Saturday, December 26, 2009

9 Tips To Starting An Investment Club

An investment club can take some time and work to start up, but it can be a lot of fun and very educational during the process. Investing in a group allows more money, more knowledge, and a feeling of partnership. Trust will be the main key.

1. Find compatible members for your club. You will probably want between 7 - 15 members for your club - too many can get very unwieldy and difficult to schedule, but too few will not allow enough capital to really invest.

2. Determine common goals for the group. Some people may want to get into get rich quick business, and investment clubs may not work well for these people.

3. Decide how much money the club will invest on a monthly basis. Some may want to invest a larger amount than others can afford or are comfortable with.

4. Form a plan for how the club will operate. Include rules about how money will be handled, what will happen if someone needs to withdraw their money, and how often the club will meet.

5. Fill out the paperwork. Form a Limited Partnership company (if that is what you choose - this can be the easiest way to start your business), and fill out the tax forms, as well as perhaps joining the NAIC. You may also have to register as a business in your community.

6. Select jobs. Have individuals fill in roles that you decided on in the plan. You might want to rotate jobs from meeting to meeting, so as to spread out the work, or you might have people specialize.

7. Choose a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. You may also have a person in charge of education, whom would coordinate special guests who speak to the qroup.

8. Open a bank or brokerage account - you will need a partnership agreement or an operating agreement in place before you do this, as the bank or brokerage firm will require one to open a business account.

9. Set up a budget for the club. Record initial membership contributions, as well as determining what monthly contributions will be. You may also want to discuss having experts come in to talk with the group, so as to learn more about investing. Money for this may come out of monthly contributions, or may be added on to that month's expenses. Discuss this in advance to avoid misunderstanding.



By : royphay
For article "9 Steps to Starting An Investment Club", add resource box: More revealing facts and resources about investment clubs at http://www.aboutinvestmentclub.com/art-steps

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Knowledge Is Power: A Research On Stock Market Investment

A stock, a.k.a. share or equity, represents one's ownership of a company. For example, a person who has 100 shares of company A, out of its total of 1000 shares, means he owns 10% of the company. As part owner of a company, the shareholder earns, when the company makes profit. In the same way, if the company loses, so does the shareholder.

A stock market is a place (real or virtual) to trade (buy and sell) one's stocks. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, http://www.nyse.com/home.html) and the NASDAQ (http://www.nasdaq.com/) are examples of real and virtual stock markets, respectively.

That's a brief overview. For a more comprehensive understanding, go to http://www.investopedia.com. For the stock market investment newbie, try to play a virtual game at http://investsmart.coe.uga.edu/C001759/usmarket/usmarket.htm, without spending dime. Students can practice stock market investment at www.smgww.org. and www.stocksquest.com.

Then why invest in stocks? Because it earns 10% - 12%. This is higher than any other type of investment (savings account, bonds and the like). The way to earn is to sell your stock market investment at a higher price than when you bought it; the price difference is your profit. You can earn in 3 ways:

1. Buying stocks at IPO (Initial Public Offering). When companies decide to sell stocks, they will offer it at an initial price. After some time, with the company's good performance, the initial price increases, thus the earning;

2. Dividend. As a reward for investing in their company, the company may choose to give a portion of its earnings to its investors through dividends per share. However, this not a requirement for stock market investment, but purely voluntary;

3. Trading stocks. If you intend to invest in Company A, but did not catch its IPO, you can still do so by buying at the stock market. A broker, in your behalf, will bid for the best-priced stock of Company A, according to the price you want. The same happens, when selling. Compare and find the best broker at http://www.fool.com/dbc/tables/compare.htm?ref=60broker.

The key to success stock market investment is to know everything there is to know, about the company and the factors affect its performance. Consult the following:

The official website of the company. This should show the company's corporate set-up, financial health and organizational structure as well as historical data of their stock performance.

Investment websites such as Yahoo!Finance, MSN Central and DowJone's MarketWatch;

The news. To be aware of all the factors that may affect your investment, be updated with the news. For all you know, the weather forecast is the ace up your sleeve.

Knowledge is power and so it is in stock market investment. Invest successfully, with the power of knowledge!



By : pilkster
Find out more about stocks and shares at http://stocksandshares.us

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Opening an Investment Account

Have you ever thought about playing the stock market? Many of us dream of hitting it big by investing $100 and earning $100,000 within a few years. But the system doesn't work that fast. Generally speaking, the market will continue to pay dividends over time, but the path may get bumpy and you could even lose part of your investment in a bear market. Never invest more than you can afford to lose.


The flip side of investing is that many people have earned comfortable dividends that built a retirement fund, put kids through college, or financed a new home. However, it takes time for an investment fund to grow, and the sooner you start, the better. Here are some tips for opening a fund that could pay off big as time goes on.


1. Start young. Open an investment account for your children and continue adding to it as they grow. Although you may want to maintain bank savings accounts as well, an investment fund is apt to grow more quickly and can provide needed funding for their adult years. Ask relatives to consider giving mutual fund shares as gifts instead of an overabundance of toys or clothes that won't get worn. A person who invests $2,000 by age twenty may have nearly $100,000 at retirement age.


2. Make automatic deposits. Set aside $25 to $50 each month for your investment account. You can have it deducted automatically from your paycheck so that you never see or miss that money. When you get annual raises or bonuses at work, consider adding a portion of those amounts to your investment fund, as well.


3. Choose a responsible broker. Do an online search or contact the Better Business Bureau to find a suitable agent to handle your account. Make sure that the person is someone who is willing to keep you informed and who shares your values and philosophy on investments. Schedule an annual consultation with your agent for a review of the previous year and a preview of the year to come in terms of what you might expect from your investment's performance.


4. Take an investment class or at least buy the book. Learn something about the way the stock market works both in your country of residence and the world economy overall. Don't become wholly dependent on an agent who may not be able to fully explain your account or plan strategic moves without your permission, which requires either your understanding or your trust.


Be patient. The stock market can play funny tricks on investors. Prices soar and plummet by turns, and your investment may look great one day and dismal the next. Keep in mind that the general performance trend since the market began is to pay out consistently over time. Don't panic when conditions get rough. Hang in there and stay cool, and you will likely be glad you did.



By : granola
To learn more the world of investments and trading, visit The Forex Trading Directory at www.ftdforex.com

Monday, December 7, 2009

Investing For A New Business

Let's be honest, many of us dream have that one day starting up and successfully running a new business and leaving our miserable jobs behind to become our own bosses.
And whilst many do just that and at least make a go at running a new business there are even more who never quite stop dreaming about it and find the courage to actually do so.

One of the reasons people give for not starting up a new business is a lack of finance. Well firstly that is a very poor excuse, if you believe in yourself and your own abilities to make a success of your venture then that alone is the biggest investment you can make in running a new business. Yes, you are the most valuable asset a new business can have, you and your specialist knowledge, your pride in getting a job done properly and having an absolute belief in your own abilities to make a success of running your new business.

Let's say it again, ultimately you are the only thing worth investing in for running a new business and you don't cost a penny, dime or cent. So what are you waiting for?? Running a new business is absolutely free, you don't actually need to invest in it to get it off the ground because all the investment should come from within you and not from a bank or money-lender.

So once you've decided to invest in yourself, first in order to get your new business off the ground you are at some point going to have to think some sort of financial investment. See, eventually money does come into it but it is useless if your business plan is useless or you don't have the personal wherewithal to actually make a good idea happen and the best place to seek such investment will be your bank.

All banks will have a new business advisory department and they will be more than happy to talk with you of your business plans, so make sure your plan is a good and sustainable one and if it is: they'll certainly listen and if they like it, they will definitely lend you the money. It should be said that banks exist for you to borrow for things such as investing in a new business, they like people who are prepared to give it a go and if you demonstrate this and a fierce determination they'll lend you the money to kick-start your new business.

When investing in starting up and running a new business it is vital that you don't waste your initial investment on fancy cars, flash offices and a menagerie of staff. Basically, don't walk before you crawl, all these trappings of success will come in time but to start off creating an image of success ultimately will mean you will fail because the best investment you can make at this stage of running a new business is dedication and hard work, that's how you achieve lasting fulfillment and success and the trappings that go with it. If you just want the trappings without the hard work then don't bother starting your own business because hard work is a better investment than an unearned top-of-the-range motor.

Reaching to nature for the best metaphor to consider when investing for running a new business, it is a whole lot better to invest in a bag of acorns and watch them grow, yield and flourish than it is to buy a lot of old oaks and see them wither and die.

And finally, again, it should said the biggest and best investment for a new business is you, your idea and your desire to succeed. With these, you can't go wrong



By : Richard Callaby
Richard Callaby is a Independent Computer Consultant, Writer, Author, Speaker and Instructor. More articles from this author and many other authors on personal finance can be reached at http://www.econtentking.com/Category/Finance/6.