Category Archives: Investing

Investing Online For Novices

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Investing online (online trading) can seem a little weird at first, especially if you’ve been using the Internet mainly for less serious things like playing games and updating your Facebook page.. After all, this is your hard-earned money you’re now thinking of transferring to a faceless website. So, notwithstanding that online trading is commonplace nowadays, you may want to learn more about how to set up an account and what to expect next before going further with this. You can experience exactly what’s involved in online trading at the Investing Online Resource Center.(investingonline.org). Here you’ll find out what it’s like to set up an account and get starting with trading, and you’ll also find descriptions and rankings of the various online brokerages. If you’re an experienced online investor you may also find the site useful. It covers a variety of topics in-depth, like day trading, after-hours trading, and provides discussion groups and even a complaint center.

The online brokerages most newcomers know are AmeriTrade and E-Trade. Both are pretty good choices for getting started. It costs $2,000 to open an AmeriTrade account and market orders (buys or sales of securities) cost $10.99. You get a trading demo and an investment education section called Investor Basics. E-Trade requires a $1000 deposit and market trades are $14.95 per trade up to 1,000 shares. E-Trade is known for its superabundance of investment tools, charts, reports, and market news.

But I personally use a lesser-known company called. TradeKing. This is a very good service if you want to pay very low fees for trades but still get fast, reliable service. TradeKing is a nationally licensed online broker offering low flat fees ($4.95 per trade and $0.65 per option contract) with no hidden costs or account minimums. It offers almost as much in the way of tools, research, charting, and educational information as E-Trade but at a lower cost. Personally, when investing online, I don’t see the point in paying any more than necessary for a standardized service like stock or bond trading.

Online Brokers for Mainstream Investors

By “mainstream” I mean investors who are experienced in investing online and do ten or twenty trades a year, but usually involving moderate amounts of money. These are average citizens like most of us who use online investing as a convenient way to manage all or a part of their portfolios. So they are looking for user-friendly online service, totally reputable and reliable (of course!), combined with easy access to their funds. But they are not professional investors, nor are they wealthy individuals dealing in six and seven-figure trades.

For experienced mainstream investors. Charles Schwab is an excellent choice. It offers top-notch basic service plus a variety of premium services like access to professional research and fee-for-service financial advisors. Schwab has extremely good customer service and is a premium online brokerage. Trades cost $9.95 and you must depost $10,000 to open an account.
Another possibility is TD Waterhouse. Waterhouse has the distinction of being associated with Goldman, Sachs, the powerhouse investment bank, and can provide you with access the Goldman, Sachs research reports and IPO information. An initial deposit of only $1,000 is needed.

Gold And Silver Investing Apmex Safe And Wise Investment Options

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More and more people are investing in gold and silver these days. That is usually what seems to happen when societies are facing major economic crises, which is what we are facing today. Why do people turn to silver and gold in times of economic crises instead of investing in bonds, stocks, and foreign currency? One of the main reasons is that stocks, bonds, and foreign currency depend directly on how well the global economy is doing financially. In an economic crisis, it is not performing well financially. As a result, foreign currency, stocks, and bonds also perform poorly. However, the value of gold and silver usually remain relatively constant in all types of economic conditions. That is what makes gold and silver investing APMEX a good idea in this economic climate.

There are different dealers where you can invest in gold and silver. You can find many precious metal dealers online nowadays. This is because it is very convenient to do your investing online and so going online is a good way for dealers to attract a lot of investors. They offer values and prices in real-time, investors can buy and sell desired precious metals really easily and quickly, and investors can conveniently view and organize all of their investments at once. Therefore, this method of investing is really popular. One of the largest precious metal dealers that are located online is APMEX. APMEX stands for American Precious Metals Exchange, Inc. Gold and silver investing APMEX is increasing in popularity.

How gold and silver investing APMEX works is you search for the different gold and silver products that you want, for which the prices are readily available, you place them in your basket, and you pay for them. They also give you the value of gold and silver. The different types of gold products that people invest in are gold bullions, gold bars, gold coins, etc. People also invest in silver bullions, silver coins, silver bars, etc.

Some of the reasons that gold and silver investing APMEX is becoming really popular are because of the competitive prices, gold and silver investing in general is up, and gold and silver usually constitute the safest investments. In times of financial crises, you want to prevent any investment losses. Because the values of silver and gold do not decrease with a falling economy, investing in gold and silver instead of stocks and bonds can help prevent you from experiencing these losses.

Benefits Of Investing Green Energy

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Industries in the US are faced with the challenge to keep the rising energy expenses under control and the machines running. The rising concern over global warming and pollution are also keeping them under the constant scrutiny of environmentalists to reduce carbon emission. Many businesses are therefore finding it a requirement to switch over to green energy.

Green energy or renewable energy refers to the energy derived from unconventional sources, apart from conventional fossil fuel, such as – wind, solar, water, geothermal and the like. Usage of green energy has its many benefits for the industries.

Cost benefits

Use of renewable energy definitely has cost benefits for the businesses. It helps them to put up with the rising cost of fossil fuel and other conventional energy sources.

The coal and oil reserve of the world is depleting fast but their demands over the years have kept growing, which has let the oil prices to rise continuously. The cost of fuel has in turn increased the operational cost of the businesses worldwide, which can also be considered as one of the major causes of recent economic meltdown.

Investing green energy though may require large initial investment but will help the businesses to curb their energy expenses in the long run.

Non-stop energy

Natural resources, such as – wind, solar, biomass, water are available in the nature in abundance and hence, investing green energy would ensure uninterrupted supply of energy. You no longer have to worry about the decision of the OPEC nations and its impact on the financial health of your business.

You can use the local resources of renewable energy and continue enjoying uninterrupted supply of energy for your business.

Environmental friendly

After all we have to live in this planet and hence we need to be concerned about its well being. Uncontrolled use of mineral oil has increased the overall temperature of the world which has altered the seasons in many places of the world. Hence, we no longer can ignore the necessity of an action plan which will help us to repair the damage done from carbon emission in the environment. Further, reserve of fossil fuel is limited in the world and is soon depleting. It is time that we start investing green energy before we run out of our conventional energy sources.

Tax benefits

The Government is taking initiative to popularize the use of green energy with the businesses and hence tax and other benefits are available for the industries which are embracing green energy. Investing green energy is therefore a good way to get government grants and tax deductions. This can further help you in reducing your initial cost of investing green energy and improves your business books.

There are both economic and environmental reasons for the businesses to embrace green energy. Many businesses therefore invest green energy to improve their energy efficiency quotient. The high cost of setting up the initial green energy efficient environment can be compensated by the long term benefits of investing green energy. Investing green energy has helped the businesses to slash their energy expenses and the government incentives are simply the icing on the cake for them.

Real Estate Investing: How To Keep Away From Risks

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If the real estate investing becomes completely risk free then each person will be a millionaire, because there will not be any reason not to invest in this sector. However, it is not possible because such kinds of ventures work on the risk and return policy. There are only some investors that will be beneficial in real estate investing because they are not getting scared about any risk. They are able to find out various ways to deal with such threaten possibilities. If you think that you are one of them, in that case you should spend some time to do investigation about the risks involved with real estate deal.

Time Restrictions

There are some types of projects like distressed properties and rehab houses require extra time than others. Furthermore, some other varieties of ventures need that you should be available throughout the business hours on regular basis. When you have the most important profession that needs your time, you may find that it is not easy to make time for investing in real estate.

You have to figure out the time that is required with the various kinds of property investments so that you will be able to manage your schedule nearby the ideal real estate investing deal.

Source of financial support

You have to work out on the budget plan because financial support is one of the main barriers of investing in real estate. Even though you are able to spend in property without using your own money, however you have to get fund from somewhere else.

Find out various strategies on how to utilize other people’s money in favor of real estate investing. There are several creative techniques of getting the money that you want to close a business deal. You have to think properly about each & everything that you want to do towards real estate deal.

Chances for negative funds flow

Similar like other investments, there are many possibilities to meet with losses while planning to trade in the real estate sector. If anytime you quit from a contract with a lesser amount of money that you started with, you have made a negative cash flow.
If you left with a surplus of negative fund flow deal, then it will leave you bankrupt. It is very important for you to recognize how to find better real estate investing contacts, so that you have the capacity to cooperate in order to work out with the contact in your support.

Exit Tactics

You must have the tactics of go out, because if you do not have such exit tactics then your fund is occupied and jammed in an investment property for months and even for years. If you think that it is a good to hang a property for long time then no worries, but it is not something by which you can get frequent profit.

Real Estate Investing Program For A Successful Career

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Are you passionate to make your livelihood as a real estate investor? If so, then your career and your financial future will highly rely on your understanding towards real estate investing. Skills that you possess, your knowledge and actions towards it will make your living in a better form. If you are looking to shift your career or willing to build up your career into this field you must continue reading this so as to gain more knowledge.

In real estate investing, there are countless investors who believe that it is easy to make wealth as an investor of real estate. Yes, it can be easy, but not always. Properties market all over the world will thrive to change every now and then. Hence for this reason guarantee is not offered to any investor. Thus it is advisable for you to familiarize yourself with the concepts that are linked to investing in properties.

To turn into a successful real estate investor, you are required to know ins and outs of this particular real estate market. This is important as for the simple reason that it will help you to make profit out of investments that are made in properties.

Questions and doubts

Now you will be wondering, that how one can get familiarize themselves and learn in and outs of real estate investing. You will be thinking that from where you are required to collect the concepts and information that are linked to the properties market and many more similar questions will be running in your mind. For all your questions and doubts there is one simple answer get yourself pampered in real estate investing program or educate yourself.

Now you will be wondering that which approach will be best suited for you. Before going with any of the option there are various points that are supposed to be taken into consideration. Intend success is first and foremost point for your bright career. As an investor you would surely desire to make profits as much as you can. To make profits is the main aim for any business organization except nonprofit business organizations. If you are serious towards the career in real estate investing then to take up the course will be the right option. The more knowledge you possess the more successful you are.

The content of the course will come in many different modules and structures. The structure of the course is designed based on beginners and advanced learners or investors. You can take up the course either in online or you can go with the option of class room training.

Such programs are run by none other than the successful investors. As they encompass years of experience in real estate investing it is of sure that they hold more amount of knowledge and understanding in the field of properties and its related issues. Taking up the course will enhance your knowledge and it will help you to get rid from the common mistakes that most of the investors make.

How to Know if a Real Estate Investment is Worth Investing?

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Kicking off the evaluation process is the toughest for us. Question after question kept popping up “Is the property market low enough?”, “Is this property worth considering?”, “Are the numbers the only criteria for investment?” What are we really looking for in real estate investing?? Quick bucks $$ or Regular income…

Bottom-line = Money!!!

Property Agents have tons of recommendations for YOU! How will you know whether they are good investment for you?

There are many factors that need to be considered in evaluating a real estate investment. For example, location, environment/neighborhood, facilities, financing options, rental income, etc. If all above works, it is time calling your agents and set up appointments. Happy Viewings!!!!

Actually it is not difficult and it does not need much of your time to know if a real estate investment is worth investing in the first place. All you need is crunching some numbers with your calculator, and Bingo! You can decide whether the property is worth investing.

Later in this article, we will show you how these numbers work in your prospective real estate investment by two real life cases in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Numbering GAME
Numbers, numbers and numbers.. How do you get them?

You may try calling a few property agents, check with banks on properties valuations and of course there is plenty of information on the Internet. Once you have these numbers you can determine if a real estate investment is worth spending your time for a viewing. “Seeing is Believing.” Check out the property to see the actual condition and the environment, whether it is to your liking once you get your numbers RIGHT! Once you get your numbers, you will see:

Incomes
One-time income – selling price
Regular income – rental price

Costs
One-time expenses (startup costs) – down payment, agent’s brokerage, legal fees, stamp duty, furnishing cost, etc.
Regular expenses (monthly costs) – monthly loan repayment, monthly maintenance fee, quit rent, property tax, etc.

See how they (numbers) work..
The basic requirement for a good real estate investment is that the income it generates must be more than its costs.

If the selling price of a real estate investment is more than its purchase price and startup costs, this investment generates capital gain.

If the rental income of a real estate investment is more than its monthly expenses, this investment generates cash flow.

If you are looking for capital gain, the gain or loss depends very much on the real estate market. Hoping to make money from capital gain on real estate is like buying a product and hoping the value of the product will go up with time. On a long term basis, real estate will be appreciating in value because of inflation, but the gain is not guaranteed.

On the other hand, a real estate investment that generates cash flow effectively put money into your pocket every month, while your equity in the real estate investment increases over time. This is the real estate investment that we are looking for – an investment worth investing.

Too good to be true?
With this recession time, you will ask yourself, “Is it the RIGHT time for me to start investing in real estate? Everything is so uncertain NOW.”

In Johor Bahru, you can find plenty of real estate investments worth investing at this juncture. We discovered most of these investments that generate substantial cash flow are mainly apartments or condominiums. You can read from our upcoming article to know why apartments or condominiums are better real estate investments in Johor Bahru. Here are two recent real life cases of real estate investments worth investing in Johor Bahru.

Case 1: We found a condominium in Larkin area of Johor Bahru in Octorber 2008 selling at $160,000 with existing tenant. Monthly rental income is $1400 while monthly maintenance cost is around $300 (maintenance fee plus sinking fund plus quit rent).

If we finance 90% of the purchase price to buy this condominium with interest rate 4.85% with a tenure of 30 years, monthly loan repayment is estimated to be $760. Thus, this condominium is generating a net cash flow of $340 every month, $4080 every year.

Total capital outlay for this investment is $24,000 for down payment including other startup costs like legal fee and brokerage.

Effectively this investment gives us a yearly cash-on-cash return of 18.5%. In other words, within 6 years we would be able to take back our capital $24,000! The best thing is we still own the condominium. It will keep putting money into our pocket every month. We also have the option to sell it away when the market is good.

Case 2: There is a 3-rooms apartment in Tampoi sold at $125,000 in Octorber 2008. Monthly maintenance cost is about $150. If we finance 90% of the purchase price with interest rate 4.85% with a tenure of 30 years, monthly loan repayment is estimated to be $600.

Expected rental income for a fully furnished apartment in the area is about $1200. With furnishing cost of $10,000, total capital required for this investment is around $27,000, while total monthly cost is $750.

The apartment is expected to generate a net cash flow of $450 every month, $5400 every year. Cash-on-cash return on this investment is 20% which we can expect to take back all the capital within 5 years.

Sound interesting right?
Of course, so far we are only talking about numbers. A good real estate investment does not rely on purely numbers. You still have to go and have a look at the building structures, study the location and neighborhood, and perform other checks before you make your decision. What we have discussed, however, can save you time and give you more ideas on the potential returns of a real estate investment before you tell your agent which real estate you want to view in the coming weekend.

 

Read more about real estate investment tips at http://reijb.com

We write regularly about real estate investment. Some of our featured articles include:

“How to estimate the value of a property?“

“Why apartment can be the best real estate investment?“

“How important is location to an investment real estate?“

 

Should I Invest?

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If you’ve found your way here to this article, chances are you’ve either got some money socked away or you’re planning to do so.

But first things first. Why is investing a smart idea?

Simply put, you want to invest in order to create wealth. It’s relatively painless, and the rewards are plentiful. By investing in the stock market, you’ll have a lot more money for things like retirement, education, recreation — or you could pass on your riches to the next generation so that you become your family’s Most Cherished Ancestor. Whether you’re starting from scratch or have a few thousand dollars saved, Investing Basics will help get you going on the road to financial (and Foolish!) well-being.

Know your goals

What are you saving for? Retirement? College for the kids? A new speaker system complete with woofers and tweeters? An exotic animal menagerie complete with Chihuahuas (woofers) and canaries (tweeters)? A retirement villa in the sun-baked hills of Tuscany?

Say you take $2,000 of your savings and put it into the stock market. If your money returned 10% a year (the S&P 500′s historical average), two grand would be worth $34,898.80 after 30 years. That might not get you the perfect retirement home, but it’ll at least give you a down payment.

Maybe you don’t have $2,000 burning a hole in your bank account, but perhaps you can afford to invest your lunch money. Brown-bag your lunch and sock away just $4 a day, 250 days a year. It’s not a lot, but if you’re in your early 20s, you’ve got the investor’s best ally on your side — time. If you invest $1,000 once a year in an investment that averages a 10% annual return — the average annual stock market return since 1926 — it’ll grow to more than $1 million after 46 years, which is right around the time you’ll be ready to retire.

Of course, as you get older and more financially stable, you should be able to put away more to invest. Upping the ante to just $166 a month — which is probably less than lunch money plus what you pay for cable TV — would put you at the million-dollar mark in just 39 years.

The power of compounding

The table below shows you how a single investment of $100 will grow at various rates of return. Five percent is about what you might get from a certificate of deposit (CD) or with a government bond over time, 10% is about the historical average stock market return, and 15% is what you might get if you decide to learn how to pick your own stocks and take advantage of some of our lessons in advanced investing techniques.

Growing At

Year    5%    10%    15%    20%       
1    $100    $100    $100    $100       
5    $128    $161    $201    $249       
10    $163    $259    $405    $619       
15    $208    $418    $814    $1,541       
25    $339    $1,083    $3,292    $9,540

Why is the difference between a few percentage points of return so massive after long periods of time? You are witnessing the miracle of compounding. When your investment gains (returns) begin to earn money, and then those returns start to earn money, your investment can mushroom very quickly. Extend the time period or raise the rate of return, and your results increase exponentially. For instance, if you start young, say at 15 years of age, note how quickly a single $100 investment grows, especially in the later years.

Growing At

Age    5%    10%    15%    20%       
15    $100    $100    $100    $100       
20    $128    $161    $201    $249       
25    $163    $259    $405    $619       
30    $208    $418    $814    $1,541       
40    $339    $1,083    $3,292    $9,540       
50    $552    $2,810    $13,318    $59,067       
60    $899    $7,298    $53,877    $365,726       
65    $1,147    $11,739    $108,366    $910,044

Looking at it another way, let’s compare two teenagers and their lifetime savings habits. Bianca baby-sits a lot and spends most of her spare time reading. She saves $1,000 a year starting when she’s 15 and invests it in the stock market for 10 years earning 12% per year on average. After 10 years, she comes out of her shell, stops adding money to her nest egg, and spends every penny she earns club hopping and on trips to Cancun. But she keeps her nest egg in the market.

Compare her account to that of her friend Patrice, who squandered her early paychecks on youthful indiscretions. At age 40 Patrice gets a wake-up call when her parents retire on nothing but Social Security. She starts vigorously socking away $10,000 every year for the next 25 years. Guess who has more at age 65? That’s right, Bianca. (You figured it was a setup, didn’t you?) Her 10 years of saving $1,000 per year (just $10,000 total — the same amount Patrice put away in just one year) netted her $1.8 million by age 65. Patrice, on the other hand, scrimped for 25 years to invest a quarter million dollars out of her own pocket and ended up with just under $1.5 million. Neither will be going to the poorhouse, but you see our point: Bianca’s baby-sitting money grew for 50 years, twice as long as Patrice’s, and Bianca barely missed it.

(It’s almost not fair to mention this, but if Bianca put her money in a Roth IRA, that whole $1.8 million would be tax-free. On the other hand, Patrice couldn’t put her full $10,000 in a Roth, so Patrice will pay capital gains tax on a good deal of her gains.)

The power of compounding is the single most important reason for you to start investing right now. Every day you are invested is a day that your money is working for you, helping to ensure a financially secure and stable future.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Before you race off through the rest of Investing Basics, there are some cautionary points to consider before you proceed. These are common mistakes many people make when considering what to do about investing.

1.    Doing nothing. There is no guarantee that the market will go up the first day, month, or even year that you invest in it. But there is one guarantee: Doing nothing at all will not provide for a comfortable retirement.
2.    Starting late. Postponing your investing career is second only to not investing at all on the list of investment sins. You already know that the earlier you start the better off you are. (Take another look at the compound return example we gave above.) If you’re already past those formative twenties (you don’t look a day over 32 to us), we’ll reword this first pitfall to read: “Not starting now.”
3.    Investing before paying down credit card debt. If you have money in your savings account and you have revolving debt on your credit card, pay it off. Many credit cards have an annual interest rate of 15% or more. Let’s say you have $5,000 to invest, but you also have $5,000 debt on your credit cards with an average annual interest rate of 18%. It doesn’t take an astrophysicist to figure out that you’re going to have to get an 18% return after you pay taxes just to break even on that $5,000. Pay the debt off first, then think about investing.
4.    Investing for the short term. Only invest money for the short term that you’re actually going to need in the short term. Invest money in the stock market that you won’t need for at least three years, and preferably five years or longer. If you’ll need your cash next year for a down payment on a house or for the family Caribbean cruise, use one of the shorter term and safer havens for your cash, such as money market funds or CDs.
5.    Turning down free money. You’d never turn down a dollar if it was offered with no strings attached. That’s what you’re doing
if your compan
y offers a 401(k) or similar retirement savings plan with an employer match and you’re not participating. Take advantage of all tax-advantaged, employer-matched savings programs.
6.    Playing it safe. If you’re young, most of your investing dollars should be in the stock market. You have enough time to weather any dips in the market and to reap the rewards of long-term gains. Although you may want to transition into bonds later in life as you depend on your investments for income, stocks should make up a large portion of the portfolio of every investor.
7.    Playing it scary. Not every investment is for everyone. Even if you’re a daredevil, you shouldn’t pour all of your money into something that could end up going down the drain.
8.    Viewing collectibles or lottery tickets as investments. If old comic books, Barbie dolls, and abandoned exercise equipment could be used to fund retirements, do you think the stock market would exist? Probably not. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your jewelry, those Beanie Babies, or the lottery will provide for you in your latter years.
9.    Trading in and out of the market. We believe the best approach to investing is the long-term one. Pick your investments well and you’ll reap greater rewards over the long term than you had ever dreamed possible. Trade in and out of the market and you’ll be saddled with fees that chip away at your returns, and you’ll potentially miss out on gains that long-term investors enjoy with much less effort.

Congratulations mate! You’ve made it through the first part of Investing Basics. (Bet you didn’t even break a sweat.) You’ve witnessed the power of compounding and you understand how some common pitfalls can ruin even the healthiest investing plan.

______________________________

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Socially Responsible Investing for Idiots

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Socially Responsible Investing for Idiots

Sí, Money! (http://simoney.us)
By Michael Grodsky

If I have to be an idiot, at the least I’m a green idiot. I believe in clean air, corporate responsibility, community activism, licorice, pizza and Thai food. And healthy living, freedom, and of course freedom raisins.

Shiny happy raisins

I love trees, sky, and ah, the OXYGEN! But I’m worried about the dismal state of health care, education funding, the ozone hole, the Medicare donut hole, and your little dog too! Did you know the North Pole is melting? That really scares me. Plus I need to cut down on my Chunky Monkey intake.

In everything I do, in every move I make, it seems that I’m part of the worldwide web of production and consumption. So I pertly place my recyclables in the blue bin, our family uses reusable grocery bags, and I vote. What more can a light-switch thumping, gasoline-pumping 21st century fox do?

C’mon, baby, light my SRI fire…

 

It was only a couple of years ago a friend remarked to me that real estate was the only investment that made any sense, as if his seat on the Ferris Wheel of investments, propelled by an invincible source, would forever be going up, up, UP! Instead, what happened was “up, up and away.”

The first Ferris wheel, from 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago

The desire for a sure thing is hard to resist. Albert Einstein, succumbing to pressure to support the idea of a static universe, in his 1917 paper added an adjustment number called the “cosmological constant” to his equation for general relativity. In 1931 he publicly renounced this static cosmology and endorsed the Big Bang expanding universe model, ditching the cosmological constant and returning to his original equation. He later called his bowing to peer pressure the greatest blunder of his entire life. You can read about the adventure in author Simon Singh’s “Big Bang – The Origin of the Universe.”

Many philanthropic foundations have long drawn a wall between their socially conscious mission statements that drive grant making, and the investment holdings of their endowment. There is a truism that investing for social benefit results in lower returns. But just as scientific peer consensus eventually embraced the Big Bang theory, so has the thinking of philanthropic foundations changed. The reasons are twofold: A recognition that corporate responsibility and societal concerns are valid parts of investment decisions, (1) and a growing number of academic studies have demonstrated that socially responsible investment (SRI) mutual funds perform competitively with non-SRI funds over time. (2)

For example, according to University of Maastricht and Erasmus University Rotterdam economists in their prize-winning paper, “we find little evidence of significant differences in risk-adjusted returns between ethical and conventional funds for the 1990-2001 period.” (3)

Foundation investment choices seem to be increasingly guided by effect upon society as a whole, not just financial gain, according to a recent Los Angeles Times article. (4) Fresh thinking in the nation’s largest foundations may be driving the impetus ever faster: The $8.5-billion William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (Menlo Park), the $6.1-billion John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Chicago), the $7.8-billion W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Battle Creek, Michigan) all have made recent changes to improve the social effect of their investments. (5)

SRI assets are also growing faster than assets as a whole: according to the non-profit Social Investment Forum’s 2005 biennial report, SRI assets rose more than 258 percent from $639 billion in 1995 to $2.29 trillion in 2005. Over those ten years, SRI assets grew four percent faster than the entire universe of managed assets in the United States. (6)

Some have already been on the SRI track: the nation’s second largest foundation, the Ford Foundation, along with others such as the F.B. Herron Foundation, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and the Nathan Cumings Foundation, have for a long time aligned their charitable and investment practices.

What is Socially Responsible Investing?
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is a broad-based approach to investing that now encompasses an estimated $2.3 trillion out of $24 trillion in the U.S. investment marketplace today. (7) The release of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment–subscribed to by some of the world’s largest institutional investors, asset managers, and related organizations representing over $9 trillion in assets as of mid- 2007–underscores the widespread acceptance of the principle that investors cannot, in the long run, achieve their goals by investing in corporations that externalize their costs onto society. (8)

How do I research SRI funds?
A good place to start is the Social Investment Forum (http://www.socialinvest.org). Look at the resource list at the end of this article too.

How do I start investing?
If you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, there may be SRI funds already available to you. If you manage your own IRA or other plan, look into what’s available. But don’t just go adding a fund without considering the entire makeup of your portfolio.

The key to earning decent long-term returns and limiting overall risk is to have a proper asset allocation, meaning you don’t have all your eggs in one basket. For do-it-yourself-ers, check out the government’s website about asset allocation (http://tinyurl.com/2825hw), or purchase “All About Asset Allocation” by Richard A. Ferri ($13.57 at Amazon), a great introduction to the topic. Your personal financial advisor or company where you have your investment or retirement accounts can help.

How do I know which funds will produce the highest returns?
You don’t, you can’t, and you won’t, so just forget about it because past performance doesn’t predict future results. The day-to-day ups and downs of the market receive the media attention, but the daily, quarterly, or even yearly returns are largely irrelevant in constructing an individual’s portfolio whose objectives are long-range.  What you want to look for are funds that perform well over the long run within their particular sector, as compared to the appropriate benchmark indices. Various areas of the economy are always moving up and down and sideways, and so far no one has ever been able to know ahead of time what the pattern will be. Asset allocation, I’ll say again, may be the key to long-term success in building a financially secure future. Not panicking helps too!

What makes an SRI fund different?
If a prospective company is a fit according to a fund’s stated objectives, research is performed to determine whether or not it’s a good idea to buy stock at the current offering price. It boils down to the question “Within the guidelines of the stated objectives of the fund, will this purchase help to achieve the highest possible return for the fund’s shareholders?”

The three core socially responsible investing strategies are screening, shareholder advocacy, and community investing. Screening means a fund will include or exclude companies based upon criteria such as alcohol, tobacco, animal testing, and human rights, among others. These screens can be positive (e.g., including companies that treat employees well) or negative (e.g., excluding companies who do business with disturbed musicians).

Keep in mind that, as with all mutual funds, SRI funds have no guarantees of future return.


In any case, you’d better take this lad’s offering of raisins!

If you use electricity, drive a car, and participate in many other activities of daily living, in a very true sense you are already investing in the companies that allow and encourage your consumption. In other words, you are part of the “market” whether or not you actually own stocks or mutual funds. Socially responsible investing can be a way to make your dollars work toward something in which you believe, and support those companies you believe have a vision in line with your own.

Resources and suggested reading

1.    “The Mission in the Marketplace: How Responsible Investing Can Strengthen the Fiduciary Oversight of Foundation Endowments and Enhance Philanthropic Missions.” Social Investment Forum Foundation’s resource guide for foundations to manage risk and leverage their investment assets more fully with their core philanthropic purpose, while creating lasting value. http://tinyurl.com/35t49h
2.    “10 best” list of companies. Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine rates the citizenship disclosures, policies and performance of large-cap, public companies in the following industries: Auto & Vehicles, Paper, Technology Hardware, Technology Software, Transport, and Travel & Lodging industries, Chemical, Energy, Financial, Media and Utilities industries. http://www.thecro.com/node/580
3.    Social Science Research Network. http://www.ssrn.com/
4.    United Nations’ “The Principles for Responsible Investment.” An investor initiative in partnership with UNEP Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact. http://www.unpri.org/
5.    The Social Investment Forum; national membership association dedicated to advancing the concept, practice, and growth of socially and environmentally responsible investing. http://www.socialinvest.org/
6.    Social Investment Forum’s 2005 biennial report. http://tinyurl.com/258794
7.    Sristudies.org, a resource for quantitative aspects of socially responsible investing. Includes an annotated bibliography of studies of socially responsible investing. A project of the Moskowitz Research Program, which is affiliated with the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
8.    Socially Responsible Mutual Fund Charts of Financial Performance. http://www.socialinvest.org/resources/mfpc/
9.    SocialFunds.com, an advertising-driven website with information on SRI mutual funds, community investments, corporate research, shareowner actions, and daily social investment news.
10.    “Handbook on Responsible Investment Across Asset Classes.” For asset allocation junkies, individuals and institutional investors the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship created this work. http://tinyurl.com/2ffqbu

Footnotes

1. The Maturing of Socially Responsible Investment: A Review of the Developing Link with Corporate Social Responsibility by Russell Sparkes and Christopher J. Cowton. Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 52, Number 1 / June, 2004.
2. SriStudies.org
3. International Evidence on Ethical Mutual Fund Performance and Investment Style, paper by Rob Bauer, Kees Koedijk, Rogér Otten. Limburg Institute of Financial Economics, November 2002. (socialinvest.org/resources/research)
4. Foundations align investments with their charitable goals by Charles Piller, Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2007. Section C, p 1.
5. Ibid.
6. 2005 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States. Social Investment Forum. (www.socialinvest.org)
7. Socially Responsible Investing Facts. Social Investment Forum. www.socialinvest.org
8. PRI Report On Progress 2007. PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment), United Nations. (www.unpri.org)

Image credits

Sun-Maid/George Bush composite image
•    First Sun-Maid packaging to feature a likeness of Lorraine Collett as the “Sun-Maid Girl,” 1916. Designer unknown, incorporates painting by Fanny Scafford. Public domain in the United States.
•    Photograph of Bush speaking. Brazil, November 6, 2005. Agência Brasil, a public Brazilian news agency, produced photograph. Published under the Creative Commons License Attribution 2.5 Brazil.

Fox/Morrison composite image
•    Foxes by Franz Marc, 1913. The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Public Domain.
•    Jim Morrison portrait, 2007, by Amadeu.taradell. Released by author into public domain.

Ferris Wheel/Superman composite image
•    The first Ferris wheel from the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The New York Times photo archive. Public Domain.
•    Screenshot of 1941 cartoon Superman. Fleischer Studios. This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 with a copyright notice, and its copyright was not renewed.

Musician holding Valentine’s Day raisins composite image
•    Photo of musician Jeff Hawley, 2007.  Manager, Marketing Content Pro Audio and Combo Division, Yamaha Corporation of America. Courtesy of Mr. Hawley.
•    Photo, August 3, 2005 by Mazbln. Halberstadt, Klosterkirche St. Burchardi, Ort des John-Cage-Projektes “As slow as possible.” Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
•    Original painting of Lorraine Collett by Fanny Scafford, 1915, later used on Sun-Maid raisin packaging. Public domain in the United States.

This column is meant to provide general information, and should not be construed as providing investment, legal, or tax advice. There is no guarantee as to the accuracy or completeness of the information in this article. There are no guarantees of future return for any fund, nor an endorsement of any investment product. Mutual funds are sold by prospectus only. For complete information on mutual funds including sales charges and expenses, call your financial professional for a prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Links are provided herein as a courtesy, and no guarantees are made as to the accuracy of the content on the referenced websites.

Sí, Money! – Vol. 2, No. 1  February 2008 – http://simoney.us

Is Buying a House a Good Investment?

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Intended Audience

Individuals looking to purchase a home for personal use or as an investment. As well, looking into conventional wisdom’s statement that buying a house is one of the best investments someone can make.

Summary Points to Take Away

Why a House is good investment: (1) Forced Savings Plan (2) Leverage (3) Inflation Resistant (4) Tax Free Capital Gain (5) Control over Asset. Points against a House as an investment: (1) Lack of Diversification (2) Maintenance Costs (3) Historically lower returns than equities (4) Unavailable to take advantage of other opportunities (5) Limited Scope. Additional points to consider if planning on purchasing property for personal use: (1) Doesn’t provide any cash flow (2) No tax shelter from interest expense (3) Can get personal joy out of investment.

Analysis

Conventional wisdom states that buying a house is one of the smartest and best investments an individual can make. This article is geared towards challenging this conclusion to see whether this statement rears any truth to it.

Why a House is a Good Investment?

Forced Savings Plan

Most individuals claim that the purchase of their personal home was the best investment they’ve ever made, which is true in most cases because it is the only investment they’ve ever made. The general public struggles with saving for retirement; thus, purchasing a house assists in that problem as it forces individuals to continuously pay down the mortgage (or lose the house in a foreclosure to the bank); therefore, allows the storing of equity for the owners. This built up equity (i.e. market value of home minus remaining mortgage) can be borrowed against during their retirement years or they can downgrad into a less expensive house in order to provide some retirement funds to the owner. If individuals take a disciplined approach to saving, then the benefit of being forced to save in order to pay for a house diminishes

Leverage

Typical real estate purchase require only a 5% deposit, while the remaining amount can be borrowed through bank debt. Few alternative investments outside of real estate can the acquirer obtain such significant leverage, which can enhance investment returns.

Example, suppose that you purchased a home for $200k, for which you made a 5% deposit down ($10k). During the next few years the house appreciates in value and you sell it for $220k (10% higher than the level you purchased it). Though the return on the house is only 10%, the return to the investor based on invested funds sunk into the home ($10k) is 200% ($20k earned over $10k investment) –  that is the power of leverage. On the negative side, more debt means higher fixed monthly mortgage payments; thus, higher risk of being able to make the monthly mortgage payments. As long as cash flow is not a concern and the mortgage payments can be met – investments should be leveraged to maximize returns to the investor. Could you imagine walking into a bank and asking for $100k to invest in equities while only putting 5% down – likely to never happen, this is a major benefit of real estate ownership.

Inflation Resistant

Real estate holds its value during inflationary periods; thus, acts as a hedge against the investors other assets that aren’t protective against inflation (ex. Currency). The asset will continue to hold its buying power (store of value), which is difficult to get outside of investing in precious metals. The reason real estate holds its value is there is the same number of houses that the increased monetary supply of dollars are chasing; thus, it’ll take more dollars to purchase the houses as the supply of houses stays stagnate while the demand rises (due to the increase in the number of dollars in everyone’s hands). This can become critical given the current economic times and numerous expansions of monetary supply across many nations, which will have the aftermath affect of higher inflation.

Capital Gain is Tax Free

In Canada, every home owner is provided with a capital gain exemption on amounts earned in excess of cost for their principal residence. Only one piece of real estate can be claimed as the principal residence per individual. For example, if you owned a home and a cottage, only one of those houses upon selling could take advantage of the principal residence exemption. No other asset class has such advantageous tax reduction characteristics. Unfortunately this is a onetime event; thus, those holding numerous pieces of real estate can only apply it to one property.

Allows for Control over the Asset

Real estate is typically an investment an individual has control over (assuming you’re the majority owner – which is typically the case) by the means of the owner has the ability to increase the value of the asset, which may not be the case in most other investment opportunities. When purchasing real estate, owners can make capital improvements to the home (ex. Finished basement, new porch, etc.), which will increase the value of the property (capital appreciation) as compared to purchasing stocks or mutual funds as assets where the owner can’t take action to increase the value of those assets (unless they’re a significant owner, greater than 20% – which is typically unlikely). The ability to control an asset adds value to the owner through what is known as a control premium, as a real estate asset may be more valuable in the hands of some individuals over others.

Why a House is a Bad Investment

Lack of Diversification

Average individual thinks the stock market is very risky while investing in real estate is more of a certainty. Purchasing equities allows the owner to conveniently hedge their risk amongst various companies in numerous industries, countries, etc. The purchase of real estate doesn’t provide the ability to diversify risk away as easily unless an investor plans on owning numerous pieces of different types of properties (ex. residential, commercial, resorts, etc) across various markets (North America, Europe, etc) – which is probably very unlikely for the average investor. Purchasing real estate prevents the diversification of risk because it’s dependent on the economic, migration, and regulation trends of the local area.

For example, assume you purchased a home in Oshawa, Ontario – which is a town extremely reliant on the large manufacturing facility of General Motors (GM). Should GM cut back on production or move their facility housing prices would fall sharply as it is the biggest employer in the area; thus, demand from individuals will decline as unemployment rises and real incomes fall. With a decline in demand and supply staying stagnate (as you typically can’t “un-build” a house once it’s constructed) the price will have to shift towards in order to align demand with supply.

Real estate doesn’t allow the investor to diversify away the specific risks in the local area as compared to purchasing equities, which allows the investor to spread risk amongst investments that perform differently during different points along the business cycle. Most individuals when purchasing real estate have all their eggs in one basket.

Maintenance Costs

Transaction and maintenance costs are significantly higher for real estate investments than stocks, mutual funds, etc. When purchasing stocks costs are typically broker commissions ($20 per transaction if using an online discount broker), while when purchasing a home it is typically 2% commission on the transaction value, significantly higher than purchasing equities.

Once you purchase shares, no further cash is required from the investor unlike real estate, which requires constant annual expenditures that continue to increase the investors cash committed towards the prop
erty, such as
property taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance and repairs of the asset, etc. These are costs that real estate investors or home purchasers don’t factor into their expected return, but play a significant role as the payment of property taxes (etc.) doesn’t contribute to the value of the property for eventual sale in the hopes of capital appreciation.

Historical Lower Returns Compared to Equities

During any 20 year period throughout history, no other asset class has outperformed equities, which includes real estate. This is from the perspective of asset vs. asset without consideration of leverage and how that may enhance returns (as discussed earlier). While it is true that over the long run real estate prices go up in value, this is typically due to inflation incurred. Recent spikes in housing prices seen in the past 10 to 15 years has been due to changing demographics, specifically the baby boomer generation (who makes up largest segment of the population in North America) go through life stages at the same time (same goes for starting a family and purchasing a home and real estate investment property). The result was a large influx in demand without a corresponding increase in supply as construction requires lead time; thus, leading to rising real estate prices.

Will this high demand continue? That’s where the argument lies. Likely there will be softness felt in overall real estate demand as baby boomers already have their homes and they’re likely to either stay put, move to retirement homes or downgrade into a smaller place in order to obtain some retirement income. Immigration will continue into North America that will prop up demand, but likely not the extent to fulfill the whole in demand left by the baby boomer generation; therefore, the future appreciation in real estate properties is likely to flatten out.

Can’t Take Advantage of Available Opportunities

The purchase of a home or real estate property requires the individual to tie up a significant portion of their net worth into the property (in a lot of cases, all of it). Having all your net worth in real estate is a risky strategy as you’ll be severely impacted by movements in real estate prices as compared to having your cash tied up into several asset classes; thus, less vulnerable to swings in any one asset class. Similar to the discussion had under the “diversification” section of this article.

With the majority of an investors net worth tied up in a real estate property, there isn’t available cash to take advantage of other opportunities that come along; thus, significant opportunity costs are involved in venturing into real estate. This should be considered before purchasing an expensive personal home or making a real estate investment.

Limited Scope

Real estate is a local good, unlike gold for example – which can be bought and sold throughout the year for the same market price. An individual looking to buy a personal home or make a real estate investment doesn’t have access to all available properties as there are physical limitations to contend with. It comes down to wanting to live where you grew up or currently work or not wanting to buy a rental property far from your home in order to reduce logistical issues. For example, if you live in Toronto, Ontario and are looking to make an investment in a rental property, you’re unlikely to consider properties in Paris, France though the opportunities may be better than those surrounding Toronto due to language and logistic issues. Equities (and etc.) are globally traded and available; thus, users can take advantage of opportunities around the world; thus, their scope is not limited to the local area of their current surroundings like real estate is.

Additional Points to consider if you’re purchasing a Home for Personal Use.

Doesn’t Provide Any Cash Flow

An asset typically provides you with cash flow, i.e. puts cash in your pocket. When purchasing a home, cash only flows out (property taxes, repairs, etc.); some would argue that if it appreciates in value then it is an asset. In this instance it is only an asset when converted into cash and if that is the case, where will you live? Likely end up buying a new house, which has also gone up in value similar to your house.  This makes it difficult to realize the value of your personal home appreciation, which acts more like a liability than an asset since it takes cash out of your pocket instead of putting some in there.

Tax Deductibility of Interest

Interest expense paid due to bank loans taken to finance investment properties is deductable against income because the investor is pursuing income and tax legislation allows deduction of any expenses incurred in the pursuit of income. This is not the case for a mortgage taken out to purchase a house for personal use as the individual is not in the pursuit of income; thus, interest expense is paid with after tax dollars, with no tax shelter provided. If those funds had been borrowed to invest in equities or mutual funds, the interest would be deductable because again that would count towards the theme of pursuing income.

Can Get Personal Joy Out of It

Unlike equities and other alternative investments, the investor can’t personally use or get joy out of it as compared to purchasing a home, which the individual can live in and enjoy during the investment process. An investor who purchases shares in General Motors (GM) can’t exactly borrow and test drive cars whenever they please simply because they’re a part owner. This is a qualitative benefit that is difficult to quantify, but should be considered.

Where to go from here?

The main reason to purchase a house is to have somewhere to live and enjoy their life, don’t think of it as an investment. Buying a home isn’t a bad decision; it is the investor’s perception that may be tainted because it is important to realize that there are many arguments against a home as an investment to be considered. Don’t buy real estate property with the mindset that an individual can’t lose and that there is no better investment opportunity than to purchase a home, etc. Beware of conventional wisdom that states there is no better investment than purchasing a house.

THANKS,

SIMON GIANNAKIS

Get Reviews On Property Investment And Wealth Management

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Property investment has always been one of the most common methods of investing capital & can be a lucrative business option and hence many investors consider it an integral part of their diversified portfolio. It is a long term investment for individuals or families to obtain financial security for their present as well as future. However, you should consider some important points while doing property investment. If you are a beginner, you must look for a profitable property investment. The bottom line of property investment is to find an affordable property that can prove to be highly lucrative for the future. As time moves on, for example with newer media options of television and internet, new trends in property investment are appearing. So, always keep yourself informed about upcoming trends in property market with the help of these informative mediums. Prepare your property for resale and then sell the house quickly.

Residential property investment is the investment that can carry low risk and is not like investing in commercial property where investors have to worry about the conditions of businesses. Property investment loans are not as difficult to get as other types of loans and investing in residential properties can give investors a substantial financial boost. Also check out the history of capital growth rate in the area in last at least 15 years. Make sure that property investment is worth the capital benefit. You must also consider the population growth rate of the locality. If you are planning to invest in property, you need to take advice from experts or you can conduct research on the internet, attend seminars, interact with social groups and then read as much as possible regarding this matter to clear up all your investment doubts. Though the whole scenario of investments is always changing, property investment is still a viable means to enhance your financial portfolio. Because, the more you know about market, the better you will become at finding good property investments.

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Products dealt with in wealth management include stock trading and stocks, investments linked with equity, derivatives and products relating to structured investment, foreign exchange, unit trusts and mutual funds, investments and management of property, etc. Alternative investments with respect to wealth management include art, wine, precious metals, etc. Due to its prime importance, it is advisable to take the help of wealth management company while running a big enterprise. Because a wealth management company helps in growing long-term wealth for achieving long-term profit as It analyzes your wealth management plans including investments, insurance plans etc, calculates the related risks and then it proposes a wealth plan. It may provide many services like portfolio management, investment management, portfolio rebalancing, trust and estate management, private management, tax advice and financing solutions etc.

A wealth management company sometimes also implements some useful financial tools like stocks and stock trading, structure savings products, structured investment products and derivatives, equity linked investments, property management and investment solutions, mutual funds and alternate investment options. These tools provide assistance in making your money grow and provide you long-term investment benefits. Thus, proper wealth management with the help of financial planning can make you gain very fruitful returns on your investments which will have increasing volume each time.