1. Keep your checking account at your local bank but not your extra savings, such as what you keep in bank savings accounts - or worse - in your checking account. Money market funds, which are a type of mutual fund (other common funds focus on bonds or stocks), are a great place to keep your extra savings. Money market funds are a higher yielding alternative to bank savings and bank money market deposit accounts.
2. Money market funds are unique among mutual funds because they do not fluctuate in value and maintain a fixed $1 per share price. As with a bank savings account, your principal investment in a money market fund does not change in value while you're earning dividends (same as the interest on a bank account). However, money market mutual funds offer several significant benefits over bank savings accounts. The biggest advantage is higher yields.
3. Money market mutual funds are able to pay higher yields because they don't have the high overhead that banks do. The most efficient mutual fund companies, such as Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, and USAA, don't have scads of branch offices on every street corner. Another reason that banks pay lower yields is that they know that many depositors, perhaps including you, believe that the FDIC insurance that comes with a bank savings account makes it safer than a money market mutual fund.
4. Another advantage of money funds over bank accounts is that money funds come in a variety of tax-free versions. So if you're in a high tax bracket, tax-free money funds offer something bank accounts don't.
5. Another useful feature that comes with money market mutual funds is the ability to write checks, without charge, against your account. Most mutual fund companies require that the checks that you write be for larger amounts - typically at least $250. They don't want you using these accounts to pay all your small household bills because checks cost money to process.
6. Money market funds are a good place to keep your emergency cash reserve of at least three to six months' living expenses. They're also a great place to keep money awaiting investment elsewhere in the near future. If you're saving money for a home that you expect to purchase soon (next year or so), a money fund can be a safe place to accumulate and grow the down payment. You wouldn't want to risk placing such money in the stock market, which can get clobbered in a relatively short period of time.
7. Just as you can use a money market fund for your personal purposes, you can open a money market fund for your business. This account can be used for depositing checks received from customers and holding excess funds as well as for paying bills via the check-writing feature.
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Mutual Funds Investment Tips
Pick a diversified domestic growth fund that performed in the top quartile of all mutual funds over the last three to five years. It will probably have averaged an annual rate of return of about 20%. The fund should also have a better-than-average record in the latest 12 months when compared to other domestic growth stock funds.
Steer away from funds that concentrate in only one industry or one area like energy, electronics, or gold. The investment company you pick does not have to be in the top three or four in performance each year to give you an excellent profit over 10 to 15 years.
The fund can be either a no-load, with no commission, or load, or one where a sales commission is charged. If you buy a fund with a sales charge, discounts are offered according to the amount you invest and some funds have back-end loads which you may want to check. The commission paid is substantially less than the mark-up you pay to buy insurance, a new car, a suit of clothes, or your groceries. You can also sign a letter of intent, which will allow a lower sales charge to apply to any quantity purchase made over the following 13 months.
When you purchase a mutual fund, you are hiring professional management to make decisions for you in the stock market. Most diversified funds should be treated differently from individual stocks. A stock may decline and never come back in price. That's why the loss-cutting policy is necessary.
However, a well-selected fund run by an established management organization will, in time, almost always recover from the steep corrections that naturally occur during numerous bear markets. This is because mutual funds are broadly diversified and should participate in each recovery cycle in the American economy.
Therefore, an extraordinarily different strategy should be employed with mutual funds. Each time you get into the thick of an economic recession and the newspapers and TV tell you how terrible things are, why not add to your fund when it is off 25% to 30% from its peak price. It might even be a possible time to borrow a little money and buy more shares. If you are patient, within two or three years the shares should be up sharply in price.
Remember, you're going to hold through many economic cycles, so why not be smart and add to your investment during each bear market? You can also reinvest your dividends and capital gains distributions and benefit from compounding over the years. When you buy your growth mutual fund, you should make up your mind at the outset that you are positively going to sit through the next three or four bear markets or economic recessions. This will give you the maximum opportunity to make really big money.
This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.
Steer away from funds that concentrate in only one industry or one area like energy, electronics, or gold. The investment company you pick does not have to be in the top three or four in performance each year to give you an excellent profit over 10 to 15 years.
The fund can be either a no-load, with no commission, or load, or one where a sales commission is charged. If you buy a fund with a sales charge, discounts are offered according to the amount you invest and some funds have back-end loads which you may want to check. The commission paid is substantially less than the mark-up you pay to buy insurance, a new car, a suit of clothes, or your groceries. You can also sign a letter of intent, which will allow a lower sales charge to apply to any quantity purchase made over the following 13 months.
When you purchase a mutual fund, you are hiring professional management to make decisions for you in the stock market. Most diversified funds should be treated differently from individual stocks. A stock may decline and never come back in price. That's why the loss-cutting policy is necessary.
However, a well-selected fund run by an established management organization will, in time, almost always recover from the steep corrections that naturally occur during numerous bear markets. This is because mutual funds are broadly diversified and should participate in each recovery cycle in the American economy.
Therefore, an extraordinarily different strategy should be employed with mutual funds. Each time you get into the thick of an economic recession and the newspapers and TV tell you how terrible things are, why not add to your fund when it is off 25% to 30% from its peak price. It might even be a possible time to borrow a little money and buy more shares. If you are patient, within two or three years the shares should be up sharply in price.
Remember, you're going to hold through many economic cycles, so why not be smart and add to your investment during each bear market? You can also reinvest your dividends and capital gains distributions and benefit from compounding over the years. When you buy your growth mutual fund, you should make up your mind at the outset that you are positively going to sit through the next three or four bear markets or economic recessions. This will give you the maximum opportunity to make really big money.
This free article is provided by the FreeArticles.com Free Articles Directory for educational purposes ONLY! It cannot be reprinted or redistributed under any circumstances.
10 Hot Business to Start in 2011
Are you ready to start a business but can’t figure out what to do? While there are lots of factors that will determine your success, it sometimes helps to start with a “hot” idea. Here are 10 of our best picks — and most won’t cost you a fortune to start.
1. Children’s enrichment services
Since school budgets have been severely cut, worried parents have turned to tutoring services to make sure their kids don’t lose ground academically. Your biggest startup cost will be marketing — word-of-mouth is the primary business driver. Work through local school systems and parent-teacher organizations. Try giving discounts to customers who direct other parents to your business.
In some regions, specialization is key. Focus on specific subjects or grades. SAT tutors are in especially high demand these days.
2. Senior transition/relocation services
As our population continues to age, these businesses — which provide various services to seniors and their families — will continue to thrive. The services are geared toward helping seniors move out of their homes and can provide assistance in any number of ways: finding a new home (assisted living, nursing home, etc.), packing and selling belongings, setting up a new home, and more.
You’ll likely find customers in your neighborhood, but also try approaching “family advisers” like financial planners, attorneys specializing in senior issues, and clergy.
3. Green consultant
Green consultants usually concentrate on helping either consumers or businesses become more environmentally friendly. Industry-wide revenues currently top $18 billion.
As for demand, consumers are thinking with their wallets and hoping to save money (and get possible tax breaks) by making their homes more energy efficient. Businesses are also looking for savings, as well as instructions on how to be a green company. Many consumers are demanding it but companies often lack the internal know-how or infrastructure to go green.
4. Translation services
Translation services are in high demand, with revenues rising 18 percent industry-wide in the past year. Prime customers include the federal government, health care professionals and businesses interested in importing and exporting.
Don’t worry if you only speak one or two languages. You can hire people to do the translations — either employees or independent contractors (even better).
5. Meals on wheelsDon’t think roach coach, TV dinners or a hot dog cart. We’re talking food fit for a gourmand, like crème brȗlée and Kobe beef burgers, or fancy versions of the stuff Mom used to make, like cupcakes and grilled cheese.
Buying a new vehicle will likely cost you, so look for a used one you can “trick out” instead. Once you’re operating, your costs are minimal (except for the food). Marketing through Twitter will create attention and bring customers, and your labor costs are almost nonexistent.
An even lower-cost option is operating a food cart. Good food + right location (heavy foot traffic) = big profits.
6. Weddings
The millennial generation is growing up and getting married. Starting in 1987, there were approximately 4 million kids born each year in the U.S. In 2011, those “kids” turn 24, and the average age women get married is 25. Do the math and you’ll see there’s going to be a surge in businesses that cater to the wedding industry.
There are many businesses that will benefit from the coming wedding boom, including:
- Retailers (clothing the bridal party)
- Gift stores (gifts, invitations, stationery)
- Restaurants, caterers and bakeries
- Wedding planners
- Travel agencies (planning destination weddings and honeymoons)
- Flower shops
- Videographers, photographers
- Jewelry designers, jewelers
7. Handyman services
It might seem old-fashioned, but handymen and -women are in demand as cash-strapped homeowners try to tackle small home improvement projects. You can even specialize: The senior market is promising, with elderly clients desiring to make homes (theirs or their kids’) safer and more accessible. Or, you can target new homeowners. In 2009, nearly 25 percent of first-time homebuyers were single women.
8. Kids’ beauty products and services
Unbelievably, by 2012, tweens and teens are expected to spend more than $8.5 billion on grooming and beauty products. Already, just among 6- to 9-year-old girls (per Experian market research):
- 43 percent use lip gloss/lipstick
- 38 percent use hairstyling products
- 12 percent use “other” cosmetics
Other ways to fill the demands of this market include starting kids’ hair salons, teen spas and gyms.
9. College consultants
With incoming freshman classes breaking enrollment records (Pew Research says about 2.6 million kids enroll every year), it’s increasingly competitive to get into college. College consultants can be generalists or specialize in fields like college prep, applications, financial solutions and scholarships. In 2009, 26 percent of “high-achieving seniors” hired a private college counselor.
10. Cupcakes
Don’t believe the naysayers who say cupcakes are dead; they’re still mega hot — and profitable. Cupcakes costing about 60 cents to produce can easily sell for $3 to $5. You can open a “cupcakery,” sell them in (or to) restaurants and bakeries, or even start a cart or mobile cupcake-mobile.
As with every year, the name of the game is reading consumers’ feelings about the economy and spotting trends that tap into these sentiments.
© Business on Main
1. Children’s enrichment services
Since school budgets have been severely cut, worried parents have turned to tutoring services to make sure their kids don’t lose ground academically. Your biggest startup cost will be marketing — word-of-mouth is the primary business driver. Work through local school systems and parent-teacher organizations. Try giving discounts to customers who direct other parents to your business.
In some regions, specialization is key. Focus on specific subjects or grades. SAT tutors are in especially high demand these days.
2. Senior transition/relocation services
As our population continues to age, these businesses — which provide various services to seniors and their families — will continue to thrive. The services are geared toward helping seniors move out of their homes and can provide assistance in any number of ways: finding a new home (assisted living, nursing home, etc.), packing and selling belongings, setting up a new home, and more.
You’ll likely find customers in your neighborhood, but also try approaching “family advisers” like financial planners, attorneys specializing in senior issues, and clergy.
3. Green consultant
Green consultants usually concentrate on helping either consumers or businesses become more environmentally friendly. Industry-wide revenues currently top $18 billion.
As for demand, consumers are thinking with their wallets and hoping to save money (and get possible tax breaks) by making their homes more energy efficient. Businesses are also looking for savings, as well as instructions on how to be a green company. Many consumers are demanding it but companies often lack the internal know-how or infrastructure to go green.
4. Translation services
Translation services are in high demand, with revenues rising 18 percent industry-wide in the past year. Prime customers include the federal government, health care professionals and businesses interested in importing and exporting.
Don’t worry if you only speak one or two languages. You can hire people to do the translations — either employees or independent contractors (even better).
5. Meals on wheelsDon’t think roach coach, TV dinners or a hot dog cart. We’re talking food fit for a gourmand, like crème brȗlée and Kobe beef burgers, or fancy versions of the stuff Mom used to make, like cupcakes and grilled cheese.
Buying a new vehicle will likely cost you, so look for a used one you can “trick out” instead. Once you’re operating, your costs are minimal (except for the food). Marketing through Twitter will create attention and bring customers, and your labor costs are almost nonexistent.
An even lower-cost option is operating a food cart. Good food + right location (heavy foot traffic) = big profits.
6. Weddings
The millennial generation is growing up and getting married. Starting in 1987, there were approximately 4 million kids born each year in the U.S. In 2011, those “kids” turn 24, and the average age women get married is 25. Do the math and you’ll see there’s going to be a surge in businesses that cater to the wedding industry.
There are many businesses that will benefit from the coming wedding boom, including:
- Retailers (clothing the bridal party)
- Gift stores (gifts, invitations, stationery)
- Restaurants, caterers and bakeries
- Wedding planners
- Travel agencies (planning destination weddings and honeymoons)
- Flower shops
- Videographers, photographers
- Jewelry designers, jewelers
7. Handyman services
It might seem old-fashioned, but handymen and -women are in demand as cash-strapped homeowners try to tackle small home improvement projects. You can even specialize: The senior market is promising, with elderly clients desiring to make homes (theirs or their kids’) safer and more accessible. Or, you can target new homeowners. In 2009, nearly 25 percent of first-time homebuyers were single women.
8. Kids’ beauty products and services
Unbelievably, by 2012, tweens and teens are expected to spend more than $8.5 billion on grooming and beauty products. Already, just among 6- to 9-year-old girls (per Experian market research):
- 43 percent use lip gloss/lipstick
- 38 percent use hairstyling products
- 12 percent use “other” cosmetics
Other ways to fill the demands of this market include starting kids’ hair salons, teen spas and gyms.
9. College consultants
With incoming freshman classes breaking enrollment records (Pew Research says about 2.6 million kids enroll every year), it’s increasingly competitive to get into college. College consultants can be generalists or specialize in fields like college prep, applications, financial solutions and scholarships. In 2009, 26 percent of “high-achieving seniors” hired a private college counselor.
10. Cupcakes
Don’t believe the naysayers who say cupcakes are dead; they’re still mega hot — and profitable. Cupcakes costing about 60 cents to produce can easily sell for $3 to $5. You can open a “cupcakery,” sell them in (or to) restaurants and bakeries, or even start a cart or mobile cupcake-mobile.
As with every year, the name of the game is reading consumers’ feelings about the economy and spotting trends that tap into these sentiments.
© Business on Main