How do I Choose an ETF?
There is guessing, there are screening programs, and there are advisors. As you can imagine, looking at the list of over 900 ETFs can give you a big headache. Fortunately, there are screening programs that can help you sort through the mess by giving you many criteria by which to search. You can narrow down the choices to a point where the research about each ETF will become manageable. In the process you will have to determine what is important to you, and what need you’re trying to fill in your portfolio. It can certainly help to bring that information to a financial professional that can help you choose the right ETFs for your situation. Continue reading...
What is a time spread?
A ‘Time Spread,’ also called a Calendar Spread or a Horizontal Spread, involves the use of multiple options of the same type (either all calls or all puts), with the same strike price but different expiration dates. Generally traders will sell a near-term option (take a short position) and buy a far-term option (take a long position). The strategy is virtually identical whether calls or puts are used. Continue reading...
What Are the Contribution Limits for My SEP IRA?
SEPs contain only employer contributions, and they must contribute the same percentage of every employee’s compensation. As of 2016, an employer may contribute the lesser of either 25% of an employee’s compensation or $53,000 annually. An important thing to note is that the employer decides whether to contribute to the employees’ SEP IRA each year; the employer is not required to make continuous yearly contributions. The equal treatment of all employees with respect to the retirement plans is a fundamental principle of all employer-sponsored retirement programs. Continue reading...
Is Life Insurance a Good Investment?
As a rule of thumb, life insurance should not be considered an investment at all, since it’s primary purpose is to provide insurance coverage. That said, some cash value policies have attractive features that can be appealing in certain circumstances. We will say that a smart investor who has done research and gotten good advice will generally not end up with a permanent cash value life insurance policy. Continue reading...
Do I Need Professional Help to Prepare a Trust?
In most cases, you should consult a tax professional and/or an estate planning attorney for help in setting up a trust. If you’re setting up a trust in the first place, it is likely because you have estate planning needs – which also means you have a level of assets that requires estate planning. Preparing a trust on your own runs the risk of setting it up incorrectly, which can lend itself to legal risks such as challenges from heirs and/or creditors. Continue reading...
Who Created Ethereum?
Who would have thought that a 19-year-old from Toronto could write a whitepaper nearly as influential as Satoshi Nakamoto’s (Bitcoin founder)? A few years after Bitcoin’s launch, a young programmer and student of blockchain technology named Vitalik Buterin wrote a whitepaper imagining the Ethereum platform. While Bitcoin’s blockchain was primarily designed to handle transaction information, Ethereum is designed to offer a blockchain protocol for anything that can be programmed, which includes wh... Continue reading...
Who is a Bill Collector?
Collections companies are known as Bill Collectors, and their jobs are to extract as much payment from those who are past-due on payment obligations as they can to settle an account or to bring it current. When people do not pay their credit card companies back within about 150 days, the card company will pass the debt off to a collections company. Other businesses who do their own billing will also sometimes find it necessary to pass off the obligation to the collections company. Continue reading...
What is Required Rate of Return?
Required Rate of Return is the return that investors will expect to earn on their money, given the risk and costs involved. Required Rate of Return is determined by the market for a particular security or asset at a given time. Issuers of fixed or variable coupon bonds must look at the rates offered by their peer institutions with similar credit ratings. Investors will require a certain rate of return if they are going to invest their money, and this is where the RRR gets its name. The calculations which help an issuer to arrive at the RRR will include the current risk-free rate (10 year treasury bond rate), liquidity, inflation, and so on. Continue reading...
Is there any merit to fundamental analysis of the markets?
Fundamental analysis has been around for a long time, and will probably always remain relevant. Fundamental Analysis is the oldest and most well-established market theory. Fundamental analysis is to take all the real-world information about a company into account when evaluating securities and to acknowledge that the shares are what they are: partial ownership in a company. It follows that someone should know about the company and its earnings potential. Continue reading...
AI Robots: Instructions
With AI Robots, you can view bought and sold trades with potential profit and stop loss in real-time. Receive timely alerts with each trade. Here are the steps: Step 1. Review AI Robots' past performance for free. Step 2. Select an AI Robot you might be interested in based on their customization and statistics. Step 3. Subscribe and follow one AI Robot and get a monthly $60 credit to purchase other products. Step 4. Subscribe and follow two or more AI Robots and get a monthly $120 credit to purchase other products. Step 5. Sign up for 1-on-1 sessions or webcasts. Continue reading...