High Return Investments - A Buy and Hold Strategy For Big Gains

Here we will outline a simple investment, that’s low risk and has the potential to make 30 – 50% annual gains and finally, it’s simple to understand, easy to do and requires only a low minimum investment to get started.

The US Dollar is suffering from sluggish economic growth and debt and is set to fall which has been the story for the last few years. This strategy is simply to buy and hold two currencies against the dollar – the Australian and Canadian Dollar.
Your not going to trade in and out all the time, this is a strategy for the patient trader and when this trade is entered it can be left for years.
Your buying and holding for the longer term. Before we look at the potential gains lets look at opening a currency account and taking advantage of leverage to improve profit potential

Opening an account

Today you can open one online and you only need a few hundred dollars. Most brokers will give you 100:1 leverage so if you deposit $1,000 you can trade $100,000 if you wish.
This is a buy and hold strategy and you wouldn’t want to over do leverage and 10:1 leverage would give you the chance to easily target 50% + per annum. If you look at the price rises in these currencies over the last 5 years you will see this is a realistic target

50% Per Annum Capital Growth Potential

So why should these currencies continue with their bull run against the dollar?
Quite simply there economies are in better shape and booming while the US economy is sluggish and may even slip into recession and furthermore the US dollar is more affected by world volatility and political factors than ever before.

Another major factor is the boom in commodity prices that has taken place in recent years as India and China push prices up with their ever rising demand and spectacular economic growth.

Canada and Australia are exporting commodity nations and the US is a net importer.
Commodity price rises obviously support exporting nations currencies but hurt importing nations like the US. The trend that has been in place for the last few years of dollar declines against the above currencies looks set to continue.
Although you have to careful with your timing, a simple buy and hold strategy will do well longer term and represents a great diversification from volatile stocks.

If you want a high return investment, that’s simple to understand easy to do and provides diversification then this one provides it.

Mutual Funds vs. ETFs Part One

Mutual funds are a traditional component of most investors portfolios, but exchanged traded funds, or ETFs, have been gaining popularity over the past decade as well. In recent years, more investors, brokers, and financial advisors have been using ETFs, and they have been included in many company retirement plans. The security, as well as the traditional aspect of mutual funds, and their stable reputation, however, still carry a wide appeal for many investors. This article can help you determine which type of fund is best for you and your investment options.

Like traditional mutual funds, ETFs contain many securities, or stocks and bonds. The difference between these and mutual funds lies chiefly in the way that investors can buy and sell shares, since when ETF investors wish to redeem their fund shares, they are required to trade with other market investors, and this requires the use of a broker who can help you decide which option is a better fit.

Exchange traded funds are both priced and traded on an exchange, either, the American Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, or the Nasdaq, throughout the course of the business day in the same manner as stocks. Traditional mutual fund prices are set once a day, and investors are required to place their orders before a certain time in order to get the price of the day. With ETFs, unlike mutual funds you can use these funds the same way that you would a share of stock, including setting market and limit orders, buying on margin, and shorting.

Since ETFs must be traded with other market participants, ETFs generally have two prices the net value, or NAV, which is determined on a daily basis based on the ending value of both its portfolio and accrued expenses, and its share price, which is determined by the ETFs supply and demand profile in the market.

Although ETFs are not immune from taxes, the good news is that they are structured to enable investors to shield themselves from capital gains better than they would with conventional funds. Since ETFs are index funds, they typically trade at a lower value than most actively managed funds and in most cases, should generate fewer capital gains. And since most investors frequently buy and sell shares of ETFs with other investors, the ETF manager does not have to worry about selling holdings, which can trigger capital gains, in order to meet investor redemptions.

Understanding Exchange Traded Funds ETFs

A few years ago there were only a handful of Exchange traded funds. Today there are over 500 ETFs covering many different segments of both the domestic and foreign markets. Understanding the differences in Exchange Traded Funds and Mutual Funds will help you in your long term investment strategy.

Exchange Traded Funds:
*Are listed on the various stock exchanges and trade just like a stock
*They are priced continuously throughout the trading day
*ETFs can be sold short
*You pay a commission when buying and selling just like when buying an individual stock.

ETFs offer all of the advantages of a mutual fund without some of the disadvantages:

Diversification:
A typical ETF will hold many individual stocks within its portfolio.

Professional Management:
ETFs are managed by highly professional investment specialist that make the buy and sell decisions for their individual ETF portfolios.

Economies of Scale:
ETFs take advantage of their size to minimize transaction cost associated with buying and selling individual stocks within their respective portfolios.

Advantages over Mutual Funds:
With ETFs there are no minimum holding periods and no early redemption fees.

Types of Exchange Traded Funds:
*Growth oriented (Smaller growth stocks)
*Value oriented (Large cap value stocks)
*Income oriented (Bond funds or dividend paying stocks)
*Specific country focused (China, Singapore, Germany, etc.)
*Regional focused (Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc)
*Foreign exchange (forex related vs. the U.S. Dollar)
*Specific market segments (energy, healthcare, consumer products, etc.)
*Precious Metals (Gold, silver, etc.)

How to build an Exchange Traded Funds ETF Portfolio
*You could buy and hold a diverse number of individual ETFs. While this would give you good diversification there is a better way to invest in Exchange Traded Funds to maximize your return invesment.
*The preferred alternative is to follow a time-tested system for buying and selling a portfolio of ETFs.

Rebound Trading Systems

With so many diverse ETFs to choose from it is important to have a sound system for building a portfolio of Exchange Traded Funds. The Rebound trading systems I have developed consistently out-perform the S&P 500 by a wide margin. To learn more visit: http://www.reboundtrading.com.

A Beginner's Guide To Mutual Fund Investing

If you are new to investing, you may have heard of mutual funds but do not know exactly what they are or how to select the right one. A mutual fund is a collective investment security, and there are many different types. It may consist of a mix of several different types of investment vehicles, such as stocks, bonds, or derivatives, or it may consist of nothing but stocks that are part of a certain sector of the economy, or it could be just bonds.

For example, there are mutual funds that consist of nothing but technology stocks. There are also funds that are comprised of stocks that have a similar market capitalization (such as mid-cap funds, large-cap funds, or small-cap funds). And some might contain several different types of securities (such as stocks, bonds, etc.) that all fall within the same risk classification (high-risk, medium-risk, low-risk).

Just like stocks, mutual funds have a price per share, also known as the Net Asset Value (NAV). The NAV is calculated by dividing the total value of the fund divided by the number of shares outstanding. As with stocks, the price fluctuates on a daily basis and it can be sold just like any other security.

When deciding what fund to invest in, you need to consider your investment goals. Are you looking for long-term capital appreciation, or would you prefer to receive immediate income from your investment? You also need to evaluate your risk tolerance. Are you willing to take a chance on a speculative fund to potentially receive a better return, or is capital preservation a high priority?

If capital preservation is your goal, then you should consider a mutual fund that consists of low risk equities and conservative bond and money market instruments. If you want a mix of investments, then you should look for a balanced fund. If you want explosive capital appreciation, then you should consider a high-risk common stock or high-yielding bond fund.

They are different than stocks when it comes to fees and expenses. As with stocks, funds are subject to capital gains taxes. But a fund is sometimes subject to a front-end and/or back-end load. If there is a front-end load, that means that a percentage of the initial investment is automatically deducted to pay for commissions to the fund. If there is a back-end load, the investor must pay a fee when the security is sold.

Also, there is a 12b-1 fee that is often deducted to pay for advertising expenses incurred for the marketing of the fund to the public. Sometimes there is no 12b-1 fee, it depends. Investors might be unaware of the 12b-1 fee because it is sometimes deducted from the share price, so in a way, it is an invisible fee.

I hope this introduction to mutual funds will help you make some decisions regarding your investments. There are literally thousands of different funds available, and brokerage houses often have their own set of funds that they create for sale to their customers. Talk to your broker and see if he or she can help you identify the best investment vehicle for you. Just make sure you review the fee structure of the mutual fund you are interested in before you invest.