Investment Articles

If you feel clueless and don’t know how to invest for 2011 and beyond consider yourself a member of the majority. The truth is that it isn’t easy to invest and make money at it these days. Don’t give up the ship, because every-day people CAN invest with only moderate risk and keep things simple once they know some basic rules of the road and what type of investments to invest in.

If you’re smart enough to follow sports statistics or to compete in popular board games, you’re smart enough to learn how to invest in 2011 and the years that follow. Every game has its objectives, rules, and key elements you need to know in order to win. The world of investments and investing is no different. Most people don’t know how to invest simply because they’ve never been pointed in the right direction or taught the key elements of the investing game.

In the 1990s it was easy to invest and make good investment returns. You could simply buy stocks and hold on and you were good to go for a decade. Then for 10 years the markets got tough and people who didn’t really have a solid handle on how to invest lost money, especially in the stock market. While planning for 2011, millions of investors were still waiting to break even after the real estate and stock debacle of 2007 to 2009.

With interest rates near record lows and a sluggish economy, no investment these days clearly stands out as the best bet or a sure thing. To succeed as an investor now you’ll need to learn how to invest for 2011 and beyond by diversifying across asset classes to keep your risk moderate. Diversification or balance is the key element to success in uncertain times in the game of investing. The good news is that achieving it and winning in the process is easier than you might think.

You don’t need to know how to invest and pick stocks in the stock market, how to analyze bond issues, or where to find the best interest rates in order to make money as an investor today. You can simplify things by putting together your own diversified investment portfolio by investing in mutual funds where professionals do the day to day management for you. Diversification is the signature of these investor-friendly investment packages, that are actually designed with the average (or even clueless) investor in mind. Once you get familiar with the companies that offer funds and learn the process of how to invest in them, you’ll have all the investment options you need in the form of stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds.

The key to investing for people who don’t have the time or expertise to manage a long list of investments is to invest in a variety of mutual funds from all three of the categories mentioned above. Go heavier on money market funds if you want more safety, give emphasis to bond funds if higher interest income is your main objective, or give stock funds top priority in your investment mix if you’re willing to accept more risk for higher profit potential. The rules of the road for how to invest in 2011 and beyond points to mutual funds, the investment of choice for those who don’t want to remain clueless.

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.

Investing is not just a fastest way for the wealth generation but is also a smart way of making the money work for you. Though many persons advice us to invest, but the reality is that not many are aware of the requisite knowledge or have required skills for making sound decisions on the investment.

Working closely with the experts in this field is the safest and fastest way to gain knowledge but main problem here is that “someone else” is managing your dollars. You have to be careful in all this. You should realize that the money to be invested is yours and thus investing is also your responsibility. It is a fact that nobody can look after your money in a way you yourself can.

When we discuss investing we can quite often get influenced by the estimated earnings or the prospective growth. We also get carried away when we see our stocks or funds performing well.

You should pay specific attention of two aspects as they can turn out to be death traps for any smart investment.

1. Fees

I’ve been insisting on you to start making investment yourself without seeking any help from the financial advisors because of the large fees which is involved.

These financial advisor or fund managers are all here in this business to make money and these guys don’t make money by investing their own money but instead earn the money by charging the fees for investing your money. Now this fee can sometimes take a large chunk of your margins as there are fees for each aspect of the investment.

You should make sure as to what you will be charged for and when to minimize your expenses as much as you can.

2. Taxes

It is a fact that taxes make a large part of your investment strategy and in several ways these expenses should be paid particular attention.

You revenue service charges a capital gains tax (tax on the profit made by you on your investment). It greatly varies from a nation to nation. If you are from European country and are trading in the United States, then you will have to check this minutely as you may have to pay lot of taxes.

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Investing is not only the fastest way to build wealth but its also the smartest way to let money work for you. Everyone tells us to invest, but the truth is that most people simply do not have the skill or the knowledge to make smart investment decisions. Working with experts is a great way to obtain that knowledge but the big problem with this is the fact that its “someone else” managing your money. You need to take great care with this. Always remember that its your money and your responsibility. No one will look after your money the way you would.

When it comes to investing we can often get carried away with prospective growth and with estimated earnings. We can even get carried away when we see our fund or our stocks doing really well. There are two aspects of investing that you need to pay particular attention to as this can be the death-trap of any successful investment.

1. TaxesTaxes makes up a huge part of your investing strategy and in many ways its an expense that you need to pay particular attention to. Capital gains tax is charged by your revenue service (unless you are in a so-called tax haven) and its basically taxing the profit you make on your investments. It varies greatly from country to country and if you are in Europe and trading the US markets you need to check this out very closely as you can pay a lot in taxes.

2. FeesOne of the reasons why I would encourage you to start investing on your own as soon as possible is because of this thing called fees. Financial advisers and fund managers are in the business of making money and hey don’t make their money from investing but rather from charging you for investing your money. Fees can take up a large chunk of your profit and depending on what you invest in, there are fees for virtually every aspect of the investment. Make sure you know exactly what and when you will be charged a fee – and then try and minimize that as much as possible.

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Investments are always a smart choice when you planning to earn big in order to become rich. If you do your homework before investing and do not rush into quick money making schemes then you can easily earn big and get rich in the end.

In recent times of economic downfall getting financial stability has become a matter of concern for many people out there. All of us have still harbor the dream of becoming rich. But, we often keep on wondering what the ideal way to become rich is. You will find many lucrative and easy ways to get rich fast. But often theses ways may backfire and you may end up losing more than you gained. So it’s always better to think of smart and secure ways of getting rich or get financial stability in your life. One such stable, yet secure, mean is investments. With smart investments you can easily become rich and also secure your wealth at the same time.

You may wonder how it is possible to make smart investments and become rich at the same time. Well, there are a few significant steps to do so. Here’s a short guide of what you really need to do.
• Investment is a vast concept. So before you really get into investments you better make yourself well equipped with all the required knowledge on all kinds of financial investments which can earn you some great returns.
• Be wise and do not rush in and invest all that you earn in one place. Invest only the amount you can afford to so can you can maintain a healthy lifestyle at the same time also.
• Don’t invest in something that promises to make you rich overnight. Usually these promises result in scams or frauds. So don’t play with your money and invest in something which offers a return that is too good and true.
• Before you invest get all the information related to that particular field of investment. You can easily consult any financial ad-visor or go online to search for information related to that particular investment plan. For example in you are into stocks you better take up a mini course over stocks which are easily available over the internet. But do not let anyone talk you into making an investment you are not willing to do or can’t afford. Always think logically and make wise choices for you which will suit your needs the best and also pay you great in return.
• Always read the information provided on the agreements of the investments you are looking to make for any hidden costs. Don’t go for something which says “free” as it may cost you a lot later.
• However, you may ask where to invest smartly to become rich in a short span of time? Mutual fund is always a good and wise choice in terms of smart investments. But always make sure you understand all the pros and cons and all the facts related to mutual funds and how it works. But do not buy them when they are going for a capital gain distribution and understand the expense ratio well before you invest in any such funds.

No matter where you invest, always think wise and do your research before taking the next step with your investments as this is your hard earned money and you don’t want it to go in vain in your quest to become rich fast.

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Having a hobby is always a great thing, because the hobby can fill in that extra time that would usually have been wasted watching television, and, instead, that time will be spent doing something one loves to do. There are many different things people do as hobbies, but coin collecting is extremely popular. There are so many different kinds of coins out there to collect, which is a big reason why people like to collect coins. This article will specifically discuss a few platinum coins that would look good in anyone’s collection.

The American Platinum Eagle coin is one of the most popular platinum coins out there, and everyone would love to have it in their collection. It’s the official platinum bullion of the U.S.A. This platinum was released in 1997 by the United States Mint, and it’s offered in a variety of sizes, such as 1/10 oz., 1/4 oz., 1/2 oz., and 1 oz. Later on, proof and uncirculated versions of this particular coin were made. These design on the back of the proof and uncirculated versions change every year, so they are extremely popular to collectors.

Platinum Maple Leafs are supplied by Canada’s Royal Canadian Mint, and they are extremely popular as well. These platinum pieces have an excellent design that really represents Canada well. The Canadian Maple Leaf is on each piece, and the weight and purity of the piece is also listed on the back. On the front of this coin is Elizabeth II, the year, and how much the item is actually worth. The overall design of this coin is spectacular, and that’s why this is another great thing to add to any coin collection.

The Platinum Koalas from Australia are also a great addition to any collection. These platinum beauties have nice picture of a Koala bear in a tree with the words ‘Australian Koala’ on the edge as well as the size and the purity of the item. The year and a pure platinum authenticity acknowledgment are both also engraved on if. With such a great design and its high value, the Platinum Koala coin from Australia is yet another great coin to add to any coin collection.

The combination of some nice platinum coins to compliment your gold coin collection is usually a great way to go in terms of making a smart, diversified investment. We highly recommend you consider these along with the Gold Eagle!

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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.

Determining how to invest your money is an important decision. You need to consider how much money you have available to invest, how involved you want to be in managing the investment on a daily basis, what risk level you can take, and the time period or average term of your investment.

Long-Term Solution: Common Stocks

For long-term investments, the stock market has proven to give the best return. Share prices should theoretically reflect the fair market value, so as long as you have the capital available to put together a large enough portfolio, you should see a steady growth in your net worth over time. Share value will increase as the company grows, which in the case of well-established companies, is generally fast enough to keep up with or beat inflation. The biggest problem people have with investing money this way is that they carry too much risk by holding shares in only a few companies. If any one of these businesses goes under or even just has a bad year, your capital is going to take a big hit.

Low-Risk Investing: Mutual Funds

To lower this risk, even if you don’t have $100,000 earmarked for investing, you can buy into a mutual fund. In this manner, the capital of 1000s of investors is pooled together and managed in the stock market by business professionals. Here you get the benefit of diversified investment without the need for a large start-up fund. The downside to mutual funds is that they are managed as a business, and some of the profit is skimmed off the top to pay salaries, overhead, and brokerage fees. It is important that you read the fine print before investing in a mutual fund so that you understand just how much these costs will eat into your profit. You may find that your bank or credit union offers an index fund, which is similar to a mutual fund, but structured so that more of the profit is directed to the investors rather than the management team.

Alternatives to Investing in the Stock Market

1. Bonds

Bonds are a more predictable investing alternative to the stock market. When you buy a bond, you are essentially loaning the issuer money, which they agree to pay back at a fixed interest rate. Most bonds are backed by the government, and are a reliable way to invest money that you don’t need access to for 5 or more years. Note that government-issued bonds may continue to accrue interest even after reaching maturity, so depending on the interest rates being offered by banks and other lenders, you may choose to hold on to the bonds even longer.

2. Precious Metals

If you lack confidence in the dollar or other global currency, you may consider investing in precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum. The value of these metals is not as susceptible to inflation as paper money, so you can enjoy some piece of mind when you have metal saved away. All you have to do to start investing is go to a dealer to buy bullion that you keep locked up at home or in a safety deposit box. You can monitor the price of gold or other metals just as you would stocks, and then return to the dealer to sell your holdings as desired.

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The longer one is involved in the investment sector the more you realise that being a successful investor is 20% market nous and 80% avoiding stupid mistakes. As legendary investor Warren Buffett put it; “investing is simple, not easy”.

With that in mind, Hhere are some of the more common potholes that continue to trip up investors.

Having unrealistic expectations
Shares have been the best performing investment over the past 60-70 years and have returned around 10% a year. During periods when inflation is low and rising returns tend to be more like 8% a year.

Investors gunning for returns of 15% plus will have to take huge risks to get there by putting all their money on a few shares or properties, or by using debt to gear their portfolio. The higher return you aim for, the higher the chances that you fail. As they say, aiming for the moon can mean you end up in a black hole.

Falling for con artists
There are many unsavoury characters out there that play on people’s gullibility and greed by offering unrealistic returns. Do not get sucked in. If it sounds to good to be true, it will be. I have seen return projections of 20%, 50% and even 150% a year offered to investors. Such returns are complete nonsense. They simply defy the laws of gravity. Consider $100,000 invested today and earning 50% a year. If you manage to earn this return every year you will be a billionaire in 23 years. You will then overtake Bill Gates as the world’s richest person after 35 years. Do you really think this is going to happen? High returns are simply unsustainable over long periods of time and the people offering them are guessing, at best.

Putting too much emphasis on market predictions
Within the investment industry there is an army of very smart investment analysts,economists, strategists and fund managers all getting paid to eyeball markets and come up with the next best investment idea.

Although this research is usually very interesting, and often backed up with very nice colour coded charts, much of the time it is wrong. What trips up all of these experts is not their analysis, but the fact that they are dealing with future events. The future is 100% unpredictable and even the most robust research can be proved worthless by a completely unforeseen event.

Smart investors recognise that nobody can predict the future direction of investment markets and that it is dangerous to put too much stock in such predictions.

Following the crowd
Investors have a fatal habit of chasing what’s hot. Unfortunately, past performance has no bearing on future performance and in fact, last year’s winners can often end up as next year’s wooden spooners.

Lack of balance
The biggest investment tragedies happen when people have their portfolio excessively concentrated on one investment, or one investment sector. The golden rule of investment is to have a good spread of investments across the main sectors; cash, bonds, shares, property and overseas investments.

Fees
This four-letter word has spelled disaster for generation after generation of investors who put their faith in such traditional savings products like whole of life policies and super schemes.

The costs involved with these funds have decimated returns leaving almost nothing for the investor.

Fees are arguably the biggest threat to an investor’s long-term returns. For instance, a super fund that earns 8.0% on its portfolio will have management fees of at least 1.5% then deducted then tax of 2.0%. Take off another 1.5% for advisory fees and 2.5% for inflation the investor at the end of the food chain is left with a return of just 0.5%. Reduce fees by investing directly into markets wherever possible.

Cam Watson is the Chief Investment Officer for ABN AMRO Craigs, which is one of New Zealand’s largest independent investment firms. He has over 18 years experience in the financial services industry. For eleven years Cam has been employed with ABN AMRO Craigs, becoming Chief Investment Officer in 2007.

Cam holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) Diploma. He has been a member of the NZX since 2001 and has a current Sharebroker Licence. As with all ABN Amro Craigs Investment Advisors, Cam is required to maintain continuous internal performance modules, covering topics such as industry and regulatory developments. He also has the support and resources of ABN AMRO Craigs global research network. http://www.abnamrocraigs.com/

Everybody wishes that money would grow on trees. Sadly there aren’t money growing Amazon trees, but if you are sensible, your money can double itself. Thru good advice from others, luck and smart investment strategies, you will find yourself with additional money regardless of the state of the economy. Before you can even understand what would be great investment strategies, it’d be useful to grasp the investment terms and lingo. Here’s a basic start to helping you understand the complexities of investing your money and creating the right methods that may provide you with then result that you desire.

When coping with investment strategies there are two major actions. There are passive strategies and active strategies. Passive investment strategies are used to keep transactions costs down. What’s an exchange cost? When coping with stocks, you are buying and selling. There’s the price of a broker who deals with your stocks and does the purchasing and selling. It costs you to pay a broker to make these transactions for you. For active techniques, these cope with the timing of the market in wants to gain the biggest returns for your money. Although these are generally known, there are other avenues to travel also.

Another preferred idea is named the buy and hold. This is thought to be a long-term investment system. When folk invest their money in the market, they have a tendency to buy when the market is in a high and sell when the market hits a slump. In fact it is best to buy when the market is low and sell when it hits a high. When you purchase and hold, instead of attempting to sell at the highs, you hang onto your stock for years in hopes that it will grow like compounding interest.

When purchasing and holding, there are plenty of different ways in which you can invest your cash that’ll be beneficial. Investment strategies include using funds, index funds, S&P five hundred, and exchange-traded fund known as the ETF. A mutual fund is a collection of investment stocks sold as one. This way you’re able to widen your fund and hopefully get the most for your cash. And index fund, also known as an index tracker, is a collection of different investments that would not be possible for individual financiers to purchase. Costs are shared by many speculators to gain these investments.

The S&P 5 hundred are stocks that are curved by the entire market value of the excellent shares. Put simply, as the market changes the value of the stocks change due to those swings and roundabouts. The S&P 500 is an investment in the largest common stocks of massive public companies. These are called NYSE and the NDX. The exchange-traded fund deals typically with stock exchanges. Some use the ETF for their investment strategies as it is tax friendly and has lower costs. There are more sorts of investments you can put your money into, but these are the commonest and well known methods to invest.

Mr. McLaughlin lives in the United States with his beautiful wife and 2 kids. He enjoys spending time with his family, camping, hunting, and playing with his two yellow labs: Kate and Ace. A perfect Saturday night for Mr. McLaughlin is taking his wife out on a date.

If you’ve been bitten by the coin bug you will no doubt understand the title question and in some cases be truly asking yourself, “Am I a coin collector or investor – or do I have a bit of both flowing through my veins?” Well I write at risk of adding to the confusion, but feel compelled to answer the question…

Is it simply a case of collectors amassing a general theme of coins (that they enjoy for whatever reason) to “pass on” to the Grandkids and Investors simply buying for future profit? I think not. OK, say you are looking for a diversified Investment away from the usual stock market or gold buys. If you are astute you may well have seen how the coin and banknote market has done very well over recent years and continues to show strong growth. You research quality dealers, receive their pitch and decide upon a coin / set that will appreciate further. You lock it away and throw away the key until it comes time to sell – sometime before you die! The coin may as well be a Da Vinci Painting for all you care because you’re not into paintings either! That is Coin Investment.

Sway slightly away from the above model and you become tainted with the title of “Collector”. Take the Investor’s example above, same scenario except you either take an interest in the origins of the coin or you get a peek at it and are instantly taken by the notion that something so insignificantly beautiful or rare is in your possession. You want to learn more or heaven forbid make a purchase along the same theme – your investment has just become a collection!

Then there’s the proletariat masses of coin collectors who should not be taken lightly. They can quickly take a recently released coin and give it eternal fame or suffering! These people adore a Penny regardless of it’s rarity or condition. They are the have to haves of the coin world. I just have to have every penny from the war years or every space themed release from around the globe. They often purchase up and over investment prices with a view to never letting go. I give you the Life-long Collectors! Their Grandkids may well become the recipients of an eccentric fortune.

Very interesting is the relationship between the two. Collectors drive the profit for Investors. Collectors give a coin fame, Investors swoop in as agents ready to sign them up. Which one are you?

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