Archive for December, 2006
Merry Christmas
Sunday, December 24th, 2006Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. May this festival of cheer bring all good things to your life.
Building a portfolio
Sunday, December 24th, 2006A common question for new investors, especially those with low investible funds, is “How do I build a portfolio?”. Typically, there are minimum lot sizes for any stock; coupled with the price per share, it does mean that investing in that share requires a certain amount to be committed.
Typically, when you look at market […]
Qualified advisors?
Tuesday, December 19th, 2006If you’re still not comfortable with the idea of looking for information, and prefer to go with someone who dispenses advice, you need to be careful. There is no way to evaluate an advisor’s capability upfront; and you don’t want to learn from bitter experience that he or she wasn’t really good.
One important thing to […]
Finding Investment Advisors
Friday, December 15th, 2006Where should you look for investment advice, if you’re not going to a full service broker?
A variety of choices are available.
TV and news channels such as CNBC carry market reports, analyses and recommendations.
Magazines like Forbes, Fortune and SmartMoney provide information about businesses.
The Wall Street Journal is another good source of information
Several web portals like Yahoo […]
Choosing A Broker
Thursday, December 14th, 2006If you’re investing in stocks, you need to go through a stock broker. Years ago, there was only one kind of broker; a “full service” broker, who in addition to trading stocks, would also provide personalised advice and planning services.
Some people find this worthwhile, others believe that it adds little or no value. Full […]
Churning
Monday, December 11th, 2006Why do you need a strategy for investing? The answer’s very simple;
You’re looking for returns; the more, the better
Different opportunities have varying return profiles - ideally, you’d like to have the freedom to cherry pick the best at all times
Yet, to maximise your return from a particular opportunity, you need to commit resources for some […]
Properly Using a Reverse Mortgage
Thursday, December 7th, 2006Recently a question was posed to us by a retired gentleman from California about how he could use a reverse mortgage to fund his retirement. As I pondered his question, I decided to post the response here. He is the situation.
He’s a 69-year-old widow and I receive about $1,200 a month from Social Security and a […]
Holiday Shopping for Your Wallet
Tuesday, December 5th, 2006The holiday season is here and many people are opening their wallets and shelling out the cash or laying down the plastic to buy all those presents. All those presents add up to a big dent in your savings or monthly budget. But did you know that holiday shopping should also include your personal finances?
Shopping for […]
Stock Strategy Mistakes
Tuesday, December 5th, 2006The one thing that marks out a novice stock investor is whether there’s been adequate thought to the investment strategy. More often than not, this is where new investors fail; and in failing, lose more than they can afford.
By far, the most common mistakes are of two kinds :
1) Not having […]
Employer Stock - Risky?
Friday, December 1st, 2006Employee stock programs or stock options are easier to invest in, and may seem to be quite lucrative, given the discounted price. Plus, you know all about the company; why not concentrate ALL your investment just in this one?
It’s risky, from three points of view :
Quite often, employees are the last to find out any […]