What is an ETF? Definition
ETFs are very popular and useful investment vehicles that offer affordable diversification and professional portfolio management. An ETF is a basket of securities that is designed to ‘mimic’ the performance of an index, sector, or category of securities. For example, the ETF with ticker SPY is designed to track the performance of the S&P 500, and the company that creates the ETF (in this case Barclays iShares) builds the ETF simply by purchasing the 500 stocks in the S&P 500. Investors can purchase shares of the ETF as a means of gaining instant access to all 500 stocks in the S&P 500, thus tracking its performance. Continue reading...
What is the “Life with Period Certain” Option?
In a “life with period certain” annuity payout option, the insurance company will pay the annuitant a set income for as long as the annuitant lives. If the annuitant dies before the “period certain” expires, the company will continue to pay the income to the beneficiaries until the period certain expires. If the period certain is 20 years, it would be called a “Life with 20 Years Certain” payout option. Continue reading...
What is the Ethereum Virtual Machine?
Ethereum has a Turing-complete platform built into it that allows the blockchain to function like a large distributed computer. The Ethereum Virtual Machine is a part of every Ethereum client software on the blockchain, and it allows the interconnected computers to function as one processor. Distributed computation such as this is not really a new thing, but the fact that it allows all developers in Ethereum to decentralized their projects makes this one of the most revolutionary aspects of the Ethereum platform. Continue reading...
What is a Non-Current Asset?
A non-current asset is an asset on the balance sheet that is not expected to convert into unrestricted cash within a year’s time. Non-current assets may include such things as intellectual property and production/operations equipment - meaning they likely do not have a need to convert to cash. From a balance sheet standpoint, non-current assets are capitalized rather than expensed - meaning the company can allocate the asset’s cost of the asset over the number of years for which the asset will be used, instead of allocating it all in the year it was purchased. Continue reading...
What is Accrual Accounting?
Accrual accounting is the counterpart to cash accounting, and the accrual method puts expenses and revenues on the books as soon as they are contractually agreed-upon. Accrual accounting is required by GAAP conventions for all publicly traded companies who have over $5 million in annual revenues. This method is the counterpart to cash accounting, which may be more useful to smaller businesses. In accrual accounting, the expenses and revenues which are agreed upon are written onto the business’s ledger at the current time, regardless of when payment will actually settle on the transaction. When a sale is made or service is performed, the revenue from the activity is documented, even if no cash is received in the current period. Continue reading...
What is a Bill of Sale?
A Bill of Sale is essentially a trumped-up receipt, unless you are in England. A Bill of Sale is a document affirming that the rights of ownership of an asset have been transferred from one party to another, in exchange for “full consideration,” which is another word for compensation or payment. A receipt from a retail transaction can be considered a Bill of Sale, but a full-fledged bill of sale should accompany large transactions like car sales and so on. The British definition of Bill of Sale, however, is somewhat different. Continue reading...
What is Mortgage Refinancing?
Refinancing a mortgage means to get a new mortgage agreement with a different interest rate. If the prevailing interest rate environment has changed, or if a person’s credit history has strengthened since signing the original mortgage agreement, a homeowner might benefit from refinancing their mortgage with a new arrangement. The bank or lending institution would effectively pay off the first mortgage with the new one, and give the client a different interest rate or mortgage term (length) or monthly payment amount. Continue reading...
What is alpha in investing?
Alpha is a risk ratio which measures gains or losses relative to a benchmark, indicating whether an investor is being compensated with a return greater than the volatility risk being taken. Alpha’s counterpart, the Beta figure, measures how closely an investment follows movements in the market as a whole or, when examining mutual funds, how similarly the funds move to their relevant indexes. Alpha is expressed as integers, which can be translated into percentage points above or below a benchmark for a time period. Investors are interested in higher Alpha figures: the larger the positive Alpha, the more the fund in question has outperformed its benchmark. An Alpha of 2 indicates a performance 2% greater than its benchmark; inversely, a -2 Alpha would denote 2% underperformance. Continue reading...
What Percentage and What Kind of Bonds Should I Have in My Portfolio?
Bonds can provide consistency and balance to a portfolio otherwise comprised of stocks. In the long run, stocks are generally associated with a higher yield, but as we know, higher returns mean higher risks. Bonds are seen as a safer, yet lower-yielding investment. Bonds offer a spectrum of risk and return potential, however, and various kinds of bonds and bond funds can be used in various market climates and portfolios. Continue reading...
Stocks and ETFs: AI Real Time Patterns
The best way to make money with pattern trading is to use our premium tool, Real Time Patterns (RTP Stocks, ETFs) You will get real time signals to buy and/or sell stocks or ETFs based on intraday price information. RTP analyzes 39 types of patterns for stocks, penny stocks, and ETFs in real time with the following time-frames: 5min, 15 min, 30 min, 1hour, 4 hours, and 1 day. To access, from the menu bar, simply click the Trading tab, then click on Real Time Patterns. Continue reading...