Investment Articles

Wine has been giving investors a healthy return on investment for a long time, it has out performed the stock market for three consecutive decades and can achieve a return of investment of up to 30%, there are however a few steps you will need to make before getting into the world of fine wine investment.

Step 1. Find a reputable wholesale wine merchant that knows the investment market – it is important that they can offer free advice and have an inside out knowledge of different wines suitable for investment.

Step 2. Make sure that your merchant offers free storage for the duration of your investment in bonded warehouses which you are aloud to visit at any time during your ownership of the wine.

Step 3. When choosing the types of wines to invest in try and keep in within the Bordeaux variety unless your an experienced expert, as 90% of the investment market is in these types of wine, there is suitable liquidity and growth potential.

Step 4. Make sure that you are happy with your portfolio selection and your merchant before making any buying decision

Step 5. Make sure you have an exit strategy, most people do not keep wine for more than 5 years as this is usually the optimum time to sell it if you where planning for a long term investment, but there is nothing stopping you from selling it sooner, It would be wise to keep it for at least 1 year to get a decent return.

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If you would like to speak to a reputable company about the opportunity to invest in wine, and get a free investor pack with more information then please visit our website at: www.lifestyleinvestments.org

The Sunday times has been running the “Sunday Times Wine Club” for quite some time now, for the savvy investor it is a wealth of information about new trends in the wine market and can be used to tern a profit for both long term and short term investments in wine. If you’re new to investing in wine, then it is best to stick with the Bordeaux wines as this counts for up to 90% of the investor market, and has more liquidity if you where to decide to cash in your investment.

The minimum time frame people usually look at investing in fine wines is 1 year though 5 years is considered the maximum about of time for a long term investment, you can see returns of up to 30% a year from your portfolio.

Before investing in any wine it is best to get expert advice on what wines are likely to make high yielding investments, any wholesale wine merchant that supplies for the investment market should have a good idea on what’s hot at the moment but a bit of knowledge yourself can never hurt.

Wine is certainly less volatile than the stock market, and has out performed the FTSE 100 for three consecutive decades with lack of interest form investment bankers and hedge funds due to the small size of the wine market this has allowed it to remain open for normal investors to profit from.

Wine has become increasingly popular in the alternative investment market and continues to grow, the main reason is that there is solid demand for the product outside the investor market which means the prices are help purely from speculation like you may find with stocks and shares.

Summary: If you would like to learn more about investing in wine, then visit our site and get a free investor pack to explore this opportunity in more detail, go now to: http://www.lifestyleinvestments.org/wine.php?id=ez-wine

Wine has provided some fantastic returns for investors over the last couple of years, and has out performed the stock market for three decades giving investors a return of up to 30%! But there are some things you should know before you consider before investing in wine.

1) Make sure you go with a company that can offer free advice and has good understanding of the market, the most important thing when building a wine portfolio is spread the investment across different wines any company that is not able to give free advice would probably be best to avoid.

2) Make sure they offer free storage in bonded warehouses, any good wine merchant offering wine as an investment should offer free storage included in the price for the duration of your planned investment (usually 5 years max) any company that wishes to charge you extra for this service is short changing you on your investment.

3) Keep your portfolio within the Bordeaux wines if you are not an expert as this is where 90% of the investment market gravitates towards, anything outside of this could leave you open to unnecessary risk.

4) Make sure that the company that arranges and stores the wine for you allows you to visit the bonded warehouses to see your wine in person, any company that does not allow you to do this I would avoid.

5) Make sure the company arraigning the investment has the ownership of the wine in your name rather than being like a fund, this way it gives you the security of owning a tangible assets and insulates you from any financial troubles they may have as an organisation.

6) Make sure you have an exit strategy, although you can sell your wine at any time it usually best not to hold onto it any longer than 5 years, make sure you know when you are going to cash in and plan accordingly.

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Looking for a company that meets all the above criteria? Apply for a free investor pack at our website and speak with one of our helpful advisers: www.lifestyleinvestments.org

If you want to make money from buying and selling financial instruments, you may as well join a group of investors who know how to take risks and get higher returns on their investments. Most people view investors as people who are concerned with making investments, whether they are investing in stocks, bonds or foreign exchange. Investors are commonly referred to as a set of people or companies that are deeply concerned with buying or selling equity, debt securities or other financial instruments for a financial gain. Not only are investments made in stocks and bonds, but investors may also purchase assets, personal property, foreign currency and other commodity derivatives to make money. There are several different types of investors; let’s look at a few of them and the nature of the investments that they partake in.

Individual Investors

These individuals basically make their own investment decisions. To practice investments as an individual, you will need to undertake quite a number of researches to understand how the investment of interests operates and how to maximize on your profit levels. It is highly recommended that when you are going to invest on your own, you develop a portfolio that is diversified, meaning, you don’t have all your money in one type of investment, but rather your investments are stretched across a number of investment schemes and programs. By having a diversified portfolio it will mean that you will have lowered your risks, mainly because the investment markets can fluctuate but all the investments never usually goes down at the same time, while some go up others will go down and vice versa.

Investment Trusts

In this type of investment, investors’ money is pooled together. At the launch of the trust, they will offer the sale of a number of stocks that are bought by people who have invested in the trust. The trust will then move to invest that large sum of money on the behalf of their stock purchasers. The investment trust will invest your money in lucrative stocks and shares in a number of companies to obtain a financial gain. In general, when the trust gains from investing your money, they will give you a percentage of that gain, therefore, the higher the gain on the investments by the trust, the higher the returns on your investment.

Angel Investors

If you are a wealthy individual, you should consider investing into a company that is new. An angel investor is someone who provides large start-up capital for a business in return for ownership equity and some convertible debt. It’s like you will be the person who starts the business financially, you may even be considered as the ultimate owner. In most recent times, there are some angel groups which are formed to invest in business.

Real Estate Investment

One of the most lucrative types of investment opportunity is purchasing property. If you can purchase a number of properties, you could be in for a fantastic way of making money in the form of rental income. The thing is people will always want somewhere to live and if you can provide somewhere for them to live you can make a stable income and high profitability.

For information about finding and comparing the best online Stock Brokers, visit http://www.yourbrokerguide.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.

Should you buy gold with gold prices soaring or buy stocks for the long term growth stocks have traditionally provided? A follow up question is how to invest in 2010 and beyond in gold and stocks without taking heavy risks. Here we take a look at gold vs. stocks from the average investor’s point of view.

What does history tell us about gold vs. stocks as investment options… or precious metals vs. equities? Except for the past 10 years or so, equities (stock investments) have produced average long-term returns of about 10% a year, while the yellow metal has had a sketchy record. Its price was fixed at $35 an ounce in the U.S. from the 1930’s through the early 1970’s. It then traded up to $200 within a few years and hit $850 in 1980. When stock investments were soaring in the 1990’s, the world’s favorite precious metal was a dead issue, settling back to below $300 by the end of the decade.

In the past 10 years or so, gold vs. stocks has favored the former which was trading at an all-time high of over $1200 an ounce in 2010, while equities struggled through the ongoing fears of a threatening financial crisis. So, the question is how to invest in 2010 and going forward… buy gold at record prices, or buy stocks? Keep in mind the following: from 1982 through 1999, investing was easy as the stock market had its longest run upward in history. Since then investors have had a rough road to travel with fear and uncertainty the rule rather than the exception…which no doubt explains the rise in precious metals prices.

Both investment options belong in the average investor’s portfolio, and you don’t need to take on excessive risk to own both. Equity funds (mutual funds) are the answer to how to invest in 2010 and going forward. Diversified equity funds that invest in U.S. companies and funds that invest internationally should be held for long-term growth and higher returns over the long term. Equity funds that specialize in the precious metals sector should be held as a hedge against uncertainty. These precious metals funds own shares in companies that mine and process the yellow metal as well as silver and other rare metals. When these commodities rise in price, fund investors go along for the ride.

In fact, by holding both diversified equity funds and precious metals funds you actually lower the overall risk in your portfolio as one can work to offset losses in the other over the long term. So, it’s not really a question of gold vs. stocks for the average investor; but rather how much to invest in each as a percent of your total stock or equity portfolio. As a rule of thumb for your stock portfolio, here’s how to invest in 2010 and beyond if you are an average investor in search of growth without undue risk.

Invest 50% in diversified domestic (U.S.) equity funds… 25% in diversified international funds… and no more than 10% in precious metals funds. With the rest you might want to explore the investment options in other specialty funds, like: real estate and natural resources funds. Diversification will be the key to success in the uncertain times that lie ahead. And the average investor’s best way to diversify is through mutual funds.

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.

Should you buy gold with gold prices soaring or buy stocks for the long term growth stocks have traditionally provided? A follow up question is how to invest in 2010 and beyond in gold and stocks without taking heavy risks. Here we take a look at gold vs. stocks from the average investor’s point of view.

What does history tell us about gold vs. stocks as investment options… or precious metals vs. equities? Except for the past 10 years or so, equities (stock investments) have produced average long-term returns of about 10% a year, while the yellow metal has had a sketchy record. Its price was fixed at $35 an ounce in the U.S. from the 1930’s through the early 1970’s. It then traded up to $200 within a few years and hit $850 in 1980. When stock investments were soaring in the 1990’s, the world’s favorite precious metal was a dead issue, settling back to below $300 by the end of the decade.

In the past 10 years or so, gold vs. stocks has favored the former which was trading at an all-time high of over $1200 an ounce in 2010, while equities struggled through the ongoing fears of a threatening financial crisis. So, the question is how to invest in 2010 and going forward… buy gold at record prices, or buy stocks? Keep in mind the following: from 1982 through 1999, investing was easy as the stock market had its longest run upward in history. Since then investors have had a rough road to travel with fear and uncertainty the rule rather than the exception…which no doubt explains the rise in precious metals prices.

Both investment options belong in the average investor’s portfolio, and you don’t need to take on excessive risk to own both. Equity funds (mutual funds) are the answer to how to invest in 2010 and going forward. Diversified equity funds that invest in U.S. companies and funds that invest internationally should be held for long-term growth and higher returns over the long term. Equity funds that specialize in the precious metals sector should be held as a hedge against uncertainty. These precious metals funds own shares in companies that mine and process the yellow metal as well as silver and other rare metals. When these commodities rise in price, fund investors go along for the ride.

In fact, by holding both diversified equity funds and precious metals funds you actually lower the overall risk in your portfolio as one can work to offset losses in the other over the long term. So, it’s not really a question of gold vs. stocks for the average investor; but rather how much to invest in each as a percent of your total stock or equity portfolio. As a rule of thumb for your stock portfolio, here’s how to invest in 2010 and beyond if you are an average investor in search of growth without undue risk.

Invest 50% in diversified domestic (U.S.) equity funds… 25% in diversified international funds… and no more than 10% in precious metals funds. With the rest you might want to explore the investment options in other specialty funds, like: real estate and natural resources funds. Diversification will be the key to success in the uncertain times that lie ahead. And the average investor’s best way to diversify is through mutual funds.

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 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 anyone is still holding onto the hope that we are simply in a financial slump and not a full blown recession, it’s time to accept the facts. The economy of the United States and the world in general is is the dumps. Businesses are still failing every day and the housing bubble is a long way away from recovery. But as is often said, from misfortune and disaster comes hope and opportunity. A financial crisis holds many opportunities for those who know how to find them and use them to the best advantage.

Only the most sociopathic among us are happy to take advantage of the suffering of others. But in a financial crisis, recovery often depends on just such action. Don’t think about it in terms of other people’s misfortune but rather in your good luck. Economic recovery depends on new opportunities arising. By doing everything possible to profit from the recession, you are actually helping the population and the economy in general.

Experts agree that the economic recovery depends on the recovery of the housing market. You can help with this while at the same time getting yourself a great deal on a home. Housing prices are at a near all time low when adjusted for inflation. Banks are desperate to remove these toxic properties from the books. To do so they are willing to offer you outstanding deals on price as well as mortgage interest rates. It’s sad that so many people have lost their homes, but the economy first must recover before these people can ever hope to once again own a home. Do your part by putting yourself into a foreclosed home.

Many Americans lost fortunes in the stock market over the last couple of years. Their loss is literally your gain. If you have the liquid capital available to invest, the deals are simply amazing. The stock market will rebound and those who are able to invest now will be the ones who see a huge return on their investment. 25% or higher annual returns on stock market investments are not farfetched.

Consumer products such as cars are also at a near all time bargain. Car manufacturers are suffering to an even greater degree than other sectors of the economy and have received billions in government loans. They are forced to pass along some great deals to consumers. If you are even considering buying a new auto, do it now. The deals are just too good to pass up.

The recession sucks. It’s that simple. But it doesn’t have to mean the end of our economic structure. For those who are still liquid, this economy represents the best opportunities we have seen in several decades. New wealth is waiting to be made and wise investors can turn this situation into something truly spectacular. We are all sad for those who lost so much due to the bad decisions of others, but that doesn’t mean we are destined to suffer in poverty. Turn misfortune into success and take advantage of a downed economy.

For more financial advice from Sally, please visit her blog.