Financial Advisers

Establishing a business is never an easy endeavor. The money used as capital to start something from nothing must be taken care of by investing it into a profitable business venture. Surely, there are risks that await every investor; a danger that may either lead him to a losing end or to a successful business life. Assumptions and guessing-games must be eradicated in the vocabulary of a business man, for these have no room in the business world. So there must be certainty in every decision...

Understanding ESPP Stock and its Manipulation

An employee stock purchase plan allows the worker to buy stock in their company at a reduced price. It is considered compensation and when the shares are bought, you are not required to report them as compensated income. What you do with those shares will affect how they are to be reported. For instance, if you give your shares as a gift to someone or if you sell them, you will have to report that manipulation. If you should die while you are holding said shares, they may in fact appear on th...

Comfortable Retirement with a Roth IRA

Though the Roth IRA is only about ten years old, its popularity among retirement investors is quickly growing. There are many benefits to this IRA program and understanding why it is a superior product for your financial future may make the difference between a retirement of financial comfort or a daily struggle to make ends meet. (more…)

3 Simple Ways to Keep Track of Your Stock Investments

Not everyone is a financial whiz and understands the ins and outs of investing in the stock market or mutual funds. That doesn’t mean that you should never get into the investment arena. Even if you don’t understand the stock page of the newspaper, there are ways that can make keeping abreast of how your stocks are doing a bit simpler. (more…)

Living Off Your Investments

When you're in the middle of a project, it's sometimes hard to imagine the final result. But, that stash of cash in your 401(k) will someday be your income, and you'll be taking money out of it rather than putting money in it. The strategies for investing while you're taking withdrawals are significantly different from the strategies for investing while you're still saving. Funds that guard against big losses in a bear market, for instance, might be better than those that post big gains in...

ETF Investing

Exchange traded funds (or ETFs) are open-ended investment companies that can be traded at any time throughout the course of the day. Typically, ETFs try to replicate a stock market index such as the S&P 500, a market sector such as energy or technology, or a commodity such as gold or petroleum. In short, ETFs are similar to index mutual funds, but are traded more like stocks. As you would expect, ETFs along with all investment products, have their share of advantages and disadvantages. ...

Free Online Stock Broker Zecco

Zecco is a online stock broker offering free online stock trades. That's right, free. As Zecco says, the price war is over and you won. You can make up to 10 free stock trades every month as long as you maintain a $2,500 minimum account balance, and after that you only pay just $4.50 per trade. The ten free trades per month, which should be plenty for the typical person, are great for investors considering ETFs. Zecco is trying to re-think the industry with a dedication to a minimalist ...

Smart Money Remains Fully Invested

The market hasn't been performing too hot lately. Should you care? As I read posts of personal finance bloggers liquidating accounts and encouraging readers to get out and wait until they feel confident in the market again, I see people falling into the single biggest trap in investing: trying to time the market. For the most part, the personal finance community agrees that the most important decision you make with your portfolio is strategically choosing your asset allocation and sticking with...

529 College Savings Plans For the Win

While we don't have any children of our own yet, we do have several young nieces and nephews. We all live close enough together that every time one of them has a birthday, the whole family gets together for the birthday party. For us, it usually means rushing out at the last minute to find a gift. We don't mind giving the gifts, but the reality is that the kids already have so many toys that each new one may only get a minute of attention before they move on to the next one. Possibly never...

The Commodity Futures Market

As you learn the basics of investing, you'll find some segments of the market harder than others. Those of you that have looked into Commodity Futures & Options know what I'm talking about. This is arguably one of the most complex and risky parts of the investment world. Still, more than 1 billion futures and options contracts are traded on the U.S. Futures Exchange. Commodity Futures and Options are not the same as stocks, meaning they are not equity. They are basically contracts for fut...