Setting up the perfect portfolio is impossible. But, the perfect portfolio is one that has a solid asset allocation. We’ve talked about the importance of asset allocation before, and one of the most common questions is: that’s great, but HOW do I set it up? Fair enough. Here are five model portfolio asset allocations that you […]
Correlation Investing: What It Is and How to Find Trades
No matter what, every individual has a unique insight into an industry that is useful for investing for profit. If you are a shoe freak and see a certain brand selling well from Nike (NYSE: NKE) and know that those from Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) are no longer the rage, then gains can be made from […]
Should You Actually Tell People What’s in Your Portfolio?
John and I used to play golf regularly until one day when he started asking me about what stocks I invested in. At this point in time, I refused to tell him what I was specifically doing until he mentioned what he was doing and just wanted to know why I was doing whatever I […]
Building an Income Portfolio to Achieve a Monthly Income
Investing seems pretty straightforward, until you are faced with the simple question: “How do you actually generate a monthly income from your investments?” Then, things can become challenging. Investing no longer becomes a “stash it away” objective, but rather, an art of generating money to live off of. And it’s easier said than done. For example, […]
SprinkleBit: The Neat Social Trading and Investment Network
SprinkleBit is a new social trading and investment network that seeks to help the average Joe investor do better in the stock market.
How to Actually Know What’s in Your Entire Portfolio
2013 was a great year for most investors, but that makes a new challenge for 2014 — changes to your portfolio that you probably don’t even know about! We’ve talked before about how asset allocation is important for investors, but now that is true more than ever. Why? Because last year saw huge gains in […]
5 Great Ways to Learn About Investing in the Stock Market
You want to learn about investing in the stock market — but you just don’t know where to start. There’s so much information out there that learning basic stock market investing seems overwhelming. I know this because I’ve been in this exact same position, too. If one of your goals for the new year is […]
The Best Investing Apps for Your Brand New Apple iPad
Merry Christmas! Did you know that more people will be turning on and activating their brand new iPad today more than any other day of the year? Over one million new iPads will be booted up for the first time today — and with every new tablet, it means new apps as well. If you’re […]
How to Easily Manage Your Investments While Traveling
It’s almost the holidays, and that means traveling to see family and friends in different parts of the country. But what happens if you need to manage your investments while you’re in the airport, or on a train, or at your parent’s house? That can be tricky . . . While this scenario is rare, […]
Research the CEO and Board of Directors of Your Company!
If you’re going to invest in a company, you need to know what the leaders of that company are all about. Do they have integrity, or have they been investigated for being unscrupulous in the past? These are important questions, because as a shareholder, you’re essentially trusting the people with your money. You expect them […]
3 Key Financial Ratios for Investing to Improve Your Skills
When I first started looking at investing in stocks, I really didn’t know much about them. I basically looked up local companies that I had heard of and then looked at the historical graph to see if their value had been consistently increasing. If it showed growth in the past year or two, I invested. […]
How Your Personality Type Dictates Your Investing Style
What if I told you a crucial key to your investing success is something you never expected? It’s not a breakthrough stock-picking formula. It’s not a special brokerage account. It’s not a cutting-edge tax shelter. It’s your personality type. Now, bear with me: I’m not talking about astrology, newspaper horoscopes, or those scammy online tests. Those […]
What Is Alpha for Investing and How Does It Measure Risk?
Are you thinking about investing? Or maybe you’re already dabbling in stocks through an online brokerage company? Whatever the case may be, you are making an incredible first step toward your financial future. By investing your money instead of spending it, you are an absolutely radical human being. Instead of giving the typical excuse of, […]
What You Should Do If You Lose Stock Certificates
When I was little, I used to love looking at paper stock certificates — I thought that they were so pretty. As I got older, I liked to look at paper stock certificates because I really was looking at money! However, now, I find dealing with paper stock certificates to be a hassle. In fact, […]
How the Government Shutdown Will Affect Your Investments
Everyone is talking about the government shutdown — the battle of partisan politics, the 800,000+ jobs that have been furloughed, the irritation of not being able to visit a national park. But what’s going to happen to your investment portfolio? It’s tough to give a definitive answer to what’s going to happen, but we can […]
Here Are Some Great Free Charts for Investing Analysis
A picture is worth a thousand words. The use of a simple picture can tell you the story of a complex topic — and that’s especially true when it comes to investing in the stock market. But for many new investors, it can be hard to find free charts for investing. Many professional investors use […]
6 “Caveman Instincts” That Threaten Your Portfolio
In movies, investors are often seen analyzing charts of numbers or reading The Wall Street Journal. But while data plays a key role, investing often comes down to what happens in our heads. The truth is, human beings are not naturally “wired” for investing. We evolved in caves and jungles – and nothing in our […]
How to Start a Successful Investment Club in College
Let’s face it: investing can be a pretty lonely journey. Poring over the Wall Street Journal, reading prospectuses, monitoring your brokerage account . . . these aren’t the kind of activities your college buddies are eager to come over and do with you. But what if they could be? It’s not impossible. By forming an […]
What Time Does the Stock Market Open in the U.S. and Beyond?
If you’re a trader or investor, it’s important to know and understand what time the stock market opens. If you place a trade outside of stock market hours, your trade will wait in a queue until the start of the next trading session. This can also make a big difference on the prices you’ll get […]
Asset Allocation Basics For College Investors
A while back, we wrote The College Student’s Guide to Investing, a great tool to help you get started investing. We covered various angles including the importance of starting now, continuing your investment education through continuous learning, and lowering costs through index fund investing. And once you have your accounts setup and funded, what then? […]
7 Ways to NOT Blow Your Trading Account
This post is for people who are already trading the market or are interested in trading. Remember, trading is much different than investing, so if you’re interested in investment strategies, these tips aren’t for you. If you are already trading, let me know in the comments below whether you are able to relate to some […]
What Type of Investment Account Do I Open?
If you are just considering getting started investing, you may be overwhelmed by the first choice on the investment account application: what type of account do you want? The truth is that there are a lot of different accounts for different purposes, so I will try to shed a little light on the more common […]