Tammy Tays asked:


I’m looking at an old investment statement and was wondering if “Federally Taxable” means that is the amount owed to the IRS for that particular statement? I’m looking at a line that is listed under “source of income” first column is Federally taxable credit interest earned. The second column is “current period” then the dollar amount under that. The third column is “year to date” and then there’s a much larger dollar amount under there. I’m reading this as the current period amount shown could be whats owed to the IRS correct?

LEON

MEMRITVVideos asked:

www.memri.org

ODELL

Paul Hata asked:


There are several different types of investments, and there are many factors in determining the success of your investment.Before you get there,remember that all success story began with researching the various available types of investments, determining your risk tolerance, and determining your investment style along with your financial goals.

Do Your Homework - If you were going to purchase a new car, you would do quite a bit of research before making a final decision and a purchase. You would never consider purchasing a car that you had not fully looked over and taken for a test drive. Investing works much the same way.You will of course learn as much about the investment as possible, and you would want to see how past investors have done as well. It’s common sense!

As a potential investor, you should read anything you can get your hands on about investing but start with the beginning investment books and websites first. Otherwise, you will quickly find that you are lost.

Learn From The Experts - Learning about the stock market and investments takes a lot of time but it is time well spent. There are numerous books and websites on the topic, and you can even take college level courses on the topic which is what stockbrokers do.

Test Run - While the person who sold you your brand new car or ipod will provide you with a 30 day money back warranty, there is no such thing as money back warranty in stock investment.

Once the money’s gone,its gone forever and that could be your life savings!

With access to the Internet, you can actually play the stock market with fake money to get a feel for how it works.Do a search with any search engine for “Stock Market Games” or “Stock Market Simulations.” This is a great way to start learning about investing in the stock market.

Speak with a Financial Planner - Finally, speak with a financial planner. Tell them your goals, and ask them for their suggestions, this is what they do.A good financial planner can easily help you determine where to invest your funds, and help you set up a plan to reach all of your financial goals. Many will even teach you about investing along the way,make sure you pay attention to what they are telling you!

Different Types of Investments - Overall, there are three different kinds of investments. These include stocks, bonds, and cash. Sounds simple, right? Well, unfortunately, it gets very complicated from there. You see, each type of investment has numerous types of investments that fall under it.

There is quite a bit to learn about each different investment type. The stock market can be a big scary place for those who know little or nothing about investing. Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a direct relation to the type of investor that you are. There are also three types of investors: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. The different types of investments also cater to the two levels of risk tolerance: high risk and low risk.

1.Conservative Investors - Conservative investors often invest in cash. This means that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. These are very safe investments that grow over a long period of time. These are also low risk investments.

2.Moderate Investors - Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, providing that it is low risk real estate.

3.Aggressive Investors - Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is higher risk. They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments. In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn’t. It’s a risk.

Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!

The Importance of Diversification - “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” We have all probably heard of this advice and when it comes to investing, it is very true. Diversification is the key to successful investing. All successful investors build portfolios that are widely diversified, and you should too!

Diversifying your investments might include purchasing various stocks in many different industries. It may include purchasing bonds, investing in money market accounts, or even in some real property. The key is to invest in several different areas not just one.

Diversification May Bring Better Returns - Over time, research has shown that investors who have diversified portfolios usually see more consistent and stable returns on their investments than those who just invest in one thing. By investing in several different markets, you will actually be at less risk also.

For instance, if you have invested all of your money in one stock, and that stock takes a significant plunge, you will most likely find that you have lost all of your money. On the other hand, if you have invested in ten different stocks, and nine are doing well while one plunges, you are still in reasonably good shape.

Diversification Plans - A good diversification will usually include stocks, bonds, real property, and cash. It may take time to diversify your portfolio. Depending on how much you have to initially invest, you may have to start with one type of investment, and invest in other areas as time goes by.

Lower Your Risk - If you can divide your initial investment funds among various types of investments, you will find that you have a lower risk of losing your money, and over time, you will see better returns. Experts also suggest that you spread your investment money evenly among your investments. In other words, if you start with $100,000 to invest, invest $25,000 in stocks, $25,000 in real property, $25,000 in bonds, and put $25,000 in an interest bearing savings account.



DELBERT

SchweizerFernsehen asked:

Geraint Anderson hat 12 Jahre lang in Londons Finanzzentrum Millionen abkassiert. Jetzt packt der Investmentbanker aus. Eine Milieustudie über den Erfolgsrausch und die Gier nach mehr.

KENNETH

Michelle6241 asked:

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MITCHELL

FraudDiscovery asked:

How could 50 billion have been saved? In 2006 FDI put out this video on “Investment Fraud” where every single red flag discussed was present in the $50 billion dollar Madoff alleged fraud. Had people seen this BEFORE they invested, $50 billion in losses would be saved.

MICHEAL

Mark Kramer asked:


What is risk tolerance and how does it influence your investment decisions? Understanding what you can and cannot emotionally tolerate losing will help you make better investment decisions and ultimately gain higher returns.

What is risk tolerance? It’s your ability to deal with investment losses … usually in the short-run … to have the chance of earning higher long-term returns than you would get in a bank account.

ØOn the one hand it’s about how much you can afford to lose.

ØOn the other hand, it’s also about how much money you can emotionally tolerate losing.

It’s extremely important to your success as a long-term investor to know your tolerance for risk. It’s a key part of designing an investment program that is appropriate for you and for picking individual investments.

What You Can Afford to Lose: An examination of your individual circumstances is required to figure out how much of your nest egg you can afford to lose in the short-run on investments that promise to deliver attractive growth in the long-term. But there are some general guidelines:

ØGenerally speaking, the more years you have until retirement, the higher your risk tolerance should be.

ØConversely, the more likely you are to tap into your nest egg early, the lower your risk tolerance should be.

The Emotional Aspect of Dealing with Risk: Studies of investor behavior show that emotions are a significant contributor to poor, long-term investment performance. Investors tend to get stuck on an emotional roller coaster that leads to poor investment decisions. Here is what the roller coaster ride often looks like:

ØInvestors get excited about investments that have already gone up and buy near the peak in value. When prices drop, investors find it emotionally difficult to accept and will rationalize holding on until prices improve. Then the bottom drops out and investors sell near the bottom, no longer able to cope with the anguish. Emotionally battered, they find it difficult to reinvest near the bottom and end up missing the next move up … only to reinvest later on after values have risen above where they had sold (buy high … sell low?) Then values peak once again, prices drop and the cycle continues.

Sound like anyone you know? This is why sticking with a disciplined investment plan is so important to successful investing. Overcoming your natural emotional reactions driven by fear and greed is the key. But that is hard to do.

ØIt becomes harder the more risk you accept in your investment plan.

What Percentage of Your Nest Egg Can You Lose? Before designing an investment plan, it is helpful to think about your risk tolerance in terms of a percentage. For example, you might say “I am willing to see my portfolio decline as much as 12% for a period of time if it gives me the opportunity to realize better growth over the long-term compared with leaving the money in a risk-free bank account or CD.”

ØPerhaps you could tolerate losing as much as 30% of your nest egg temporarily investing in something you thought could earn you a long-term growth rate as high as 10% to 15% per year.

Build a Disciplined Plan Around Your Risk Tolerance: No matter whether you’re a big gambler or a scared chicken, knowing your risk tolerance expressed as a percentage should make it easier for you and/or a financial professional to design an investment program that isn’t likely to push your emotional hot buttons.

ØIf the inevitable volatility of your investments remains within your emotional limits, you will be miles ahead in the long run simply from having been able to stick with a disciplined strategy.

You and/or a financial advisor can compare your percentage risk tolerance to the historical volatility (annual standard deviation) of different types of investments and design portfolio allocations that will more likely meet your long term investment objectives while staying within your risk limits.

Calibrate a Mechanical Investment Strategy to Your Risk Limits: With the use of computers and mathematically-based investment strategies, it is now possible to calibrate a mechanical investment strategy to your maximum risk tolerance.

This is what we have done at ConfidentStrategies.com. We have Model Portfolio strategies calibrated for a maximum risk tolerance of 5%, 7%, 12% and 30%. Fortunately, you don’t need any financial or mathematical background to take advantage of these sophisticated models as the work is all done for you and presented in the easy-to-understand form of Model Portfolios.

Benefit From Higher Risk-Adjusted Returns: Our Model Portfolios have not only successfully managed volatility risk but increased longer term rates of return. The result has been very attractive “risk-adjusted returns” compared with more traditional investment strategies. “Getting well paid” for the risk you’re taking may seem like an obvious approach, but few other methods of investing allow you as much control over the relationship between risk and return as mechanical strategies such as ours. To learn more about our investment models for stock market and mutual fund investing subscribe to our free strategic investment newsletter at http://www.confidentstrategies.com.



MAURO

Amy U. Goodmann asked:


It can be more than said that in the year 2009 that “Global Tax Planning” brings with a host and hosts of new, newer and newest concepts and procedures that may well be new or not even known by yourself , your family , banking , business advisers and even the most savvy of your knowledgeable friends and financial business acquaintances.

It can be well said that when selecting and using “tax havens” , as well as implementing global tax saving strategies you will require initial , workup information. Among these are basic , relevant information regarding global investing, private accounts , transferring funds, mail and email forwarding, secret safekeeping, computer privacy procedures as well as methods , personal privacy , counter intelligence as well as information sources.

One may well ask “Why Take the Global Approach to Investing and Investments ?” The answer to begin with , is that investing “offshore” will give you what might be called a “Launching Pad or Pads” to obtain direct access to a wrath of a vast quantities and availabilities to many investments and investment opportunities that are simply not available or available to North Americans - be they American , Canadian or other Nafta resident residents and investors. This alone is one , or more than one major reason why you may well want to create and utilize a foreign entity for investing globally. It can be more than said that investments made through your offshore investment account and accounts may be held in stable , and even rapidly appreciating and growing currencies such as Swiss Francs. British Pounds Sterling and Euro currency holdings.

It is conservatively estimated , that in 2008, over 61 % of the world’s investment opportunities in stocks , bonds as well as other investment opportunities and vehicles are found outside the North American boundaries . Thus a whole new world of investment opportunities affords the voracious investor. One only has to read the newspaper , financial source materials as well as on line financial authorities to come to the realization that many offshore economies are growing more rapidly than what were once the “established” or what were considered the base or basic industrial economies. Investing globally will provide you , your family and friends as well as financial acquaintances an opportunity and opportunities to invest in the high and higher growth regions of the world. All told you will be left with a vastly greater range of investment opportunities. All the while , while reducing your risk and risks through diversification of assets over a range of various countries - whose investment and investment opportunities not only were unavailable to you if not downright hidden from view as well as growth opportunities.

It can be well said , if not emphasized greatly , that with the wrath of modern communications avail be to the average person and investor - be they the technologies of the INTERNET and computerization , communication devices such as fax machines , world travel , and even modern day post , that the globe has not only become a smaller place but a much larger realm in terms of investment opportunities and global investment opportunities that abound to to the average person as well as modern investor in the calendar year of 2009. Happy , safe and private global investing.



OTIS

Wanna Know asked:


How long will it take an investment to double at 7% interest compounded continuously?? I also need the same question but triple instead of double. I’m just not getting how to solve for that. Thanks!

LEN

Michelle Kour asked:


I recently decided the time was right to utilize some surplus cash I had available and began looking to purchase an investment property. Whilst it would have been easy to just dive in and find something that I could afford regardless of the location or potential growth, I thought it best to do some research knowing that my investment property was more than likely going to be a long term property investment for me. Timing was also good from an income perspective –I good easily demonstrate my capacity to service the investment loan I would need to complete the purchase and negatively gear the property. The “cost” of my investment loan after tax benefits were taken into account was considerably reduced.

When I began to think carefully about purchasing my investment property, I took such things as what economists were predicting as far as growth and property value increases as well as expenses that I would incur, both now and ongoing. This was definitely a decision I had to make with my head and not my heart. I also considered what was happening in the investment loan scene particularly in relation to features of an investment loan that could be advantageous for me as well as the general interest rate environment.

On the property front, my first port of call was to view the recent BIS Shrapnel report noting that by mid-2011, the median Sydney house price will climb from $560,000 to $650,000 - A senior economist at the firm, Jason Anderson, said the price rise would be spread across the city, helping cut the gap between Sydney’s two-speed property market. This was quite encouraging and meant that I could now look at a vast array of locations for my investment property. Whilst deciding on a local property, I also looked at the opportunity to perhaps purchase an investment property interstate, which is definitely something prospective buyers should focus on.

As far as investment loan product was concerned I checked out a number of mortgages until I found one that included a capitalizing interest component. I wanted to make sure that in the event that I had surplus personal income I could apply as much as possible of this to my home loan repayment as opposed to subsidizing my investment loan repayments. A capitalizing feature in an investment loan also gives me some protection in case of unexpected maintenance costs on my investment or a prolonged vacancy.

The next important issue I had to consider when deciding on an investment property was the cost associated with the purchase. There were the up-front costs such as loan fees, legal fees and government charges as well as the ongoing costs such as maintenance costs, real estate agent’s fees (rent collection), loan repayments, government taxes, etc. From a discussion I then had with my accountant, I discovered that as this was to be an investment property, most of the costs associated with the purchase, both up-front and ongoing, were tax deductible, either in the year I incurred them or in some cases they had to be spread out or amortized over a 3 or 5 year term.

I also checked out the possibility of borrowing these costs within my investment loan. This is always a possibility but I discovered that if your investment loan exceeds 80% of the purchase price then the costs increase – basically it did not seem worthwhile to take my investment loan past 80%. I did realize however that if I included my home property as security for the investment loan (I had quite good equity in my home) then this meant that I could borrow 100% + costs on the purchase within the investment loan. This again meant that instead of applying my savings to the investment purchase (and taking a smaller investment loan) I applied this to the reduction of my non-deductible home loan debt and increased my investment loan debt. Increasing the investment loan like this was much more tax efficient for me.

Having done my own property research and having sourced an excellent investment loan I now felt at ease with my decision to go ahead and start to look in earnest for a property.

I am now the proud owner of an affordable investment property that I negatively gear for taxation purposes through my investment loan. With the help of a reputable non-bank home loan provider, I have structured my home and investment loans to maximize my tax benefits.

When thinking about purchasing an investment property and looking for an investment loan it would always be advisable to thoroughly research the current real estate market, source qualified information about where the market is heading both locally and interstate as sometimes this may be a more profitable option and finally, speak to qualified financial consultants as this could potentially save you thousands when claiming deductible expenses. And don’t forget to make sure your home and investment loan are structured properly so that you are minimizing your tax bill as much as possible.



GRANT