Can I Leave My 401(k) With My Former Employer?
Generally a plan will allow you to leave your assets in there indefinitely, but this is probably not ideal for you. Most custodians will be happy to hold onto your account dollars as long as you’re willing to leave them there. They don’t have to spend any time servicing your account since you can’t make contributions and probably aren’t even able to reallocate your assets, and they will continue to make money on your account with the built-in fees. You may be charged inactive account fees or small account fees as well. Continue reading...
How Can the Money in My Coverdell ESA be Invested?
You have about as many investment choices in a Coverdell as you would in a personal IRA account. Money in a Coverdell ESA can be invested in financial instruments such as mutual funds. You can establish a Coverdell ESA at any major brokerage or bank, and the investment choices will vary depending on the institution. The account will grow tax-deferred, and the withdrawals are not taxed as long as they are used for appropriate educational expenses. Continue reading...
What is the Fiduciary Standard?
The Fiduciary Standard stipulates that an advisor must place the client’s best interests first. The best way to understand the fiduciary standard is to think in terms of another standard, called the suitability standard. The suitability standard says that a broker/advisor need only recommend investment products that are “suitable” for the client - but those investments do not necessarily have to be in the client’s best interests. Continue reading...
What is Income from Operations?
Income from operations will be the net income which is solely focused on revenue from operations minus the cost of operations. It excludes gains or losses from minority interest investments, or sale of assets. Income from Operations is also called Net Operating Income (NOI). In accounting terms it is arrived at by subtracting operating expense from gross profit, where gross profit is net sales minus cost of goods sold. Continue reading...
What is Income Tax?
Income tax is paid to the government based on the amount of income earned. There are federal income taxes, and some states have their own income taxes, too. As an employee for a company, income taxes will be withheld from paychecks using the company’s best estimation of your annual earnings. At the end of the year it may turn out that they withheld too much, and the government may give you a tax refund for what was overpaid. Continue reading...
What is the Debt-to-Equity Ratio?
Also known as ‘leverage,’ the debt-to-equity ratio indicates the relative proportion of a company’s debt to total shareholder equity. Given that debt is looked at relative to shareholder equity, the debt-to-equity ratio is often given greater consideration than the debt ratio for determining leverage and risk. Similar to debt ratio, a lower debt-to-equity means that a company has less leverage and a stronger equity position. Continue reading...
What is the Contribution Margin Ratio?
The contribution margin ratio presents a profit (less variable expenses) as a percentage of net sales. For an individual product, the contribution margin ratio would look at that product’s contribution margin ratio as a percentage of the profit made on that sale. The higher the contribution margin ratio, the better. A low contribution margin ratio would indicate that a company would have a difficult time creating a substantial profit from the sale of that product over time. Continue reading...
What is market efficiency?
Market efficiency describes the degree to which relevant information is integrated into the price of a security. With the prevalence of information technology today, markets are considered highly efficient; most investors have access to the same information with prices and industry news, updated instantaneously. The Efficient Market Hypothesis stems from this idea. Efficient markets are said to have all relevant information priced-in to the securities almost immediately. High trading volume also makes a market more efficient, as there is a high degree of liquidity for buyers and sellers, and the spread between bid and ask prices narrows. Continue reading...
What is market share?
Market share is the percentage of the total amount of similar products sold in a marketplace that are constituted by a particular product or the products of a particular company. This sometimes used synonymously with the term Market Penetration. Most industries have many competitors offering essentially the same services and products; in fact that is a sign of a healthy capitalistic marketplace. The market share of a company is the proportion of the total sales in that industry that belong to their company. Continue reading...
What is a Takeover?
A takeover is an acquisition done through the procurement of enough equity interest to govern a company from the board of directors. Takeovers can be hostile or friendly, and may involve a tender offer from the acquiring company who seeks to buy a large block of shares. Takeover carries a negative connotation, since in peaceful circumstances this is usually called an acquisition. An acquiring corporation will offer to buy enough shares to have a controlling interest in the company in what is called a tender offer. Shareholders of the target company will have a set amount of time to decide whether they would like to take the offer, which is normally to buy the shares at a premium over the market price. Continue reading...