Posts tagged: equity

How to Invest in Hedge Funds

equity fundsHedge mutual funds are a type of mutual fund that is structured as a private limited partnership. They are classified according to the securities they invest in and the tactics they use to manage them. Hedge funds are mainly recognized for their riskier investments, which attract wealthy investors looking for higher returns, and for those who are ready to accept bigger risks.

Hedge fund performance may assist to track the status of your investments, their risks, returns, etc. Continue to the blog to know everything about hedge funds and how you can invest in them.

What Are Hedge Funds?

Hedge funds pool money from investors and invest it in securities or other investments to make a profit out of them. Well, they are not subject to the same regulations as mutual funds. And, as a result, they have more freedom to explore investments and strategies that may raise the risk of losing money. Hedge funds are only available to wealthy investors. Investors can afford the higher fees and risks associated with investing in hedge funds.

Different Types of Hedge Funds in the Market?

Well, a modern investor has a wide range of possibilities from which to pick. In this article, we’ll go over the many options open to you.

  • Domestic Hedge Funds: Domestic hedge funds are only available to investors who are taxed in the nation of origin.
  • Offshore Hedge Funds: They are funds that are founded outside of your home nation, preferably in a low-tax jurisdiction.
  • Funds of Funds: Mutual funds that invest in other hedge mutual funds rather than the specific underlying stocks are known as funds of funds.
  • Event-Driven Strategies: Mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcies are all major corporate events that cause a lot of movement in the stock market. Hedge funds are to profit from such changes. Those events only create volatility and making leveraged bets on this volatility can result in remarkable returns.

Everything You Should Know About Before Investing in a Hedge Fund?

Let us know about some key factors to consider while investing in hedge funds. Have a look.

  • First, become a Qualified Investor as per the criteria.
  • Read the Prospectus and Other Associated Documentation for a Fund.
  • Know how to value a fund’s assets.
  • Pose Inquiries and be clear about all the things such as where your money is going, who is managing it, and how to retrieve it, etc.

How to Invest in Hedge Funds?

You must first research funds that are presently accepting new investors to invest in hedge funds. Furthermore, to find suitable hedge funds, take assistance from a financial advisor like a Hedge Fund Manager. Though there are many research tools available online also. After you’ve looked at the fund managers and investment objectives, you’ll need to contact a hedge fund and inquire about minimum investment requirements.

You’ll need to prove that you’re a qualified investor, though there is no centralized accreditation authority or an established approach available. Because each fund uses its methods to determine your standing. For that you have to give proof of your income, debts, assets, and experience through licensed third parties. Any financial institution in that case with which you have accounts, an investment advisor, or an attorney.

Should You Put Your Money in a Hedge Fund?

Hedge funds may be a good method to diversify your portfolio and hedge against market volatility. So if you qualify as an accredited investor and are ready to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars you must invest in hedge funds. You may also take help from a hedge fund manager to know more about it before investing your money into it. For the average person seeking high returns, investing in index funds that track key indexes, is a better option.

3 Strategies To Increase Your Stock Returns In 2018

money stocksImproving your investment results is no easy task. The stock market is not for the faint-hearted and emotions can get the better of us as investors. As 2017 comes to an end, you may have noticed that your investment portfolio doesn’t look as healthy as it originally did. However, there are tools in which you can use to your advantage and boost your stock returns to the numbers you want to achieve. These are three strategies to receive more financial gain.

Value vs growth method

With the use of index tracking, value companies have outperformed growth companies in the U.S. and international stock markets. Focusing your investments on value instead of growth companies will increase your chances of receiving higher returns.

By doing this and using financial tools such as a covered call screener, you are more guaranteed to get an increase of returns in 2018. Even though value companies have lower stock prices than growth companies, several value firms will offer stock brokers an annual dividend payout. Dividends are particularly useful if the price of a stock has slow appreciation during a time period.

Rebalancing strategy

Inevitably, your investment portfolio will decrease from its original asset class percentages and won’t appear as healthy as it first did. The method of adjusting the portfolio back to its original allocation is known as ‘rebalancing’.

There are a couple of ways in which this can be accomplished. These are: adding money to the under-weighted section of the portfolio, selling a portion of the over-weighted section and adding this to the under-weighted piece, or, taking withdrawals from the over-weighted assets.

By rebalancing, you are enhancing your portfolio performance and making it look more financially appealing to potential sellers. Not only does it do this, but it puts your investments back to the original level of risk tolerance. Keeping an eye on your portfolio and ensuring that each investment is being efficient with beneficial results is key to selling high and buying low. This means that you’re more likely to make profits than losses.

Prioritising equities and bonds

Before we go into detail over this strategy, let’s first establish the difference between an equity and a bond. Equity is essentially another name for a stock, where investors buy them to generate growth. The ideal equity is one which increases in price over time which allows the investor to sell their share for a large profit. However, a bond doesn’t give much opportunity to grow in value and instead, provide regular portfolio income.

Even though investing in equities can be more volatile and risky, the stock market has consistently outperformed the bond markets over the past decade. But, by carrying out a manageable combination between the two within your portfolio, this can offer better stock returns.

Let’s round it up

As an investor, you can see just by reading these simple strategies how boosting your stock returns and improving your portfolio can be easily done. The key rule is to prioritise your portfolio by keeping it balanced and consistent. Don’t get carried away with the influx of money and lose your main financial vision.

Why Flipping Houses Is A Good Business Opportunity

flipping house for financePeople who flip houses sometimes have a bad reputation because the work that they do necessitates that they be rather ruthless. To buy a house and quickly try to renovate it so that it can be sold for a profit is not an easy job at all, not least because so many factors in the success or failure of the enterprise are out of the person’s control. For instance, if someone was to buy a house and start pouring money into it to get it to the point that it is marketable and then the economy started to suffer, that person could potentially lose lots of money. It is not just shifts in the country’s economic well-being that can be a factor though. There is so much paperwork and legal fees that have to be processed to buy and then sell a house. Also, sourcing all of the materials and redesigning an entire house is something that some people spend years doing (although with the intention of creating a home rather than a profit). If you flip houses, you have to do it all much quicker. However difficult it may be, here are a few reasons why it is a great way to make money and something that you may want to consider doing:

It is not always the case that shifts in the economy are necessarily going to work against you. While it may seem rather callous, property foreclosures offer a good business opportunity. If you can buy a house as cheaply as possible, that gives you a greater chance of making a profit. Another good thing about the recent financial crisis was that it has lowered mortgage interest rates. This means that more people will want to take out mortgages, which means that there will be more potential buyers. Besides, the market is good right now. There are lots of people who are thinking ‘I want to sell my house fast’, a fact demonstrated by 5.71 million existing homes being sold last month, up from 5.47 million in February of this year. You always have to be aware of the rate of inflation, but right now is the best time to buy, renovate and sell houses in several decades.

Do not let anyone tell you that it is easy though. The sweat equity of flipping houses plays a big part in your final profits. If you do lots of the work on the property yourself, you can cut down on costs, but if you do not have the time or the skills and choose instead to hire outside labor, you can quickly see your future profits disappear. If you are not as handy with a tool belt as you’d like to be, you should consider trying to find contractors with whom you can negotiate a deal. If they work for a lesser rate, you could perhaps guarantee them work for several years.

Finally, to make money flipping houses, you have to be patient. Do not buy a house unless you are confident that it is the perfect one. Do not accept the first quotes that you receive from contractors and do not try to sell the place as soon as it is finished. Timing is everything.

Guide to the Different Kinds of US Bonds Available Today

All about US bondsBorrowing money is something that’s hard to avoid, both for individuals and large organizations. Even if you have an ample budget, some investments require more. In a large scale, the government and companies issue bonds to aid in borrowing large sums of money. They receive these funds by issuing bonds, which investors purchase. Most bonds have a maturity date, which is when the issuer must pay the investors back. When this occurs, the investor is awarded additional compensation on top of whatever their initial investment was.

The concept of bonds is fairly straightforward, but identifying the different kinds of bonds available today in the US can be daunting to someone with little bond and investment experience. Yet it’s certainly something to look into, with two primary advantages: purchasing bonds can strengthen one’s financial portfolio, and help them stay knowledgeable about market trends. Substantial income can be earned through investing in the right bonds. In general, the types of bonds are grouped by the type of organization or individual that issues them. There are four primary types of bonds that one can purchase in the US:

Municipal bonds are issued by local government, often to provide funding for local projects like improving school districts, sewage systems, publicly owned airports, and rehabilitation centers. Any capital gain from a municipal bond is taxable, and may be counted as income if sold at a profit prior to maturity. Still, many municipal bonds are exempt from interest via state and/or federal income tax, though this tax advantage does result in lower interest rates.

Your tax bracket is important to keep in mind when deciding to purchase municipal bonds. Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield – which is Tax-exempt yield divided by (1 – your marginal tax rate) – to help identify the yield on a taxable municipal bond. There are tools that calculate Taxable Equivalent Yield, as well. In general, tax-free municipal bonds are not useful for low income brackets, as the taxes they are saving may not compensate for the lower interest rates.

Corporate bonds are issued by corporations in order to expand their business. Its maturity date is often after a year from its issue date, with the occasional “commercial paper” corporate bonds having a shorter maturity span. Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and other rating services provide an estimate on whether a corporate bond issuer will be able to meet scheduled payments, with the ‘AAA’ rating having the lowest risk and ‘D’ having the highest risk. Using these ratings can help investors avoid high-risk investments.

Mortgage Backed Securities is a security that involves mortgages, often many mortgages. The multitude of mortgages involved makes it perhaps the most high-risk form of bond investment, but it can also result in some of the highest yields. This is how it works: mortgages are sold to either an investment bank or government agent that combines these loans into a tidy security, which investors can purchase. Unlike other bonds, which have a maturity date, mortgage-backed securities are paid off periodically.Ginnie Mae and Freddie Mac are the most common entities that issue mortgage-backed securities.

U.S. Government Securities present some of the most diverse types of bonds. They are issued by the US Department of Treasury, and exist in periodic additional payments to the bondholder, in addition to the principal amount being reimbursed at the maturity date. The government is the largest issuer of debt securities, and as a result these are considered some of the safest fixed-income investment opportunities. Different types of U.S. government securities include a T-Bill, U.S. Treasury Note, U.S. Treasury Bond, Savings bonds, and zero-coupon bond, the latter of which pays no interest but is issued at a discount that depends on the maturity length. You can purchase U.S. government securities directly though the US Department of Treasury.

How To Create A Winning Investment Strategy

investment stratgiesWhether playing an online game or investing your money in real life, there are a number of ways in which individuals can build themselves a winning investment strategy. We have to say that, when it comes to investing, there is no specific right way or wrong way, and no one way that will always guarantee to make you successful.

Building a winning investment strategy takes into account a whole range of factors with one overall aim: getting out with a positive return. We looked at some of the things to consider when building your own personal investment strategy.

Specific or General?

Depending on how you plan to invest, you will either want to invest generally with a view to making a return, or look at specific sectors. When it comes to specific sector investing, try to stick to those that you have a little knowledge about and will be able to make educated decisions around. It is often too easy to be drawn into investing in a particular area just because “the returns are great.”

High returns potential generally means high risk, and if you adopt a cavalier attitude you will find that out the hard way!

Learn to Read

Reading investment charts is a little bit like checking out form for horseracing. You know the information is important, but tend to look at it blankly without ever really understanding what it means.

If you can teach yourself how to read financial charts and information, you will find it much easier to get on board with winning investments. Learn how to read a chart to understand the best times to buy and, even more crucially, the best times to sell, so that you can maximise all of your investment returns.

Know Your Limits

Before doing anything involving finances, you should know what you are looking to spend. If you are committing money to a private equity fund, then put in what you want initially, and then leave it there. If you use an online trading platform, ensure you have it set up so that you can automatically sell or stop if you lose a certain amount.

It is easy to be drawn in by attractive looking, high numbers, but very difficult to deal with the repercussions of being financially irresponsible. Ensure this doesn’t happen to you.

Find Resources

Although you will understandably want to build your own investment patterns, it is always worth picking up top tips from those who have been successful in the industry. If you are using a private equity fund then you will have a wealth of experience to help you, while if you are going it alone, for example online, you should make use of blogs, infographics, social media and emailing lists in order to glean as much advice as you possibly can.

Rob is a writer on the private equity marketiplace and has specialised in raising funds for entrepreneurs over a series of years, ranging from local investments to mulit-million pund funding.