Investing

To invest successfully over a lifetime does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insight, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for decisions and the ability to keep your emotions from corroding that framework. Words: 895

Will the laws and rules in place to protect individuals in their attempt to set something aside for retirement be safeguarded by the representatives elected to advocate for them in Washington? Will the principles and moral integrity of the political class keep them from appropriating the trillions of dollars held in 401k's and IRA's? I'm not so sure! Words: 1207

Crude oil, natural gas, gasoline — our civilization can't live without them. So it's no surprise that energy exchange traded funds (ETFs) are also big business. Today I'm going to give you a brief overview of the ETFs in this sector. As you'll see, energy is a surprisingly diverse industry. Words: 870

The great dollar devaluation disaster has begun and will continue — with minor short-term pauses and corrections in the decline — for at least the next two to three years and at the very least, the dollar will sink so low and inflation will soar so high that you will eventually need at least TWICE the income you have now just to survive. A lifestyle that costs you $100,000 per year today will be $200,000 or more. Words: 2313

You've probably heard about hedge funds, those super-secretive private pools where millionaires stash their money. Yes, sometimes they blow up. But many hedge funds have a long history of good returns in all market conditions. They do this by combining sophisticated trading techniques with long and short positions in various markets. The problem is that the best hedge funds aren't available to everyday investors in small amounts. Words: 1078

Many ETFs now present unique approaches to stock and bond investing by tweaking popular and widely-followed benchmarks. The very first ETF, the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY), remains by far the largest U.S.-listed ETF, reflecting investor familiarity with the underlying benchmark, but there are now approximately 30 other issuers now competing for a slice of this still-growing pie. Words: 789

No one ever likes to lose money and one of the best ways to do so is to set, in advance, at what point you are going to sell your security. You can either do it by simply setting a $ price point or a % decline point at which to sell. Such an approach is fraught with emotion and procrastination. There is a more objective way to accomplish the same objective. Words: 636

Robert Precther recently published a list of market myths for his subscribers which I'm sure he won't mind if I review the lessons he voices in his article with you, borrowing from his excellent research to help make the arguments. Recognizing these market myths are critical to your success as an investor. Words: 1266

I like to hold stocks with different yield/dividend growth characteristics where yields are somewhere between 3% and 5% and dividend growth is in the upper single digits or in the double digits. Words: 671

If you believe further political disruptions around the world will likely occur in 2010 and/or 2011 and that we will also likely see inflation begin to rise within the next 12 months then we should see higher gold prices. Furthermore, if the economy falters once again, many investors will sell their common stocks and put their money in gold pushing the price up even further. Words: 779