Investing in Property in Today's Market

Of the five different areas of investing your money, after cash comes property. Many people believe that the property they live in is their biggest and most important investment. Whilst this may be true, and is true if you have no mortgage, it isn't really your property as long as you have borrowed money to buy it.
In many respects it is the lender's investment because his asset will grow in value. He gets your money and invests it as well. You may well argue with some justification that the house is your asset, and when you sell it for a better price than you paid for it, that your asset will have appreciated. In fact many others will argue that your home is a liability!
Property as an investment really means looking outside and away from your own property. Bricks and mortar are as good an investment as any, and indeed better than most. Do not be put off by a short term loss in property values. Anywhere that land is scarce as in the UK will mean a long term gain in value.
There are a number of ways to invest in property.  The first and most obvious is to buy, and then let. In other words you own the property and the tenant who lets from you pays your mortgage. Don't necessarily feel you have to show a profit in your monthly income from the tenant over the cost of your mortgage. Think of capital appreciation of the property before the income from the rental. That is as long as the rental income and the mortgage costs cancel each other out.
At the end of the day if inflation is running at 5% and the property appreciates by 10% in the year you have created a winner.
You could also of course buy into a property fund, one that is run professionally, so it is very much hands off. IT is possible to do this through specialist Unit trusts and even personal pension plans. You could buy shares in property companies, but if the property market goes flat, then the share price will reflect this, and even successful property companies go to the wall.
In the long term property remains a very good investment.

A Perfect Retirement Investment Plan for Women

The first is the fact that women are paid less for the same job in the modern workforce. While this margin has been getting smaller and smaller over time, it's still significant. In a recent study by the United States Department of Labour, women were shown to earn 24 percent less than men for doing the exact same job. This can have serious implications when it comes to investing for retirement.
The same study by the Department of Labour also showed that women, on average, spend less time working than men. A gap of seven years was present in the study due to time that some women take off to have children, raise a family or care for elderly or sick parents. While the obvious impact to the amount of money earned in a lifetime is obvious, there is also the impact on any sort of savings plan through work, as well as less social security.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the last United States Census showed that women are living an average of seven years longer than men. So, not only are women earning less and in fewer years in the workforce, they also live longer which means they need to save more for retirement.
What does all this mean? It means that women might need to take a slightly more aggressive path toward investing for their retirement. It also means that women need to start even earlier than men to start saving and investing. Other good tips are to set different goals than your husband, since your set of circumstances are different. You might also want to have even more diversification in your portfolio than most so that if some of your investments go sour, you won't be left with nothing. It's also a good idea to stay on top of your investments. Reviewing them on a regular basis lets you know where your doing well and where you might need to make changes.
While it's unfortunate that a woman may need a completely different investing plan for retirement than her husband, the fact remains that there are forces conspiring against women in the workplace. But with the right strategy and the proper goals, everyone can enjoy a healthy and prosperous retirement.

Deadly Traps For Novice Investors

Investing is not just a fastest way for the wealth generation but is also a smart way of making the money work for you. Though many persons advice us to invest, but the reality is that not many are aware of the requisite knowledge or have required skills for making sound decisions on the investment.
Working closely with the experts in this field is the safest and fastest way to gain knowledge but main problem here is that "someone else" is managing your dollars. You have to be careful in all this. You should realize that the money to be invested is yours and thus investing is also your responsibility. It is a fact that nobody can look after your money in a way you yourself can.
When we discuss investing we can quite often get influenced by the estimated earnings or the prospective growth. We also get carried away when we see our stocks or funds performing well.
You should pay specific attention of two aspects as they can turn out to be death traps for any smart investment.
1. Fees
I've been insisting on you to start making investment yourself without seeking any help from the financial advisors because of the large fees which is involved.
These financial advisor or fund managers are all here in this business to make money and these guys don't make money by investing their own money but instead earn the money by charging the fees for investing your money. Now this fee can sometimes take a large chunk of your margins as there are fees for each aspect of the investment.
You should make sure as to what you will be charged for and when to minimize your expenses as much as you can.
2. Taxes
It is a fact that taxes make a large part of your investment strategy and in several ways these expenses should be paid particular attention.
You revenue service charges a capital gains tax (tax on the profit made by you on your investment). It greatly varies from a nation to nation. If you are from European country and are trading in the United States, then you will have to check this minutely as you may have to pay lot of taxes.

3 Investment Strategies for Today's Investor

Although it may not be so evident from the volumes of materials that have been written on the subject, investing is an evolving activity that changes from one year to the next. Gone are the days of simply investing in a term deposit that allows you to compound your interest payments and over the course of ten years you will have doubled your principal. As a result of falling interest rates over the past two decades, investment strategies have shifted and have become more "advanced." These days, the following three investment strategies can be used to enhance your investment portfolio's returns over the short-, medium- and long-term.
1. Diversification. Expanding your investment portfolio to include non-traditional types of investments is virtually mandatory in today's interest rate environment. Faced with low "guaranteed" rates, investors are having to look at marginally higher risk investments such as equities in order to enjoy the growth they want in their portfolio or other income-producing investments such as real estate if they want to enjoy greater monthly income.
2. Seek income paying equity securities. After the market troubles of 2007, 2008 and early-2009, many investors have returned to the fundamentals of equity investing which states that investing it is wisest to invest in equities that pay dividends. Not only are such companies often better capitalized and can generate steady amounts of cash to pay those dividends, but they are less likely to fail given their leadership in a particular industry or sector. With a closer eye on risk, investors have not only invested in more-solid companies but in companies that pay income as part of the equity offerings.
3. Invest on a regular basis. If nothing else, hindsight has consistently taught us that we would be better off today if we had invested everything we owned at the utter bottom of the market correction. This will always be the case. The problem is that we are not very well equipped to determine when that bottom actually happens. One way to avoid this is through regular investment contributions, whether it is splitting a lump sum over the course of a 12 month period or investing a pre-set amount with every paycheck; investing money on a regular basis allows even the most conservative investors to pay an "average" price for their investments. The end result is that over the long-term they will have paid much less than if they had tried to time the market with less frequent investment contributions.
These three investment strategies are fairly popular and comprehensive given today's market situation. By investing this way, investors can expect to reap long term rewards. The only caveat is that investors should expect to make changes to their strategies along the way.

5 Reasons Your 401k Is a Financial Prison

Imagine being locked up in a dark cell, and you can't leave. You don't choose where you sleep, what you eat, or even what clothes you want to wear.
Sure you can get out, but not for decades? Who knows where you will be then, and all the opportunities you might have lost.
Welcome to 401k: Financial Prison.
Does this sound familiar? Every year millions of Americans blindly throw money into their 401k prison, and they don't even know what is going on behind those walls. Well here are 5 reasons why your 401k just might be your financial prison.
The Sentence: Your 401k has been sentenced. You cannot take it out until your are 59 1/2, unless you pay a severe penalty. All this time you are losing out on all the opportunity and wealth your money could be creating you outside these walls.
The Warden: Most people don't even understand where their 401k money is being invested. Many 401k's are poorly invested in stocks and mutual funds that are losing money. Instead of being in control of your money, someone chosen by your company is deciding what investments are best for you.
The Penalty: Sure you can pull your money out of your 401k, but it is going to cost you. There are severe penalties for taking your money out of your 401k, and many companies have hidden fees and policies that you aren't even aware of.
The Government: 401k's are under government control. We have a national debt and a spending craze that is only getting worse and worse. Where the government giveth, it taketh away. Your 401k is under risk of future government decisions and possible added fees.
The Taxman: You finally complete your life sentence. Now it's time to pay the tax. It's safe to say taxes are going to be higher when you retire. Couple that with inflation and your in for trouble. Many people are finding themselves with less money then they planned on. Their 401k retirement has left them short of their retirement dreams.
Your money is your money. You need to be in control. Understanding your 401k is a great step towards financial freedom. Contributing up to your match can be a great move, if you understand what you are getting into. However, understanding all your options will help you make the best choice when it comes to your short and long term investment goals.
There are other investment alternatives, some that may work much better for you.

Why Invest in Gold and Silver - Protecting Your Wealth With Precious Metals

In this article I will explain why Gold and Silver are the best options to protecting your wealth in this volatile world economy. As Investing Expert and #1 Best Selling Author Michael Maloney said, "The most dangerous investment is in U.S. Dollars."
Since the beginning of civilization, Gold and Silver have been a safeguard of wealth. As world currencies fluctuate in value, these precious metals have always maintained their value, and are great options for anybody to hedge their wealth against inflation in our volatile economy.
Since the world financial crisis began, roughly in 2008, the Federal Reserve has been printing money like crazy, nearly doubling the amount of U.S. Dollars in existence to nearly $2 Trillion. This mass over-printing of money within a short period of time causes inflation. Due to inflation, the U.S. Dollar is actually becoming less valuable.
It's my belief that since the U.S. Government and Federal Reserve have over-printed money in mass quantities since 2008, this has caused the jump in price of Gold and Silver. For example, in 1971, the average price of Gold was $40.62 per ounce. Just five years ago, in 2005, the average price of Gold was $444.74 per ounce. Today, in 2010, the price of Gold is $1276.20 per ounce. In 1971, the price of Silver was $1.39 per ounce. Just five years ago, in 2005, Silver was averaging $7.31 per ounce, and today, in 2010, Silver is $20.80 per ounce. That is a 287% increase in the price of Gold over a 5 year period and a 284% increase in Silver over the same time period.
As global economic conditions continue to deteriorate, more and more people are realizing that Gold and Silver have historically been an excellent safeguard of personal wealth. It is my belief that Gold and Silver are rock-solid, long-term investments. I advise everybody to continue to research the fantastic opportunities to invest in Precious Metals.

The Different Faces of Bond Investments

Just as there are many different types of equities, investors who are looking to buy into bonds need to understand that there are many different characteristics to bonds. Arguably the most obvious things that investors will look at are maturity (or duration of the portfolio as a whole) as well as credit quality. However, there is more to a bond than the above and the following categories of bonds are worth knowing and getting familiar with for people who are interested in invested in this fixed income asset class.
- Government vs. Corporate. There will be a fairly big difference in quality between government bonds and corporate bonds. The biggest difference in quality will typically show in the coupon rate as poorer-quality corporations that borrow in the form of issuing bonds will pay more than governments (for the most part).
- Treasuries vs. Municipal. In speaking of governments issuing bonds, there will be a fair degree of difference between treasuries issued at the Federal levels of government and municipal bonds issued by municipalities. In some cases, poorer quality municipal bonds will be higher risk than some decent-quality corporate bonds. However, many municipal bonds are seen as being attractive at the moment given their higher yields.
- Junk Bonds. Junk bonds are typically purchased a steep discounts as the chance of recovering the face value is considered low to non-existent. These are the lowest quality bonds based on quality and many of them do not pay a coupon.
- Global bonds. Seen as lucrative by many professional and individual investors, global bonds allow investors to obtain yield from non-domestic sources. The greatest appeal with these types of bonds is that they often pay higher yields despite decent quality ratings. For example, bonds issued in emerging markets like China, India or even many South American countries will often share the same credit quality as those issued by domestically, but due to prevailing rates in that country the coupon could be considerably higher. As well, global bonds offer a way for investors to safeguard against currency risks.
These four different points allow bond investors to diversify their bond holdings in such a way that they can optimize returns or income while diversifying their risks associated with this asset class. Some of them could be a core component to their investment portfolio, while others (such as junk bonds) could a small percentage, such as a specialty asset class in any other portfolio.