Where To Invest

When considering investment options, one that always comes up is the annuity. But what exactly is it? An annuity is an investment in which you make one or more payments into an account, and receive the money back, with interest, in payments. Depending on the type of annuity, these payments can be small or large, spread over a long or short time period. But what if you want a large sum of money all at once, or at least sooner than the terms of the annuity allow? It may be time to sell your annuity.

First, you should know that annuities vary widely, so you should learn as much as possible before investing. The terms can be complicated, so your best bet is to read as much as possible before investing. Annuities are generally safe, low-return investments, so they can be a good way of diversifying. However, they generally have low rates of return, so if you want to get a large sum of money you have to get creative.

There are several ways of selling an annuity, and all of them have their advantages and disadvantages. The most straight-forward way of selling is through a company. They do all the leg-work and pay the up-front costs, and in exchange they take a fee for selling. This reduces the total return from your annuity, but it is an easy and sure way of selling.

It is also possible to sell your annuity personally to another individual, although this can be complicated in some instances. However, there are online resources to help you sell your annuity to an interested buyer.

In addition to simply selling an annuity, you can trade your annuity or use it as collateral for a loan to get quick money. If you trade your annuity with someone who has one of equal value but a shorter payment term, you can get more money faster than your annuity will allow. Using it for collateral will also give you access to cash more quickly. You can also combine different methods, for example you can trade for an annuity that is easier to sell than yours, then sell it online or through a company.

All in all, it is important to remember that you have a lot of options with annuities. If the payment terms do not work in your favor, you have several options to get money virtually as soon as you need it.

Author: Joe William
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You should understand that day trading is not a body of knowledge or a science for that matter. Rather, it is an art which requires your skills in maneuvering things and some carefully laid out strategies to keep things going for the better. Yes, there may be profound techniques on how to better handle day trading and which came earlier than the time that you have decided to participate in the same craft but of course, you should also set yourself apart from the common day traders.

There is the necessity for you to come up with your very own style. More so, there is no standardized strategy to pursue day trading so you may push through with whatever technique that you find suited to you.

Here are some of the most relevant questions that you need to ponder on which will surely help you define your original strategies in trading.

How much time do you devote to trading stocks?

How long have you been involved in trading? Are you a regular or an occasional trader? Which way do you prefer to push through with trading?

Honestly, the time which you are willing to spend for trading matters.

You surely know that the marketplace can be a real threat at times. The prices may untimely rise and fall. Thus, the quantity of time that you are willing to devote for this is one of the many crucial considerations that you must face. It is important that you decide on your availability. The more time you have, the better. This is for the reason that you need to watch out the conditions of the market when you intend to sell your stocks.

How can you pinpoint the rightful stocks to trade?

As mentioned above, trading is an art. Hence, you need to identify the most possible stocks that are worth to trade. Take time to research and analyze the technicalities of the task. You can take tutorials from live seminars, cd-rom packages, online forums, newsletters, and webinars.

What are the factors that you must look into as you plan your trade?

Whatever type of stock it is that you have decided to trade, what matters most is that you aim for three factors. They are an aimed-at entry price, an exit price, and the stop loss. You need to consider the current selling price of the stocks in the market. Likewise, you should not keep your stocks for too long or you are going to put your profit gains at a risk.

How should you face the possibility of losing in day trading?

Not all of the traders succeed in their craft. You must remember that.

Everyone can be on the losing end. Naturally, you will be downtrodden when you fail in your trading endeavor but instead of sulking, you better pick up the pieces of your lost confidence and think positively. Win back whatever it is that you have lost. Move on and try to do better.

After all, the business world makes it clear that not everyone ends up a winner.

It is time that you define your visions in day trading and come up with an effective strategy with which you will be most comfortable to work with.

Author: Miodrag Trajkovic
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What advice could Tiger Woods possibly have for you as a trader? What could he possibly know about hitting a bid or getting out of a bad trade? When has Tiger ever felt the pressure to pay the bills with his next trade?

I would hope it is safe to assume that anyone reading this is savvy enough to know who Tiger Woods is. He is the worlds #1 golfer by a mile and he is projected by Forbes to become the first billionaire athlete by 2010.

If you ever hope to be successful, and hopefully enormously successful you absolutely positively need to take the advice I am about to give you. Study successful people. Not just successful traders. It doesn't matter if it is a grand master at chess, a violinist, a professional athlete, a dancer or a cook or a single mom raising 6 kids.

I am not talking about learning what they do; I am talking about listen to what they say about how they got there, what kind of effort it takes to get there, and what it takes to stay as one of the best. I am sure you want to succeed as a trader. I am sure you want to earn more money than you ever thought possible. I am sure you "want" it. Well I am here to tell you that wanting it is not enough, sorry to throw cold water on your face but it's the truth.

You need a burning desire. How do you know if you have burning desire? Are you willing to get a part time job while you are learning to pay your bills? Do you go to the office every day early and stay late every day to ask questions of those who are succeeding? Do you faithfully keep a journal every day?

When you were a kid did you practice because you wanted to or because you had to? Winners never have to be told to try a little harder next time. Winners never have to be asked to stay late to practice.

Do you go to the bookstore in your spare time or do you watch 6 hours of TV? Let me tell you a universal truth, how you spend your spare time is how you will spend your future.

One of the best places to read about success on a daily basis is Investor Business Daily, the "leaders and success" page in the front section. I have a shoe box full of these articles that I go back to once in a while to get re energized.

So what does all this have to do with Tiger Woods? In case you aren't a golf fan, last week he won the US OPEN (one of the 4 major events in golf) with a torn ACL ligament in his knees and two stress fractures in his other leg.

Although that was impressive, that's not the point I wanted to make. I was watching the interviews with him on the Golf Channel after the match and here is the quote that struck me. "I basically spend the entire tournament trying to minimize mistakes until a few good opportunities present themselves." To the casual observer this probably didn't mean that much, to me, well I almost fell off my chair.

Tiger Woods just explained how to be a successful trader. Tiger Woods says the secret to his success is minimizing mistakes. Spend your day following your plan, and a few trades will end up presenting an opportunity for a better score (profits). In the mean time as the day unfolds just minimize mistakes and stay in the game. Pay attention to those who are successful, if you are aware you will get clues.

One last quote to leave you with, one of my favorites. It was to Maria Callas, the most renowned opera singer of the 1950's. A young aspiring singer walked up to her and said "I would give my life to be as good as you." Callas casually looked at her and responded "I already have." Think about it that is pretty profound.

Author: Pete Renzulli
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Momentum stocks are stocks with high returns over the past three to 12 months. Momentum investors seek out stocks with the potential to double or triple within just a few months. Momentum investors generally hold a stock for a few months and monitor their holdings daily. They tend to sell their stocks with a few months after acquiring it.

There are many stocks in the market that accelerate in price that go on to make 100% to 300% returns in less than year or even in a few months.

However, for the investors who are just starting, momentum investing can be a confusing and frustrating experience to find these stocks. Here are some keys to spot momentum stocks.
One of the things to spot momentum stocks is the relative strength of the stock compared to the overall market over a specific timeframe. Most momentum investors seek at a stock which has outperformed at least 90% of all stocks over the past 12 months. When major indices declines, a great momentum stock exhibit strength by holding or even exceeding their highs. When the major indices rally, momentum stocks typically lead the rally and make new highs outpacing the market.
Potential momentum stocks should show in their balance sheet that they are growing at an accelerated rate.

Another factor is the Earnings per Share growth. At least a 15% year-over-year earnings per share growth is needed to qualify a momentum stock. Stocks with accelerating rates of EPS growth over previous quarters are also considered.

In addition, a positive forecast by at least some analysts regarding the Company's earnings in necessary for identifying momentum stocks. Further, momentum investors also looks at whether the reported earnings exceeded the analysts forecasts compared to the last quarter.
A company can't grow its earnings faster than its Return on Equity, which is the Company's net income divided by the number of shares held by investors, without raising cash by borrowing or selling more shares. Many companies raise cash by issuing stock or borrowing, but both alternatives reduce earnings-per-share growth. For momentum investors, a potential stock should show an ROE of 17% or better.

The share price and trading volume of the stock are also factors to spot a momentum stock.
The only reason for stocks that trade at very low prices is that they are already out of favor with the market. Avoid stocks trading below US$5.

Momentum investors seek stocks that have high trading volumes, the number of shares traded daily on the average. Very low trading volumes indicate the markets lack of interest. Generally, momentum investors seek those with a minimum volume of 100,000 shares or at least see their average daily volume increases as the value of the stock rises.

Start keeping a list of potential momentum stocks and track their performance in the market. In time, you will be able to spot the stocks that go on to make 100% to 300% returns in less than year or even in a few months.

Author: Mark Crisp
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Mutual Fund is an easier and more professional way of tapping the stock markets. It is particularly suited to people with investable fund but not adequate expertise or time to create and manage their own equity portfolio. A mutual fund house is an institute which collects money from several investors and then invests such money in equities, bonds or other financial instruments. A mutual fund is under the supervision of Fund Manager who takes the investment decisions. Mutual funds can be segregated into various categories based on different criterions. E.g. A mutual fund can be either Open ended or close ended, An open ended mutual fund is that fund which allows its participants to withdraw their funds as and when they want, whereas a close ended fund has a lock-in period and allow its investor to withdraw their funds only after the expiry of such period.

Other than this, mutual funds can be differentiated on the basis of their investment style, E.g. Diversified equity funds invest in equities across all the sectors whereas Sectoral funds invest only in equities related to that particular sector viz. Power sector funds invest only in companies dealing in power sector, whereas Infrastructure fund invest in Infrastructure companies. Apart from this, there are funds which only invest in bonds and/or Govt. securities and thus generate more steady income stream.

Main advantage of a Mutual Fund is that it provides professional expertise to masses in lieu of small fee. A fund is managed by a professionally qualified Fund Manager, who is in a better position to understand markets than a common individual investor. Thus, Mutual fund is a more secure way of availing the benefits of Equity market without incurring the risks of direct investment.

Author: Matthew Tutt
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I don't know a thing about you but I'll bet you're either investing from within an IRA, or considering investing from within an IRA.

How do I know? Because most of us right now are having to provide investment guidance for our future retirement. This is pretty common since most companies and employers are no longer overseeing employee retirement accounts, and if they are it's a safe bet that they are looking to discontinue the practice in the near future.

That leaves our retirement safety in our own hands.

Whether your experienced with investing from within an IRA or are looking for information on how it's done you'll find these tips useful.

First be very selective when choosing an IRA custodian. These are the individuals, brokerages and bankers that are administrators of IRA accounts. Like anything else not all custodians are equal.

The fact is some are light years ahead of others in there service, experience and know how. Don't let just anyone oversee your account. You'll want experience and comprehensive knowledge of IRA's and the rules and regulations that govern them. Oddly there are actually few custodians that have this type of knowledge.

An example of this is that what you can invest in when investing from within an IRA is surprisingly broad. However most custodians allow only a narrow area of investment.

This is actually because most are only educated on the traditional IRA investment vehicles such as stocks, bonds and certificates of deposit(CDs). You'll want to find a custodian that allows clients to invest in the full spectrum of possible investments options just as congress intended you be able to. The truth is that many things can be invested in using an IRA. One example is real estate.

In fact real estate is a Little known investment that makes massive use of the tax advantages of IRA's. And as strange as it may sound most custodians themselves are in the dark as to the rules to investing in real estate. This is one of the main reasons that real estate is not often taken advantage of when investing from within an IRA.

With real estate it's possible to double or triple the money invested in properties within 1 or 2 years when investing from within an IRA. The tax free and tax deferred advantages of IRA accounts can greatly speed large gains.

But the key to this secret is knowing which real estate is a good investment and which are bad investments, this type of expertise takes years of experience and often comes with some hard knocks.

This is why most custodians and administrators don't want to deal with real estate. The territory is to foreign to them since most are skilled only in traditional IRA investment options such as stocks and bonds. This brings about the need for a self directed IRA account, with a self directed Roth or regular IRA account you are able to direct your custodian to invest in which real estate you want to invest in.

Some people may have knowledge in this area and are able to analyze properties, do market research and all of the other due diligence necessary to use real estate to build retirement wealth quickly. But most people are not experienced enough in this area,to adequately make use of real estate when investing from within an IRA.

But there's a secret tactic that smart IRA account owners are using to great advantage.

That tactic is to enlist the expertise of real estate investors who are experienced in using real estate when investing from within an IRA and are willing to show IRA owners the ropes. These investing experts are also rare because just as with knowledgeable custodians, many professional real estate investors have never even heard of using IRA's to invest in real estate or are unaware how to go about it.

You definitely don't want the advice of your local Realtor here, only a few seasoned real estate investors can guide you in this area.

A final peace of the puzzle that you don't want to miss is the need for a self directed Roth or regular IRA account so that your custodian and your real estate consultant can work together as a team to grow your investment account.

Now that you've discovered these tips for investing from within an IRA you can look into taking advantage of these little known tips for large profits.

Author: Will Pressley
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When you first start out in investing, it is very likely that you will make mistakes. Your goal should be to have those mistakes only cost you a little, rather then a lot. I hope you will enjoy my article on how to avoid huge investing mistakes.

Many investors make the devastating mistake of not investing when the time is "right", or even wait until it is too late, and invest only to miss the excitement. You need to grab and recognize opportunities as they come your way. Make sure you keep this in mind.

Another huge mistake that is often made is investing when you don't have the funds available. Investing with borrowed money can get you in serious trouble if your investment fails. You can always use paper money to practice your investing skills, while you work on building up capital.

When it is time to invest, you will need to decide between short term and long term investments. If you are in need of capital right away, short term would be more your speed.

You also need to exercise a lot of caution and patience when tracking your investment. A slight drop in value is not cause for alarm, and certainly is not worth getting upset about. The best investors can become a bit detached to the situations going around them. You need to remember the big picture here, and aim for stocks that are going to rise in the future. It also pays to have someone to follow that at least seems to know what he or she is doing.

Author: Matt Bush
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A growing number of investors in Europe and the US are moving from the safety of currency and shares to a more solid investment, personally owned gold bullion. To buy gold though isn't the easiest of tasks and holding it can prove to be an even bigger challenge.

People usually buy gold in the form of coins like the Canadian Maple coins or the American gold Eagle coins, there are also mutual funds, gold mining shares and there are certificates where you can buy gold but here I am focusing on cutting out the intermediaries and owning it directly in the form of gold bars.

Research shows today that roughly 1,000+ people are searching for ways to buy gold through the internet. There are two big trends that have been found and the first which is common to all the trends is a lack of trust in major currencies, in particular the Euro and the Dollar respectively and so people are adamant to have physical gold stored securely within a vault.

Physical bullion trading cost have come down in recent times because for a long time the bars of bullion have always been to large for the average private investors and in the professional bullion market it is required that each bar has a history for right at the time it was manufactured into a bar and that they have always been stored within a vault. When a private investor takes a small bar out from the vault into a private storage place, it immediately loses its integrity and in turn devalues it by somewhere between 3-5% compared to the professional bars on the market.

Now with the aid of the internet, retail buyers and sellers can cut out the middle man and meet up directly cutting the costs down. Investors find this method very appealing as they feel in control because they know exactly how much gold they own. Gold coins are nice for collectors and some people still want to hold them in private storage but as I said, doing this reduces the value of the gold by a percentage and in the end, holding it in a vault permanently is a much more secure method.

Within the UK, a company called "bullion vault" use Brinks allied for safe keeping and with a company like Brinks holding your investment; you can be assured that your investment is safe. This method of buy online is very liquid and the gold you bought one day can be sold over the internet just as quickly. In this fast paced world, real spending power with real currency such as gold can prove useful for years to come.

When it comes down to it, gold is the ultimate security investment. As seen with its recent growth from early 2006 to 2008, it can't be over looked when it comes to building and investment portfolio. Investment and financial analysts agree that between 15 - 20% of investments should consist of the most hard of all assets, precious gold bullion.

Author: Gavin Conway
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Surety bonds assure project owners that contractors would carry out the work and pay subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers in agreement with the contract documents. There are basically three types of contract surety bonds:

1. The bid bond assure that the bid has been submitted in faith and the contractor will enter into the contract at the price bid and provide required performance and payment bonds.

2. The performance bond which protects the owner from any financial loss if the contractor fails to carry out and meet the conditions of the contract.

3. The payment bond assures that the contractor would pay its subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers for the job.

These bonds are issued on the basis of careful analysis and evaluation of the contractor's ability and willingness to execute both operationally and economically. The use of these surety bonds on private construction projects is at the owner's discretion. Alternatives to this include letters of credit and self-insurance, but these options do not provide full performance and payment protection. So, many private owners need surety bonds from their contractors to guard their company and shareholders from the charge of contractor failure. To bond a project, the owner just specifies the bonding requirements in the bond documents. To obtain bonds and deliver them to the owner is the responsibility of the contractor, who consults a surety bond producer. Subcontractors may also be necessary to obtain surety bonds to aid the prime contractor handle risk, particularly if the subcontractor is responsible for a important part of the job or provide a specialty that is difficult to replace.

Sureties need to be sure. Most surety companies are subsidiaries of insurance companies, and both surety bonds and traditional insurance policies are risk-transfer mechanism regulated by state insurance department. However, both operate on different business models. Traditional insurance is intended to compensate the insured against unforeseen or adverse events, so the policy premium is determined by projecting the expected losses and enough premiums earned to wrap the losses and earn a satisfactory return. In contrast, the surety bond prequalifies the contractor by evaluating the contractor's monetary strength and construction capability. In theory, the surety underwrites the supplier with no hope of loss, so the premium is above all a fee for the surety's complete prequalification services.

The prequalification procedure is an in-depth look at the contractor's commercial operations. Before issuing a bond, the surety company satisfies itself that, amid other criteria, the contractor has:

* Good reference and reputation.

* The capability to meet current and future obligations.

* Experience that match the contract requirements.

* The needed equipment to do the work or the ability to obtain it.

* The monetary strength to carry and support its share of the project work.

* An brilliant credit history.

* A trustworthy bank relationship and the line of credit.

In abstract, the surety examines a supplier the way the banker does. prior to issuing a bond or extending credit, both the bonding company and the business lender should be satisfied that the contractor runs a profitable enterprise, deals fairly, and meets obligation on time--as agreed and in full.

Author: Jacob Christopher
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The price of oil continues to soar as the demand is obviously way more than the supply. Developing countries like China and India have increased their demand for oil supply to support their massive growth rate. Developed countries like the United States and Japan also increase their demand for oil supply to maintain day to day operating needs. The overall growth in population also have led to the rising need for oil supply.

For investors, the rise of oil prices signifies a golden investment opportunity. However, many have ditched the opportunity of making money off the rising oil prices because they do not know how to profit from the oil price hike.

How to Invest in Oil Way #1 Investing in Oil Companies

Oil companies such as Shell and BP Global are generally big and sound in terms of daily operations and management. If the amount of capital that you hold is slightly smaller, small listed oil companies can be worth your investment but only if proper research is being carried out on the management and accounts as such companies operate under a very risky environment.

How to Invest in Oil Way #2 Invest Through Brokerage Account

If you are already investing in stocks through a stock broker, you should be able to invest in the US Oil Fund, which is an asset representing the price of oil. Investors will be able to invest in the fund just like investing in a company. This method allows you to invest in oil and make returns out of the oil price hike easily. However, you must inquire your broker about the fees of such transactions as different brokerage firms might have different rates.

How to Invest in Oil Way #3 Exchange Traded Funds (ETF)

There are some exchange traded funds out there that are related to the price of oil. Some of them are the notable IXC, XLE and VDE. An investment company managing such funds will gather investments from investors to achieve investment goals and objectives that have been set. Compared to mutual funds, exchange traded funds are preferred due to its low cost of ownership and the freedom of trading throughout the day.

How to Invest in Oil #4 Limited Partnerships

There are some oil companies out there that form partnerships with potential investors to either invest in oil exploration activities or to invest in oil companies on a larger scale. Such partnerships can very good for starters as proper research will be carried out before the money is being invested. However, you must only form partnerships with companies or parties who are genuine.

Genuine partners will not hesitate to provide a detailed advice and they will not pressure you with hypes. They will try their best to provide an investment plan in order to help you venture into oil investment.

Author: Wallace Goldman
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If you have been wondering about ways to make some money for your family and the future you may have considered investing at one time or another. Investing money into areas like real estate, online, stocks and shares are just a few of the many places where this is carried out on a daily basis. All of these are essential in helping to secure your finances and financial stability for you and your family's future. I am sure you have already guessed that this piece is not going to give you all the information you need but it is hoped it will give the incentive to look further into this topic.

Of course the most popular area to invest in is the stock market but caution is required with so many companies wanting your money; careful study is the key to long term success here. If you are looking for short term gains (long term too), then the stock market is the place to do this but it is also where everyone can end up with egg on their face from time to time! Of course if you invest in real estate you are more likely to see substantial gains but they will take some time, however, it is a much safer option. Some people purposely buy a house that needs extensive remodeling because they can buy them for less but the gains when they are sold can be huge although this does require a decent amount of work to be carried out first.

There are however, many factors that should be considered before any attempt is made to invest in real estate; this is not the case with the next option. Trading online is the cleanest way to earn money and almost anyone can have a go; you would be surprised at just how many people are now turning their hands to online investment. Traders have the capability of doing research, buying, selling and making money all with the simplicity of sitting in front of a computer. This is without doubt the most addictive and it is easy to get into trouble if you are someone with an addictive personality.

Whichever market you plan to work in, remember investing is a skill; true it can be learned but that often requires patience which is something many short term investors do not have. If you are truly serious about making money from trading then simply must do the basics, study and research the field you are in. As usual, there is a huge amount of free information on the internet if you really want to learn more; remember, successful people do not use luck all the time! Set yourself a limit of how much you can afford to lose and do not go beyond this because although investing is a great deal of fun it is also a very deep pit where money can be lost forever.

Author: Francisco Segura
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Some people will claim that trading is legalized gambling . Is it? Let's answer a related question first: what's the difference between investing and gambling?

On a well-known investor web site cites that stock investing is inherently different from gambling because in gambling there is always a winner and a loser and nothing is created, but when investing in a company the company uses that investment to create products and services.

In my opinion this reasoning doesn't hold water. If I buy shares of XYZ company on the public stock exchange I am buying them from another investor, not from the company whose name is on the stock. If the price goes up in the next week then the seller who sold the shares to me was a "loser" and I was a "winner." I can't see how this is different from playing a winning hand at poker and taking the other player's money.

I did notice that the investor web site article inserted the little phrase "initial stock offering" when describing how investing in a company's shares is not gambling. OK, so they're saying that the initial private investors and the investors who participated in the initial public offering were the only ones really "investing." The vast majority of the trades for company XYZ were post-IPO transactions in which there is a winner and a loser.

But let's look at this initial investment more closely. At the initial offering, investors give the company money in exchange for stock. The company hires employees, buys equipment, and engages the services of expensive management consultants. From this activity a new product or service is created and progress (with a capital "P") is made.

Now look at the "gambling." Jim wins the poker game and takes the money to buy whiskey. The saloon and the whiskey maker use their profits to pay employees, buy equipment, and hire expensive management consultants (OK, maybe not that). So their profits fund continuation of a product and a service. Doesn't sound much different from investing to me, from a strictly economic perspective.

Turning this gem around to look from another angle, take Jed, who came into a bit of money and opened up an account with an online brokerage. Jed doesn't know much about investing, but he tells a friend of his about his new account and this friend is happy to supply advice about what stocks to buy. Jed gets excited and takes the friend's advice on which companies to buy. He doesn't set stop losses. His whole account is invested in just three companies. Is this investing or gambling?

Now take Ricky, who's been playing and studying poker for fifteen years. He goes to a game with some friends of friends who don't know him. High rollers. Ricky takes some of his money out of savings to play. He's good at reading people. Knows how to control risk. Knows how to conceal his skill and how to control his ego. He stays calm. Investing or gambling?

My point is that many activities can be more or less risky depending on the skill of the person engaging in the activity. There's a saying: "The risk is more in the investor than in the investment."

Of course, there are games of chance in which it isn't possible to become more skillful. But even there if you understand your odds and work your position sizes according to the laws of probability you can use increased skill to lessen the risk.

So, trading is gambling if you don't carefully evaluate your trading method, or if you don't trade a method that fits your circumstances and temperament, or if you don't manage the method well, letting fear and greed run you.

Author: Justin Souter
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Retirement Plan is of paramount importance in our life. The earlier we put in place the structures to achieve a blissful retirement the better for us.There are some tips here that can be of tremendous help to you if you follow them carefully.

Take Part in Tax-Sheltered Saving Plan

If you are working in a firm that gives a tax-sheltered saving plan like 401(k) make sure you take part and contribute all you can. If you take part in tax -sheltered saving your taxes will be lower, if your company add more, then automatic deductions will make it easy. Over time the effect of compound interest and tax deferrals will make a big difference.

Request Your Employer to Start Retirement Plan

If your company doesn't have a retirement plan in place it is necessary that you make a request for one. There are many simplified ones that are readily available. In case you need further assistance you can order Internal Revenue Publication 590 by calling 1.800.829.4676. Or view a copy on the Internal Revenue service Web site. You could also request for a copy of Retirement Solution for Your Small Business.

Obtain an Internal Retirement Account

If you can put your money in Individual Retirement Account (IRA) on annual basis you will enjoy tax advantages. There are two options for you in IRA which are Traditional IRA and the newer Roth IRA.

The way your contribution and withdrawal tax will be treated is a function of the option you select. You should also be informed that you after tax value is determined by inflation and the type of IRA you choose.

Never Touch Your Savings, No Matter What Happens

Never touch you retirement savings because if you do you will loose both principal and interest and you may even loose tax benefits. In case there is a change of job convert your saving directly into an Individual Retirement Account or transfers it to the new company's retirement plan

Set Targets, Stay Focused and Starts Immediately

The earlier you start the better, it is often said that procrastination is a thief of time. Your savings depend on how much time you have to save so the sooner you start the saving plan the better. Ensure that retirement saving plan is given a high priority. Have a plan and set a target that you want to achieve and remain focused. Remember it is never too early nor ever too late to start saving so it is better to start immediately

Basic Investment Principles Consideration Is Necessary

The way you save is a function of the type of investment tool you use and it is as important as how much you save. How much you would have saved at retirement could highly dependent on inflation and your type of investment. In order to maximize you retirement saving know how you saving plan is invested.

Make Enquiries

These few tips are to lead you in the direction to follow. You success will be a function of your full knowledge. Make enquires from your bank, financial advisor and other related bodies and consultants for more information. Make sure you get practical advice and act now.

Author: Aminu Rahaman
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Retirement might not be in your near future, but it must be something that you are preparing for it now. Many professionals believe that saving money for your retirement is more important than paying off the credit cards and having emergency savings account accessible in case when you have surprising bills, such as hospital bills, car problems, and so on.

Around 10 to 20 of your income must go to saving for retirement, and if you are very close to retirement, then you need to save minimum of 20 and if you are younger than you need to save 20 for the retirement if all is possible. If you save little money now, it can work for you and amplify greatly over some time, leaving you with nice retirement in future.

There are lots of employers that offer matching program. For every dollar you put in your retirement account, they will add up to a dollar, up to a certain amount. There are many types of retirement accounts for one of its type is Traditional IRA that is funded by the money before taxes. Majority of the banks will permit you to fund on your retirement accounts by an automatic withdrawal system. Sign up for this alternative at your bank so that money goes into this account every month, and does not accidentally get spent or overlooked about.

For business proprietors, mainly small business landlord, look in SEP IRA for your workers. Whatever you put in this retirement account is tax deductible, and it permits you to add money to your workers' IRA instead of pension fund.

In today's weakening economy, it is very difficult to direct one's finances as well as find certain methods to save money. However, this makes it further significant than ever to prepare for your future and retirement. Start saving whatever you can today, to promise yourself as well as your family a very good future.

Author: James Gauci
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Investing 101 for forex trading is something you must learn in order to make a large amount of money in this unregulated market. Let me start of with a little history on this market. Forex trading is short for foreign exchange trading. Your basic goal when you currency trade is to trade one nation's currency for another. You buy one nation's currency for a much lower price, and sell for a much higher price. When you do this you need to pay attention to forex signals and what is going on with the overall national market as a whole. Large financial institutions and multi-national corporations have absolutely dominated this market for decades. Now finally the average single investor is waking up and smelling the coffee and participating in the forex trading market. To forex trade, your dollar will be traded in a market that sees over 2 trillion dollars traded on it a day!

In the forex market, your earning potential and room to grow are unregulated. There is no government agency telling you what to do like the stock market and your money is never tied up. You can get your money out at any point in time. You should never feel pressured to keep your money in this market and you should never hold onto any particular currency for to long. It could cost you a pretty penny. In this market you need to be constantly on the move looking for forex signals for trading purposes. You can invest a small amount of money on some forex training materials. For starters, you should purchase a great informational forex ebook that will show you the ropes and trends of forex trading. You do not need a fancy and expensive broker such as a stock broker in the stock market. You can do it on your own if you put some effort and time into learning the forex system. I highly recommend getting your feet wet by signing up for a free account on many forex trading sites. These sites offer you the forex training ability and forex demos to trade as much currency as you would like for "play money" as if it was real money. Once you master this down, you can see exactly how much you will be making if you invest a certain amount. The return on your investment and earning potential is unheard of and hard to believe.

In the forex market you need to understand that this market is constantly changing and you need to be on your toes when you are finally investing for real money. The great thing about the forex market is it is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. No investing market can even come close to comparing to this. The stock market is only open from 9-5 Monday-Friday. With forex trading, it can fit anyone's schedule so there is no excuse your day job is conflicting with your ability to trade on this market. Good luck in your forex investing, if you do it right you could be well on your way to over 6 figures a year!

Author: John Callingham
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For those unfamiliar with the term, FOREX (FOReign EXchange market), refers to an international exchange market where currencies are bought and sold. The Foreign Exchange Market that we see today began in the 1970's, when free exchange rates and floating currencies were introduced. In such an environment only participants in the market determine the price of one currency against another, based upon supply and demand for that currency.

FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few markets in which it can be said with very few qualifications that it is free of external controls and that it cannot be manipulated. It is also the largest liquid financial market, with trade reaching between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. With this much money moving this fast, it is clear why a single investor would find it near impossible to significantly affect the price of a major currency. Furthermore, the liquidity of the market means that unlike some rarely traded stock, traders are able to open and close positions within a few seconds as there are always willing buyers and sellers.

Another somewhat unique characteristic of the FOREX money market is the variance of its participants. Investors find a number of reasons for entering the market, some as longer term hedge investors, while others utilize massive credit lines to seek large short term gains. Interestingly, unlike blue-chip stocks, which are usually most attractive only to the long term investor, the combination of rather constant but small daily fluctuations in currency prices, create an environment which attracts investors with a broad range of strategies.

How FOREX Works

Transactions in foreign currencies are not centralized on an exchange, unlike say the NYSE, and thus take place all over the world via telecommunications. Trade is open 24 hours a day from Sunday afternoon until Friday afternoon (00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In almost every time zone around the world, there are dealers who will quote all major currencies. After deciding what currency the investor would like to purchase, he or she does so via one of these dealers (some of which can be found online). It is quite common practice for investors to speculate on currency prices by getting a credit line (which are available to those with capital as small as $500), and vastly increase their potential gains and losses. This is called marginal trading.

Marginal Trading

Marginal trading is simply the term used for trading with borrowed capital. It is appealing because of the fact that in FOREX investments can be made without a real money supply. This allows investors to invest much more money with fewer money transfer costs, and open bigger positions with a much smaller amount of actual capital. Thus, one can conduct relatively large transactions, very quickly and cheaply, with a small amount of initial capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market is quantified in lots. The term "lot" refers to approximately $100,000, an amount which can be obtained by putting up as little as 0.5% or $500.

EXAMPLE: You believe that signals in the market are indicating that the British Pound will go up against the US Dollar. You open 1 lot for buying the Pound with a 1% margin at the price of 1.49889 and wait for the exchange rate to climb. At some point in the future, your predictions come true and you decide to sell. You close the position at 1.5050 and earn 61 pips or about $405. Thus, on an initial capital investment of $1,000, you have made over 40% in profits. (Just as an example of how exchange rates change in the course of a day, an average daily change of the Euro (in Dollars) is about 70 to 100 pips.)

When you decide to close a position, the deposit sum that you originally made is returned to you and a calculation of your profits or losses is done. This profit or loss is then credited to your account.

Investment Strategies: Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis

The two fundamental strategies in investing in FOREX are Technical Analysis or Fundamental Analysis. Most small and medium sized investors in financial markets use Technical Analysis. This technique stems from the assumption that all information about the market and a particular currency's future fluctuations is found in the price chain. That is to say, that all factors which have an effect on the price have already been considered by the market and are thus reflected in the price. Essentially then, what this type of investor does is base his/her investments upon three fundamental suppositions. These are: that the movement of the market considers all factors, that the movement of prices is purposeful and directly tied to these events, and that history repeats itself. Someone utilizing technical analysis looks at the highest and lowest prices of a currency, the prices of opening and closing, and the volume of transactions. This investor does not try to outsmart the market, or even predict major long term trends, but simply looks at what has happened to that currency in the recent past, and predicts that the small fluctuations will generally continue just as they have before.

A Fundamental Analysis is one which analyzes the current situations in the country of the currency, including such things as its economy, its political situation, and other related rumors. By the numbers, a country's economy depends on a number of quantifiable measurements such as its Central Bank's interest rate, the national unemployment level, tax policy and the rate of inflation. An investor can also anticipate that less quantifiable occurrences, such as political unrest or transition will also have an effect on the market. Before basing all predictions on the factors alone, however, it is important to remember that investors must also keep in mind the expectations and anticipations of market participants. For just as in any stock market, the value of a currency is also based in large part on perceptions of and anticipations about that currency, not solely on its reality.

Make Money with Currency Trading on FOREX

FOREX investing is one of the most potentially rewarding types of investments available. While certainly the risk is great, the ability to conduct marginal trading on FOREX means that potential profits are enormous relative to initial capital investments. Another benefit of FOREX is that its size prevents almost all attempts by others to influence the market for their own gain. So that when investing in foreign currency markets one can feel quite confident that the investment he or she is making has the same opportunity for profit as other investors throughout the world. While investing in FOREX short term requires a certain degree of diligence, investors who utilize a technical analysis can feel relatively confident that their own ability to read the daily fluctuations of the currency market are sufficiently adequate to give them the knowledge necessary to make informed investments.

Author: Rich McIver
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What are mutual funds? Mutual funds enable investors to pool their money and place it under professional investment management. The portfolio manager trades the fund's underlying securities, realizing a gain or loss, and collects the dividend or interest income. The investment proceeds are then passed along to the individual investors.

For most mutual funds, shareholders are free to sell their shares at any time, although the price of a share in a mutual fund will fluctuate daily, depending upon the performance of the securities held by the fund.

Comparison between Mutual Funds and Stocks

Diversification

Mutual fund companies invest in a variety of stocks, bonds, and money-market investments, so mutual funds carry much lower risk than stocks.

Professional Management

By purchasing mutual funds, you are essentially hiring a professional manager at an especially inexpensive price. These managers have been around the industry for a long time and have the academic credentials to back it up.

Greater Upside Potential

Individual stocks have a greater upside potential than most mutual funds. Fluctuation in stocks is greater than mutual funds, so you have greater chance to earn more return.

Risk and Return

In general, Risk and return depend each other, the greater the risk, the higher the potential return; the lower the risk, the lower the expected return. Mutual funds try to reduce their risk by investing in a diversified group of individual stocks, bonds, or other securities.

Efficiency

Mutual funds have large sums of money to invest and often they trade commission-free and have personal contacts at the brokerage firms.

Conclusion

By investing in stocks you can get more return than mutual funds but, by investing in mutual funds your risk is lower. Mutual funds are great for funding retirement plans and investors that don't have the time or energy to consider individual stocks.

It is noticeable that most expert traders in stock market invest in mutual funds too. I recommend investing in both of mutual funds and stocks but, if you have experience, time and energy you can invest most of your money in individual stocks.

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So many people trade in the stock market with the same chance, but few percent of them earn enough return.

Many of these people that don't earn enough return; have enough information about trading in the stock market.

Why these people don't earn enough return in the stock market?

The answer is emotions and strategies. Successful traders act without emotions and they have a strategy and follow the principles of their strategy.

Investment Advice: Don't make these Mistakes

1. Lack of Strategy

Having a strategy in the stock market is very important. You should know when buy a stock, what is selling price and how long you will hold the shares. When choose a strategy follow its principles and don't change your strategy every day.

2. Waiting for Market

Many traders when lose in a stock don't sell the stock and stay till the stock price return to the price they have bought. This is one of the greatest mistakes that new trades do it because they maybe lose much more money and time with holding a fail position.

3. Not taking the Profit

When a reasonable profit has already been made, Overcome to Greed and sell the stock for taking the profit.

4. Overtrading

Many traders especially day traders feel the need to hold positions in the market at all times on every trading day. Often they will break their own rules in order to get all of their capital into the market. Sometimes , it is best to stand aside and avoid holding any position in the markets at all.

5. Trading with money you can't afford to lose

Don't use money that you really can't afford to lose. Examples of this would be money that is supposed to be used to pay the mortgage, bills or your child's college tuition. This is causing trading with fear and emotions.

6. Falling in love with a Stock

Some people stick to a stock because they believe it is a good stock. They even lose much money, but don't sell it.

7. A way to get Rich Quickly

People will often expect to get rich in the market overnight, but they fail to realize that trading is like any profession; you must learn how to do it first.

8. Not adhering to a 'stop-loss' position

A stop-loss is a predetermined price point at which a loss is accepted and an investor closes the position.

Using this investment advice isn't easy as much as you think. You must try in a regular way to apply this investment advice on your trading strategy.

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Being not only an admirer of gold but also a gold investor, acquaintances often ask me for me advice. They often tell themselves "I want to invest in gold and silver" but have fear because they don't know much about gold as an investment. It's wise to be cautious, and to carefully research the pros and cons of buying gold before rushing out to find some gold coins to invest in. So why buy gold?

First of all, if we look at gold prices history, we can clearly see that gold acts as a wealth preserver. Gold is money. Paper money used to be simply a representation of an amount of gold stored somewhere on your behalf, but in this day and age paper money (or fiat currency) functions separately from gold and it is susceptible to inflation and currency devaluation. Especially if you live here in the United States, the government is constantly spending money it doesn't have, and the banks are lending out money they don't have, devaluating our currency so that our buying power is steadily eroding. If you buy gold, however, you will maintain your buying power longterm because gold's value doesn't deflate. It's price fluctuates with supply and demand, but it's core value remains constant.

Official gold prices tend to increase along with high inflation, and when the stock market drops. They also tend to increase in times of great instability such as wars, when hyper-inflation is a threat. (This is true of commodities in general, but precious metals can obviously hold their value better than a bundle of wheat or a cow that might up and die on you.)

Precious metals are real assets, unlike stocks and bonds, and they react differently to changing economic conditions. Commodities prices tend to increase with inflation. Stocks and bonds on the other hand, tend to perform better when the rate of inflation is stable or slowing. Since 1990, commodity prices have been negatively correlated with the S&P 500. Since commodities are not positively correlated with stocks and bonds, they diversify your portfolio and help reduce risk and increase returns over time.

Precious metals and other commodities are not only a hedge against inflation, but also a hedge against destabilizing events or catastrophes. Commodity prices rise during times of crisis such as wars and stock market crashes. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, stocks dropped while commodities performed well. And during the stock market crash of 1987, stocks dropped by 30% while commodities held steady. There are people out there who horde gold as a way to preserve wealth in some coming cataclysmic event. I would never want to invest in only gold, but these people are right that in the event of catastrophe commodities like gold will be far more useful than stocks or cash (which will likely become unbelievably devalued if there's a catastrophe of huge proportions). That's not to say that precious metals are free of volatility. They are equally or slightly more volatile than the stock market, but they rarely drop at the same time as the stock market. In these volatile times with stocks continuing to drop or stagnate, gold is an essential investment. And longterm, with all the government stupidity promoting the devaluation of the dollar, gold will continue to function as a wealth-preserver for the wise.

And despite gold prices skyrocketing, if we adjust for inflation, the prices now are still nowhere near as high as during their peak in 1980. There's still a lot of room for the price to climb higher. Don`t miss out on this great opportunity.

Author: Paul Jorgensen
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Anyone who has tried to learn the art of stock investing will know that is not an exact science or and easy art to learn. It is no coincidence that many of the worlds most successful investors (such as Warren Buffet) have been learning their trade for many years. Experience counts for a lot in the investing world.

New investors can find they are soon bogged down with an information overload as soon as they start researching potential investments. Not only is there a huge amount of information to find and research, in order to filter out the good investments from the bad investors need to apply certain criteria checks to each stock, commodity or currency in order to help them decide if it is worth investing in. Such check might be a price earnings ratio or a moving average price trigger.

One way to reduce this information overload is to focus on researching a very small handful of companies in a very specific sector. However the main disadvantage with this approach is that if that sector performs badly, your chances of making a profit will reduce significantly too. If only there was a way to analyze all stocks from all sectors with lightening speed.

The real secret of professional traders

Professional traders have been using so called stock trading software to help them filter out the good from the bad opportunities for years. Only recently has such software become available to the private investor. Not only are these software programs huge time savers but they also allow investors to begin investing in new markets without having too much experience.

Author: James McKerr
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