January 21st, 2009
Ramapati Singhania asked:
These countries are often less regulated than the host country and are hence preferred by offshore investors. Offshore investment gives greater freedom to the investor and has the potential for much greater return on investments. Since there is a wide portfolio of investments on offer offshore investment companies play a vital role in conducting these affairs.
Offshore investments can be made in the form of hedge funds, offshore investment funds, overseas mutual funds, offshore investment bonds, offshore unit trusts, offshore property funds etc.
An offshore investment offers a high level of privacy and is sometimes is looked at suspiciously as offering a channel for investing illegally acquired wealth. However offshore investments shield legitimate, affluent individuals from the financial pressures and constraints faced by them in their home country.
In fact offshore investments managed by offshore investment companies are completely legal and are regulated by the jurisdictions of those countries where investments are made.
Investors who live away from their home country, those who want to maintain their financial privacy and those who want to protect their assets legally usually opt for offshore investments.
Other reasons for offshore investments are benefits from a reduction in taxes, opportunity to remain discrete in financial affairs (due to family arrangements), and to expand investments beyond the investor’s current jurisdiction, to achieve a better return on investment.
Offshore investment companies with their years of investment experience gained by working in offshore jurisdictions help both corporate and individual investors to protect their assets through market savvy investments, thereby enabling investors to attain maximum return on their overseas investments.
Offshore investments shields investments from capital gain taxation and augments assets through a confidential and secure investment that is not governed by the rules and regulations of the home country.
It is very essential to choose the right offshore investment service provider to ensure that good advice is being obtained and more crucially an excellent ROI is achieved. Offshore investment companies work closely with their clients so as to get a detailed understanding about their investment and financial objectives, which enables them to give the best possible offshore advice.
Offshore investment companies prepare well constructed balanced portfolio of investments for their investors so as to ensure success. They update the investment portfolio because financial markets adjust according to world economies and are prone to internal and currency fluctuations. They make assessments on investments after every six months along with a full financial analysis once every 12 months. This is essential to maintain the growth of the investment portfolio.
Investing offshore can be a very attractive option to an investor who wants to explore and invest in markets outside the home country by acquiring overseas private investments. The common perception that offshore investments can be very risky does not hold any truth. In fact offshore financial centers rely heavily on offshore capital and as such are very concerned about maintaining their reputations.
Tags: Financial Pressures, Individual Investors, Investment Experience
Posted in Investing | No Comments »
January 19th, 2009
Billy O\\\’Neal asked:
Real estate lets you tap into the power of leverage. Leverage is the ability to use other people’s money to control a large asset. We will show you how to buy houses with little or NO money down. In fact, you don’t even need good credit. If you don’t have to pay any money out of your pocket to buy houses, what is the limit on the number of houses you can buy? There is no limit!
For example, if you have $100,000 to invest in the stock market, how many dollars worth of stock can you buy? In general terms, you can buy exactly $100,000 worth of stock, unless you want to get into border-line gambling with margin accounts. You can’t go to your local bank and get a loan to buy stock. The same goes for CD’s and other investments. You generally have to put up the entire face value in cash. Comparing this to real estate, we show you ways to buy $100,000 worth of real estate with little or no money. Leverage is the key that makes wealth creation in real estate not only possible, but probable.
The power of leverage is not fully understood by most people. The mass media usually misrepresents how good real estate is when they compare increases in house prices with increases in the values of other investments. For example, the media may state that house prices increased 8% average in a particular year while stocks, CD’s, or money market funds may have increased 5% (not as good), or perhaps 10% (supposedly better) for that same year. The media is completely ignoring the leverage used to purchase these properties in the equation! You have to consider how the investment performed in relation to the upfront capital you put in to get a true apples-to-apples comparison, which is referred to as your return-on-investment (ROI).
Let’s assume you buy $100,000 worth of stock, and that stock goes up $10,000. What is your ROI? It’s 10%. Now let’s assume you bought a $100,000 property with $2,000 down, and that property appreciates $10,000. Yes, that property appreciated at 10%, but the ROI is 500%! That’s because you invested only $2,000, and not the entire face value as you would with stocks, CD’s, etc. If you paid $1,000 down for the same property and appreciation, the ROI is 1,000%. If you buy a property with NO money out of pocket, you can’t even calculate it. You have an infinity return! This is the power of leverage, and real estate is the only investment where you can take advantage of it.
So even if the stock market has a great year (which does happen occasionally) and goes up 20% and real estate appreciates 5%, your actual return is still many times greater for the real estate. The same misrepresentation can be said of the yields of stocks compared to real estate, which is the ratio of the annual income generated by the investment divided by the dollar amount of the investment. Again, you have to take leverage into account.
Again, try to go the bank and get a loan for stocks, CD’s, or mutual funds, and you won’t get very far. But if you ask that same bank for money to buy real estate, they will listen. You will soon see that we have many strategies to purchase properties without having to use banks at all, but the idea of this discussion is to show you how banks view real estate as a safe and secure investment compared to other investments.
I call you blessed!
Billy O’Neal
Tags: Apples To Apples Comparison, Money Market Funds, Stock Market
Posted in Securities | No Comments »
January 19th, 2009
Joseph Kenny asked:
The promise of making a lot of money has been heard by many, and many have found out that it just is not as easy as they had heard. They lost money - sometimes a lot of it. They then turned away from the stock market and ended up totally disillusioned about it. The truth is, they may have been somewhat confused about it in the first place. They may have thought it would come to them just like it did to others - without knowing the why’s or the how’s. Here are some strategies that you can use in order to help you to avoid the common mistakes that others have made.
Get A Realistic View
By looking at the market with your eyes open, you can come to understand not only the profit possibilities, but also the possibility of losses. The truth is that the higher the possible gain there is, that it is always associated with the increased likelihood of loss. The safer investments always bring a lower level of profit, and the safest investments have attached to them the lowest levels of profit.
Understand The Market
One of the greatest benefits that you can have to help you avoid a lot of potential pitfalls in your investments is to understand the principles of investing. In other words, read all you can about the process, how to judge a good stock, etc. The more you know about it yourself, the wiser you will be able to invest your funds - and hopefully see a profit. You will also be able to develop a worthwhile investment strategy - both for the short term and for the long term.
Diversify
It is smart investing to place your available investment funds into a minimum of 6 different kinds of shares. Some suggest that you go as many as 20 in order to diversify safely. Spread your investments into different kinds of stock (sectors) that are not related. This way if one type of market does not do well, then the other ones should. This enables you to still make money from some of your investment.
It is usually a good idea to diversify into more than just the stock market - at least until you really understand what you are doing. The smart investor will take a portion of their investment money and put a percentage of it into secure investments like trust funds which are solid investments, and possibly also bonds, which are the most secure, but do provide less interest.
Seek Counsel From Professionals
Unless you have money to just throw away, it would be a real good idea to seek help from someone who understands the market better than you do. There are professionals out there, financial advisors, brokers, etc., that are more than willing to help you build a solid portfolio for your investments. Their expertise can spare you a lot of unnecessary loss, and get you on to the right track to some solid profit.
Make Your Investments For The Long Term
While there is different thinking about the markets and how to invest, the general idea is to make your investments for the long term. Experienced stock market experts tend not to watch the market everyday, but only check on it once a month and many of them only quarterly. Watching it everyday leads to a lot of anxiety - since the market normally fluctuates a lot from day to day. Overall, though, it generally moves upward.
Tags: Different Kinds, Smart Investing, Worthwhile Investment
Posted in Finance | No Comments »
January 18th, 2009
foster007 asked:
securities firm who seek movie investments to resale
Tags: Investment Firm, Investment Securities, Investments
Posted in Investing | No Comments »
January 18th, 2009
flyer_girl67 asked:
how can I obtain a licence with the securities and exchange commision?
Tags: Friends And Neighbors, Investment Club, Securities And Exchange
Posted in Small Business | No Comments »
January 17th, 2009
Phil de Fontenay asked:
Finding and securing investment money for an Internet business can be tough. Just ask many of the dotcoms out there today. The entire process of building your business plan, coming up with potential investors and sealing the deal can be overwhelming, especially since many Internet businesses these days are one person companies operating out of one’s home.
In order to get through the financing process relatively unscathed and with additional capital for your business, you must accept first and foremost that it will take time. While we may live in the computerized age, where information is transmitted in a matter of seconds and the other side of the world is just a point and click away, it may seem equally likely that securing investment money should be just as simple and speedy. But that is simply not the case.
According to Dave Lavinsky, President of Growthink.com, it can take between 500-1000 hours to prepare, seek out and secure financing for a business. Knowing this ahead of time can save you a lot of grief, and allow you to budget your time accordingly.
What is Financing?
According to Dictionary.com, financing is “the act or process or an instance of raising or providing funds.” Investorwords.com defines it as meaning “providing necessary capital.” Regardless of definition, financing is a necessity for most businesses. The old adage, “it takes money to make money” still rings true, making it quite a necessary to seek out investment money whether from a SBA loan, a venture firm, or other sources.
Why Financing is Vital for Your Internet Business
You may get away with starting your business without investment money. You may fly by on a shoestring budget and stay in the black. But what about if you want to expand your business, serve more customers and offer more products? In order to grow you will need capital and the best way of obtaining said capital is by means of investment and loan money.
Regular brick and mortar businesses face these same sorts of challenges when looking to expand, but Internet businesses must be even more careful. Before reading on and going down the business expansion road, ask yourself the following questions:
Are you dedicated?
Just because your business is online does not mean it is any easier to run or you can take special shortcuts. In fact, obtaining capital for your online business can be more difficult at times. Be sure that that you truly want to expand your business and have a plan before beginning a search for investors.
Do you have a plan?
Many people jump into the world of starting an online business without thinking it through. Where will your office be? Will you work from home? How much will it cost to start your business? Who is your target consumer? Or, if you’ve already started your business and merely wish to expand, why do you want to expand? Will it truly be beneficial to your business? Have you studied the marketplace? It may sound like a lot to consider, but you’ll be thankful that you did. There’s nothing worse than starting a business and then realizing there’s no way it can be profitable after you’ve thrown your savings into the business capital.
Are you aware of the risks?
Starting or growing a business is a risk. It requires money to start and flourish-most of which will likely come out of your pocket or go on your credit record. While owning your own business can be exciting and extremely fulfilling, be sure to understand much of your business success will directly affect your personal success. If you have a family to support and your business fails, what will you do? Always be conscious of the worst that could happen so you can be prepared and avoid such unfortunate roadblocks as much as possible.
Still with us? Good. Now you can venture into the world of gaining capital for your Internet business. Learn how to write an effective business plan, find where to look for investors and what to look for in investors.
Good luck and happy financing!
Tags: Brick And Mortar, Internet Businesses, Mortar Businesses
Posted in Business Opportunities | No Comments »
January 17th, 2009
Sarah O asked:
I am currently an executive assistant at a top twenty hedge fund. I am incredibly bored with my job but seem to not have the resume to find something more demanding or creative-possibly in investor or public relations. I have worked for some of the best investment firms in the country but always as an assistant-though typically for the “boss”-I’ve worked for the CEO of a mulitnational company, regional manager of one of the most well known investment banks and, as I mentioned before, presently for the head of a hedge fund. I have a degree in history/English as well as various securities licenses. I’d like to move into a position that would allow for learning and growth into a new field but am not interested in sales or financial planning. Any ideas?
Tags: Hedge Fund, Investor, Job
Posted in Financial Services | No Comments »
January 17th, 2009
Linton Kane asked:
Alternative Investments are the new safe way to invest your money. They are less risky and more secure investment ideas that investment companies have come up with to offer investors. Alternative Investments are a low risk and have less chance of failure. Alternative Investments can offer the investor a way to invest their money and eliminate the fear factor of the investment itself failing. For example, in the standard tradition of investing, an investor would maybe go to a stock broker and write them a check and then everyday for the next three years check the stock reports to see if their stock was performing well. They would have to worry if the stock would bottom out or the company would fail or get sold or many other bad things that could happen to the stock. The stock may go for roller coaster rides up and down many times. This would cause the investor great anxiety on a daily basis.
Alternative Investments are a financial solution to this problem. So, what is an Alternative Investment? One example is a Real Estate IRA retirement plan. This type of Alternative Investment is where an investment company places your money in a Real Estate property along with other investor’s money and as the property makes money, you get a monthly dividend which can be direct deposited into your bank account. This Real Estate IRA Alternative Investment is a much safer way to invest your money than the normal investment avenues such as the stock market.
With an Alternative Investments Real Estate IRA retirement plan, you remove worry and anxiety from your investment experience and allow yourself to enjoy the simple act of investing your money and collecting the profits. It’s a very smart and logical way to invest. Why have an investment that causes you much grief on a daily basis when an Alternative Investment such as a Real Estate IRA can make investing a more pleasant and financially rewarding process. By removing the danger of worrying about your investment during your day to day routine, you now can focus on your life and feel good about making money which is the point anyway. Alternative Investments and Real Estate IRA plans are a good idea and the future is now for this type of investing.
Tags: Ira Investments, Real Estate Ira, Safe Way
Posted in Securities | No Comments »
January 16th, 2009
Jeffrey Voudrie asked:
Countless investors have lost large portions of their investments. Some have been in investments where they lost everything. But investors looking for help in recouping losses often find there are few places to turn for assistance. Read on to learn about one investor that finally got justice.
Many an investor has been harmed by their advisor’s inaction or being put in unsuitable investments. It’s natural that those feeling wronged seek retribution. So, where do investors turn if they need justice?
For securities investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and variable annuities, it’s to the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). The NASD is a self-regulatory organization created by the securities industry, not a government agency.
In 1987, the Supreme Court ruled that investors can be required to waive their right to sue in court in order to open a brokerage account. Now all grievances with a brokerage firm must first go through arbitration
Fifty-five percent of arbitration cases rule in the investor’s favor. But the average settlement is about 12 cents on the dollar. It so happens that the judges (even those deemed to be independent) are from the securities industry! No wonder brokerage firms prefer arbitration!
It is a long, expensive process to pursue arbitration on an individual basis. When you look at the average settlement, you will be lucky to cover your legal expenses. Your chances can be greatly improved, though, if you are one of many members in a group that had similar experiences with the same broker or firm. Think of it as class-action arbitration.
That’s how Bob finally got justice. He invested $750,000 in a variable annuity recommended by an advisor in 2000. Three years later Bob’s investment was only worth $350,000. When Bob became my client in November of 2002, there was little recourse he could take.
About a year later, though, he saw an advertisement in the local newspaper about a seminar just for those retirees of his company. It was put on by an out-of-state attorney that specialized in handling arbitration cases.
It turns out ‘Bob’ wasn’t the only victim. Many of his fellow retirees used the same advisor that he did. Almost all had virtually the same experience. Collectively, they were able to get more of the attention they deserved during arbitration.
After 3 long years, Bob has received a settlement check for $166,000. It doesn’t make Bob whole, but it sure helps ease the pain. Bob was one of the lucky ones.
Guess what happened to the broker? Not much. There won’t even be any hint of the problems he caused on his permanent record. That means other investors will never know what this advisor did to ‘Bob’ and his fellow retirees. That means it can happen to them, too.
You see, the advisor you use could have lost investors hundreds of thousands of dollars and you will never know about it. There’s no way to know if your advisor has had cases go to arbitration in the past. There’s no way to know if he/she has any current cases in arbitration.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
First, ask your advisor if they have ever had any written complaints and/or cases that went to arbitration. Verify their answer and/or do a broker check at www.nasd.com.
Second, find out how the advisor will monitor and manage your investments on a day-to-day basis. Beware of the advisor that does nothing. Look for an advisor that has specific procedures in place to monitor and manage your account. Few do.
Third, make sure you have the ability to make changes should something go wrong. That’s why I am so adamantly opposed to investments that have long-time commitments or big surrender penalties. They limit your options, making it expensive to switch investments down the road.
Fourth, if you’ve been wronged, try to see if there are others in the same boat. Search the internet for existing class-action lawsuits and see if you can join.
Typically, the problem is the advisor, not the type of investment. Use one that will prevent a significant loss from happening in the first place. Bob was able to recover a portion of his loss. Justice was served.
Tags: Brokerage Account, Inaction, Securities Industry
Posted in Non Fiction | No Comments »
January 8th, 2009
mtz r asked:
What is the best investment for the middle and long run in the Middle East region . Is it gold or securities or real estate?
Will we see a great depression?
Tags: Great Depression, Investment, Real Estate
Posted in Economics | No Comments »
