Archive for the ‘Investment Tips’ Category

5 Mistakes to Avoid in Investments

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

In anything, we can’t help not to make mistakes. But when it comes to investments, what risk will you take to commit mistakes? Remember we are talking about your hard-eraned money which you invested.

  1. Not investing at all. The biggest investing mistake  you could ever make is to put off investing until later. In short, make your money work for you. No matter how small your investment is if your money can grow from it, then never think twice to invest!
  2. Investing while you are still in a financial mess. If you invest before you are financially capable is another big mistake. try to organize your financial condition first, and then start investing. Clean up your credit, start paying off high interest loans and credit cards, and save  at least three months of living expenses. When this has been taken cared of, you are ready to start letting your money work for you.
  3. Investing to get rich quick. This makes you vulnerable and easy prey to scammers. You will more than likely lose. Instead, invest for the long term, and have the patience to wait and allow your money to grow. It is wise to invest in short term when you know you will need the money in a short amount of time, and then stick with safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.
  4. Putting all of your eggs into one basket. Make sure you invest in various types of business for the best returns. Also, don’t move your money around too much. Pick your investments carefully, invest your money, and allow it to grow .
  5. Investments in collectibles to pay off.  Never think this way. If this were true, everyone would do it. Always count on investments that are made with cold hard cash.

Investing in Online Trading

Friday, February 27th, 2009

There are many advantages brought to us by the internet services nowadays.  The way we pay our bills online, shop online, bank online, date online and even our personal business online. If we need something, we can easily find it online.  We could also buy and sell online.

Businessman, traders, brokers use internet service for monitoring their business and accounts in the internet as this is more reliable than a telephone conversation.

More and more brokers and brokerage companies are offering online trading their client because of the benefits that they are getting.  Their fees and commissions are often lower and there are some drawbacks too.

If you want to invest to the stock market and you do not have enough experience in an online trading, it is better to seek the assistance of a broker, if you are not a stock market savvy, online trading might be too risky for you.  It will be beneficial if you can actually call and speak with a broker.  Make sure that you have enough exposure before going online trading.

Be aware that you do not have a computer with an internet access attached to you because you will not always have the ability to get online to make a trade.  It is still better to call and speak to an online broker, and it is still beneficial even if you are an advanced trader or a beginner.
 
It is better to find a brokerage company that has been established for quite some time with a lot of experience in the business and now offers online trading.

Online trading is a great business but it is not for everyone.  Make sure that before you enter to this online trading, you really know all the consequences.

Courtesy of Space Planning

Choosing An Investment Broker

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Whatever type of investment that are you planning to do, it is very important to get the service of a broker to handle your investments.  The brokers have the ability to buy and sell stocks on the stock exchange and they work for brokerage houses.  If you want to buy and sell stocks on the stock exchange for investment, you must have a broker.

To determine the qualification of a broker, they are required to pass two different tests in order to obtain their stock broker license.  The tests are very difficult and most brokers have a background in business of finance, with Masters Degree.

A stock broker earns their money from commissions on selling in most cases, so when you instruct your stock broker to buy or sell a stock, they earn a set percentage of the transaction.  Most broker charge a flat ‘per transaction’ fee.

There are two types of brokers available;

Full service broker can usually offers more types of investment and may provide you with investment advice and is usually paid in commissions.

Discount brokers do not offer any advice and do no research; they just do as you ask them to do.

If you are new to investments, it is advisable for you to hire the service of a full service broker to ensure you that you are making wise investments and them offering you the skill that you lack.  If you are already knowledgeable about the stock market, the service of a discount broker can make trades for you.

Will You Take the Risk to Invest?

Friday, October 17th, 2008

How much risk can you take in investing your money? Although there is investment  risk involved, you must determine your risk tolerance. You must remember that your investment do not exceed your risk tolerance.

You can determine one’s risk tolerance through the following examples. First, determine how much money you have to invest, and what your investment and financial goals are.

  • If you are planning to retire in ten years, and you have no savings for retirement, you need to have a high risk tolerance. This is  because you will need to do some aggressive and risky investing move in order to reach your financial goal.
  • If you are in young and you want to start investing for your retirement, your risk tolerance will be low. You can afford to watch your money grow slowly over time.

Secondly, determine the level of risk that you are comfortable with, and help you choose your investments accordingly. For example , if you invested in the stock market and you watched the movement of that stock daily and saw that it was dropping slightly, what would you do? Would you sell out or would you let your money ride?

  • If you have a low tolerance for risk, you would want to sell out… if you have a high tolerance, you would let your money ride and see what happens. This is not based on what your financial goals are. This tolerance is based on how you feel about your money!

In short,  your risk tolerance should be based on what your financial goals are and how you feel about the possibility of losing your money. These two are both tied up.

Investing for the Future

Sunday, September 21st, 2008

Every one of us dreams of seeing our children successful in their chosen fields; thus the need to think about long term investment.

Your child’s future depends on us.  Giving them quality education especially in their college years where it is the stepping stone for their own success. The same thing with your retirement.

Getting old is quite difficult if you have nothing on your pockets. Our love ones and our future should be well secured. Long term investment is the only solution for our future. You should be able to choose wisely where to invest when we think of long term investments. Here are some ways where your money is safe and easy to invest.

Bonds – bonds are issued by the government and are similar to Certificate of deposit issued by the banks. Depending upon the type of bond you purchase your money can be doubled in a specific period of time.

  • Mutual Funds . When a group of investors put their money together to buy investments is called mutual funds. This type of investment is safe as long as the fund manager who usually decides where to invest the money must know well where to invest the money but this is a bit riskier than buying bond certificate.
  • Stocks. Stocks are acquired when you buy a share of ownership of an existing company. If the company is doing well the value of stocks goes up and your investment is really good. Your money is doubled over a period of time but if not it the value goes down.

When you think of investing your money for a long term. Invest in bonds that are guaranteed by the government, or purchase a share of stocks of a very prestigious company that does well in the market or invest in mutual funds but don’t forget to research before you decide which one is the best. Invest and have a better future.