Options as a Strategic Investment » Investing

The Volatility Edge in Options Trading: New Technical Strategies for Investing in Unstable Markets [Hardcover]

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:23:23 +0000

“Jeff’s analysis is unique, at least among academic derivatives textbooks. I would definitely use this material in my derivatives class, as I believe students would benefit from analyzing the many dimensions of Jeff’s trading strategies. I especially found the material on trading the earnings cycle and discussion of how to insure against price jumps at known events very worthwhile.” —DR. ROBERT JENNINGS, Professor of Finance, Indiana University Kelley School of Business “This is not just another book about options trading. The author shares a plethora of knowledge based on 20 years of trading experience and study of the financial markets. Jeff explains the myriad of complexities about options in a manner that is insightful and easy to understand. Given the growth in the options and derivatives markets over the past five years, this book is required reading for any serious investor or anyone in the financial service industries.” —MICHAEL P. O’ (more…)

Here Are The Ground Rules For Successful Investing

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:24:00 +0000

Not long ago investing was easy. There were few places you could invest and if you had money you wanted to invest, you left it to the professional stock brokers. However, deregulation of the financial markets has changed all this. In the past 20 years new investment products have been launched, changes have been made to the tax systems and retirement plans which have altered the attractiveness of many investment products.
Up to about 20 years ago, share investing was purely in the domain of the wealthy. For most people it was difficult to trade in overseas stock exchanges, there were no such thing as cash management trusts, installment warrants, exchange traded options, dividend imputation, reset preference shares and endowment warrants – to name a few. Now about 50% of investors are “mums and dads” investors who either own shares directly or in managed funds. Unfortunately, in recent years many investors have been “burnt” because they did not understand the risks of investing in financial markets.
Governments around the world have made it clear that it is important for people to take control of their own financial futures. The sustainability of government funded pensions is under pressure. If you do not save and invest, you will suffer a significant decline in your retirement living standard. The average life expectancy is about 80 years, so if you retire at 60 years of age, the savings you have accumulated in the 40 years of your working life will need to fund your retirement of 20 years or more.
Deregulation of financial markets, interest rates and currencies means that the market determines the value of investments and not government decree. This provides opportunities for educated investors to build wealth and for unwary investors to lose wealth. You must understand the opportunities and risks.
The ground rule is that if you want to be a successful investor in financial markets, you must educate yourself about investing. Even if you put your faith in a licensed investment advisor, not all are competent. It is essential that you understand how the financial markets work so that you do not put your hard earned money in the hands of an incompetent advisor who is only interested in the commissions available. How can you tell whether a particular investment is right for you? The only sure way is to become familiar with the language used in the financial industry and to have a sound investment strategy. Does this mean that you should keep you money safe by putting it under the bed or keeping it in the bank? No – but you do need to understand the risks involved and set ground rules for successful investing.
There are a number of ground rules in investing that haves stood the test of time. With time, patience and effort you can become a successful investor in all the areas that are open to you. This will not come overnight and you will have to be prepared for that fact there will be times you lose money. However,perseverance is a virtue above all others. The road is not always easy, but nothing worthwhile is.
Here are the ground rules for successful investing:
1. Be your own investment manager. No advisor or stockbroker should do it for you. Only you know what your real needs are, what your temperament is – and only you are motivated by your own best interests, not sales commissions. It is also more fun to do it yourself.
2. Confront risk and then reduce it through spreading your investments.
3. Take a contrarians view to investment markets. That is, look for opportunities and do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.
If your investing facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important investing information slip by you.
4. Do not be put off by investment jargon. Master it instead.
5. NOW is the best time to start investing. Do not wait for the markets to improve. If the share market is filled with gloom, that is the time to buy.
6. Make good quality shares the core of your investment strategy. Then you can rest easy when you invest in more speculative areas.
7. Always consider tax implications of making investments but never let tax minimization be the main objective. The fundamental rule is to think in terms of after-tax returns.
8. Keep up to date through reading the financial papers and searching independent investment research websites.
9. Discussing investments is stimulating. Condition your mind to talk to others about investing, especially people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than you are.
10. Do not be greedy. Discipline yourself to cut your losses with bad investments and cash in when you have made a reasonable profit.
11. Be patient. Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, you may not become wealthy overnight, but you will over time.
12. Never invest in anything you do not understand. If a particular investment sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
13. Pay yourself first. Most people invest money they have left over after paying the bills. Allocate yourself the first 10% of your monthly income to build up your investment capital. By doing this you will force yourself to become an investor and the long term benefits will be enormous.
If you master these 13 ground rules, you will be a successful investor. You will rival so-called professionals and will sleep easily at night knowing that money is the least of your worries.

Four Things to Consider Before Investing in the Financial Markets

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:53:25 +0000

Are you ready to make money in the stock market? Investing is an important step towards building your personal wealth, and there are many things to consider before you begin.

Your present financial situation

You need to begin by evaluating your current financial situation. Consider your assets, your liabilities, your total household income and the amount of discretionary income that you have available to invest on a monthly basis. Your discretionary income is the income that you have left over each month after you pay all of your household expenses. Next, you need to evaluate your current level of cash reserves. Cash reserves can be defined as the assets set aside in the case of an emergency or for an opportunity. An example of an opportunity would be a great investment, a real estate property that you want to buy or a great vacation discount that you want to take advantage of. It is recommended that you keep between 3-6 months of your total household expenses set aside as cash reserves. The other factor to consider is the level of your personal protection. Your most important asset is your ability to earn an income. Protecting yourself, your home, your vehicles and your family is important. Evaluate your levels of insurance coverage to determine whether it is sufficient to cover your present needs.

What are you saving toward?

Everybody saves for a purpose. Some people save to ensure a better retirement. Some people are saving to buy a car, home or a new boat. Some are saving to ensure that their children have a great college education. Before you begin to save, sit down and think about all of your goals, and then prioritize them based on personal importance. Ask yourself whether these goals pass the acid test. The acid test asks if you would be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve these goals. For example- Would you reduce your lifestyle and expenses to save more money if it would ensure that you reached your goal? If a goal does not pass the acid test then you should remove it from your list. Next, define each goal with a time frame and an amount. For example- I need to have $50,000 saved for my oldest son by 2010 to pay for his education, is a clearly stated goal. Once you have defined your goals, determine the dollar amount needed to save to achieve them and the length of time you have to save for them. These factors will be taken into consideration when making your individual investment selections.

Do you understand your investment options?

Consider investing into mutual funds if you are a new investor into the stock market. Mutual funds are comprised of multiple individual stocks or bonds and usually offer a smaller initial investment amount to be contributed on a monthly basis. This smaller dollar amount makes it possible for a variety of investors to begin saving into the stock market without large sums of cash already set aside. Understanding stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate investment trusts, cash value life insurance, annuities and trusts is an important place to start when you are a beginning to invest. Research each investment option to determine which combination will best assist you in reaching your financial goals.

Define your Investment Risk Tolerance

Now that you have an understanding of the stock market, you need to determine your personal risk tolerance before you start to invest. Your risk tolerance refers to the amount of variance you are comfortable with in your portfolio, and is often defined by how far away the goals that you are savings towards are. Investors are typically categorized as Aggressive, Moderately Aggressive, Moderately Conservative and Conservative. Each investor type is characterized by their investment portfolio, their time frame to save, their expected portfolio returns and their overall tolerance to withstand portfolio value changes on an annual basis.

These are the most important things to consider before you invest into the stock market. Having a financial plan that you implement will increase your chances for financial success.

This is not investment advice. Before implementing any investment strategies, consult your financial advisor or financial professional.

Choose Your Investment Style Wisely For Maximum Benefit

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:20:16 +0000

Financial planning and management is always a very tricky thing. Choose a wrong way to manage your money and you will be in for a major shock. It is after all your hard earned money. That is why precisely there are people who know various investment options and will work with you to make sure that you make the right choices. These professionals are known as financial planners.
The financial planners will usually know a lot more various investment options than you would know. At most you would have heard about the stock market and the mutual funds. But there are various other investment options like real estate funds, trusts, private equity where you can invest but are not knowledgeable enough to invest.
Above all this investment planning lies the crux of your strategy about financial discipline and management. All this depends up on your risk taking capability and how far do you want to go in the risk versus reward situation. It is this risk taking capability which will determine which investment avenues you will want to invest in. When working with your financial planner make sure that you tell him about the amount of risk you are willing to take.
This risk taking capability also depends on the age at which you are investing. If you are young and in your 20’s or 30’s then you can take more risk. You have the entire life ahead of you and even if something goes wrong you have a long working career ahead to make money and invest. At that age you do not have responsibilities of home and children. Also there are merits of starting your investing cycle earlier as that gives a huge corpus of money because of the power of compounding.
At later stages your risk appetite slows down as you have more responsibilities like childrens education and a family to take care of. You would most likely try to invest in options where you can feel that at least your capital will not be at risk.
So when you are thinking of investing or are exploring various investment avenues then always think about what kind of risk you are taking and what are the potential rewards that you are going to get. This will definitely modify and mould your investment style. These investment styles will alone then determine where you put your money. Last bit of advice on planning is that never put your eggs in one basket.

Rules for Investing- How To Build a Portfolio of Safe, Secure Investments

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:20:30 +0000

In order to invest wisely, you need to have a suitable investment plan that will ensure the appropriate amount of growth for you. Your investments will also need to be safe and easy to manage.
Developing an Investment Plan:
The first step in developing an investment plan is to identify what type of an investor you are. Investor types are often determined by their stages in life. Here is a guide:
- Single person under 40 years old. Focus: Long-term investments, medium to high risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.
- Two-income married couple, no children, aged 20 to 40 years. Focus: Long-term investments, medium to high risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.
- One-income family, young children, aged 20 to 40 years. Focus: Long-term investments, low to medium risk. Emphasis: compound growth.
- Single person, aged 40 to 60 years. Focus: Medium-term investments, medium risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.
- Married couple with adolescent or independent children, aged 40 to 60 years. Focus: Medium-term investments, medium risk. Emphasis: capital gain, compound growth.
- All investors, aged 60 and over. Focus: Short to medium-term investments, low risk. Emphasis: Income.
The following are examples of investment portfolio mixes for the various types of investors.
Low Risk Investments:
Low risk investments are predominately cash, fixed interest and superannuation. This has the lowest risk of all investments but has also the lowest return – in today’s market, approximately 3% to 6% per annum. Fixed interest includes cash, cash management trusts and bonds. They return approximately 5% to 10% per annum, sometimes as high as 15% if you invest in global bonds in good markets.
Superannuation returns and risk profiles vary from institution to institution, however the best and safest usually return on average 10% per annum.
Medium Risk Investments:
Medium risk investments include property and non-speculative shares. Diversified funds, which invest in a range of asset groups, are also considered to have medium risk profiles. Average returns from these types of investments will range from 8% to 15% per annum.
I also like to include the broad spectrum of mutual funds, to be discussed later, in the range of medium risk investments. Some can return up to 25% and more depending on the fund type and managers.
High Risk Investments:
High risk investments include all speculative shares, futures and any other type of investment that is purely speculative by nature. Because with these types of investments we are betting on whether the price will go up, or sometimes down, I often classify this as a form of gambling. Accordingly, the returns are unlimited but so is the ability to lose the total money invested.
The basic rule for investing in highly speculative stock is to build in ’sell-out’ thresholds, three up and three down. For example, if you buy a stock at $20.00 per share, your sell-out thresholds might be:
Sell out threshold 3 $30.00
Sell out threshold 2 $25.00
Sell out threshold 1 $22.50
Buy $20.00
Sell out threshold 1 $17.50
Sell-out threshold 2 $15.00
Sell-out threshold 3 $10.00
Each time your stock reaches one of the threshold levels, you sell a third of your stock.
If the stock starts to rise, you sell a third at $22.50 and then another third at $25.00 and so forth. If the stock starts to fall, you also sell a third at $17.50, then another third at $15.00 and the final third at $10.00. In this way, you will never lose all your money, however you have also put a cap on the total profit you will make on the investment. This I have found to be the best and safest method for investing in speculative shares. In 1987, my husband and I were saved from the severe losses of the Wall Street crash because we were well and truly out of the market by taking our profits beforehand. Like all systems, this strategy will only work as long as you obey the rules and do not get too greedy.
Mutual Funds:
Mutual Funds are a selection of investments that are professionally managed by a financial institution or organization. These institutions have a wide range of specialists, researchers and advisor’s who devote their time to ensuring that the fund invests in the best companies and assets.
As well as the advantage of having experts manage your investments, managed funds also give you the ability to invest in a wide range of shares, property or fixed interest markets, either locally or internationally, for as small an outlay as $1,000. In the latter case, they also require a savings plan where you agree to deposit additional capital of a minimum $100.00 per month.
Because managed funds cover the whole spectrum of investment risk profiles, you can easily cover your preferred investment portfolio, as described above, by investing in several different funds.
Putting Together Your Investment Program:
After you have identified your investment type, you need to either seek a good financial advisor or devote your own time in researching investment options.
Shares have traditionally outperformed other asset groups over time. However, share markets can widely fluctuate in the short term, so any entry into the market should always be done with a long-term view of up to 10 years. Even the best managed share funds can fall if the stock market crashes or enters a severe downward cycle. As long as you ensure that you are with a reputable fund with good managers and are willing to ride the waves, your investment will do well in the long-term. If you are in the short-term, low risk category then your investments should be in the safer, more stable areas with lower returns.
Rules for Investing:
Investing may seem daunting for a lot of people. Maybe you have tried it once and failed, or maybe you are simply frightened of losing your money.
To avoid losing any capital, you simply need to be aware of the main pitfalls and always avoid them. The simple, reliable rules for investing are:
1. Have a plan. Always ensure that you or your financial advisor draws up an appropriate investment strategy for you that incorporates your risk profile, timeframes and financial goals. As foolish as it seems, many people plunge headfirst into investing without thoroughly working through these fundamental issues.
2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Obvious advice, but many people fail to follow it. Many people think that they are on the right financial track by paying off the mortgage on their family home and then buying another property for investment purposes. Think about it! You have put all of your financial eggs in one asset basket – property. What happens if the property market collapses? Despite common thinking that this is a safe way to invest, the outcome is very risky. You have invested all of your well-earned money into only one area.
3. Build in appropriate timeframes. There is an old saying, “When the tea lady starts to invest in the stock market, it’s time to get out.” What this means is, when the share market is so high that everyone starts to clamber on board, it has probably reached its peak. There are two ways of successful investment timing. The first is to always pick the low-end of the market to buy and the high-end of the market to sell. This is extremely hard to do. Even the best-informed experts have trouble. The second way is to choose good investments and stay with them over the long-term (say 10 years or more) and ride the waves of the market. For safe, easy investing, choose the second method. Do not buy into the top-end of the market and sell once it starts to fall. You will definitely lose money this way.
4. Avoid high-risk investments. These include risky business ventures, highly speculative stock, tax avoidance schemes or too-good-to-be-true propositions that promise unusually high returns.
5. Avoid borrowing for your investments. Although some financial advisors advocate ‘gearing your investments’, this can be fraught with danger. Gearing means to borrow. If borrowing for investments takes you over your 40% fixed costs margin, you will be cutting it too fine, particularly if you lose your current income level.
6. Stay with the traditional and known. The best and surest investments are fixed interest, property and shares. Although all asset classes will fluctuate over time.
Work out the optimum mix for your investment profile, have a safe plan to work with and you can’t go wrong.

Creative Real Estate Investing for Flat and Down Markets – Beating the Bursting Bubble!

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:25:11 +0000

I find the current media coverage about the “Bursting Real Estate Bubble”to be priceless for those of us who are investors. They talk about falling house prices which will only bring gloom and doom for homeowners and real estate investors a like. I can understand where they are coming from; having little or no knowledge about investing and that is OK, because it just creates more opportunity for you and I. Real estate is cyclical and always has been. There was a large national article published that stated Las Vegas real estate had completely capped out and there was no place for it to go but down. Does that sound familiar? If so, you may want to think again. That article was published nearly half a century ago! Has real estate gone up in value in Las Vegas in the last 50 years? You bet, and not just a little! Now does that mean real estate is going to keep going up like it has the last few years? I wouldn’t plan on it, particularly in the short term, however that’s what makes this media coverage so invaluable. *It creates fear that scares off a lot of people from investing (creating more opportunity). *It eliminates aggressive scam investments (as we saw rampant with builders in Florida and Las Vegas the last few years). *It makes people question the value of their properties (creating more flexible sellers). Here is something to consider: do you know any ultra successful real estate investor that is afraid of flat or declining house prices? Quite to the contrary, knowledgeable investors understand when markets are flat or down it just weeds out beginning investors, makes people panic and means more opportunity. What’s important to understand is just as real estate is cyclical, so are the amount of buyers and sellers in a given market. When markets are up, you’ll have to spend more time finding motivated sellers, but you have the benefit of appreciation on your side. When markets are down, you can’t depend on appreciation, but you’ll have a lot more motivated sellers to work with. In fact, when markets are down, you usually have to let “good” deals go, so you can take advantage of the “best” deals! We’re not just buying properties and hoping that they will appreciate or go up in value. That’s not investing, that’s speculating! Your completely dependent on future growth that is entirely out of your control. That’s a conventional mindset and will not work in flat or declining real estate markets especially in the short term. Like any business, you need to make well calculated decisions. In real estate, that includes making creative, risk free offers and setting up your exits appropriately for the specific circumstances. There are better and more creative real estate investing strategies for down and soft markets like assignments, lease options(as a seller or a “sandwich”), foreclosures, short sales, wholesaling and “subject to” arrangements. But even when doing rehabs or fixer uppers (which are not typically recommended in down markets) there are still good ways to make a good profit with the right system and proper planning. For example, let’s say you are in a market depreciating at 10% a year, you would need to factor in the time to make the rehab repairs plus the time to sell (with a cushion), then subtract market depreciation during that time. So if an area was depreciating at 10% a year and you had a property that would take 2-3 months to fix up and 2-3 months to sell, you would want to subtract an additional 5-6% from the retails sales price when making your offer to a seller. There’s really no issue with doing rehabs of fixer uppers in down markets, you just need to factor in depreciation accordingly. This is why faster, lower risk, more creative real estate investing strategies are better to use during market declines. The point is market conditions will not determine your success; it’s how you approach your market and do what is appropriate for the current trends. When you structure risk free deals and make calculated decisions, the market conditions will never be a determining factor of whether you make money or not! Copyright © 2007-9 Creativerealestatehelp.com. All rights reserved.

Investing in Stocks or Managed Futures â a Wise Decision?

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:27:28 +0000

The most tested wealth creation tool is investing in stocks. Once you have made up your mind to create wealth over a long-term, it is advisable that you detect the areas in your budget where you tend to overspend. Adopt the corrective measures and utilize the money saved from such correction in investments.

Invest in the stock market :-

For those who are interested in investing, acquiring knowledge about the financial world and its fundamentals, this investment is a must. Keeping a constant watch on the financial market and its daily events gives investors an idea about what investment tools are available in the market currently.

The investors must find out what kind of investments fit their long-term goals and accordingly invest in them. The mantra for success in the stock market is making the right choice and sticking to it for a long time.

Stick to small stocks initially:-

For many investors, investing in the stock market seems to be very exciting. It is however advisable that they do not get carried away by the excitement and stick to only small investments in the beginning. In this way you will get an idea of the crests and troughs of the stock market without placing yourself at a great risk.

For the beginners it could be a good idea to start investing in the stocks whose prices have constantly increased over a period of time. In case you plan to sell high, it is important that you know what your tolerance level is, in case the stock does not perform as per your expectations.

Understand the market :-

You must do adequate research before you begin investing in stocks. You must understand the market operation and particularly how the stocksâ (in which you plan to invest) past performance has been. Such research could take some time but is very important and determines your success in the market.

There is professional help available in the market to guide the investors towards wise investment strategies. You can seek help from reputed brokers or brokerage houses to help you select the appropriate investment option, especially if you are just beginning. After you have been in the field for quite sometime, you can choose to make decisions on your own and can afford to buy and sell stocks without any professional help.

Invest in managed futures :-

Managed futures are investment options and are similar to mutual funds. Managed futures, are however, positioned in government securities and are managed through future contracts or various options on future contracts.

Those who invested in managed futures just few years back have made double the money they originally invested. Analysts are generally very optimistic on the future of managed futures.

Managed futures come across as an attractive investment option because of their potential of reducing portfolio risk. Market studies indicate that when asset classes are combined with alternative investment options like managed futures, risk significantly reduces. This is because such a combination diversifies the portfolio through negative correlation between various asset groups.

Why Should You Invest for Your Future?

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:23:19 +0000

Investing can be one of the best and easiest ways to prepare for your future. Every year, many people get married and start families. However, they also have to take time to plan for their futures, and oftentimes, they don’t do that. If you’re young, the future seems limitless and it seems like it will be a long time before you get to retirement. However, those years can pass quickly and retirement can be here before you know it. One day, you are in your 20s and just starting a newly married life together, having children. All of a sudden, you’re 40 and you haven’t saved anything for your future. Those 20 years or so in the middle can pass just like that and all of a sudden, that distant future is right here, staring at you and daring you to take care of it. Still, many people continue mindlessly on in the same direction they’ve been going, and they don’t stop to make sure that their own and their children’s financial futures are secure.
The Consumer Federation of America and Princeton University conducted a study wherein they found that roughly 70% of American households with yearly salaries under $50,000 had saved less than $5,000 for retirement. Similarly, that report also concluded that most Americans were just getting by, living from paycheck to paycheck. If you invest, this doesn’t have to happen to you. When you invest, you put money away that grows effortlessly, so that when you reach retirement age, you have something to live on. If your investments are wise, your nest egg will be quite comfortable upon retirement. While it is true that any type of investment carries some risk, different types of investment securities have different levels of risk. You can find an investment vehicle with a relatively low risk level. For example, mutual funds are considered relatively low risk while individual stocks are considered a higher risk. In addition, you have other investment options; your options are many and varied, and you have a lot to choose from.
What are Investment Funds?
Investment funds have several advantages that individual stocks don’t. When you pool the funds of retail investors together, their risk is reduced, as is their amount of effort in managing the investment. Investment firms retain a small fee. Mutual funds generally come from many small investors. This setup allows small investors to access a wider range of securities that they might not otherwise be able to. This also cuts way down on the cost of trading. It’s also easier for smaller investors to participate. There are two types of investment funds. One is an open-end fund, or mutual fund, and the other is a closed-end, or an investment trust.
What Is a Hedge Fund?
This type of fund is typically not available to the average investor because of the income bracket one has to be in to participate. It’s also more difficult to invest, and you must know much more about how the stock market works. In general, institutions and wealthy individuals use hedge funds because they have investment strategies available to them not available to the typical investor. These strategies are more aggressive than those used in mutual funds. Hedge fund investors can do program trading, leverage, sell short, arbitrage, swap, or use derivatives. Additionally, hedge funds do not have to follow the same regulations and rules that mutual funds do. The law restricts hedge funds to a maximum of 100 investors per fund. Because of this, the minimum investment amount for hedge funds is usually extremely high. In general, average investment amounts for hedge funds range from about $250,000 to more than $1 million. A management fee is paid as with mutual funds, but hedge funds are different because managers are also given a percentage of the profits, usually around 20%.
If you haven’t started saving for retirement, it’s never too late. Whether you’re 10 or 20 years away from retirement, beginning to invest wisely now can give you some healthy retirement income by the time you’re 65. If you invest, you’ll be able to enjoy your retirement years without having to worry about your finances.

Real Estate Investing – the Real Keys to Real Success

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:18:48 +0000

The real estate market can be fun, exciting, fast paced, scary, overwhelming, profitable, time consuming, and crazy. That’s quite a range of emotions for one subject! Even when things are done right, there can be moments of extreme anxiety, but you can make it through! I am not trying to scare anyone away, just prepare you. Real estate and property flipping is the most exciting business I have been involved in, and reading this article will help you get started in the right direction, and to avoid some common mistakes.

Let’s get right into it, and start with the basics. The first step is to determine what part of the business appeals to you, and also what part of the business you can get into at this moment based on your circumstances. Let’s start by reviewing a couple of options for those of you that have very little money to start with, or even no money. Later, we will discuss options for those of you with money to invest.

Getting Started with no Money

There are a few ways to get your foot in the door in the real estate business without actually having your own investment funds. The quickest and easiest way into the business is to become a “birddog” for investors. This simply means you find the deals, they buy them. You can earn a fee from bringing them what they are looking for. I recommend looking in the phone book, on the internet, and watching for signs that belong to an investor. Call these people and tell them what you are looking to do. Ask them exactly what they are looking for, and ask if they will work with you if you bring them a great deal. Nine times out of ten, they will say yes, and give you a good idea of what their investment formula is. Pay close attention, even if they don’t buy a property you bring them, you have just gained valuable knowledge about what local investors are looking for! Be sure to get something in writing regarding your payment, before you give them all the details of the deal!

Another way to start with little or no money is wholesaling. I don’t recommend this if you are a complete novice. Most wholesalers have this strategy: Tie up the property with a contract, find a buyer that will pay more than your contract, and you make the difference when it closes. Be sure your contract has an out in case your buyer does not close. If you have no money, you don’t want to have the seller try to force you to close on the property.

The third no money technique, and the way I broke into the business, is to create a partnership with someone that has money, but not the time to search for a property and put the deal together. Again, this is not for a complete beginner, you need to know the basics to ensure you actually profit from the deal! Form a “LLC” with the partner, and use that to hold the property you have chosen to purchase. Be sure to treat it as a business. Everything to do with the business is to be kept separate from your personal funds. If you are getting paid for anything, write an invoice, and “submit” it to the business. Keep good records, you will need these for tax time!

Investing With Your Money

OK, I realize there are still people out there that have money, and many investment books leave you out! Let’s look at a few options for you to get started.

First, you need to build a solid team. There are a lot of people that will work for you, for FREE! Truthfully, it’s not actually for free, but a lot of this business is based on commissions, so it is not costing you anything to have people working for you. In fact they are getting paid when they bring you a deal that will make you money. So you need to build a solid team. I recommend having a real estate agent on your team. They have access to bank owned foreclosure listings, and are your best bet to gain access to these properties. Foreclosures and REO’s are at an all time high right now, so it would be foolish to miss this opportunity.

Second, find a good “birddog”. Read above for details on that term. Find a young aggressive person that is really looking to make it in the investing business. Please be sure if they bring you a great deal that you actually close on it! Most people starting in the bird-dogging business don’t have money. Help them out, and they will be loyal to you. This is how you get the best of the best. They have the time, you have the money. It is a win – win relationship.

The next person to add is a banker. You may have money, but the more of your own money you can keep, the better. I suggest getting in with a local bank or credit union early on. As you move on to more deals, they will be comfortable continuing to lend to you. Be sure to speak with residential and commercial lenders to find who may be the best fit for your personal investing strategy.

Conclusion

This article barely touches the surface of getting started in the real estate and foreclosure investing business. Proceed with caution, double check all your numbers, and be extra conservative. Pass up a deal if it is not what you expected. Don’t get emotionally involved, remember that every property is just numbers in your spreadsheet! With that said, get excited, and go flip some houses. -Justin Razmus

Investing Toward A Fine Living

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:25:46 +0000

When it comes to making investments or plotting out an investment strategy, many people feel as if they are in a rowboat holding only one oar and stuck in the middle of an ocean. Spinning in circles without a direction is not a good place to be. But without a solid investment strategy in place, it could happen. The first step toward reaching the shores of your Financial Freedom Island is to know how you are going to get there. Developing a diversified investment plan is a great way to achieve your financial goals. Investing in mutual funds offers the opportunity to achieve specific goals and to tidily manage your portfolio.
If you are looking for an easy way to diversify your investment strategy without diving directly into the deep end of the financial know how pool, mutual funds are definitely an option worth investigating. A mutual fund is a pool of individuals money that is invested to satisfy the investment objectives of the group by the funds portfolio manager. Mutual funds are diverse, meaning that mutual funds are generally comprised of securities from a number of sources, such as stocks, bonds, and cash investments. The diversification of the monies makes it less likely that losses from one company or industry will have a significant negative impact to a mutual funds overall performance. There are noteworthy advantages to investing in mutual funds.
Portfolio managers or Investment advisers professionally manage mutual funds on a full time basis. It is their job to stay abreast with all factors that affect the marketplace. Private investors would have to devote substantial time to achieve similarly effective management. Mutual funds come in a wide variety of available options. Investors can choose mutual funds with very low risks regarding their principal investment. Conversely, investors may opt to take greater risks with their investments in pursuit of higher returns. Investing in mutual funds allows investors to maintain conservative, moderate, or aggressive portfolios or all three.
Mutual funds also offer a great amount of convenience to investors. Mutual funds are easy to buy or sell; easy to transfer from one fund to another; and you can set up automatic investments to a mutual fund account directly from your bank account. Most companies that manage mutual funds offer extensive record keeping services so investors can easily track their funds performance. Determining your specific needs is the first step in selecting which type of mutual fund would best suits your investment needs. People generally invest in mutual funds for either long term growth, high current income, or to maintain stability of their investment.
Keep in mind that mutual funds are not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC or any other government agency. So, it is vital that you make a well informed decision before committing to a purchase.