Now that we’ve taken the time to understand how it is that the various fundamentals within discrete financial statements can be used to build a basic value investing model, I’d like to take our evaluations one last step further. Specifically, I’m going to show you how the evaluation … [Read more...]
Earning Income Through Purchase Transactions
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
One of the most difficult parts of investing is making the decision to buy or sell a position. It’s not so much even a question of whether or not we have the technical/fundamental understanding required to make such a decision, as much as it is an issue of emotion. Have you ever been … [Read more...]
How Do Patent Companies Create Value?
Filed Under: Business Value by
One of the hottest sectors to invest in over the last decade has been the technology space. However, technology securities are also notoriously volatile, and dangerous. It takes a sophisticated investor, capable of quickly dealing with new information as it arrives, and interpreting … [Read more...]
Software as a Service for Consistency
Filed Under: Business Value by
The continuing theme of this column is to discuss the value of cash flows and income. From my perspective, personal investors should focus on scaling down their exposure to risk in a way that allows them to maintain exposure to predictable cash flows over time. Be these cash flows be … [Read more...]
Comparative Analysis of WPFRX and FSDAX Mutual Funds
Filed Under: Fund Analysis by
Having provided an overview of two funds (WPFRX and FSDAX from Westport and SunAmerica respectively) that focus on providing broad market exposure to stable investments and value opportunities. Using the previous article as a framework, we can now compare the funds, and make a … [Read more...]
Will Gold Mining Stocks Be Big In 2012?
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
One of the biggest rallies of 2011 was the gold market. Mainly because of its perceived ability to store value, gold more than doubled in price, as investors saw volatility levels go through the roof. The end result has been a massive increase in the price of gold, as well as a … [Read more...]
2012 Investing Trends: Population and Wealth Dynamics
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
Over the last two articles (bargain shopping & investing), we’ve discussed how it is that the North American consumer is changing to favour thrift and savings. Across the ocean, the Chinese consumer is entering an entirely different trend. Over the course of 2012, investors are … [Read more...]
Doomsday Scenario The Risk of Brokerage Bankruptcy
Filed Under: Doomsday Scenarios by
It’s 6 o’clock, do you know where your advisor, fund manager, clearing agent, or broker are? If you’re answer is "in line for EI", then you may well be experiencing one of the most frustrating investment risks imaginable, the bankruptcy of a brokerage house. While this risk was … [Read more...]
How To Avoid DRIP Dilution
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
In the last article, I discussed how it is that a DRIP program can create a capital flight scenario that can be extremely destructive to your overall position. Through exposure to dilution and unrealistic growth expectations, DRIP programs can sometimes be hard to justify, even with … [Read more...]
Ditch the Stocks, Keep the Dividends
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
The most frustrating thing about holding a stock is that it isn’t a bond. This may sound obvious, but any income-focused equity investors out there will understand my nuance. When you buy a high-yielding equity, you’re still greatly exposed to the capital fluctuations of the price … [Read more...]
Analysis of The Vanguard Fund and FBR’s GASFX Fund
Filed Under: Fund Analysis by
In the last post, we reviewed the contexts of two high-performing Utilities mutual funds. While FBR’s GASFX fund provides a greater return, it does not have the same breadth of diversification as Vanguard’s VUIAX. However, for the incremental increase in technical volatility, GASFX … [Read more...]
Part 2 Practical Mutual Funds: Risks Involved With Mutual Funds
Filed Under: Mutual Funds by
In the last post of the series, I described the simplicity of why it is we buy Mutual Funds (to make money of course!). Today, I’m going to dig deeper, and describe some of the risks that Mutual Funds inadvertently employ to justify these returns. Don’t worry, there’s no conspiracy … [Read more...]
Tax Tips for Students That Have Summer Jobs
Filed Under: Taxes by
You're out of school for the summer and trying to make some extra money for next semester don't forget to pay your taxes. The IRS is a persistent beast and they will not let you get away without their fair share. 1. Your employer is going to make you complete a W-4 (Employee … [Read more...]
Tax Credits for Energy Efficient Homes
Filed Under: Taxes by
If you install certain energy efficient products like heating and cooling systems, insulation, roof, doors and windows you can receive a sizable tax break. Your tax break for installing any of these energy efficient products between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010 will be to … [Read more...]
Tax Tips for New Business Owners
Filed Under: Taxes by
If you have a newly opened business or plan on opening one in the near future here are some taxes to save you big bucks. 1. Choosing the correct business entity will have a large impact on how you pay taxes. The four most common types of business's are a sole proprietorship, … [Read more...]
Child Care Expenses May Qualify for New Tax Credits
Filed Under: Taxes by
Parents who have to work and have children under the age of 13 in daycare during the summer may qualify for a nice tax credit. Below are some things the IRS will ask you to see if you qualify for this tax break. 1. If you child goes to day camp this may be considered an expense by … [Read more...]
9 Tax Tips for the New Business Owners Tanning Service Tax
Filed Under: Taxes by
As most of the tanning business owners know by now you will have to incur a new tax starting on July 1, 2010 thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Below are 9 tips on the tanning excise tax that you will have to collect. 1. If your tanning business uses ultraviolet bulbs you have to … [Read more...]
