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Keeping an eye on currency exchange rates is essential when traveling if staying within a budget or if just not wasting money is of concern to you at all.  What does exchange rate mean?  Typically, using the US dollar as a guide, other currencies would be worth more or less than a dollar for exchange of value.  For instance, a Canadian dollar might be worth 85 percent of an American dollar, or 85 cents.  Then when comparing a US dollar to the British pound, it a pound might be worth two US dollars.  The fluctuating exchange rate means that, depending on market conditions, one day a pound might be worth two dollars, and the next day a pound might be worth two and a half dollars, and the next day worth one dollar and ninety cents.

A currency will be either free floating or pegged.  A pegged currency is fixed by the government relative to the value of another currency.  For example, the Hong Kong dollar in the 1980’s was fixed or pegged relative to the US dollar and always worth a set percentage of the currency it was pegged to.  A free floating currency is allowed to fluctuate in value relative to all the other currencies on the foreign exchange market.  When discussing currency people also refer to the nominal exchange rate, and the real exchange rate.  The nominal rate is the rate at which a currency of one country can be traded for the currency of another. The real rate is the rate at which goods and services of one country can be traded for the goods and services of another.  If, for example, the price of a product increases by ten percent in the US and there is a ten percent appreciation in the Canadian economy against US currency, the price of the product would remain constant for Canadians despite the US price increase. This is of course assuming that no tariffs are involved.

As a practical matter exchange rates will change from country to country and can be used to make travel and tourism more attractive in certain countries at certain times, so if there are several countries you’d like t visit and you have a flexible schedule, keep an eye on the exchange rates.  If a person is a visitor in New York City it is easy to see how people in other countries follow this rule.  At certain times the city of New York will be flooded with visitors from Germany, France, the UK, or Japan.  The reason for this is quite simple.  When the exchange rate favors the Japanese or the Europeans, then visiting America becomes much cheaper for them than at other times.  If for instance, one thousand Euros, due to a favorable exchange rate, will purchase twelve hundred Euros in value, then they have a net twenty percent gain and a twenty percent cash incentive to visit the US.  In recent years this exchange rate has usually worked in favor of Europeans, but in years past it worked in favor of Americans.  For instance, before the Euro became the standard currency of Europe, Italy used lira, Germany the deutsche mark, Switzerland the Swiss franc, Austria the schilling, and France the French franc.  In the early 1980’s the exchange rate was five  French francs to the dollar, two and a half Swiss francs to the dollar, one thousand lira to the dollar, and two and a half schillings to the dollar on average.  The German mark was fluctuating, anywhere from 1.7 marks to the dollar to 2.5 marks to the dollar, so when the dollar was worth 2.5 marks Americans would be ahead to trade in their dollars for marks.  When the rate was 1.7 they were better off not spending German marks.

Keeping an eye on exchange rates will always benefit the traveler.  Even if you are just crossing the border to visit our neighbors to the North in Canada or the South in Mexico, knowing what the normal value of the other nation’s currency is, and planning your trip for when the fluctuation is in your favor will increase spending power.

What is private money used for?
Private money is generally used as a bridge: a way to get from point A to point B. It is generally a short to medium term solution (1-6 years), and there is

nearly always an exit strategy going in. It is used for all types of real estate secured financing: commercial retail, restaurants, hotels/motels, marinas,

elder care facilities, industrial, agricultural, raw land, land development, construction, rehab, multi-family, single family homes, manufactured homes, and

floating homes. For a list of our loan programs.  Some providers of these loans are www.rocklandcommercial.com, www.californiaprivatemoneyloan.com, and

www.interestratepolice.com

What are the interest rates?
Private money rates generally range from 10 to 15%. The rate is determined by looking at a combination of factors: (a) LTV ratio, (b) strength of borrower,

(c) condition/desirability of property, (d) actual cash-in or real equity contributed by borrower. Typically our rates fall in the 12-13% range. A list of

our loan guidelines may be found here.

What fees are involved?
Private lenders charge a loan fee generally equal to 5% of the gross amount of the loan. We also charge a doc prep fee ($500 or more, depending on the size

of the loan), a property inspection fee ($500 or more, depending on the location of the property), and a collection account setup fee which is based on the

size of the loan. There are no hidden junk fees.

Can the fees be paid from the proceeds of the loan?
Yes, if there is enough equity in the project. This is frequently the case.

Is there a pre-payment penalty?
Generally there is a 3-6 month minimum interest clause for our loans. With a 3 month minimum interest clause, for instance, it means that if a borrower

repays a loan in 3 months or more, there is no penalty. If the borrower repays the loan, for example in 2 months, then the borrower will have to pay an extra

month’s interest out of escrow at closing.

Why would anyone pay those kinds of rates and fees for a loan?
There are many reasons whey a borrower would choose to use private money over a cheaper institutional option. For example, professional real estate investors

like to use private money when buying because they are able to make offers which are not constrained by long timelines and numerous rigid conditions. Often

times speed is a very significant factor in completing a profitable transaction and in those cases it often makes sense to pay for a short-term private money

option rather than loose the deal. Frequently the condition of a property won’t allow for the initial financing with conventional money, and in those cases

private money may be used. Often the type of property is a factor: banks don’t like lending on raw land and lots, but private money lenders are more inclined

to do so. Cash leverage is another factor. Fairfield Financial, for example, loans based on the true value of a property, not the purchase price, so

sometimes we lend 100% of the total acquisition cost for a property. The structure of the deal may be a factor. Most private money lenders allow the buyer to

establish their equity through the mechanism of a seller carry back; banks won’t do this. The list goes on and on.

What is the most common use for private money?
Most common loans are probably construction, rehab, and land development loans. We have an entire FAQ devoted to these loans: see the Rehab and Construction

Loan FAQ.

How fast can private money loans close?
In a matter of one or two days, but more typically, you should figure on 1-2 weeks. (Keep in mind that it is only possible for the lender to move quickly if

the borrower, broker and other third parties are moving quickly as well.)

Is an appraisal required?
Some private money lenders require them. Evidence of value is a critical part of the private money loan process. However, it is in my opinion that a good set

of comps is just as effective in establishing value as a good appraisal. Many of our borrowers are professional investors, and i feel that they are qualified

to perform the value analysis. This allows us to streamline the process. However, it is important to note that putting together a god set of comps is hard

work.

As a mainstream mortgage broker, I don’t see much of this type of thing. Why should I be interested in private money?
To be perfectly frank, it is my belief that mainstream mortgage brokers are being squeezed out of the industry. Lenders are ramping up their operations to

better provide online loan sourcing directly to borrowers. We saw a similar thing in the travel industry over the past years. The travel agents that have

survived, and even thrived, are the ones who effectively established niches within the industry. It is my belief that the same will be true for mortgage

brokers. Plain vanilla loans can be easily processed in an assembly line fashion which easily translates to the world of the novice and a web browser. Niche

lending, on the other hand, tends to be a hand-crafting of sorts, and cannot be easily automated. Look at private money. There are no absolute rules. Many

factors must be considered in making a decision and frequently those factors are intangible. Ultimately a high degree of thought work and common sense is

involved. Private money will always be a people process. So if you tell me, “I am not interested in private money because I don’t do unusual loans,” I say to

you, “You might want to reconsider.”

As a mortgage broker bringing A transaction, how do they get paid?
It is simple. The broker brings the lender a borrower. The lender prices the loan to them.  (Think of yourself as a wholesale buyer.) You price the loan to

your client, adding your fees as appropriate. You stay involved in the loan (or not) as you choose, and prior to closing, you submit a fee demand to escrow

and receive a check directly from the title company.

How do I go about doing a private money loan?  Go to one of these providers and call a representative:  www.rocklandcommercial.com,

www.californiaprivatemoneyloan.com, and www.interestratepolice.com

There are basically four steps.

First, run the concept by them. You may call and discuss the loan with them, or you may e-mail a summary, or you may use our online loan submission engine,

which will walk you through the process. If they like the project concept and feel that the numbers are acceptable, they proceed to the next step.
They review a complete loan packet. They ask that this be sent via overnight mail or delivered to the office (fax copy is not acceptable).
If all this checks out, They ask the borrower for a deposit (generally $500). This should be in the form of a cashier’s check or money order. They provide a

conditional loan commitment letter at this time.

If the property checks out, They draw up the documents and close the loan through escrow.

Is the deposit check refundable?
If they close the loan through escrow, the deposit is applied as a credit to the loan fees. If they don’t close the loan because (a) the borrower does not or

cannot perform or (b) the project upon inspection is “significantly” different than as represented, They keep the deposit to reimburse us for our costs.

Otherwise, if they fails to perform for any reason, they return the deposit to the borrower.

What needs to be included in a private money loan package?
A private money loan packet is generally fairly straightforward. For a list of our packaging guidelines, please visit: www.rocklandcommercial.com,

www.californiaprivatemoneyloan.com, and www.interestratepolice.com

Written by Jeff Chaney an experienced private money originator from Manhattan Beach, CA that lends nationwide.  He can be reached at 800-572-4080

When looking to get a new credit card, there are many things to watch out for. Whether this is your first card or you’re simply looking to transfer your balance of an old card onto a new one, there are many items you’ll want to beware of, including how long your 0% interest will be. One of the main issues of transferring your balance is what happens when you apply purchases onto the same credit card you transferred a balance on.

If you are in the market for a credit card to transfer a high-interest rate balance, there is one particular thing you’ll want to watch for. For example, a credit card company may claim to have a 0% interest rate for 6 months on a balance transferred from another card. This, in fact, is quite common. However, the catch is simple when explained.

Use this card for any purchases and you’ll be paying an interest rate of approximately 16.9% interest on your purchases. The 0% interest does not apply to any purchases you normally use a credit card for and if you have your transferred balance on the card, as well as purchases, your repayments will go toward paying off the balance transfer first. Therefore, you’ll be accruing interest on the purchases and have no way to repay them unless you pay off the balance transfer first.

Unfortunately, this is why the majority of these companies offer cash backs and rewards. They want you to put purchases and increase your balance. In this particular case, they make a lot more money from you, while you spend years trying to pay it off.

Does this mean this is the death of the 0% balance transfer offer? No, it does not. To get around this, you’ve simply got to be aware of the fine print within each particular programme. If the offer states that it is 0% interest on balance transfers, cheque for how long it will remain 0% and what the interest rate will be once the time is up. You’ll also want to know and evaluate what the minimum transfer balance is. Most credit cards are approximately £100. You must decide at this point if you believe the balance will be paid by the time period is up and if not, can you handle the interest rate.

The next step is to keep this card only for this balance transfer. Do not put any purchases or draw any cash from this card, no matter what kind of offer they give you for rewards or cash back. If you can do this, the 0% balance transfer will be beneficial to you.

Another thing to watch out for on credit card offers is if there is a handling fee. There are some companies that will charge a one-off 2% fee for balance transfers and they also put a minimum charge of £2 and a maximum of £50. While there are still some offers that will not charge a handling fee, they are becoming rare.

When looking to use a credit card for a balance transfer, it is very important to read the fine print on each and every offer before you make a decision. Look at what the interest rate will be and after what time period, as well as any handling fees involved. Evaluate each 0% balance transfer offer and go with the one you feel would work best for you.

Since writing about trading penny stocks online over at my blog, I received several emails about the subject and it seems to have generated a good deal of interest.

People have been trading stocks online since the very early days of the internet, and nowadays it is a simple matter for anyone who decides they want to get involved to start online trading.

However, there are several things you should be aware of before deciding to start trading stocks, not least of which is that it is a gamble, and this applies regardless of your knowledge or experience. You need to have some money to invest and it should be money that you can affors to lose. Bear in mind the worst case scenario – i.e. that you could get it horribly wrong and your investment could disappear overnight. Fair warning if you don’t want to read any more.

Much has been written about trading stock online, in particular penny stocks, and by far more qualified people than me.

If the idea of an exciting risky investment strategy appeals to you, trading penny stocks could be the adrenalin fix you are seeking. It’s pretty simple to get started, but success or failure are equally possible results.

Firstly, penny stocks are usually defined as stocks trading at below $5 a share. Some people consider this arbitrary amount differently and would say that $2 would be a better yardstick, but, whatever the definition, these are shares usually traded outside of the major exchanges. They are often volatile and unpredictable and their performance is very difficult to monitor or foresee.

It is fair to say that stock trading at a few cents a share is the most risky investment anyone could make – many experts would say foolhardy in the extreme. The temptation to buy thousands of shares for a few cents is one that often results in many people getting their fingers burned. What you have to remember is that there is a reason the stock is so cheap – it really isn’t worth much and the likelihood of making a killing on such shares is far from the foregone conclusion that some people will try to convince you it is. Establishing the likely performance of these stocks is usually virtually impossible as often there is very little information available on the companies to do any kind of meaningful analysis.

Don’t be lured into buying stocks just because a newsletter or email tells you it is a sure thing. There are plenty of sharks out there who will engange in the practice known as “pump and dump”, whereby they will attempt to generate unsubstatiated hype about a particular stock in the hope that there will be a rush to buy, enabling them to sell on their worthless holdings to unsuspecting hopefuls. You really must excercise caution and do your own “due diligence” – if you don’t, you will soon end up regretting impulsive penny stock purchases.

Trading stock online is not difficult, and once you have a basic understanding of how it works and decide to give it a try, you will need an account with an online stockbroker.

For penny stock trading Lowtrades.com offer a very good service. To set up an account you will need to submit an application form by post. This can be downloaded in PDF format from their site. Once you have opened an account you will need to fund it (more details of how to do this are listed at the site too) and then, you are ready to trade.

In very simplistic terms you will place orders with your broker via the online trading interface and they will carry out your buying and selling instructions. Each trade you carry out, buying or selling, will cost you a small commission to the broker. With Lowtrades usually around $5.

Presumably your interest in penny stocks means that you are looking to make quick returns. It is true that he rewards can be tremendous – it is entirely possible to make hundreds of dollars in a day. By the same token, get it wrong and the losses can soon mount up too. Day trading is not always profitable, but it’s always risky. Day traders buy stock and aim to sell it on the same day for a profit – the age old buy low, sell high strategy. Of course, if the stock price falls, you have a decision to make – sell it at a loss, or hold on in the hope that prices will recover and you can mitigate your losses.

You have to understand that not every stock you buy will appreciate in value during the course of one trading day. This means you could end up with your risk capital tied up in one company, leaving you unable to make any other trades until you offload the stock. Having all your eggs in one basket is therefore not a great trading strategy.

For those with limited funds to invest, this can present a bit of a dilemma. There is little point buying so few shares that even if the price rockets upward, you will make only a few dollars – you must also remember to deduct brokerage fees from overall profits too. If you are working with only a small amount of capital, you are going to need to find resonably priced stock that allows you to buy a few hundred shares, certainly not less than 100. For example, if you can secure 300 shares and the price rises by 25 cents, you will net yourself only $75 less any commissions – hardly earth shattering. On the other hand if the stock value increases by a dollar, you have $300. The basic math is simple enough, so you need to look carefully at whether an investment is likely to be worthwhile relative to the amount you are able to invest.

It goes without saying that the more investment capital you have, the more you stand to make, or lose.

Opening a trading account is straightforward enough once you know the kind of account that you need. For a simple individual cash account some brokers will require a minimum deposit and others will not. Shop around to find the best deal for your own personal circumstances. Charges will vary too, and these all affect your bottom line, so make sure you know how much each trade is going to cost you.

Finally, I will repeat my earlier advice – never invest anything that you can’t afford to lose. Penny Stocks are a gamble, and if you don’t have the constitution for risking the purchase price, don’t start with online trading of any kind. Sit back and have a good think about what you are planning to do and what you hope to achieve through your investments. If you are thinking of day trading you will need to be in a position to monitor your stocks throughout the trading day – if you are not going to be able to do this, you will not be able to sell when the need arises – i.e if the price should spike briefly.

If you want to start trading penny stocks online, read up on the subject carefully and learn as much as you can. There are plenty of helpful websites such as AllPennyStocks.com where you can begin to learn and I have also included some useful resources below for those wanting to learn more. Never let anyone tell you that it’s as easy as falling off a log though – if it was, we’s all be millionaires by now!

When looking to get a new credit card, there are many things to watch out for. Whether this is your first card or you’re simply looking to transfer your balance of an old card onto a new one, there are many items you’ll want to beware of, including how long your 0% interest will be. One of the main issues of transferring your balance is what happens when you apply purchases onto the same credit card you transferred a balance on.

If you are in the market for a credit card to transfer a high-interest rate balance, there is one particular thing you’ll want to watch for. For example, a credit card company may claim to have a 0% interest rate for 6 months on a balance transferred from another card. This, in fact, is quite common. However, the catch is simple when explained.

Use this card for any purchases and you’ll be paying an interest rate of approximately 16.9% interest on your purchases. The 0% interest does not apply to any purchases you normally use a credit card for and if you have your transferred balance on the card, as well as purchases, your repayments will go toward paying off the balance transfer first. Therefore, you’ll be accruing interest on the purchases and have no way to repay them unless you pay off the balance transfer first.

Unfortunately, this is why the majority of these companies offer cash backs and rewards. They want you to put purchases and increase your balance. In this particular case, they make a lot more money from you, while you spend years trying to pay it off.

Does this mean this is the death of the 0% balance transfer offer? No, it does not. To get around this, you’ve simply got to be aware of the fine print within each particular programme. If the offer states that it is 0% interest on balance transfers, cheque for how long it will remain 0% and what the interest rate will be once the time is up. You’ll also want to know and evaluate what the minimum transfer balance is. Most credit cards are approximately £100. You must decide at this point if you believe the balance will be paid by the time period is up and if not, can you handle the interest rate.

The next step is to keep this card only for this balance transfer. Do not put any purchases or draw any cash from this card, no matter what kind of offer they give you for rewards or cash back. If you can do this, the 0% balance transfer will be beneficial to you.

Another thing to watch out for on credit card offers is if there is a handling fee. There are some companies that will charge a one-off 2% fee for balance transfers and they also put a minimum charge of £2 and a maximum of £50. While there are still some offers that will not charge a handling fee, they are becoming rare.

When looking to use a credit card for a balance transfer, it is very important to read the fine print on each and every offer before you make a decision. Look at what the interest rate will be and after what time period, as well as any handling fees involved. Evaluate each 0% balance transfer offer and go with the one you feel would work best for you.

Wherever you look, you will find various rating systems on mutual funds, each of which uses a different approach. All of them are designed to weed through the thousands of funds to get to the best ones. But is there really such a thing? Does a high rating really mean a fund will do better in the future? Many people seem to think so. A recent study showed that Morningstar, North America’s most recognized rating system for funds, has a tremendous influence on fund sales. If Morningstar gives a five-star rating, those funds typically enjoy increased sales as a result.

While ranking providers are careful to warn investors that their ratings don’t foretell the future, the star system is, unfortunately, used by some investors as if they were reading Consumer Reports to purchase a new drill. Supporters of the ranking approach argue that there’s no subjective component to the star rating. It isn’t determined by an analyst’s review, and can’t change simply because the service dislikes the fund’s manager or its investment strategy. And that’s good.

Performance will vary. Fund performance often falls off and risk levels rise during the subsequent three years after a fund is given an initial five-star Morningstar rating, suggests another recent study by Matthew Morey, a professor at Pace University. One reason for this is that after receiving a five-star rating the size of the fund grows dramatically, which then makes the fund unwieldy to manage, he suggests. Since Morey’s study was completed, Morningstar also has changed the way it doles out top rankings to make them more precise. One of the biggest problems with all rating systems is that they are not necessarily predictive in nature. This means they’re not really set up to tell you whether certain funds will necessarily do better in the future. For the most part, the ratings indicate how much you might have made and how much aggravation you faced in the process.

Combining risk and return. For example, one five-star fund might post moderate return scores, but incredibly low risk scores. Another five-star fund might have much higher-risk scores, but its return score could be strong enough to help it still rank in the top 10% of the pack.

In some cases, in fact, it’s not even the same fund to begin with. Remember, after a management change, the rating stays with the fund, not the portfolio manager. Therefore, a fund’s rating might be based almost entirely on the track record of a manager who is no longer with the fund.

Understand how the ratings were developed. Too many people put emphasis on the results without knowing how the results were achieved. If you are going to use ratings, take the time to understand how they were developed and what they really mean. It is not the destination but the journey that counts.

Past performance is no guarantee of the future. You have probably heard this disclaimer a thousand times before, but it is really important to understand. Most rating systems have little to no predictive element in them. It’s natural to think that the best performer of the past will be the best performer in the future. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Just think about it; if it were that easy, investors would just continue to buy last year’s winners knowing that they will be this year’s winners. And that seldom works.

Ratings are a very important element in trying to distinguish between good and bad funds. Good research, however, goes far beyond just looking for five stars or an A+. When evaluating funds, look at the quantitative, measurable characteristics of a fund: returns up against the benchmark, costs, risks, taxes and manager tenure. Use rating systems as part of your research, but remember: just because the analysts give them top marks, it does not mean they will be the best investment in the future, and doesn’t it mean that they’ll be the best investment for you in particular. Take the time to understand how the ratings were achieved. This will be the first step to educating yourself about funds.

Wherever you look, you will find various rating systems on mutual funds, each of which uses a different approach. All of them are designed to weed through the thousands of funds to get to the best ones. But is there really such a thing? Does a high rating really mean a fund will do better in the future? Many people seem to think so. A recent study showed that Morningstar, North America’s most recognized rating system for funds, has a tremendous influence on fund sales. If Morningstar gives a five-star rating, those funds typically enjoy increased sales as a result.

While ranking providers are careful to warn investors that their ratings don’t foretell the future, the star system is, unfortunately, used by some investors as if they were reading Consumer Reports to purchase a new drill. Supporters of the ranking approach argue that there’s no subjective component to the star rating. It isn’t determined by an analyst’s review, and can’t change simply because the service dislikes the fund’s manager or its investment strategy. And that’s good.

Performance will vary. Fund performance often falls off and risk levels rise during the subsequent three years after a fund is given an initial five-star Morningstar rating, suggests another recent study by Matthew Morey, a professor at Pace University. One reason for this is that after receiving a five-star rating the size of the fund grows dramatically, which then makes the fund unwieldy to manage, he suggests. Since Morey’s study was completed, Morningstar also has changed the way it doles out top rankings to make them more precise. One of the biggest problems with all rating systems is that they are not necessarily predictive in nature. This means they’re not really set up to tell you whether certain funds will necessarily do better in the future. For the most part, the ratings indicate how much you might have made and how much aggravation you faced in the process.

Combining risk and return. For example, one five-star fund might post moderate return scores, but incredibly low risk scores. Another five-star fund might have much higher-risk scores, but its return score could be strong enough to help it still rank in the top 10% of the pack.

In some cases, in fact, it’s not even the same fund to begin with. Remember, after a management change, the rating stays with the fund, not the portfolio manager. Therefore, a fund’s rating might be based almost entirely on the track record of a manager who is no longer with the fund.

Understand how the ratings were developed. Too many people put emphasis on the results without knowing how the results were achieved. If you are going to use ratings, take the time to understand how they were developed and what they really mean. It is not the destination but the journey that counts.

Past performance is no guarantee of the future. You have probably heard this disclaimer a thousand times before, but it is really important to understand. Most rating systems have little to no predictive element in them. It’s natural to think that the best performer of the past will be the best performer in the future. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Just think about it; if it were that easy, investors would just continue to buy last year’s winners knowing that they will be this year’s winners. And that seldom works.

Ratings are a very important element in trying to distinguish between good and bad funds. Good research, however, goes far beyond just looking for five stars or an A+. When evaluating funds, look at the quantitative, measurable characteristics of a fund: returns up against the benchmark, costs, risks, taxes and manager tenure. Use rating systems as part of your research, but remember: just because the analysts give them top marks, it does not mean they will be the best investment in the future, and doesn’t it mean that they’ll be the best investment for you in particular. Take the time to understand how the ratings were achieved. This will be the first step to educating yourself about funds.

Wherever you look, you will find various rating systems on mutual funds, each of which uses a different approach. All of them are designed to weed through the thousands of funds to get to the best ones. But is there really such a thing? Does a high rating really mean a fund will do better in the future? Many people seem to think so. A recent study showed that Morningstar, North America’s most recognized rating system for funds, has a tremendous influence on fund sales. If Morningstar gives a five-star rating, those funds typically enjoy increased sales as a result.

While ranking providers are careful to warn investors that their ratings don’t foretell the future, the star system is, unfortunately, used by some investors as if they were reading Consumer Reports to purchase a new drill. Supporters of the ranking approach argue that there’s no subjective component to the star rating. It isn’t determined by an analyst’s review, and can’t change simply because the service dislikes the fund’s manager or its investment strategy. And that’s good.

Performance will vary. Fund performance often falls off and risk levels rise during the subsequent three years after a fund is given an initial five-star Morningstar rating, suggests another recent study by Matthew Morey, a professor at Pace University. One reason for this is that after receiving a five-star rating the size of the fund grows dramatically, which then makes the fund unwieldy to manage, he suggests. Since Morey’s study was completed, Morningstar also has changed the way it doles out top rankings to make them more precise. One of the biggest problems with all rating systems is that they are not necessarily predictive in nature. This means they’re not really set up to tell you whether certain funds will necessarily do better in the future. For the most part, the ratings indicate how much you might have made and how much aggravation you faced in the process.

Combining risk and return. For example, one five-star fund might post moderate return scores, but incredibly low risk scores. Another five-star fund might have much higher-risk scores, but its return score could be strong enough to help it still rank in the top 10% of the pack.

In some cases, in fact, it’s not even the same fund to begin with. Remember, after a management change, the rating stays with the fund, not the portfolio manager. Therefore, a fund’s rating might be based almost entirely on the track record of a manager who is no longer with the fund.

Understand how the ratings were developed. Too many people put emphasis on the results without knowing how the results were achieved. If you are going to use ratings, take the time to understand how they were developed and what they really mean. It is not the destination but the journey that counts.

Past performance is no guarantee of the future. You have probably heard this disclaimer a thousand times before, but it is really important to understand. Most rating systems have little to no predictive element in them. It’s natural to think that the best performer of the past will be the best performer in the future. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Just think about it; if it were that easy, investors would just continue to buy last year’s winners knowing that they will be this year’s winners. And that seldom works.

Ratings are a very important element in trying to distinguish between good and bad funds. Good research, however, goes far beyond just looking for five stars or an A+. When evaluating funds, look at the quantitative, measurable characteristics of a fund: returns up against the benchmark, costs, risks, taxes and manager tenure. Use rating systems as part of your research, but remember: just because the analysts give them top marks, it does not mean they will be the best investment in the future, and doesn’t it mean that they’ll be the best investment for you in particular. Take the time to understand how the ratings were achieved. This will be the first step to educating yourself about funds.

Investment clubs are created by individuals who not only want to pool their funds together to make a joint investment but would also like to gain knowledge on the various types of viable investment opportunities that are available in the market. Each member of the club contributes periodically an agreed amount of money to purchase growth stocks by means of a dollar cost averaging approach.

The dividends as well as the capital gains are usually reinvested to gain more interest. The security purchases are voted upon by the club members. This is also one way of decreasing personal risk of club members. There are also investment clubs that allows non-club investors to participate in larger investments of the club provided of course that the non-member investors receive a much lower share of commissions.

Likewise, it is also the role of investment clubs to assist their club members in becoming more knowledgeable in all aspects of investments. A well-known trade group for investments clubs is the National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC) which is a non-profit organization that provides guidance as well as imparting investment knowledge as part of its membership.

A good choice of investment clubs are those that have been around for many decades already and have a track record of having a continuous increasing interest in the stock market. By joining investment clubs, small investors are given the opportunity to increase their buying power, share their collective knowledge and socialize while earning from their investment. Another good benefit derived from investment clubs is the fact that investors are not expected to invest a great deal of money but still will be able to receive a greater amount of interest that is usually possible if you have similarly invested a big lump money.

A typical investment club usually meets once a month and members are given individual responsibility of researching investments and then sharing their ideas with the other members of the club. Likewise, these meeting also served as an occasion for members to contribute to their monetary fund, which is intended for purchasing stocks, mutual funds as well as other types of feasible investments.

One of the main goals and objectives of an investment club is the opportunity to learn. Most investment clubs spent a great deal of effort and time in research since they believe that a well-researched investment plan has a much greater chance of success. This is also the reason why risk is minimized when joining an investment club.

Starting an investment club is not really that difficult and does not require any special knowledge. In fact, a group of friends or even co-workers can decide to set up an investment club. This is usually a good place to start as you will know the people you dealing with.