April 15th, 2009
Why do you want to invest?
This is the basic question that any first time investors should answer. Oftentimes, many first time investors want to jump right in with both feet. Sad to say, many people of this type aren’t so successful. Investing isn’t simple; in anything, it requires some degree of competence. Hard as it may be, but it’s always best to remember that in some investments there is the risk of losing your money!
Before you put your money in , it is better to know not only about investing and how it works, but also about knowing your goals. You can ask yourself the following questions: What do you want to achieve with your investments? Will you be funding your child’s college education? Will you be buying a home? Will it be for retirement? Your goal must be clear to you so that you can make better investment decisions along the way.
Too often, people invest money bcause they want to be rich overnight. Possible but rare. As a guide, do not start investing in the hope of becoming rich overnight. It’s a bad idea. Thsi oftentimes result to becoming victims of scams or faud. Good investment principle will make your money grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or children’s education. But if your investment objective is REALLY to get rich quick, you should learn more about high-yield, short-term investment as possible before investing.
If you are new in investment, talk to a financial planner before making investments. He can help you determine what type of investment you need to achieve the financial goals you set. He or she can give you realistic information as to what kind of returns you can expect and how long it will take to reach your specific goals.
Keep in mind that if you want to invest successfully, research and know what your market will be .
Tags: investment goals, tips to first time investors, why invest
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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
Tags: good investment, investing, investment goals, tips when investing
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February 3rd, 2009
If you are about invest and never knew what investment is all about, then you should try to invest only to a smaller amount to be able to know how your investment will work.
It is better to invest in bonds because it is safe and the returns are very good. These bonds have four different types and these are sold through the Government, through corporations, state and local governments, and foreign governments. The good thing in bonds is that you will get your initial investment back and this makes the bonds the perfect investment vehicle for those who are new to investment.
In the United States, the US government sells the Treasury Bonds through the treasury department. If you are interested, you can purchase Treasury Bonds with maturity dates ranging from three months to thirty years. The Treasury Bonds includes Treasury Notes (T-Notes) and treasury Bills (T-Bills). All Treasury Bonds are backed up by the US Government and tax in only charges on the interest that the bond earned.
In a private corporation, corporate bonds are sold through public securities market. A corporate bond is basically a company selling its debt, and usually these bonds have high interest rates but these are too risky. If the company regains, the bond is actually worthless.
State and local government also sell bonds but these are different bonds issued by the federal government. These bonds have higher interest rates because the state and local government has the tendency to be bankrupt unlike the federal government. State and local government bonds are free from income taxes even from the earned interest. State and local taxes may also be waived.
Buying foreign bonds is really very difficult and often done as part of a mutual fund. It is still very risky to invest in foreign countries. The safest type of bond to buy is the one issued by the US federal Government. Interest may be a little lower but there is a low risk involved.
The best thing to do is when a bond reaches maturity, reinvest it to another bond.
Tags: investing, investment goals, kinds of investment styles, types of investments, why invest
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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.
Tags: investment broker, tips to first time investors, tips when investing
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December 1st, 2008
There are several types of stocks available at the stock exchange. If you are familiar with these stocks then it is very convenient for you to do business, but for the other who do not know or for beginners, they are mostly confuse that cause them to turn their back away to the stock market.
A common stock is what you hear quite often. The common stock can be purchase by anyone regardless of their age, income and financial standing. common stock , basically you will be a part owner in the business you are investing in. As the company grows and earns money, the value of your stocks rises. If the company does poorly or goes bankrupt, the value of the stocks falls. Common stock holders do not participate in the operation of the company but they do have the power to elect to the board of directors. They also have the rights to attend to stock holders meeting.
There are also different classes of stock. The different classes of stock in one company are often called Class A and Class B. The Class A stock gives the stock owner more votes per share than the owners of Class B. A lot of investors avoid stocks that have more than one class and stocks that have more than one class are not called common stock.
Preferred stock is a mix of a stock and a bond. The owner of the preferred stock can lay claim to the assets of the company in the case of bankruptcy and proceeds to the profits from a company before a the common stock owners. The disadvantage of this is that the company typically has the right to buy the stock back from the stock owner and stop paying dividends.
Tags: investing in stock market, investment goals, investment styles, stock investment
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