Thursday, October 29, 2009

How To Succeed As An Aggressive Investor

Aggressive investment strategies are new ways of managing your investment portfolio and actively allocating the assets so that you can get the maximum possible returns from your investments. The target of aggressive investment strategies is the growth of capital. This is why aggressive investors put more of their assets in equities instead of safer debt securities. This means that their investment has a higher risk associated with it.

The Significance Of Time Factors
Aggressive investment strategies are useful if you have time factors in your favor. You should have the capacity to wait a few years so that you can take full advantage of the investments. You should also be able to tolerate a higher degree of risk. A solid foundation is must for building a financial empire. In order to establish a financial empire you must follow certain sound foundational rules of investment.

Keep Safe What You Have Gained
You must devise aggressive investment strategies so they maximize your return on investment and keep safe what you have earned. This will prevent you from becoming entangled in a cycle of profit and loss. You should analyze your source of employment to improve your strategies. Identify the expenses that take most of your income. If you find a technique to manage any of these expenses, you will be able to build more wealth without spending extra money.

Aggressive investment strategies require answers to the following three questions.

1.For how long can you comfortably invest the money? The question seems simple but the answer is important. For example, if you cannot hold your investment for a long time and make your investments in the stock market, you may have to withdraw your money during a down cycle and turn out losing money. On the contrary, if you can wait for a period of 20 to 30 years, the chance of gaining money in the stock market is better.

2.What is your expectation for the profits earned? In order to answer this question you must be realistic. Huge gains from a low risk investment, is not a realistic prediction. A certain gain from a high risk investment isn't realistic either.

3.What degree of risk are you comfortable with? If you want to invest in a high-risk venture be prepared to lose your money. If you decide to invest in a low risk venture don't expect huge returns.

Additional Help
Many people specialize in investing. It is often best to seek the advice of the experts when investing money. Stock brokers can be of assistance in the stock market and real estate agents can be of assistance in the real estate market. They've spent years acquiring invaluable knowledge of their field and can help you reduce your risks and maximize your returns for a fee.



By : David Gass
David Gass is President of Business Credit Services, Inc. His company publishes a free weekly e-newsletter on Small Business Consulting at their web site http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com

Saturday, October 24, 2009

How to Choose the Right Investment For You

Choosing which investment is right for is a complicated decision. While you can seek advice from financial professional, ask for tips from family and friends, and do research - in the end the decision is solely your own. This can be an extremely scary situation. However, before you may any type of investment make sure your survey your entire financial situation. Take in account your present financial needs as well as any future needs that you might be award of. Most investors should not invest in any high risk securities unless they have a solid regular income, insurance, and cash readily available in case of a financial loss. There are several basics to investing that should be taken into consideration.

The first of which is to understand that any type of investment involves risks. There is no sure thing and no one can predict the future. The next rule is to remember that the more risk involved the higher the potential profit. The opposite is also true. Low risk investment vehicles have do not offer high return rates. Make sure any company you invest in your fully understand. There are no "take backs" in investment world. Mistakes are can not be undone and therefore must be lived with.

It is also important to set investment goals before you begin to invest. Ask yourself "what do you want to accomplish with your investments? Are you saving for a vacation, early retirement, or a college fun? All these are important in determining how to diversify your stock portfolio. Goals go hand and hand with safety. Safety refers how conservative your investments will be and how likely you are to loss your original investment. If you are investing to have an income then you need to pick stocks and mutual funds which offer a consistent profit over a long term period. Growth is also another direction you may want to go. This is when the goal of your investment portfolio is long term investment which carry more risk, less safety, and provide no dividends.

Some investors are simply interested in speculation and day trading. This is a much more aggressive form of investing. Speculation stocks have a much higher risk of loss then your average stocks. For the most part speculative trading happens over short intervals of time with new and innovative companies which have yet to prove they can be successful. The risk here is that if the company takes off you have made a huge profit, however they fail, you suffer a great financial loss.

The goal of any investment portfolio is be balance. Having high risk securities for aggressive profit coupled with low risk slow money makers that are always stable. You do not have to choose a single approach. Instead use a combination of the above goals. Determine the portion of each you with your stock portfolio to be diversified in and then begin your investment endeavors. If you feel overwhelmed or simple would like some help you should seek out a financial advisor who can offer direction, experience, and great stock tips.



By : Mika Hamilton
Mika Hamilton runs a website offering free investment tips and strategies for people looking to get started in the investment world. http://www.Global-Investment-Institute.com

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Second Home Investment

Most people know that the best way to begin building wealth is to purchase real estate. After all, real estate is one of the few investment markets that is independent from other economic trends. Regardless of recession or inflationary periods, or wild rides on the stock market, real estate provides investors with a strong, steady increase in values.

This return on investment, and the ability to save money, is one of the reasons most people try to purchase a home. But what many people don't realize is that not only does it make a lot of sense to invest in a primary residence, it makes just as much sense to buy a second home, and receive many of the same financial benefits. There's never been a better time to make a second home investment.

In fact, many experts are suggesting that purchasing a second home for investment purposes is one of the smarter investments an individual could make. Investing in real estate isn't just for the rich and famous. There are a number of real estate opportunities that are quite affordable for the average investor, like condominiums and small homes. There are financing options that make the investment painless.

Let's suppose you've always wanted to own a second home for a vacation property. How much of the year would you or your family be using the property? For most people, the vacation property will be used a couple of months of the year at best. The rest of the year, the home can be rented out, sometimes creating more rental revenue than the mortgage payment. And of course, there's the appreciation of the property as well. In a few short years, you've grown a minimal investment into a substantial return, and had the benefit of the use of the property for your family vacations.

Another option is to consider a second home with permanent renters. Again, you can easily find mortgage options that require little or no down-payments, low interest rates, and low monthly payments. Your rental income covers the monthly payment, and you have a property that will only appreciate in value.

Second homes are also great transitions into retirement. Imagine having a second home rented out for the time being, but available for your use upon retirement. You may even have the home paid for by your retirement.

If you've owned your primary home for a few years, you may be unaware of the number of mortgage plans available that make owning a second home so affordable. Contact your mortgage agent to get information on these mortgage programs, and you'll soon be enjoying the wealth and security of a strong second home investment.



By : Jeff Nelson
Go to http://www.phoenix-arizona-home-mortgage.com and get a free copy of Jeff Nelson's, "7 Tips to Avoiding the Biggest Mortgage Mistakes," a 10-page report that describes the mistakes to avoid when purchasing your new home in Phoenix, Arizona.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Investing: Level-Headed or Lazy?

Passive investment management may be the Rodney Dangerfield of financial strategies--it gets no respect. Active investment strategies have had the spotlight so long, some investors may be surprised to find there is an alternative to stock picking, market timing and other faster-paced, more glamorous methods.

Active investment management uses research, investigation and analysis to select investments that the selector believes will outperform the general market indexes. Passive investment management invests in broad market sectors and accepts the average returns those sectors produce.

The research, investigation and analysis inherent in active investment management come at a cost. Active management usually results in higher turnover within the portfolio, potentially generating trading costs, commissions and taxes. Those costs should be calculated against the higher gains that active investing may have over a passive strategy; in other words, is the potential for additional gain worth the near-certainty of additional cost.

Passive investing seeks to take some of the prognostication out of the investment process, as well as the possible emotional impact. Daily evaluation and re-evaluation of investments can cause you to overlook more subtle trends and to lose sight of your personal big picture. It's easy to get caught up in the next great investment pick or strategy. Ignoring the hype in favor of the buy-and-hold tactic may help keep your portfolio on course.

Passive investment management does not, however, mean purchasing investments and then ignoring them. Your portfolio will need to be rebalanced periodically to make sure those sectors performing better than expected don't become too great a share of your invested assets. Changes in your personal life (marriage, children, divorce, death of a spouse) may also necessitate changes to your investment plan.

Neither does it mean foregoing the assistance of an investment professional or financial advisory team. These professionals should help you determine your investment goals, the amount of money needed to reach them and the best strategies for accumulating that money. They play an important role in keeping you on the right course, especially when deviating becomes most tempting.

All investments involve risk, whether selected as part of an active strategy or a passive one. Passive investing does not "loss-proof" your portfolio. On the flip side, past success is not indicative of future performance, as active-style proponents might have you believe.

In the end, you have to weigh the lower costs, style consistency and tax efficiency of a passive investment strategy against the potential greater returns of an active investment strategy. Your financial advisor can play an important role in helping you determine which style best suits your investment time horizon, risk tolerance and investment experience.



By : Robert Valentine
Robert Valentine is a well-known expert in the matters concerning investors. His articles on financial planning matters that concern investors have been published by several publications throughout the United States. Please visit his website, http://www.themoneyalert.com to view his column.