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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

WHY DO I NEED LIFEINSURANCE



The best thing about new private sector players enteringthe market is not just the variety of products they offer but also theinformation they are willing to share. The first thing you should remember whenopting for a policy is that it's not only for your benefit but also for thebenefit of those who depend on you --- your wife, your parents, or yourchildren. In case something unfortunate happens to you, it's your family thatwill have to face the financial crisis. Who will take care of your parents intheir old age, who will take care of your children's education, marriage etc?We're not trying to scare you into taking insurance, but just trying to remindyou that insurance is a wise option every family person should choose. Yourinsurance amount depends on your present and future earnings and the size ofyour family. According to experts, roughly 15 times your annual income should bedevoted to insurance policies.

WHY MUTUAL FUNDS MAKE SENSE




Many of us fancy our chances of playing the markets on our own --- especially when the indices are soaring. But here are a few good reasons why mutual funds are your best bet. Reason No 1: mutual funds have much more resources than you as a small investor to do intensive research on companies and industries. Hence the chances of them selecting the right stock at the right time are much higher. Reason No 2: Since they have collected funds from a vast pool of investors, mutual funds can invest in different companies in different industries, thereby spreading the risk across the entire economy. That’s something that you can’t do with your limited resources.
 

7 Reasons Why You Should Keep Your Savings In Money Market Mutual Funds

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 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.

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.

Mutual Funds Investment Tips - New

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.

Monday, June 20, 2011

How to Find Mutual Funds Advice

You hear it constantly: one must start investing in mutual funds to have money to send the kids to college, retire at a reasonable age and achieve other financial goals. But what if you have no idea how to even begin? Getting good advice is the key, and getting it free is even better.

Difficulty:
Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

  • A computer with a high-speed connection to the Internet
  • Time to research all your options
  • Access to a library
  • Your local newspaper
    • 1
      Define your financial goals first. Before you even seek advice, it's a good thing to know what your major objectives are. Saving for retirement and amassing capital for a business require different strategies-and probably different mutual funds.
    • 2
      Take a trip to the library. Once you've found out wy you want to invest, it's time to head to your local branch for books that will show you exactly how to invest in mutual funds.
    • 3
      Read and understand as much of these books as you can. They are terrific step-by-step sources that were designed with people like you as their target audience. Don't just rush through to finish them; you'll need to understand the concepts or the process can become frustrating.
    • 4
      Surf the Web for more detailed information. Once you know the basics, try the Motley Fool Web site, The Investment FAQ and the Web sites for industry magazines and newspapers for more particular information. Some of these Web sites are listed in Resources below. Don't forget to take notes or bookmark the sites.
    • 5
      Query your social circle. Chances are there are others who have recently researched or invested in mutual funds. By comparing and contrasting their views, you'll get a better idea of what direction makes sense for you.

Tips & Warnings

  • Keep an eye on your local paper for investment seminars held at your local library, for instance.
  • You may also find mutual fund advice from your workplace. Some businesses ask their fund managers to speak to employees to better inform them of the funds they offer.
  • Be aware of Web sites that may appear objective, but are actually backed by a certain financial institution. They will always have their best interests at heart.
  • In a similar vein, be aware of public seminars held by specific mutual fund companies. If you go, just know that you will be steered toward whatever funds they themselves offer.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

How to Pick the Right Mutual Fund

Some of the suggestions you need to know in selecting the best mutual fund are the following:

1. History of Good Performance

You can determine the performance of mutual funds

2. Supervised by Knowledgeable Fund Managers

In the mutual fund prospectus which you can download from their website, you will know who are the fund managers and their competencies in administering the money of your pool.

3. No or Low Sales Load and Retrieval Charge

Every time you buy or invest in mutual funds, you will be charged a sales obligation usually 0.5 to 2% of the money you will invest. Nevertheless, several mutual fund companies waived this fee so it will be free to buy mutual funds. Most of the companies do not charge redemption cost after six months period.

4. Ease of Adding Funds

For me this is very valuable since I am employed abroad.

5. Good Support and Customer Service

A customer-oriented company is quick in responding to its clients petition and queries, they are accommodating and considerate to their needs.

Choosing the right mutual funds suited for you is not easy thing to do. You need an enough facts to determine where to invest your money. In order to select the best mutual funds ready for use in your area, you can remember my suggestion above. It can help you decide which funds to select from.

Are you familiar with how stock market works ?

The stock market is that place where shares are traded. Do you know what share is? Share is the little part of a particular company, which is offered by company's owner to raise their capital. When you buy any share that means you buy a little part of that company. When a company is manufactured the things which are really liked by people that company will definitely grow and if you have buy the shares of that company that means you are in profit. I think only company's reputation does not matter but its earnings matter a lot. For coming and staying in market, a company has to firstly offer its shares as Initial Public Offer (IPO) because company does not come directly in market. In this way, company gives self introduction to all means what is financial position of the company, who are the directors of the company, how many shares it is going to offer and at what price and all this. After this, the good will of the company decides that whether this stock will be over-subscribes or under-subscribe. On fixed date, the shares of a company get listed and after that you can buy or sell from the market. Now you must come to know that how you can take advantage of this market. Now a day trading has become so much easy task. It is only a few second's game. You can trade online. For updating yourself just keep an eye on market's news because in this way you can make money even the market is falling. To be very frank, stock market is not a strategy. According to me, if you buy and hope for the better prices means if you play this game with patience then you can gain profits just have patience. Don't be panic. If you really want to become rich through stock market then firstly you should know how stock market works.