Investment Articles

With literally thousands of managed funds available, selecting a good one can be a daunting task. Following a few simple guidelines will assist in picking a sound one.

Objectives and Timeframe
Part of the key to picking a good managed fund is first looking at your own personal situation. A retiree may look for a fund with solid income (i.e. regular dividends or distributions along with a high yield), whereas a young first time investor might be looking for long term capital growth. The former might be reliant on their managed fund for income, whereas the latter might prefer a fund that re-invests dividends, potentially leading to even greater returns at a later point in time. The proportion of one’s investments a proposed managed fund is likely to be (including other stock investments, property etc) also needs to be considered.

Risk Profile
Staying with the same example, a retiree who has accumulated substantial assets might elect to choose a managed fund with lower risk, to maintain those assets (for example, a diversified fund, or a fund that invests in only larger “blue chip” securities). Such a retiree’s assets, if diversified, might allow for investment in a higher risk, but potentially higher reward fund (such as a sector specific fund, or a fund that only invests in small start up companies) if this makes up only a small overall proportion of their net wealth. Conversely, if a first time investor’s proposed managed fund investment is likely to make up a high proportion of their savings, then investing in a lower risk fund may be more prudent. Risk may be able to be increased as savings are built up over time, and investments diversified.

Independent Research Houses
Every fund manager is always going to sing the praises of their own products. Highlighting attractive investment returns over one year as compared to similar funds might not tell the whole story – the comparative returns over three or five years might not be as attractive. An independent research house can assist in providing detailed analysis of a fund, and also the fund manager’s relative merits. Bear in mind that fund managers pay independent research houses to research their funds.

Consistent Track Record
Look for a fund manager and a fund that have provided reliable returns over a medium to longer term timeframe (more than 1-2 years). Short term performance can sometimes be anomalous. Performance also needs to be viewed with regard to overall market conditions. A rise of ten percent in a year is great compared to bank interest, but very poor if the overall market has risen thirty percent.

Past Performance Is Not Necessarily An Indicator Of Future Performance
This common disclaimer does highlight the inherent risks in investing. One take away from this is that it is important to look at past performance, but it is equally important to look at the reasons behind the figures. Are the results based on sound investment principles or good fortune? Does the fund manager’s outlook and strategy give you confidence in their ability to continue to provide you with good returns in the future?

Share Trading can contain many pitfalls. Heed each of the factors listed above, and you will give yourself the best chance of choosing a managed fund with positive performance.

William Shaw is a boutique investment manager which specializes in offering Managed Accounts to private individuals, Self Managed Super Funds and financial planners in Australia. Our Managed Accounts service has outperformed the ASX 200 by 23.32%. For more information about our managed share investment service and about our high conviction active investment methodology, visit Managed Funds

Unlike the share market when the bond yield goes up the bond price actually goes down. This is in fact in a bit different than what we normally observe. Below is the detail explanation of exactly what happens.

Understanding the concept is fairly simple. It is piece of document which promises you to payback your invested principle after the maturity date plus an interest (simple or compound) in fixed intervals. These are not same as stock market shares. When you own a piece of company share then you partly own the company with its risks for as long as you own the stock. Bonds in the other hand have a maturity date and you will get the promised interest on the money and will get your principle back after maturity.

There are various types issued by various entities. The include but not limited to – Federal Government, Provincial Government, Local Governments, Corporations etc. Bonds are generally considered very sound investment if issued by a financially sound government. There are cases where a government has defaulted on its bonds.

Bond has few important terms, such as price, Interest rate, Par value, maturity date and finally bond yield. Generally in the mortgage market the most discussed terms are Price and Yields.

Assume you own a bond of 100$ value with a 2 years maturity. The interest rate is 6% per year. So, you will receive total of 12$ (based on simple interest) within this 2 years. Now you want to sell your bond in the middle of the term. You get an offer of 90$ for that bond. The new owner will receive 106$ after one year on an investment of 90$. He/she will earn (106-90)/90 = 17.78% on that bond. That is called bond yield. Hence when bond prices go down yields goes up.

Following are some examples of many types of bonds available in the market.

- Convertible bonds
- Corporate bonds
- Eurobonds
- Extendible/retractable bonds
- Foreign currency bonds
- Government bonds
- High yield bonds
- Inflation-attached bonds
- U.S. treasury inflation protected securities (tips)
- Mortgage-backed securities
- Zero coupon or “strip” bonds
- Asset-backed securities

Many analysts in the market tend to use the yield curves to predict the future. It is not a very well proven idea. Many times those predictions has missed their targets. It can give you a fair idea about what is coming but not without its drawbacks.

Sudip Adhikari

Most people living in the United States and other economically successful countries don’t have to worry about the basic necessities in life. We have food and shelter and everything else that has been hard to come by during many times in the history of the world. The good news is that most of us have some kind of extra income beyond taking care of the necessities, and we can take advantage of this by investing in various ownership assets in order to increase our wealth over time.

However, this can be a difficult field to enter for someone who has not yet been exposed to the basics of investing. Here are three simple but important principles to keep in mind if you’re trying to get your feet wet in the world of investing.

1. You need to be a saver before you become an investor.

Let’s face it. Most of us are not already wealthy, and if you’re reading this article you probably do not have tens of thousands of dollars or more ready to invest in the stock market and real estate. If you do have this kind of cash, you probably saved this amount over years of hard work and did not simply receive this as an inheritance.

The bottom line for the vast majority of us is that saving is a prerequisite if we want to become an investor. You have to learn to live within your means so you can have something left over each month, and this amount can become the beginning of a sound investment plan.

2. Get to know ownership investments.

The three main types of ownership assets you can invest in are stocks, real estate, and owning your own small business. Each one of these has its pros and cons based on your ambitions, initial amount of capital, and your tolerance for risk. Small business and investing, for example, may have more potential to make a huge amount of money than simply investing in the stock market over the next five or 10 years. However, owning a small business requires sound business knowledge, lots of hard work and dedication, and a significant amount of capital to get started.

Also, small business may have the potential for high returns, but there is always a greater risk since most businesses will fail. You have to ask yourself how much risk you can tolerate, as a successful entrepreneur may go through numerous failed businesses before gaining the experience and insight needed to be successful.

3. Don’t expect unrealistic returns when investing in stocks and real estate.

Over the long term, you can reasonably expect to make about a 10% annual return while investing in the stock market and real estate. The odds are simply against you if you expect to make much higher returns. Also, your return may be quite different in any given year. For example, you may have done very poorly in 2008 or 2009 during the real estate decline and financial credit crisis. However, if you stayed in the market over the long term, you would have a good chance of regaining your losses and continuing to make that 10% annual return over the long term.

This is why you should plan to hold on to these kinds of investments for several years or even a decade at the very least.

Joshua is an avid researcher and enjoys writing about many topics, including health and fitness, real estate, business, and investing. Please visit his site for more information on a Coffee Pot Warmer at http://replacementcoffeepots.org today.

People tend to compare real estate investing vs. stock investing because these are the two primary roads to investment success. Both areas of investing have advantages and disadvantages. Savvy investors in both arenas can employ techniques and strategies to maximize profits or moderate risk in the years ahead.

Conventional real estate investing has traditionally focused on buying rental properties primarily with borrowed money. The basic formula for success has normally been to maintain a positive cash flow from rental income, while making physical improvements to the property that maximize return on investment. As the value of the property increases the potential for a profitable sale increases as well. In a successful venture a typical real estate investment offers the investor both income and growth in the value of the investment.

Over the years, well-selected and well managed properties have proven to be profitable investments as a rule, rather than as an exception, for most investors. Until recent times, the value of real estate was consistently on the rise with few notable exceptions. The primary advantage and source of potentially large profits in real estate investing is financial leverage, the use of borrowed money. After all, why pay cash for a property that can double in value over time when you can put only 10% down and buy 10 properties with your money by using financial leverage?

Stock investing also offers growth in investment value; and income in the form of dividends. Over the long term stock investors have earned 10% a year, on average, for the past 80 years or so. Liquidity is a big advantage here, as investors can buy or sell shares at market value on any business day, for a total cost of $10 for commissions. No active management is required on the investor’s part, and profit potential is limited only by the individual’s skill or lack of it in stock selection and market timing.

The primary disadvantage to stock investing is the lack of consistency in performance, as up and down cycles in stock prices are normal, not the exception. The new or average investor is vulnerable to significant loss on a reoccurring basis as a matter of normal routine. Real estate investing has the disadvantage of poor liquidity… plus, properties require active management and routine maintenance. If you need to sell in a hurry you’re in trouble, because the process can be both time consuming and costly.

The financial crisis of 2008 has increased risk in both real estate investing and in stock investing, while creating opportunities for the informed investor. The savvy real estate investor who knows the techniques for profiting from short sales and options to buy property has unlimited opportunities. Even the average stock investor can profit in the years ahead while moderating risk, with a balanced portfolio and a sound investment strategy.

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.

If you are thinking about investing in a business or even spending money with a company that you have never heard of or one that has yet to establish a business reputation, it may be worth considering having a company credit check performed on them. A company credit check could help you decide if an investment is sound and help you establish the risk in investing. There are companies out there that provide these types of checks and it is equally as important to ensure that you are requesting the right type of information in order to help you form a decision.

Some companies will assess the credit of the company you are looking into as well as the risk associated with them. This will give you an indication as to the company’s ability to cover any debts outstanding as well as have the funding to provide the services they are advertising. This can be done by considering factors such as cash flow, working capital and net worth. By considering these three things the company’s credit capacity can be calculated. Newly formed companies may not yet have established their credit rating so depending on their legal status a credit limit of between £500 and £5000 may be established and it will increase over time depending upon the performance of the business.

Aside from assessing a company’s credit, it is also very important to consider their risk factor. This will enable you to get a better picture as to whether the company will stand the test of time. You would not want to invest money in a company that was indicating signs of possible insolvency. There are different risks calculations depending upon whether a company is limited or not. Limited companies offer less risk of becoming insolvent. By having a company credit check you reduce the risk of losing your own money through making investments in companies that may be showing signs of bankruptcy as some point in the future. This protects you and your company.

One of the keys of running a successful business is knowing your market and investing wisely. By getting a company credit check on the businesses you are thinking about investing in, you create a more secure footing for your own investments. If you want to ensure the longevity of your business and increase your trade through sound investments, it is definitely worth considering a company credit check as part of your vetting process before investing in any company.

When you own your own business you understand the importance of protecting that investment. If you are considering expanding your business or working in partnership with another company you need to ensure that you are making a sound choice. You don’t want to take chances when putting your own company as well as reputation on the line. There are various companies out there that offer company credit checks and it is worth using them to perform your checks so as to protect your own investment by getting all the information you need before making a decision.

For further information regarding the range of company credit check services we offer, please visit our website at http://www.checkthatcompany.co.uk.

Not long ago investing was easy. There were few places you could invest and if you had money you wanted to invest, you left it to the professional stock brokers. However, deregulation of the financial markets has changed all this. In the past 20 years new investment products have been launched, changes have been made to the tax systems and retirement plans which have altered the attractiveness of many investment products.

Up to about 20 years ago, share investing was purely in the domain of the wealthy. For most people it was difficult to trade in overseas stock exchanges, there were no such thing as cash management trusts, installment warrants, exchange traded options, dividend imputation, reset preference shares and endowment warrants – to name a few. Now about 50% of investors are “mums and dads” investors who either own shares directly or in managed funds. Unfortunately, in recent years many investors have been “burnt” because they did not understand the risks of investing in financial markets.

Governments around the world have made it clear that it is important for people to take control of their own financial futures. The sustainability of government funded pensions is under pressure. If you do not save and invest, you will suffer a significant decline in your retirement living standard. The average life expectancy is about 80 years, so if you retire at 60 years of age, the savings you have accumulated in the 40 years of your working life will need to fund your retirement of 20 years or more.

Deregulation of financial markets, interest rates and currencies means that the market determines the value of investments and not government decree. This provides opportunities for educated investors to build wealth and for unwary investors to lose wealth. You must understand the opportunities and risks.

The ground rule is that if you want to be a successful investor in financial markets, you must educate yourself about investing. Even if you put your faith in a licensed investment advisor, not all are competent. It is essential that you understand how the financial markets work so that you do not put your hard earned money in the hands of an incompetent advisor who is only interested in the commissions available. How can you tell whether a particular investment is right for you? The only sure way is to become familiar with the language used in the financial industry and to have a sound investment strategy. Does this mean that you should keep you money safe by putting it under the bed or keeping it in the bank? No – but you do need to understand the risks involved and set ground rules for successful investing.

There are a number of ground rules in investing that haves stood the test of time. With time, patience and effort you can become a successful investor in all the areas that are open to you. This will not come overnight and you will have to be prepared for that fact there will be times you lose money. However,perseverance is a virtue above all others. The road is not always easy, but nothing worthwhile is.

Here are the ground rules for successful investing:

1. Be your own investment manager. No advisor or stockbroker should do it for you. Only you know what your real needs are, what your temperament is – and only you are motivated by your own best interests, not sales commissions. It is also more fun to do it yourself.

2. Confront risk and then reduce it through spreading your investments.

3. Take a contrarians view to investment markets. That is, look for opportunities and do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

4. Do not be put off by investment jargon. Master it instead.

5. NOW is the best time to start investing. Do not wait for the markets to improve. If the share market is filled with gloom, that is the time to buy.

6. Make good quality shares the core of your investment strategy. Then you can rest easy when you invest in more speculative areas.

7. Always consider tax implications of making investments but never let tax minimization be the main objective. The fundamental rule is to think in terms of after-tax returns.

8. Keep up to date through reading the financial papers and searching independent investment research websites.

9. Discussing investments is stimulating. Condition your mind to talk to others about investing, especially people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than you are.

10. Do not be greedy. Discipline yourself to cut your losses with bad investments and cash in when you have made a reasonable profit.

11. Be patient. Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, you may not become wealthy overnight, but you will over time.

12. Never invest in anything you do not understand. If a particular investment sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

13. Pay yourself first. Most people invest money they have left over after paying the bills. Allocate yourself the first 10% of your monthly income to build up your investment capital. By doing this you will force yourself to become an investor and the long term benefits will be enormous.

If you master these 13 ground rules, you will be a successful investor. You will rival so-called professionals and will sleep easily at night knowing that money is the least of your worries.

When you do your weekly shopping at the supermarket, do you keep your eye out for bargains to fill your pantry? If canned spaghetti is half price this week, do you buy a couple of extra tins? Shopping for investments is just the same as buying spaghetti. We store investments to create wealth which can be spent in the future just as we store spaghetti in our pantry to be eaten later.

When is the best time to buy investments? When they are cheap. So when the price of shares drops, the logical thing to do is to buy more – right? Well, logical it may be, but human beings are strange creatures. When it comes to buying investments we seem to apply a perverse logic. Instead of celebrating the fact that there are bargains to be had, we complain that the value of the “spaghetti” we have in the “pantry” has fallen. This would of course be a problem if we had intended to sell the spaghetti this week, but it is reasonable to assume that this is not the case. What is evident throughout the history of sharemarkets is that investors buy more as prices go up, then panic and sell when prices drop. Yet logic tells us we should do exactly the opposite. The secrets of creating wealth through investing in shares are to be able to resist the emotional effects of price changes, to make sound investments at the right price and to take a long term view.

By nature, shares are volatile. Those investors who have the emotional strength to stick with the market through its troughs are rewarded with higher returns over the long term than are achievable through investments in fixed interest or property. Declines in the sharemarket are always temporary and should be seen as opportunities to buy.

One of the realities of share investing is that it is never possible to get your timing exactly right. Spaghetti might be half price this week, but next week it could be discounted by 60%, or it might be back up to full price. However, the longer the shares are held, the less important the initial purchase price becomes. If spaghetti increases in price to $5.00 a can in 10 years time, does it really matter if you paid $1.50 for it last week when you could have bought it for $1.25 this week?

If you are retired, you might argue that you won’t be around in 10 years time and that shares are therefore not an appropriate investment. This is not true. The biggest investment risk retired investors face is that they will outlive their investment funds. If you need $5,000 a year to supplement your pension and you live for less than 10 years, then you will require a maximum of $50,000 to be invested in short term, stable investments. Any investment funds over this amount could be invested long term (i.e. for 10 years or more) in shares for a higher return, thus reducing the risk of outliving investment funds and increasing the value of your estate.

Liz Koh is a financial planner and the author of the best selling book – Your Money Personality: Unlock the Secret to a Rich and Happy Life, Awa Press, 2008, available from http://www.awapress.com

For Liz’s best tips for financial security, visit her website http://www.moneymaxcoach.com to receive your free e-book “8 Steps to Financial Freedom”.

At first glance the best investment strategy in late 2007 was to sell every stock investment you held; and the best strategy in early 2009 was to put 100% of your investment portfolio into stocks. The result would have been no investment losses in 2008 and big profits in 2009 and early 2010. Your odds of doing this without a crystal ball were about zero. But with a simple and sound investment strategy you can make the best of any market situation.

The best investment strategy is not a formula that tells you when to dump one investment asset and when to buy and hold another on a short term basis. Trying to time the markets is speculation and beyond the scope of sensible investing for the average investor. What you need is a longer-term sound plan that only requires minor adjustments over time. Let’s look at the key elements to putting together your best investment strategy for long term profits with less risk.

You must take risk into consideration when judging the results of, or putting together any investment strategy. Our crystal ball scenario went from an asset allocation of zero for stock investment to 100%. Not only is this strategy very risky, it is also short-sighted. It begs the question: what do you do in 2010 and beyond? When do you cut your stock investment and run, and where do you go next? Overstay your welcome and your stock investment profits could evaporate in a few months, because the truth of the matter is that you have no long term investment strategy at all.

As an average investor, taking risk without a plan is not the way to play the investment game. It’s your money and it’s important to you. View putting together your best investment strategy like this: you want to earn in the neighborhood of 10% a year over the long term taking only a moderate amount of risk. This means that you will likely never make 50% or more in a year because you have no crystal ball. It also means that you have a real good chance of avoiding big losses that can upset your future financial plans (like a secure retirement) as well.

Every good investment strategy focuses on asset allocation. This means that you allocate your money by diversifying and spreading it across all four, or at least three of the asset classes. Starting with the safest these are: cash equivalents, bonds, stocks, and perhaps other investments called alternative investments (like real estate, foreign or international securities, and gold). The simplest and best way for you to do this is through mutual funds that invest in each of these areas: money market, bond, stock, and specialty funds, respectively.

For example, if you want relatively low risk and simplicity you might allocate 1/3 each to a money market fund, a bond fund, and a stock fund. At the beginning of each year you review your investment portfolio to make sure your asset allocation is on track. If, for example, your stock investment has grown from 33% to 40% of your to total investment value, move money from your stock fund to the other two to make them all equal again. By doing this you are taking money off the table from your riskier stock investment when the market gets pricey, and adding money to stocks when prices are lower. In this way you have lower risk, no need for a crystal ball, and you know exactly what you are going to do each and every new year.

If you feel the need to keep it simple, do so as in our example above. If you want to take the best investment strategy to the next level include international stock funds and specialty equity funds like real estate and gold funds. The added advantage here is that in the past these alternative investments have proven to have the potential to offset losses when stock prices in general are falling. In short, they offer even more diversification to your asset allocation.

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.

You can learn to invest in 2010 or you can invest with the crowd. Invest like most folks and you might not be a happy camper. Here’s why now is the time to learn to invest. Consider what follows to be your personal financial stimulus package for getting up to speed and on your way to financial success… with a financial education.

There are two basic reasons you need to learn to invest in 2010. First, the gravy train is over. Your employer and your government have their own problems and can not afford to guarantee your financial future. Second, it will not be easy to make money investing in the future. Uncle Sam is up to his eyeballs in debt and major corporations are fighting to grow sales and profits in a new competitive world economy. The future of Social Security is suspect, and traditional pension plans are going by the wayside.

Today it’s a matter of: learn to invest your own money in a contributory retirement plan or an IRA if you work for a living. If you’re older, it’s learn to invest what money you have stashed away or suffer the consequences. In the world of investing money today there is no longer a good safe place to hide and ignore the economy and the markets, because interest rates are near all-time lows. That’s a sword that swings both ways. If you seek the safety of fixed investments like CDs you earn little interest. Try to make money investing in riskier investments like stocks, bonds and real estate and you’re asking for trouble without a financial education.

Our government has been holding interest rates down to stimulate a lackluster economy. Sooner or later rates will rise and inflation will likely follow. Will future higher interest rates give the safety-minded a good safe place to park money? Not if inflation rises to offset the gain in interest rates. Will stocks and real estate be good investments? Only if the economy improves and people can find jobs and pay their bills. And what about bonds?

Bonds will be a guaranteed loser when interest rates and inflation take off. And that’s a problem for the millions of investors who hold bond funds, including those who fled other investments in search of the relative safety and higher interest income offered (under normal circumstances) by bond investments. The problem with the higher interest income from bonds is that it is FIXED for the life of the bond. As the interest rate goes up for new bond issues, the value of existing bond investments will fall as they become less attractive.

Now, do you really want to face the above scenario without a financial education? Even if you have a financial planner? If you plan to invest in 2010 and beyond do yourself a favor and learn to invest, starting with investment basics. Once you understand the investment basics of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate and other alternative investments you’re ready to tackle the investing aspect. Your ultimate goal: putting together a sound investment strategy, with asset allocation and proven investing tools like balance & rebalance and dollar cost averaging working for you.

Without a sound investment strategy you are investing with the crowd, uninformed. The crowd did not make money investing last decade. They lost money and are likely in for more of the same in the future with the threats of higher interest rates and inflation lurking in the shadows. Be different, and get yourself and your level of financial education up to speed!

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.

First and foremost, college students have more resources than they think. Even if you can just put away a few dollars each week, you are still working towards creating a sound investment portfolio even during your university years. Ten or twenty dollar a week doesn’t seem like much but it adds up quickly.

Remember to pay yourself first. So many students fail to see that they should pay themselves for the work that they do. Most suggest that ten percent of a person’s income should go into retirement or into savings. When investing money while in college, you can opt to go for this lofty goal or you can opt for a smaller amount.

List your sources of income. Work Study programs are designed to help students pay tuition. However, some of this money may go above and beyond the basic tuition payments. Anything above your basic tuition costs can be rolled into a savings account, an IRA or into mutual funds.

Since most college students are young, they have the unique opportunity to go aggressive with their stocks and mutual funds. This is a daring approach and many may prefer to take a slow and steady approach to their college investments. The choice depends on your philosophy and your future outlook on your investments down the road.

Keep in mind that stocks will generally be more risky than mutual funds. You can still opt to go aggressive in the mutual fund investments but they are still a little safer than playing the stock market. Also, don’t fret about not putting enough money away in your savings venture. As long as you are contributing something you are ahead of the game.

Consider your years attending a university as a series of investments. You will be putting in time to achieve goals. Once you have earned your degree you can move on to your professional career, an IRA and many more investment opportunities.

Students are already investing their time and effort into earning a degree. Why not continue in the spirit of preparing for a bright future by investing money while in college?

To learn much more about the investment and finance, visit http://world-online-resources.com/finance/ where you’ll find this and much more, including invesmet, finance, insurance, mortgage rates and quotes.