of people only and they get huge returns from it. Of course, it’s up to you whether to consider this idea seriously. But if such niche even exists then it means that sooner or later it will be opened to the world.

On the basis of these 3 points the following conclusion can be made:

High yield profits are not realistic because it is impossible to talk about high profits over a long period of time.

In order to provide you with more info and better understanding of the main issue of this article the following aspect should also be taken into consideration:

What level of profits can point at a scam investment program?

The truth is that the numbers are not the only thing you should pay your attention to when choosing an investment program. Yes, it is a really important aspect and if some of the investment programs promises 100% per day and they guarantee that you will get such returns during years, then you don’t need other info because this investment option is definitely a scam. This is just impossible.

So, besides numbers you should consider the way profit rates are positioned and offered to you.

If profits rates are high then the company should warn you that this investment involves big risk. If you don’t get such information then it means that this investment is a scam and you shouldn’t deal with it.

And what about investment programs with small profit rates? Well, still it doesn’t mean that such kind of program is 100% safe because scammers also play long term and that’s why they might offer not big but stable income for investors.

So, to conclude it all there is a need to point out that the level of profit rate is not the key (and the only) one aspect to consider when determining a scam.

Join the discussion about high profit investments and the level at which any promises for high income become unrealistic – on this YouTube.com channel.

Never has a financial education in investment basics been more important. Since the financial crisis of 2008 it has been difficult to find attractive investment options. The question is: where to invest in 2010 and beyond. In answering that question, this article will start you on your road to a financial education by focusing on the investment basics that few average investors understand.

You have the same basic investment options that a big money manager with a financial education from one of the best universities in the country has. The difference is that he or she has to decide where to invest billions of dollars. The good news is that there are only four basic investment options out there. The bad news is that deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond is not an easy task. Let’s look at the four options, often referred to as asset classes: safe investments, bonds, stocks, and alternative investments.

SAFE INVESTMENTS are savings products and cash equivalents like: bank CDs, savings accounts, money market securities like U.S. T-bills, and money market mutual funds. These safe investments pay interest, but with interest rates near all-time lows, they don’t pay much. Most safe investments are paying less than 1% a year in interest.

BONDS are long-term interest-paying investments. Today you can make over 5% in interest income a year in bonds and bond funds. This might make them sound attractive, but there’s a catch here: interest rates are presently very low and are likely to go up in the future. When interest rates go up the price or value of bonds will fall. That’s the investment basics of bond investing. It’s called interest rate risk, and it is real.

STOCKS were the investment option of choice for the big money managers in 2009 and early 2010. Looking at the two above investment options you can see why. The big money went into stocks and this sent prices higher. Then, uncertainty returned to the international financial scene, and stock markets fell as a debt crisis in Europe took center stage. If stocks continue to fall, deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond will get even tougher, with only one basic investment option left to consider.

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS are the final frontier, and they are increasing getting attention from big money managers who manage pension funds and other large pools of money. Included in this asset class: gold, silver, other commodities, real estate, and natural resources like oil and natural gas. Virtually any other investment, or security that is traded on an organized exchange (other than the first three basic investment options discussed) could be classified as an alternative investment.

Given the state of today’s financial markets, you can see why deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond is a challenge. One more thing should be crystal clear. Without a financial education the cards are stacked against you. The best way for most people to invest in all of the above asset classes is through mutual funds. Invest in all four of the basic investment options with funds; and in times of high uncertainty like today… diversify, diversify, diversify.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com.

Are you looking for a safe investment that will outperform the rate of inflation? The stock market has been extremely volatile; so many investors have been cashing their investments out and going into cash and cash equivalent investments. These cash investments are making less than 1% in interest. This means that if you have $100,000 in cash then your yearly interest payment will be only $1,000 or $83 a month. Money market funds and CDs are safe investment but the returns are low. If there is ever any signs of inflation then any investor in only cash investments will see their capital dwindle.

Are there any safe investments with a guaranteed rate of return that will always beat out inflation? Well, until 1997 there wasn’t, but the federal government created Treasury Bonds that will guarantee you the specified rate of return plus any inflation incurred while owning the bond. These special Treasury Bonds are called TIPS, which is short for Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. The main purpose of TIPS Bonds is to make sure that your investment is protected against inflation.

Let’s say you placed $10,000 in TIPS with a coupon rate of 3% and another $10,000 in a corporate bond with a coupon rate of 4%. Two years later, inflation increased by 2%, which means the TIPS Bond would pay you the 3% interest specified + an additional 2% in principal from an increase in inflation. The corporate bond would still pay out 4%, but because inflation increased by 2%, your real rate of return is only 2%.

TIPS are sold directly through the US Treasury Auctions, so the specified interest rate is based on the performance of the auction. These bonds are offered in 5, 10, and 30 year maturity terms, which means that for the next 5, 10, 30- years you investments will be guaranteed to make to specified interest rate plus additional principal based on the rate of inflation.

If you would like more information on Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS Bonds), visit http://www.TIPSBonds.net

Never has a financial education in investment basics been more important. Since the financial crisis of 2008 it has been difficult to find attractive investment options. The question is: where to invest in 2010 and beyond. In answering that question, this article will start you on your road to a financial education by focusing on the investment basics that few average investors understand.

You have the same basic investment options that a big money manager with a financial education from one of the best universities in the country has. The difference is that he or she has to decide where to invest billions of dollars. The good news is that there are only four basic investment options out there. The bad news is that deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond is not an easy task. Let’s look at the four options, often referred to as asset classes: safe investments, bonds, stocks, and alternative investments.

SAFE INVESTMENTS are savings products and cash equivalents like: bank CDs, savings accounts, money market securities like U.S. T-bills, and money market mutual funds. These safe investments pay interest, but with interest rates near all-time lows, they don’t pay much. Most safe investments are paying less than 1% a year in interest.

BONDS are long-term interest-paying investments. Today you can make over 5% in interest income a year in bonds and bond funds. This might make them sound attractive, but there’s a catch here: interest rates are presently very low and are likely to go up in the future. When interest rates go up the price or value of bonds will fall. That’s the investment basics of bond investing. It’s called interest rate risk, and it is real.

STOCKS were the investment option of choice for the big money managers in 2009 and early 2010. Looking at the two above investment options you can see why. The big money went into stocks and this sent prices higher. Then, uncertainty returned to the international financial scene, and stock markets fell as a debt crisis in Europe took center stage. If stocks continue to fall, deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond will get even tougher, with only one basic investment option left to consider.

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS are the final frontier, and they are increasing getting attention from big money managers who manage pension funds and other large pools of money. Included in this asset class: gold, silver, other commodities, real estate, and natural resources like oil and natural gas. Virtually any other investment, or security that is traded on an organized exchange (other than the first three basic investment options discussed) could be classified as an alternative investment.

Given the state of today’s financial markets, you can see why deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond is a challenge. One more thing should be crystal clear. Without a financial education the cards are stacked against you. The best way for most people to invest in all of the above asset classes is through mutual funds. Invest in all four of the basic investment options with funds; and in times of high uncertainty like today… diversify, diversify, diversify.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com.

Are you looking for a safe investment that will outperform the rate of inflation? The stock market has been extremely volatile; so many investors have been cashing their investments out and going into cash and cash equivalent investments. These cash investments are making less than 1% in interest. This means that if you have $100,000 in cash then your yearly interest payment will be only $1,000 or $83 a month. Money market funds and CDs are safe investment but the returns are low. If there is ever any signs of inflation then any investor in only cash investments will see their capital dwindle.

Are there any safe investments with a guaranteed rate of return that will always beat out inflation? Well, until 1997 there wasn’t, but the federal government created Treasury Bonds that will guarantee you the specified rate of return plus any inflation incurred while owning the bond. These special Treasury Bonds are called TIPS, which is short for Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. The main purpose of TIPS Bonds is to make sure that your investment is protected against inflation.

Let’s say you placed $10,000 in TIPS with a coupon rate of 3% and another $10,000 in a corporate bond with a coupon rate of 4%. Two years later, inflation increased by 2%, which means the TIPS Bond would pay you the 3% interest specified + an additional 2% in principal from an increase in inflation. The corporate bond would still pay out 4%, but because inflation increased by 2%, your real rate of return is only 2%.

TIPS are sold directly through the US Treasury Auctions, so the specified interest rate is based on the performance of the auction. These bonds are offered in 5, 10, and 30 year maturity terms, which means that for the next 5, 10, 30- years you investments will be guaranteed to make to specified interest rate plus additional principal based on the rate of inflation.

If you would like more information on Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS Bonds), visit http://www.TIPSBonds.net

Bonds are very safe investments to take in the market. Returns are great and you are not to do much of anything to invest. The greatest thing about bonds are that you can get your original investment back. Beginning investors should consider investing in bonds because it’s a great conservative method of investing.

The Federal Government as well as the state and local government has bonds called T-bills, and T-notes. These notes are in the Treasury department that you can purchase with maturity dates that range from months to years. The T-notes and T-bills are charged based on the interest earned and is backed behind the US government.

The public securities market is where you can find corporate bonds. What they do is sell their debt to you. The interest is very high and is the riskiest. If a company fails, then you lose everything. When the state and local Government sell their bonds, they have lower interest because they tend to go bankrupt more than the Federal Government.

The Federal Interest is higher because of this. State and local Government investments are all income tax free, including the interest. Any taxes on the state and local level are all waived. They primarily sell municipal bonds. Foreign bonds are some of the more difficult investments to be apart of. However, because the bonds are issued by the US Government, you can bet that your investment will always be safe.

For best results, you should invest in bonds that have reached their fullest mature state and then take your returns and make more investments to other bonds.

Visit my site for information about finance and great search results.

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Everybody today is talking about safe investments. Safety is the key word now, after the rapid economic downturn cost so many people so much money. The problem there was basically that everybody threw caution to the wind, and started to think about nothing but returns. The result was that when something bad happened, it was really bad, and nobody was protected. Learn about the different safe investments that are available to you and you’ll be able to hedge against this kind of economic disaster in the future.

First of all, anytime you make something that is considered a safe investment you are also making a tradeoff. The tradeoff is in the potential yield that you will see as a result of your investment. More safety means a lower yield, and therefore investors and individuals have to come up with a strategy that satisfies their needs for a good, high return while also providing safety as well.

The list of safe investments starts with options such as CDs and high interest bank accounts. These are backed up by the FDIC and are therefore guaranteed against any losses, so you’re completely safe. Of course, the type of return you will see will be substantially lower than what you could make with a good run in the stock market or with other options.

Other safe levels of investments in the market itself include options such as money market funds and treasury bonds. Treasury bonds are backed up by the federal government, and money market funds operate with short term debts, keeping a focus on liquidity and flexibility. Not all bonds however are safe, as junk bonds can provide huge potential returns but also come with a very large amount of risk.

Can buying individual stocks in the market be considered a safe investment? Well, by definition no, although some are more stable than others. If you’re looking for stock investments that are safe you should seek out mutual funds, and find ones that provide the right scale of safety and return that you’re looking for. Some mutual funds deal solely with stocks or bonds, or even other investments such as commodities.

Other mutual funds offer mixes of several different investment options, and all will be graded in terms of their returns and their level of risk. Therefore you can search and really find something that offers the best fit for you, whether that’s complete safety with lower returns, or moderate to strong safety with a potential for large yields. Of course you could also opt for index funds, which many people feel win out over managed funds in most situations anyway.

So is there one group of safe investments that’s going to be perfect for everybody? Probably not, because everybody has their own needs, desires and interests. It’s important that you diversify what you own and buy into, so that you have different levels of safety and reward. This ensures that if something goes south, you still have your money in a safe place, but you can also take advantage of strong return investments with great yields if you do so in small amounts.

Lee Andersons was born in New York, New York where he was raised in the corporate business environment where both his parents were involved. After inheriting a substantial part of the business, Lee decided to expand the business horizons by traveling to Europe and the Far East. Privileged with enough time to spend with his family, Lee spends the rest between over-viewing his business interests and his other passion, writing.

For more on Lee’s views please visit: http://www.401k-investment.net/