Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Financial Planning, Retirement Plan, 401k, Investment Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Stock Market’

An Introduction to Investing in the Stock Market

Posted February 6, 2011 by Bernz

The economy is very different from what it was a decade ago, and all signs point to the fact that the economy will never be exactly the same.  In a perfect world the stock market would be predictable;  specific market conditions would correspond to specific results.  The stock market is nowhere near perfect though, and as a result a thorough understanding of how market conditions effects profit margins is very beneficial.  Global competition in the marketplace has introduced a whole new level of complexity to the process of investing, and items that were sure fire investments in the past no longer have that status.

Investing in the stock market at its core is a numbers game, but to be truly successful in the market it requires an understanding of the motivations behind why companies make certain financial moves.  There is a fine line between insider trading and being well-informed about a trade prospect.  The well-informed investor knows how to spread assets over a variety of different investments; diversifying is essential to saying competitive in the stop market.

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Posted in Investing Basics, Investing Strategies, Stock Market Investing, Stock Watch | 1 Comment »

Is This the Market of a Lifetime?

Posted March 25, 2009 by Bernz

It’s difficult for even the best prognosticators to get a handle on the stock market these days. The massive recession-that-might-be-a-depression that has gripped much of the industrialized world has brutalized stock markets in the US and abroad. Pension funds, college funds and savings accounts have all been hard hit. Recently, CNBC’s Jim Cramer took a verbal beating from Jon Stewart about his inability to predict the crash.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped to its lowest level in 12 years recently and continues to test that limit. But even with all of the warnings about the dangers of the market right now, some wise investors are in collection mode.

So, is there opportunity in the stock market right now or only grief and despair? Optimists point to the fact that all stocks are getting punished regardless of their fundamentals. That means that there are stocks that are currently undervalued lurking out there. The tricky part is finding the ones that will both weather the remainder of the recession and also do well when the markets turn around.

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Posted in Financial Education, Financial Goals, Index Funds, Investing Basics, Investing Strategies, Stock Market Investing, Stock Watch | 1 Comment »

Whatever Happened to Diversification?

Posted March 4, 2009 by Bernz

Every investor has heard the advice to diversify their portfolio holdings in order to reduce risk and increase income. It is the gospel of every television financial guru and appears in every brokerage newsletter.

But how many people actually know what it means and practice it on a regular basis? Diversification is nothing more than a variation of the old “don’t put your eggs in one basket” mantra that has served people well from the Great Depression until today. Spreading out your investments amongst different industries, securities types and company size protects you from an economic downturn in any one segment of the market.

While diversification makes logical sense, many small investors choose to ignore the safe route and try to make fast money in the markets. It’s easy to see why people choose this path. Every late night “you too can make a million next year with tax notes” charlatan encourages you to forget about boring bonds and blue chip stocks and get on the train to riches. After all, Joe from New Jersey made $120,000 last month by spending five minutes a day picking stocks. (more…)

Posted in Financial Education, Investing Strategies, Stock Market Investing | No Comments »

Index Funds: What They Are And How They Perform

Posted February 15, 2009 by Bernz

Index funds are a type of mutual fund that combines a number of different stocks into a single stock market investment vehicle.  Instead of buying the individual stocks, you can buy shares of the fund.  That way you own a portion of many stocks instead of owning many shares of just one stock.

This type of ownership appeals to many investors who prefer to spread their risk over a number of stocks, but may not have the investment money that it  takes to buy a lot of stocks across a wide section of the market.

Of course, some people are critical of mutual funds since they typically yield less than individual stock portfolios.  This is largely due to the fees charged by most mutual funds.

Mutual Fund profits are decreased by the management fees.  Since the stocks in the funds are personally selected by the managers, the managers are well paid for their research and expertise.  But you can minimize those management fees by investing in index funds.

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Posted in Financial Education, Investing Strategies, Mutual Funds, Stock Market Investing | No Comments »

Is $20 billion Enough for Bank of America?

Posted January 16, 2009 by Bernz

Bank of America (BAC) today reported a loss of $1.79 billion in the fourth quarter and this is not including Merrill Lynch, which it acquired recently. Merrill Lynch lost a record $15.31bn in the quarter. Bank of America financials are supposed to be good until the purchased of Merrill. Additionally, Bank of America today announced that they received another $20 billion capital infusion from the Fed. This is on top of the $25bn the bank received from Tarp funds last October . This confirms that the crisis in the financial/bank sector is not yet over and it looks like everybody thinks that the government will not let these major banks fail.

Bank of America (BAC) stocks down more than 8% this morning.

Now, the question again is, is $20 billion enough and how far more can the Fed go?

Posted in Stock Watch | No Comments »