My friend suggested that Google would be more interested and I think he’s right. I thought I saw Larry Page at my local inet cafe here in Honolulu a couple of months ago. My wife then told me about the same time that one of Google’s founders bought a house of someone we know of on the North Shore. It could have been Larry.

Anyway…I don’t care who does it.
I just want completely free cell phone calls all over the world for the one time cost of a phone and I’d even listen to short audio ads before and after the call. I originally thought that Apple could kick butt at this since they opened up their iPhone, but since Steve never even bothered to send any reply I’m giving this idea to Larry. Who knows maybe they’re working on it already… Maybe google will get this to work on all phones, maybe google will even have someone manufacture a gPhone…Heck yeah. I’d buy a gPhone right now.

Hello Google…This idea is for you…

Dear Steve (Jobs) or Larry,

I have an idea that could help Apple sell a ton more iPhones and help Google sell a boatload of more ads.

Maybe Google is already working on this. Maybe here’s some new ideas for either or both of you…

I use free wireless on my laptop with Google’s googletalk application and make phone calls around the world for free to other googletalk users and most of the time the quality of the call is better than my regular
local cell phone.

As you know Google has an SDK called Android and other phone manufactuers are slow in rolling out their phones using google’s network because they haven’t figured out a way to get value added revenue from it yet…(my opinion).

Here are some BIG Ideas…

1. Get iPhone to work on a free wifi signal anywhere and to make calls to anyone in the world for free using google’s server and google talk application-like program right now. Since google will give away bandwith in order to sell ads later, leverage their network to allow free calls for all people who use iPhones. The more calls being made the more ad audio call ad space that google can sell. You would sell more iphones and google will sell more ads. Win/Win.

2. Initially reseller revenue from ATT contracts and others will decline, however, if Apple becomes a google ad affiliate, Apple will make a percentage of every ad that is listened to on every iPhone that uses the google network once the technology becomes live. This could end up being comparatively more revenue in the long term than what is earned now through ATT or other networks.

3. If Apple’s iPhone allows free calls to anyone in the world, so many more people would buy it right now. I currently don’t own an iPhone but would buy one today if I could make free google talk calls all over the world and I would tell everyone to buy one too.

4. Partnering with google on this and being the first to make it work would bring endless publicity to Apple.

5. Next down the line, develop an algorithm so that each person’s email (gmail) address becomes a unique 15 digit phone number (12345-12345-12345). Why? Because we are used to dialing phone numbers when making phone calls from a handset. The current google talk technology requires that the person’s gmail be in your contact list to be able to call them. But with a free google “phone number” people would be able to call anyone. ‘Why 15 digits? Because that gives 999 trillion different phone numbers without area codes or country codes, which would be more than enough to support the world population, and allow people and businesses to have multiple phone numbers without ever running out of numbers for a long time. Also, I did a little research and I believe there is an existing patent submitted for an algorithm based on 12 digits for a similar idea, so by using 15 digits Apple and Google would become a telecommunications category killer, just like it did with the PC and Digital Music but even in a bigger way.

So anyone with a gmail address or any email address for that matter would be able to get a unique google assigned 15 digit tele number XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX this would be a “phone number for life” and no area codes or country codes would be required to call and the numbers would be unique to the google talk network…Every time someone made a call they would hear a 20 second google audio ad and after each call same thing before any other call could be made.

6. I don’t own an iPhone but I would get one right now if it was able to use a googletalk type application and allow me to make free calls to anyone else in anyone else in the world through google’s servers and free wireless or a home/office connection with the same application and a gmail account. I would not only buy it right now, but tell everyone to buy it so they could get free calls too. Again the quaility of calls through google’s servers are awesome. I’ve turned a few friends on to googletalk and they all agree it’s better than a cell phone in sound quality.

7. Risks…
a. Google might stop offering their calls for free….highly unlikely since they want to sell more ads and since they have the most bandwith to give away in silicon valley they will not stop it but only expand it.
b. VOIP may become regulated and taxed…not for years, almost impossible right now the way tech is moving so quickly.
c. Google may scrap the service. doubtful. they are just in the infancy of rolling it out and seeing what they can do with it.
d. The FCC may try to regulate it. So what, they are trying to regulate VOIP but essentially these calls would be 100% VOIP to VOIP over google’s servers so what can anyone really do here?

8. Bottom line…investing a team of developers to make it work asap with googles open source could pay off with millions of additional unit sales of iPhones fast…”reverse engineering” the current google talk application on laptops would be a good place to begin. They even already have voice mail programmed into it.

9. Just the headlines alone would be so much buzz and free publicity to apple and to google.. Apple + Google = Free Phone Calls Anywhere In The World.

10. This could be the biggest telecommunications idea ever since the invention of the phone and VOIP. Free wireless broadband wife VOIP cell phone to cell phone or PC to PC or PC to cell phone and vice versa calls.

11. This would be a category killer and the existing landlines and traditional home phones as we know it would become obsolete.

If you’d like to talk about this over coffee, let me know.

Zig Noda
Honolulu, HI
zignoda at gmail dot com

In 1936, one smart six-year-old purchased a few 6-packs of Coca Cola from his grandfather’s grocery story for a quarter per pack and resold each bottle for a nickel apiece. With that initial 20% profit he made of each 6-pack, the world’s richest man got his start in business.

Today, that same man owns $12.2 billion worth of Coca Cola Co. Obviously, I’m talking about Warren Buffet…

Everyone already knows all there is to know about him… or so they think…

Sure, we know that he went to Columbia to study under Benjamin Graham. And, that he’s one of the largest owners in many of the brand names we enjoy everyday — General Electric, Anheuser Busch, Bank of America, and of course, Coca Cola. He’s also the wealthiest man in the world, totaling $62 billion.

But there is something that only a handful of people know… He wants to be poor again.

That’s right! Back in 1999, he told Business Week “…it’s a huge structural advantage not to have a lot of money. I think I could make you 50% a year on $1 million. No, I know I could. I guarantee that.”

The reason for his guarantee is simple… The best opportunities in the world are in small caps. If you have a tiny company worth 50 cents per share, it’s a lot easier for it to go to $1, as opposed to a $50 one going to $100. But that’s not the only reason Buffett loves small caps.

He also discusses his affinity for finding little nuances in companies that other investors don’t see right away. In a 2005 Kansas University interview, Buffett elaborates, “You have to turn over a lot of rocks to find those little anomalies. You have to find the companies that are off the map – way off the map. You may find local companies that have nothing wrong with them at all…”

You can’t do that with big blue chips…

If a small company has a hidden asset that investors haven’t picked up on yet, it would take some work, but you could find it and make big money off of it. Finding a large company with a hidden asset is exponentially tougher.

There are a thousand reasons why smaller companies offer more potential, but at the end of the day, it comes down to one thing. How much more money can I make with small caps.

Buffett’s Small Cap Advantage

Through Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett brought investors gains of 10,000% from 1977 to 1992. But between 1992 and 2007, he only brought a 1,200% gain. Now, I know that still sounds pretty darn good (which it is), but the question remains, why did he do so much better in the first 15-year period of Berkshire than the second 15-year period? The answer is small caps…

You see, back in 1977, Berkshire was a much smaller company, with a lot less money to invest. So, Buffett was able to invest in smaller companies at the time, including American Express, Disney, and the Washington Post Company… Those companies were able to grow much faster than the ones Buffett is restricted to now. Now, Buffett has to look at companies worth tens of billions of dollars. In ’77, he could look at companies worth just a few hundred million dollars.

But to do even better than Buffett, your only chance is to look for companies even smaller. I’m talking companies flying way under the radar. Companies in the tens of millions of dollar range… Simply put, buy penny stocks because Warren Buffett can’t.

Sincerely,

Jim Nelson

About Author:
Jim Nelson is the managing editor of daily e-letter The Penny Sleuth. The Penny Sleuth offers unbiased commentary from expert analysts and authors on Small Cap Stocks, Pink Sheet Companies, OTCBB and Penny Stocks.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Mutual Funds are probably the best way to invest in the stock market.  For both the novice and experienced investor, Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are probably the best investment vehicles to invest in the stock market.

What are Mutual Funds?

A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in stocks, bonds, short-term money-market stocks, or some combination of these investments. The portfolio is the combined mutual fund holdings.   Each share represents an investor’s proportionate ownership of the fund’s holdings and the income those holdings generate.

There are many reasons that make mutual funds investing so attractive:

Diversification: Mutual Funds and Exchange Traded Funds hold a portfolio of anywhere from 20 to 200 individual stocks.  The multiplicity of holdings shields the entire portfolio from plummeting when bad news hits one particular stock.

Professional Management:  Mutual Fund companies employ highly experienced professional managers to manage their individual mutual funds.  These managers get to know all of the companies in their portfolio. They have tremendous computer and support resources at their disposal.  Few individual investors have that level of sophistication.

Economies of Scale:  Mutual funds are able to take advantage of their economies of scale to reduce the transaction costs associated with buying and selling.  This translates to a savings for those investors involved in mutual funds investing.

Divisibility:  Someone who only as $1,000 to $5,000 to invest cannot begin to purchase a sufficient number of individual stocks to get sufficient diversification.  With No-Load Mutual Funds, there are no commissions to pay and an investor can get started investing with as little as $1,000.

How to get started:  Investors can invest in a mutual fund directly with the Mutual Fund Family.  However, it is far better to purchase mutual funds from a discount brokerage firm that handles many different families of mutual funds.  (T.D. Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and Scottrade, are three good alternatives.) This enables the investor to trade or upgrade their mutual fund holdings between various mutual fund families by placing the order with their discount broker.  Mutual Fund or ETF Trading can be done online with a very user friendly trading platform.

Rebound Mutual Fund Trader:  This is a robust trading system that consistently outperforms the S&P 500.  In fact, subscribers to this mutual fund trading system recently doubled their money in just 32 months.   When fully invested, the Rebound Mutual Fund Trader holds 7 No-Load Mutual Funds or Exchange Traded Funds.  The average holding time is currently running about 97 days.  This system only trades about twice per month and takes less than 30 minutes per month to perform the mutual funds trading.  This mutual fund trading system is currently generating an annualized rate of return nearly triple that of the broader market indices.  To get started on your way to doubling your money in the next 3 years by investing in Mutual Funds.

To learn more about Investing in Mutual Funds visit:  www.reboundtrading.com

Gerry Wollert is a graduate of Purdue University.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

by Jim Pretin

If you are new to investing, you may have heard of mutual funds but do not know exactly what they are or how to select the right one. A mutual fund is a collective investment security, and there are many different types. It may consist of a mix of several different types of investment vehicles, such as stocks, bonds, or derivatives, or it may consist of nothing but stocks that are part of a certain sector of the economy, or it could be just bonds.

For example, there are mutual funds that consist of nothing but technology stocks. There are also funds that are comprised of stocks that have a similar market capitalization (such as mid-cap funds, large-cap funds, or small-cap funds). And some might contain several different types of securities (such as stocks, bonds, etc.) that all fall within the same risk classification (high-risk, medium-risk, low-risk).

Just like stocks, mutual funds have a price per share, also known as the Net Asset Value (NAV). The NAV is calculated by dividing the total value of the fund divided by the number of shares outstanding. As with stocks, the price fluctuates on a daily basis and it can be sold just like any other security.

When deciding what fund to invest in, you need to consider your investment goals. Are you looking for long-term capital appreciation, or would you prefer to receive immediate income from your investment? You also need to evaluate your risk tolerance. Are you willing to take a chance on a speculative fund to potentially receive a better return, or is capital preservation a high priority?

If capital preservation is your goal, then you should consider a mutual fund that consists of low risk equities and conservative bond and money market instruments. If you want a mix of investments, then you should look for a balanced fund. If you want explosive capital appreciation, then you should consider a high-risk common stock or high-yielding bond fund.

They are different than stocks when it comes to fees and expenses. As with stocks, funds are subject to capital gains taxes. But a fund is sometimes subject to a front-end and/or back-end load. If there is a front-end load, that means that a percentage of the initial investment is automatically deducted to pay for commissions to the fund. If there is a back-end load, the investor must pay a fee when the security is sold.

Also, there is a 12b-1 fee that is often deducted to pay for advertising expenses incurred for the marketing of the fund to the public. Sometimes there is no 12b-1 fee, it depends. Investors might be unaware of the 12b-1 fee because it is sometimes deducted from the share price, so in a way, it is an invisible fee.

I hope this introduction to mutual funds will help you make some decisions regarding your investments. There are literally thousands of different funds available, and brokerage houses often have their own set of funds that they create for sale to their customers. Talk to your broker and see if he or she can help you identify the best investment vehicle for you. Just make sure you review the fee structure of the mutual fund you are interested in before you invest.

Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com, a service that helps programmers make an HTML form

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

If you have been considering whether or not to buy penny stocks, it would be advisable to do a reasonable amount of research before “jumping in with both feet”, so to speak. The world of penny stocks has often been glamorized by various investment advisory services as well as so-called “stock gurus”, but in reality you have to approach investing in penny stocks with a sober-minded attitude as well as a degree of caution and level-headedness. While it is true that extravagant profits can be made in the penny stock arena, it’s also true that there are more losers than winners, mainly because many people jump into the markets prematurely, blinded by the allure of quick wealth with a relatively small up-front investment. It would behoove any would-be penny stock investor to do his or her homework before committing their hard-earned money. That being said, hopefully this article will give you a better overall understanding of the penny stock arena and why they are a viable investment if used in the right manner.

What is a Penny Stock?

The most widely accepted definition of a penny stock is any publicly-traded company whose stock trades at $5.00 per share or less. Some have argued that the share price should be $1.00 or less to be considered a true penny stock, but for the purposes of keeping things simple, we will keep the $5.00-or-under definition. Most publicly-traded penny stocks are traded on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board Exchange (also known as OTC-BB), or on the “Pink Sheets” (somewhat of the “Wild West” of the stock market). These companies are usually valued as having less than $4 million in net tangible assets, and are normally companies that don’t have any type of extensive history. This would by default include many start-up companies and “one-man shows”. Penny stocks are also known as “micro-cap stocks” due to their relatively miniscule share value.

The Potential of Penny Stocks: The Power of Leverage

The power of a penny stock is the fact that the shares are normally priced so low that there is an incredible amount of leverage available to the investor that isn’t often seen in the “blue chip” stocks, such as Google, IBM, or FedEx. Think about it: The average “blue chip” company can trade in the neighborhood of hundreds of dollars per share, which means that the stock would have to make tremendous advances in order to double. Conversely, a penny stock that’s trading at literally pennies per share can double rather quickly, thereby doubling whatever initial investment you put into the purchase of those shares. As an example, it would be much easier for a stock trading at 10 cents per share to double to 20 cents per share (a 100), but the likelihood of the penny stock doubling is much higher than the “blue chip” ever doubling due to the hefty price per share of the “blue chip”.

Leverage is a Two-Edged Sword

Although there are some fantastic opportunities that exist in the penny stock arena due to the power of leverage, the potential for loss is also greater. A slight fluctuation in the price of a “blue chip” stock may only mean a 1 drop in your investment, while that same proportionate fluctuation in a penny stock is much more violent, generating potential losses of 50% or more. This volatility factor is the primary reason that penny stocks have often been labeled as “risky”.

Invest Wisely

The most reasonable way to approach a potential investment in a penny stock is to go into the trade knowing that you could possibly lose your entire investment. If you can live with yourself in light of that knowledge, then you may be ready to handle the ups and downs of the volatile world of penny stocks. If you’re not ready to completely part with your funds, and any loss of your initial capital would cause a major financial crisis, it would be advisable for you to stay out of the markets. The old adage is true, “Never risk more than you’re willing to lose”. This holds true especially in the arena of penny stock trading.

Phil Reich is actively involved in penny stock trading using the principles of technical analysis. He maintains a blog that teaches simple principles of how to buy penny stocks and sell them for a profit based on stock chart patterns.

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Disclaimer(s) – Trading and investing involves a high degree of financial risk. There is risk of significant financial loss when investing and trading in stocks, futures, options, mutual funds, indices, index options, and other types of financial instruments including but not limited to foreign exchange (Forex) and currency trading. Investing and trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest or trade in any financial markets. Don’t trade or invest with money you can’t afford to lose. Use risk capital only. Nothing on this website is either a solicitation nor an offer to Buy or Sell stocks, securities, futures, options, indices, mutual funds or any other types of financial instruments. No representations or implications are being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. Past performances either actual or hypothetical of any trading system or methodology are not necessarily indicative of future results. The bottom line is that there are no guarantees in trading and investing – it involves financial risk. Leveraged instruments such as futures contracts and selling naked options, and other strategies and financial instruments may involve even a higher degree of financial risk than initially anticipated. Consult with your broker or a professional financial advisor before you invest or trade. Invest and trade at your own risk. You are solely responsible for your investing and trading decisions.

CFTC RULE 4.41 – HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. NO FUTURES OR COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEM CAN GUARANTEE PROFITS. THE RISK OF LOSS EXISTS IN FUTURES TRADING.THE RISK OF FINANCIAL LOSS IS NOT LIMITED TO FUTURES TRADING, BUT ALSO INVOLVES ANY TRADING OR INVESTING IN OTHER FINANCIAL MARKETS SUCH AS STOCKS, STOCK OPTIONS, INDICES, INDEX OPTIONS. KNOW YOUR DEGREE OF RISK BEFORE INVESTING OR TRADING. ULTIMATELY, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL OF YOUR FINANCIAL DECISIONS.

Hedge funds and commodity futures funds now constitute an accepted “alternative assets” class, complementing the traditional asset classes of equities, property, fixed interest and cash in a well balanced, diversified investment portfolio. Generally, hedge funds and commodity futures can improve investment portfolio returns by providing access to a broad range of markets not readily accessible to the private investor, while lowering portfolio volatility through accessing markets with low correlation to returns from the traditional asset classes. Markets traded may include foreign currencies, precious metals, base metals, energy and oil, agricultural commodities, interest rates, share market indices and individual equities. A “Fund of funds” (such as the Man OM-IP series) will usually employ a range of fund managers, each one operating in a specialist field.

While many types of hedge and commodity funds exist, private investors should first consider the market trading funds such as those listed here on the Debex Hedge Funds Primary Market. These funds usually seek to profit by actively trading derivative markets such as futures and options, from both the “long” and “short” perspectives – “long” being a “bought” position, where the trader intends to profit from selling that position later at a higher price in a rising market, and “short” being a “sold” position, where the trader intends to profit from buying back that position later at a lower price in a falling market. In both cases a profit is achieved where the “Sell” price exceeds the “Buy” price as in any business transaction, but here the fund can profit in both rising and falling markets since the “sell” order can just as easily precede the “buy” order as follow it.

Although the principles of formalised market trading, including contracts for future delivery, go back centuries to ancient Greece and Rome, modern futures markets owe their origins to the American agricultural markets centred on Chicago in the mid 1800’s. Quite literally the grain farmer, once in a position to estimate his forthcoming crop volume and quality from sheer experience and weather expectations, would mount his fastest horse and speed to Chicago, hoping to strike a committed forward deal for supply of his crop to an end user (perhaps a New York miller) before the annual arrival of competitors’ crops flooded the market, greatly depressing prices. Later, standardisation of contract specifications, provision of adequate storage facilities, formalised arbitration processes and guarantees of payment through market structures such as the Chicago Board of Trade, saw the process of commodity futures trading greatly reduce the wastage and hardship caused by massive seasonal imbalances in supply and demand.

Early meat and grain contracts for forward delivery were essentially cash contracts – a seller seeking a buyer for cash. Later the hedging potential of contracts for future delivery was recognised by businesses whose profitability depended on being able to source raw materials at a set price at some time in the future. For example, the miller committed to supplying flour to bakeries later in the year or a meatworks successfully tendering for supply to butchers. Although the business would be currently “short” of the raw material – having no means of storage – a potentially damaging rise in the commodity price at the time of necessity could be offset through purchase of an opposite “long” position in the futures market. If prices overall rose for the raw product, profits on the futures contract, when liquidated for cash, could be used to meet the increased cost of the physical commodity needed for production. Conversely the raw product producer (farmer) could hedge his current “long” position in the cash market by selling or going “short” at some month in the future when his produce would be ready for sale. A drop in cash market (“spot”) price at the time of delivery would be compensated for by a profit on the “short” contract (or perhaps the farmer could simply deliver at the higher price struck earlier under terms of his original “sell” contract provided his product quality closely matched the contract specifications).

Before long, speculators entered the markets, hoping to profit by trading futures contracts into the rise and fall of market volatility. Theoretically and practically, speculators came to play an essential part in the markets by providing a large pool of liquidity into which producers and end users could buy or sell. As only a small percentage of trades came to result in actual delivery, this large pool of liquidity tended to provide a smoothing function for prices overall. Speculators now play an essential part in the markets, providing the liquidity for an efficient market to function. Only a small portion of transactions result in actual delivery of the commodity.

Over the years a huge range of commodities including metals, forestry, oil and numerous agricultural products came to be traded on futures exchanges worldwide. The 1970’s saw a major innovation in the form of financial futures where interest rates, currencies and share market indices came to be traded with settlement usually being made in the form of a cash payment, the amount being calculated as some multiple of an underlying interest rate or index. Using the same principle as those Midwestern farmers and merchants long ago, modern businesses are able to offset or hedge their current position in a market against unfavourable movements in the price of an essential input or output some time in the future by purchasing futures contracts of the opposite position. A clear example would be the importer wanting to ensure profitability by locking in today’s local currency price of an overseas sourced product that must be paid for in a foreign currency at some time in the future.

Hedging an investment portfolio by fund managers is now commonly achieved using a variety of means including futures contracts, options, shorts and swaps. In this scenario the private investor can be left at a disadvantage, simply not having the time, financial and skill resources needed to manage an effective hedging program. The result is too often the private investor being forced or panicked into selling a “long only” portfolio at the most disadvantageous time as share markets collapse. Those too young to remember 1987 will have had an awakening experience during the months following October 2007. Although the private investor is perfectly entitled to operate his or her own hedging program through an individual futures trading account, difficulties are many and success is not assured. The need for constant market vigilance, a temptation to speculate through the high leverage available and difficulty in determining appropriate buy and sell points often combine to see many private futures traders losing money rather than effectively hedging a portfolio.

These days, buy and sell signals for successful hedge and commodity funds are nearly always generated by computer programs utilising a broad range of inputs covering both fundamental and technical factors. Apart from removing the otherwise massive human effort required to monitor continuously hundreds of markets worldwide, computer programs eliminate the human emotional factors that can prove so disastrous for many individual traders.

In practice it is unlikely that any investor will be able to find a single market to perfectly hedge his or her portfolio and even if this is found, difficulties abound in utilising it in a potential hedging role. However, the private investor is certainly able to achieve a very useful degree of protection for a broadly “long only” portfolio by including one, or preferably more, of the well performed hedge funds open to public subscription in his or her portfolio mix. Quite frankly, those restrictive jurisdictions limiting access to hedge funds do their citizens a severe disservice. Fortunately, in New Zealand, hedge funds are available to the investing public, subject to each fund meeting legislated formal offer documentation requirements. Many of these hedge funds are accessible to overseas investors provided the investor’s home jurisdiction allows access.

As with any investment portfolio component, selection of an appropriate hedge fund is paramount. For the mainly equities investor, preference should be given to those hedge funds with a sound record of returning good profits during times when sharemarkets have plunged. We have all been warned often enough that “past returns are no guarantee of future profits” but a well performed hedge fund able to demonstrate such returns in the past can at least show it has the skills and processes that may well be applicable again under similar circumstances in the future. However, investors need to know that there are market circumstances when hedge funds may not perform favourably and hence a portfolio of hedge funds only is unlikely to prove satisfactory. As always, diversification is the key to investment success.

The ability of a private investor to avoid the worst of a sharemarket crash through incorporating hedge funds in a diversified portfolio can improve performance of that portfolio not just marginally, but very significantly indeed, resulting in a huge difference to returns over the long term.

How to invest in hedge funds; see details at New Zealand Debentures Exchange http://www.debentures.co.nz

For individual investment advice on holding hedge funds in an investment portfolio contact Canopus Investments Limited, http://www.canopus.co

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Disclaimer(s) – Trading and investing involves a high degree of financial risk. There is risk of significant financial loss when investing and trading in stocks, futures, options, mutual funds, indices, index options, and other types of financial instruments including but not limited to foreign exchange (Forex) and currency trading. Investing and trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest or trade in any financial markets. Don’t trade or invest with money you can’t afford to lose. Use risk capital only. Nothing on this website is either a solicitation nor an offer to Buy or Sell stocks, securities, futures, options, indices, mutual funds or any other types of financial instruments. No representations or implications are being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. Past performances either actual or hypothetical of any trading system or methodology are not necessarily indicative of future results. The bottom line is that there are no guarantees in trading and investing – it involves financial risk. Leveraged instruments such as futures contracts and selling naked options, and other strategies and financial instruments may involve even a higher degree of financial risk than initially anticipated. Consult with your broker or a professional financial advisor before you invest or trade. Invest and trade at your own risk. You are solely responsible for your investing and trading decisions.

CFTC RULE 4.41 – HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER-OR-OVER COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. NO FUTURES OR COMMODITY TRADING SYSTEM CAN GUARANTEE PROFITS. THE RISK OF LOSS EXISTS IN FUTURES TRADING.THE RISK OF FINANCIAL LOSS IS NOT LIMITED TO FUTURES TRADING, BUT ALSO INVOLVES ANY TRADING OR INVESTING IN OTHER FINANCIAL MARKETS SUCH AS STOCKS, STOCK OPTIONS, INDICES, INDEX OPTIONS. KNOW YOUR DEGREE OF RISK BEFORE INVESTING OR TRADING. ULTIMATELY, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL OF YOUR FINANCIAL DECISIONS.

A Dividend Reinvestment Plan or a DRP or DRIP as they are commonly called are direct stock purchase plans where you purchase shares directly from the company instead of through a stock broker. The name comes from the fact that any dividends that are earned on the shares you own are re-invested to purchase more stock rather than issued to you in the form of a quarterly dividend check. There are 3 main advantages when investing through a drip:

1. Dividends are automatically re-invested thus buying you more ownership of shares.

2. The cost to participate in drp’s are minimal usually just around $25 to $50 dollars a month. So they are great for small investors and beginning investors. As well as seasoned long term investors that want to invest regularly in a company directly.

3. You can buy a little as one share. There are usually no transaction fees or minimal transaction fees per purchase so you can also save on brokerage commissions.

DRIPS are great vehicles for those wish to purchase shares on a long term basis.

One of the minor drawbacks of DRIPS is that the company decides when to purchase your shares. Sometimes also there is a fee for liquidating your shares. So therefore DRPS are not good for traders. They are an excellent and hassle free vehicle for long term investors in Blue Chip companies.

Most of the companies that offer drips are larger, well established companies that offer regular quarterly dividends, such as GE, Proctor & Gamble, IBM, McDonalds. Utility companies such as Hawaiian Electric are great companies to take advantage of DRIP investing.

You don’t need to subscribe to a service or invest in a book to learn more about DRIPS. Although you may find some helpful and useful information in these. You can start participating yourself – directly. It’s simple. Here’s how…

The best way to participate in a Drip is to contact the company directly and ask for their Investor Relations Department. You can also usually find this information directly on the Company’s website. For example, in visiting the site of Hawaiian Electric Company above, there is a link for investor relations and clicking on that link takes you to shareholder services. From there you’ll find all the info and forms needed to start. You can also call the company you are interested directly, ask for investor relations or shareholder services and they will mail you a package to you.

Investing in drips are becoming more and more popular since people want to take more control over their investments, and cut out the middleman such as a broker. They are becoming so popular that even brokerage firms are now offering DSPs or Direct Stock Purchase Plans and DRIPS to their customers. However, if you go this route, it defeats the purpose of participating in a DRIP. Since you would be paying the broker fees in most cases.

That’s all there is to it…make a list of the top 5 or 6 companies that offer regular divends that you are interested in owning long term. Call them or contact them via the web and request more info. Read each company’s DRIP policies and select the one(s) you feel most comfortable with, and start investing in a DRIP yourself. It’s never too early or too late to start investing. Go for it!

*DISCLOSURE: This is not a solicitation to buy or sell securities. These are NOT recommendations to buy or sell stocks or to invest or trade in any stock, or any other financial instruments. The information above is not intended to offer any professional investing or trading advice. The author and this website are not compensated by any of the companies mentioned to promote their stocks. These are just personal opinions. When investing or trading in any financial instrument, always excercise extensive due diligence, and investigate any investment or trade completely prior to commiting any money. Consult with a financial professional. Know your risk and understand that any financial trading and investing inherently involves RISK, and with this risk there is a potential to lose a substantial amount of money.

PEI – NYSE

Today’s Close: 20.15

Penn Real Estate Trust is an investment company and real estate investment trust that owns and manages over 50 malls, supermalls, and strip malls in the East Coast, primarily Pennsylvania and NJ but all over the US.

They are profitable and have been paying dividends regularly since 1962.

Their dividend payout history was semi annually but now quarterly and at today’s close at 20.15 the yield is over 11%.

Historically about every 5 years or so they have increased their dividend payout.

I have been privately touting this stock to my colleagues for the last week when the price was floating around 18 and the yield was over 12%. In just the last 3 days with the market strength the stock has gone up over 10%.

A 10%+ yield in today’s market is an excellent yield for a company that has historically paid 126 consecutive divendends.

Unlike volatile bank stocks PEI’s average trailing 5 year yield has been over 5%. This is a great stock at a great price with a great opportunity to lock in a great yield with great upside capital appreciation potential.

Even if prices go down with market movement, there is a great opportunity to dollar cost average down and accumulate more shares with a higher yield.

PEI’s “market competitor” is GGP General Growth Properties which does the same type of business. Currently and historically PEI has delivered a much higher yield.

PEI has a stable portfolio of malls that bring in consistent rental receipts from tenants. Furthermore, many mall type rentals are structured on a gross percentage basis so in a slow economy they get their rental revenue, and in a growing economy they get more revenue.

This is a stock that allows you to own a piece of many malls and enjoy a great yield return on investment from a team of management professionals with decades of experience and a proven profitable track record.

This is what I currently consider a HOT A+ stock pick.

Disclaimer(s) – Trading and investing involves a high degree of financial risk. There is risk of significant financial loss when investing and trading in stocks, futures, options, mutual funds, indices, index options, and other types of financial instruments including but not limited to foreign exchange (Forex) and currency trading. Investing and trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest or trade in any financial markets. Don’t trade or invest with money you can’t afford to lose. Use risk capital only. Nothing on this website is either a solicitation nor an offer to Buy or Sell stocks, securities, futures, options, indices, mutual funds or any other types of financial instruments. No representations or implications are being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. Past performances either actual or hypothetical of any trading system or methodology are not necessarily indicative of future results. The bottom line is that there are no guarantees in trading and investing – it involves financial risk. Leveraged instruments such as futures contracts and selling naked options, and other strategies and financial instruments may involve even a higher degree of financial risk than initially anticipated. Consult with your broker or a professional financial advisor before you invest or trade. Invest and trade at your own risk. You are solely responsible for your investing and trading decisions.

Disclaimer(s) – Trading and investing involves a high degree of financial risk. There is risk of significant financial loss when investing and trading in stocks, futures, options, mutual funds, indices, index options, and other types of financial instruments including but not limited to foreign exchange (Forex) and currency trading. Investing and trading has large potential rewards, but also large potential risks. You must be aware of the risks and be willing to accept them in order to invest or trade in any financial markets. Don’t trade or invest with money you can’t afford to lose. Use risk capital only. Nothing on this website is either a solicitation nor an offer to Buy or Sell stocks, securities, futures, options, indices, mutual funds or any other types of financial instruments. No representations or implications are being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. Past performances either actual or hypothetical of any trading system or methodology are not necessarily indicative of future results. The bottom line is that there are no guarantees in trading and investing – it involves financial risk. Leveraged instruments such as futures contracts and selling naked options, and other strategies and financial instruments may involve even a higher degree of financial risk than initially anticipated. Consult with your broker or a professional financial advisor before you invest or trade. Invest and trade at your own risk. You are solely responsible for your investing and trading decisions.

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