For most people the best investments for 2011 will be in the form of the best bond funds and stock funds from the best fund companies in America. Here’s where we go all the way and explain these best investments and why they are getting even better in 2011. Then, we get specific about the best funds and name two fund companies.
Mutual funds were designed with one primary objective in mind: to be the best investments for average folks who wanted to share the wealth produced by stocks and bonds. In 2011 and beyond the best of these funds will still be your best investments and they will offer both diversification and professional management at low cost to you as an investor. All fund companies offer average investors a small piece of a large diversified stock or bond portfolio – easy to invest in and easy to cash in – usually at a reasonable cost.
The biggest and best fund companies offer well over 100 funds to choose from; and some of their very best funds will cost very little to invest in for 2011 and beyond. Due to heavy competition between fund companies, things have gotten even better for average investors. Well, at least for those who know where to find the best investments, funds and fund companies.
For 40 years I’ve followed the fund companies in search of the best investments. My 4 criteria: quality and variety of funds offered, performance, service to customers, and the cost of investing. I’ve found that dozens of the larger fund companies can make claims and boast about being the best in the first 3 areas. But try as they may, fund companies can’t hide the investor’s cost of investing – which has increased for many funds. The good news for today’s investors is that the two biggest fund companies in America will be competing like crazy for your business in 2011 and beyond with a low cost of investing; especially in what I consider to be their best funds, your best investments.
Before I get specific and name names, imagine being a financial planner (like I was for 20 years) competing as follows. In the best investments in stock funds I could offer my clients with $10,000 to invest: $500 comes off the top to pay for sales charges and my commission; and about $150 of your money goes for management and other expenses EACH YEAR. Now compare this to the cost of buying and owning the best funds from the biggest (and in my opinion best) fund companies in America in 2011: Vanguard and Fidelity. The total cost to buy is zero, because there are no sales charges. Yearly expenses can be about $50 for a $10,000 investment, sometimes less than HALF that.
The best investments in both bond and stock funds for most people are INDEX FUNDS. I call them the best funds because they really don’t have bad years relative to the competition, and they have the lowest costs. Index funds simply invest in line with their benchmark – an index. They don’t waste big bucks trying to do what few funds have ever done: beat the indexes consistently. Fidelity and Vanguard both offer stock and bond index funds and pass the savings on to you. Here are the best they offer for 2011 and beyond.
The best investments in bond funds for 2011 are short-term and intermediate-term bond index funds vs. long-term funds. The latter pay higher interest income, but are subject to much greater losses if interest rates turn around and head north during the year. The best investments in stock funds for 2011 are stock index funds with the number 500 in their name, referring to the S&P 500 Stock Index. These funds invest your money in 500 or so of the largest and best-known companies in America. This includes Exxon, Apple, Microsoft and General Electric as their largest holdings going into 2011.
So, there you have the whole package. The best fund companies offering the best investments for 2011 in the form of the best funds they offer… all in 500 words, or more. Plus, now you know how to save $500 up front the next time you invest $10,000 in mutual funds.
30 AprBest Investments For 2011 – Best Funds and Best Fund Companies, Too
30 JunLucknow property – The perfect market for commercial investment
Lucknow property is attracting both the big and aspiring investors. However it is the commercial property in Lucknow to gain more importance. Buying and selling the commercial real estate Lucknow properties is an extremely advantageous business. You can invest a good amount in properties other than residential and single family homes.
This gives the investors the option of owning the invested Lucknow properties like office space and buildings. Commercial investment gives multiple options along with wide diversity to the investors which in turn increase the return as well.
One of the main advantages of investing in commercial property in Lucknow is that one can earn through many ways apart from just the buying and selling. An investor can after purchasing wait to gain equity and then sell it to make profit on the same. Another option can be to lease or rent the property to maintain a rental monthly income. You may also purchase a building to run your office from the same and rent or lease the other floors.
On the other hand, investing in a commercial Lucknow property is one of the most profitable ways to add properties from the investment view. Commercial properties are a far better option as compared to the residential property in Lucknow. Commercial Lucknow property adds options variety and to the investment portfolio.
This is because the commercial properties are available in all areas whether developed, developing or under developed. It is important from even the business view that you keep your all options open so that you get you can further numerous investment options. Although you might have to struggle a bit to find the perfect or promising commercial property but then once you find it, you can be assured to be digging gold.
However, before one gets in to the commercial property investment he must very carefully study the market and do numerous surveys to gain the market flow and strategies. However, if you are not thinking on the commercial grounds, then it is time that you do so. The commercial property investment is the never ending project and is growing rapidly. It is advised to attend seminars, join the groups dealing in property so that you can gain as much as possible before investing your money in this field.
Property in Lucknow is a promising field which is sure to give great return to the invested amount no matter what the invested form is. You may also hire a real estate agent who will help in providing you with the latest updates regarding the various projects ready for the sale.
12 JanProperty Management Buy and Hold
So you want to be a buy and hold investor or you are a buy and hold investor. Well, you have made a great decision because long-term buy and hold investing has made millions for tens of thousands of individuals throughout history.
Long-term buy and hold investing is one of the oldest investment vehicles traced back hundreds if not thousands of years. The stock market and mutual funds have not been around that long.
So, great choice to choose such a time tested investment. Now, you may be a first time investor reading this deciding how and where to get started or you may be a season pro with 15 rental properties, in either case you need to be educated about property managers and property management.
Most investors do not manage their own properties and prefer the investment to be more passive. To have the most success you need to make sure you are aligning yourself with a top-notch property manager. Do you know what a top-notch property manager does? Well, first of all your property manager should manage your assets the way they want to not the way they want to. A lot of new buy and hold investors purchase a few rental properties, get them ready to rent, and then turn them over to a property manager which is good but you need to know this property manager knows what they are doing. Even some seasoned investors do what the property manager says without knowing if it is truly the best way to do it.
Property management is a great tool to allow your investment to be more of a passive investment but you need to educate yourself about property management so you ensure your property manager is providing you the highest level of service.
You do not need to become an expert in property management but should at least know what to look for in one to know you are choosing the right one. Simple things such as does the property management company have someone on staff to personally show your property to prospective tenants or are they just handing out lockbox codes?
Does the property manager perform quarterly inspections of your property or do they plan to see it when the tenant moves out? At PA Deals, LLC we know what to look for in a property manager and what they should be doing for you as we have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to property management.
28 DecTop 10 Tax Planning Tips for Investors
As the end of the year approaches, it’s always a good idea to consider what tax-saving initiatives you might commit to before Dec. 31 in order to ensure you get the most benefit for the 2006 tax year.
To that end, I would recommend 10 key strategies in relation to your investments that you should consider. Keep in mind that these plans should be thought out as soon as possible, since they take some planning and proactive action on your part to set up.
Tip 1. Postpone any asset sales that would result in capital gains until 2007. By doing so, you’ll avoid paying income tax on any gains until you file your 2007 return in 2008. Delayed expenses are almost always a good idea.
Tip 2. Record losses on securities and stocks held outside of any registered plans. This is a significant advantage as tax laws permit the current year’s losses to offset the current year’s capital gains. Additionally, remaining losses can be carried back and put against capital gains in any of the preceding three years or carried forward indefinitely. It’s an important point to note that in order to benefit from a tax loss in this way, you are not allowed to purchase the same security again until 31 days after the sales. And that applies to both non-registered and registered accounts.
Tip 3. Research and Invest in a resource tax shelter. Resource tax shelters allow you to deduct the full value of your investment against other income in 2006. Resource tax shelters are fully endorsed by Canada Revenue Agency, whereas many other tax shelters present the risk of being declared invalid, whether or not they have a tax number.
Tip 4. If you are considering a donation to a registered charity, give stock instead of cash. This creates an exclusive tax break. Under normal circumstances, half of a capital gain is taxed as income; under new regulations, any capital gain created by a donation of securities or stocks to a charitable organization is exempt from tax.
Tip 5. Complete an RESP contribution before the end of the year to qualify for the Canada Education Savings Grant. This grant is up to a maximum of $400 or 20 per cent of your contribution up to $2,000 for the 2006 tax year. If you are just establishing an RESP, it’s important to keep in mind that you’ll require a social insurance number for the child to get the grant. Obtaining a social insurance number can take several weeks to obtain.
Tip 6. If your plan is to make a spousal RRSP contribution, do it before the end of the year, as it will shorten the waiting period for withdrawal. Your spouse will be able to access the funds in 2009 without attribution to you. If you don’t make the contribution until 2007, the three-year waiting period won’t end until 2010.
Tip 7. If you have an RRSP and you are turning 69 in 2006, you are required to convert your RRSP into a RRIF by the end of the year. When establishing your RRIF, you can set up the withdrawal schedule on your younger spouse’s age, which should minimize the mandatory withdrawals and taxable income they create in subsequent years.
Tip 8. If you are required to set up a RRIF in 2006 and you still have income from employment, you are able to make an RRSP contribution and enjoy the benefit of a tax refund the following April. The only caveat is that your contribution must be made before your RRSP ceases to exist at the end of the year. This can by somewhat difficult to do properly, since you are not meant to make contributions to you RRSP on this year’s employment income until 2007. In spite of that, the penalty you will pay for over-contribution will be relatively small when measured against the income tax refund you will receive.
Tip 9. If you are past the age of 69 and still have employment income, you can still defer taxes by contributing to a spousal RRSP. This is a valid approach until the end of the year for spouses who turn 69 in the current tax year.
Tip 10. Avoid investment in mutual funds in your non-registered account prior to year-end otherwise you’ll be stuck paying taxes on gains you didn’t benefited from. This scenario arises because Canadian tax rules require that all capital gains within a mutual fund must be attributed to those holding the mutual fund units at year-end.
While not an exhaustive list, following even a couple of these tax planning tips will ensure you pay the lowest possible taxes possible.
Michael Lee-Smith has been investment planning for over a decade. Learn more about strategic investments at http://www.advicebuy.info or visit Michael’s personal homepage at http://www.yourwork.info/ to learn more about his experience.
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05 SepHow to Avoid Investment Scams
Investment scams are so commonplace that they aren’t given nearly enough attention. Most people believe that scams will be so obvious and apparent that they will realize it when they see one, avoid it, and not be a victim. However, scam artists know that they have started to design more devious methods of capturing a reader’s attention and, hopefully, their money as well.
While the Internet is an amazing tool for communication, it is also a large playing field for anonymous scam artists. Many informative newsletters and online message boards are designed to look like investors are the ones writing and recommending various strategies, but in actuality, these can be cleverly designed scams. Without even realizing it, an investor can follow the recommendations and lose their precious funds.
Many of these newsletters and message boards employ people that will write favorable messages about certain stocks. The key is to discern between what sounds good and what really is valuable. When emotions and strong language is used in conjunction with a recommendation, it may be because it is a scam that is trying to lure someone into investing in that particular stock. Of course, not all tips are meant to do that and here are some ways to separate the truth from the fiction.
When an investor is looking into the purchase of a stock, the best way to begin is to look at the company’s financial statements to see how they are doing fiscally. If the income and debts seem in order, the next step for the investor is to call the company to find out if the claims in the newsletter or spam email are correct. Many times, false claims are given in order to lure an investor into a stock purchase. Find out if the claims are true.
An investor can also stop to check to see if the vendors and other businesses promoted to work with the individual company actually do work with the place that wants the investor to buy stocks in. Better said, find out if all of the facts in the email or newsletter are accurate. Putting larger companies’ names in the stock information can look impressive, but the investor needs to be sure that it’s accurate.
Asking questions is vital for the security of the money that is being spent on the stocks. Taking the time to investigate to see if money is actually being made for the investors is all that needs to be done in order to differentiate between fraud and friend.
Most public companies need to register with the SEC and file reports annually as to their growth and progress. These reports have been audited for their accuracy so that stockholders and investors have a truthful picture of the possible growth or decline of that company. This gives an investor assurance that the company has been verified—and an investor can easily check with the SEC to get this information.
The states securities regulators are another place that can help an investor to determine whether or not a stock company is legitimate and able to sell the stocks that they claim to sell. The NASD can also help in this verification.
The overall message of investor safety is that they can never ask too many questions. Checking in with the growth of the company that someone is thinking of buying stock in is only fair given the money that will be used in the transaction. The investor wants to be sure that their money is working for them.
Joel Arberman is the Managing Member of Stock Aware, LLC. We publish a free investment research and analysis newsletter. Learn more at
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