What are Alternative Funds?
The idea with Alternative fund investing is to gain exposure to assets which are not highly correlated with the rest of your portfolio, and which use non-traditional approaches to fund management. Alternative Funds are mutual funds that invest in non-traditional asset classes such as commodities (gold, silver, oil, etc.), agricultural products (cocoa futures, orange futures, pork-belly futures), non-publicly traded companies and limited partnerships, and so on. Continue reading...
What is a C-Corporation?
C-corps are generally the larger, more established companies in the country – most publicly-traded companies are C-corps. C-Corporations are companies which, as opposed to S-Corporations, are subject to federal income tax entirely separately from their owners. In addition, the earnings (or losses) are distributed among the shareholders (usually as dividends) and will appear on their individual income tax reports. This is the double-taxation for which C-corps are infamous. Continue reading...
What Are the Contribution Deadlines for My SIMPLE IRA?
Contributions for employees must be made within 30 days after a pay-period, while employers may match any time before their tax filing deadline. Salary reduction contributions to a SIMPLE IRA must be made no later than 30 days after receiving the paycheck in the calendar year that reflects their deferral. Employer contributions can be made each pay period, but they must be made by the same due date as their tax-filing deadline. This can be the extended deadline. Continue reading...
How Do I Calculate my Net Worth?
Calculating your net worth is a simple and worthwhile endeavor, and should be done once a year to measure your progress. Generally speaking, your net worth is the sum of all of your assets, minus the sum of your liabilities. For example, to calculate your net worth, you would need to add up the dollar values of all of your assets – usually consisting of your house, your cars, savings accounts, retirement accounts, CDs, cash, etc…, and your most valuable possessions (you don’t need to include your desk lamp into the calculations). Continue reading...
What is the Broadening Wedge Descending (Bearish) Pattern?
The Broadening Wedge Descending pattern forms when a security price makes lower lows (1, 3, 5) and lower highs (2, 4), forming two downward sloping lines that expand over time (kind of like a pointed down megaphone shape). This pattern may form when large investors spread out their selling over a period of time, and the Breakout can occur in either direction. When the initial selling occurs, other market participants react to falling price and jump on the bandwagon to participate. Then the value investors begin to sell, believing the price has not fallen enough, which spurs the original large investor to resume selling again. Continue reading...
What is the Descending Triangle (Bearish) Pattern?
The Descending Triangle pattern has a horizontal bottom (1, 3, 5) which represents the support level, and a down-sloping top line (2, 4). The breakout can be either up or down and the direction of the breakout determines which corresponding price level is the target. This pattern is commonly associated with directionless markets, since the contraction (narrowing) of the market range signals that neither bulls nor bears are in control. When the price of a pair consolidates in a somewhat volatile fashion, it may indicate growing investor concern that the price is set to break out. Continue reading...
What are Profitability Ratios?
Profitability ratios are useful analytical tools to evaluate a company’s ability to generate profits relative to all costs and expenses. A company that has high profitability ratios relative to competitors/peers, or a company that has demonstrated to improve their profitability ratios over time, is generally viewed as a healthy and attractive company from an ownership perspective. Some examples of profitability ratios are profit margin, return on assets, and return on equity. Continue reading...
What is a Dividend ETF?
Dividend ETFs invest primarily in preferred stock and stocks that pay regular dividends. Strategically, they tend to be either Dividend Appreciation or High Yield. Dividend ETFs are equity dividend funds that seek income from preferred stocks, common stocks. As of 2016 there are over 130 Dividend ETFs, and that’s up from about 29 in 2011 and 45 in 2012. This has become a popular strategy, obviously, and they all seek to distinguish themselves from the pack. Continue reading...
What is the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index?
The Lehman Aggregate Bond Index is a broad bond index, widely considered the best total bond market index to track performance across various types of bonds. The index includes government bonds, mortgage backed securities, corporate bonds, and asset backed securities with maturities greater than a year. It is used by many money managers as a measuring stick for tracking the relative performance of a managed bond portfolio. Continue reading...
Paper Trades: Learn How to Trade, Risk-Free
Tickeron's Paper Trades are the best way to start trading on paper without losing money. Paper Trades can be used as a testing environment for ideas generated using other products. You can review your gains or losses and adjust your trading style, risk-free. Paper Trades are available for 4,000 stocks, 1,000 ETFs, 30,000 mutual funds, 500 cryptocurrencies, and 100 Forex pairs. From any Tickeron, product page, click the Paper Trades button to extract your trade ideas and test them using Paper Trades. The system will run a record of the securities you want to buy and sell, and will generate the modeled outcome. The more Paper Trades you make, the more statistics Tickeron will generate for you to determine your trading style and preferences. Continue reading...