Many people want to take advantage of the opportunity to invest as a way to supplement their income, but few people have the knowledge or the time to monitor stocks and they are reluctant to pay the high fees associated with full-service brokers.

As well, most people know that a diversified portfolio is the best-performing portfolio, but few people have the huge capital it takes to properly diversify a portfolio made up only of stocks.

One option for those people is to purchase mutual funds.

A mutual fund is a pool of money from a number of investors and it is given to a mutual fund manager to go out and buy a good selection of diversified, well-performing investments.

There are many different types of mutual funds, so there is something out there for everyone. If you like bonds, for example, you can buy a mutual fund made up just of bonds and its return is probably better than most bonds available on the market today because they use a laddering concept to buy and sell bonds strategically. The income from this fund comes from the interest paid on the bonds. These are called fixed income mutual funds.

If you like stocks, there are many mutual funds available for you to consider, from riskier ones to safer ones to funds that trade primarily in overseas marketplaces. You will likely find a mutual fund that matches your risk tolerance, gives you a good return, and provides you with some diversification. The income from this fund comes from buying it the stocks low and selling them high. These are growth mutual funds.

Some of the consistently best-performing mutual funds are funds that are a combination of fixed income and growth. These are called growth and income mutual funds and they combine bonds, dividend paying stocks, and growth stocks altogether in a diversified fund. The income from this fund comes from a combination of bond interest, dividend payments, and growth-style selling. It is an excellent choice for putting in your portfolio. If you can only afford one mutual fund, this is probably the fund to purchase.

Whether you are trying to avoid the fees of a full-service broker, or are trying to invest wisely with a brief amount of time you have in the week, or are simply trying to diversify your portfolio, a mutual fund is an excellent choice. And a growth and income mutual fund, is usually the best choice.

What’s more, mutual funds are professionally managed, which means you don’t have to spend your day watching stock prices go up and down. The mutual fund manager does that for you. He or she watches the individual stock prices, makes adjustments, and sends you a report on a regular basis.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Investing Resources a website providing information on Investing

EFT, as an abbreviation, has two possible meanings. EFT often stands for “Emotional Freedom Techniques,” but the most common meaning is “Electronic Funds Transfer”. That is the meaning that will be used here. An EFT is a way of getting money fast, without having to use paper money or a check delivered by post mail. In this age of communication and information, electronic funds transfers are a piece of cake. If a company wants to get its money quickly, EFT is the ideal solution. This is fulfilled by many companies who have proven their ability in the advanced fields of electronic fund transfer. One of the leading names in this field is Fiserv EFT.

Fiserv EFT has loads of experience in providing service in electronic fund transferring services. It is a major, pioneering company based in the United States, and has acquired valuable experience and strong leadership. Being one of the fastest growing and most technologically advanced service providers of electronic fund transfers, Fiserv EFT has more than 30 years of experience and has developed unparalleled state-of-the-art electronic fund transfer technology and electronic fund transfer products.

Fiserv EFT is now a provider ATM (ATM stands for automated teller machine, many call them simply “all time money”) and POS (point-of-sale) services to financial institutions, corporate firms and multinationals in all 50 states of the United States of America. Not only this, Fiserv EFT also provides services, support and maintenance to thousands of ATMs and maintains a proper process of transactions in all of them.

EFT provides detailed information on EFT, EFT POS, Fiserv EFT, Pulse EFT and more. EFT is affiliated with Electronic Payment Processing.

Investors know that the best way to get rich and build wealth is to put your money in a diversified stock portfolio and regularly invest for the long haul so you can take advantage of compound interest (what Albert Einstein referred to as “one of the greatest wonders of the world).

But with so many mutual fund options, where do you start? How do you go about choosing the right mutual fund that will make you the most money?

The answer is very simple, and that is to keep it simple. Consider investing in an index fund.

Over 80% of mutual funds do not beat the market, so why bother? They will just cost you more money in fees and they will not make you as much money. Investing in an S&P 500 index fund, however, will keep you costs very low and will guarantee that your investment will track the results of the U.S. stock market as a whole.

And if you have faith that the American economy will continue to prosper, which history indicates you should, you are guaranteed to earn an about 10% returns over the course of the long run.

Study upon study has proven that is very difficult and unlikely that a stock trader will beat the market. So why resist and take those chances? Go with what will guarantee you results and make you wealthier and invest in a plain, old index fund. That way you don’t have to worry about actively managing a portfolio or being a stock market expert. Just regularly invest your money in the fund and relax while you enjoy the greater things in life.

If you are the risk taker that wants to go against the grain and try to beat the market, go for it. Just be smart about it by using 10% or less of your total capital for your pleasure. That will allow you to keep your money working for you in an index fund, while giving you the option to have a little fun and speculate without the risk.

Learn the wealth creation strategies of the rich and reach your financial goals. Visit Millionaire Money Habits at http://www.mmhabits.com

A free gift will show you how to become a millionaire.

Many of us are relying on the stock market for out retirement savings. I have a ROTH IRA and a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account that use the stock market to bring gains to my retirement savings. I have lost a little money on the S&P’s 500 4% downfall in the last two days. However, this shouldn’t matter for the long term over our 20 year career. Think of this as a opportunity to buy more shares.

Right now, I am in the 2010 lifecycle fund in the TSP because I anticipated a “correction” of the market. I am moving my $500 into to the 2020 fund where it should protect against some further correction but give me more growth than the 2010 fund. With my Roth IRA, I am still in the 2045 Vanguard fund with 90% stocks and 10% bonds.

I have $5,550 in that fund at this point. I lost about $400 with that drop but I am going to be buying $500 worth of shares next Wednesday(automatic contributions. I really like this fund because it has a low expense ratio and at the end of the year they do distribute dividends the end up to be about 2%.

So how can one protect against these drops in the market?

1. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket: I have two retirement accounts with two different allocations.

2. Diversify diversify: Go with a mix with stocks and bonds depending on YOUR risk tolerates.

3. Get into funds that pay dividends. Yes, TSP does pay dividends more later on this subject.

So, don’t be afraid if the market goes down just think of it as a opportunity not loosing money. What ever goes down does come back up. The question is when?

Visit my blog at http://www.usactivedutymilitary.blogspot.com

Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks, bonds and a little cash. Their price per share is the NAV, Net Asset Value of the total amount of money in the mutual fund divided by the number of shares. They seek to be fully invested at all times.

The fund manager determines which stocks and bonds to buy and sell in order to give the greatest return to his shareholders. He is considered to be an expert in choosing stocks for appreciation of value and should be expected to give a better than average return. That’s why he draws down a six-figure income.

You are encouraged to pick a fund that has your goal in mind. Is it considered conservative, speculative, income oriented, growth or some other category? Wouldn’t you say one of the principle reasons was to have the greatest return on your money? Do you want an average return or do you want an above average return?

What is average? There is an index which you hear about on the news every day called the S&P500. Because it is composed of 500 different stocks it is broadly representative of the market as a whole and therefore called a market average or index. You certainly would want a fund that is doing better than average.

You are encouraged to read the prospectus. Did you realize that the day it is printed much of the information in it is over a year old? It is written for the regulators in Washington, not for investors. It is worthless. Throw it away.

There are load funds that charge a commission and no-load funds that do not charge commission. There is no proof that paying a commission will provide you with a better return. Buy your no-load funds direct from the fund or through a discount broker.

You are told to find a good fund manager. Various money magazines list them. Investor’s Business Daily does a feature story on different fund managers several times each week. Check to see if his fund is outperforming the S&P during the last 12 months. There are very few fund managers who have a consistent record and even the best of them gets cold once in a while and has a losing streak. You want your money returning at maximum at all times so you can’t stay with one manager when he is running cold. Change funds.

One of the Wall Street myths is that you should put your money into a “good” fund and let it stay there for years. This is promoted because mutual fund managers are compensated by the amount of money they have in the fund and not for performance of the fund.

So how do you pick a fund? Very simple. It must outperform the S&P500 Index. Any mutual fund manager who cannot beat a market average should not be holding your money. Check out your funds today.

Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005

A Growth Fund is basically a mutual fund that is made or compiled by a stock of companies in order to yield better dividends. They do re-present the potential for superior growths but then it is a bit risky. On a whole investors prefer to invest in a growth fund over a general income fund as they offer better greater return potentials. Moreover their basic aim is to strive for both dividend income and capital appreciation as they invest in companies that are reputed for dividend payments and capital gains.

They are also termed as equity funds as the goal is to achieve long term capital growth rather then regular income. It is always wise to invest in a diversified Growth Fund that not only covers a group of companies but a variety of sectors as well as this investments enables the investor to bifurcate their resources hence opening them up to a wide range of options. Say if you are investing in a Growth Fund that has five stock options namely IT, cement, steel, pharmaceuticals and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).Now say two or three out of these five stocks isn’t doing well enough and you are loosing out on investments, still you will have another couple of units left to look forward too.

Growth Funds are basically categorized into two categories, 1) Aggressive, 2) Conservative. An aggressive Growth Fund is a mutual fund that attempts to achieve the highest capital gains. Investments held in these funds are by companies that demonstrate high growth potential. People investing in this sort of growth funds should be ready to accept a high risk-return trade-off. They are also referred to as “capital appreciation fund” or “maximum capital gains fund”. Eg : Franklin U.S opportunity funds. Now the Conservative part. A conservative growth fund is exactly the opposite of an aggressive growth fund. Here the investment is basically targeted to a section of people who are willing to earn on a regular basis rather then a high capital gain. It is safe and secured and is a non-risky investment.

Basically most investors prefer investing in specific sectors such as IT (Information and Technology) or FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).In order to suit their needs, sector specific schemes are launched, to enable the investors to decide just how aggressive or conservative they want to be. As of today IT forms the most popular sectoral fund, although a variety of other funds also exist. Some examples are the Birla IT Fund, Alliance New Millenium, and Prudential ICICI FMCG Fund.

These funds basically invest across various sectors, primarily focusing on the modus of operandi of Multi-National Companies. This makes it a specialty rather than a sectoral fund. However they run a higher risk than diversified general equity funds, but one can expect higher long term returns as well.

Financial Advisor, investment planner and fund manager employed with Franklin Templeton India

Your partnership with a solid fund raising consulting firm may be the difference between success and failure. There are some very important aspects to consider before you start a relationship with anyone.

Long Term Relationship

The first key to realize is that you should be planning for a long term partnership with a fund raising consulting firm. A good company can help you develop key relationships that can last a long time. Since you will be with them for along time it is important that they see your vision or help you to develop the right one.

If you have never worked with a fund raising consulting firm before then you may be surprised at how much they can, and will do to help you and your company succeed. Their goal is to develop a vision and plan for your fund raising success. You must let them do their job!

Let Them Work

One key to working with any company is to let them do their thing and develop the proper plan and mind set. You may have some good ideas, but they may need to do some tweaking to work best. These professionals will be contacting major donors and working to link them up with your cause. They know what these donors want to hear and see before they release precious funds.

The key to working with a fund raising consulting firm is to let them catch the goals and visions you have and turn them into working fund raising campaigns for you. Another key is - If you do not feel a connection then numbers and referrals mean nothing. You have choice who you hire in a consulting company so make it count because it should last for many years to come.

For more information on fundraising events and projects for your organization try visiting http://good-fundraising-ideas.com, a website that specializes in providing helpful tips, advice and fundraising resources to include Fund Raising Consulting and more.

Local unit trust funds that invest in the global market are popular, due to the investors who want to diversify their overall investment portfolio by including exposure to a foreign equity market.

Sounds attractive, but do these investments come with higher prices? If yes, are the additional fees worth paying?

There is appears to be little difference between the charges imposed by foreign funds and their local counterparts when it comes to upfront or service charges. In some instances, local equity funds have a higher upfront fee. For instance, the upfront charges for foreign funds range from 5% to 7% of Net Asset Value (NAV) for equity funds and 3% to 5% for foreign fixed income funds, compared with local equity funds charge an upfront fee of 4% to 8% and local bond funds start from 0% to 1.5%.

As the bulk of the upfront fee goes to the marketing and distribution of the fund, there is seems to be little justification for unit trust companies to increase their upfront fees for foreign funds. According to several bankers, distributing these foreign funds doesn’t need an extra effort.

However, on the other hand, the management fees for foreign funds are more likely to be higher than local funds. From unit trust companies’ perspective, managing foreign funds is going to cost more than a local fund because of the effort required to assess the fund’s investments. Sometimes, travel expenses are incurred as the fund manager goes abroad to monitor his investments.

The unit trust companies can choose to either absorb the additional expenses or increase the annual management fee. Companies can absorb the higher fees by squeezing their profit margin. It’s all depends on their strategy and the approach they take in offering their foreign funds.

Some local unit trust companies may have sister companies in foreign markets that they can leverage to manage their foreign funds at a discounted rate. This allows the companies to maintain the same management charges for their foreign funds.

The foreign equity funds, which structured as feeder funds and fund of funds, tend to have higher annual management costs. The feeder funds are used by locally offered foreign funds that feed into a ‘master fund’ that is managed by the offshore fund company.

Investors are actually paying for a local manager to source a foreign fund and to provide a vehicle that gives them simple access to that fund. There are two layers of fees that must be paid:

1. The local fund manager

2. The master fund manager

The fund of funds, which are funds that invest in other funds, are designed to achieve greater diversification than traditional funds. These funds are also charge higher management fees as they include expenses charged by the underlying funds.

Moreover, the additional 30 basis points to invest in a foreign feeder fund or fund of funds is something of which most investors are not aware. The foreign fund also facing a currency risk and the return is affected by market up and downturn.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Investing

I saw a question within another online hedge fund community regarding the differences between hedge funds and mutual funds and figured I would copy my answer to the individual here in my blog. For those of you in the hedge fund industry this is obvious stuff so please just let me know if I missed something glaring.

Mutual Funds

• Their performance is marked against a relevant benchmark which they try to beat in up years with superior performance and protect their investors with less losses in bad years- Pooled investment vehicle similar to a hedge fund.
• They can use some securities that have returns traditionally uncorrelated with the overall market but in general they are limited to stocks, money market accounts, and bonds
• Anyone can invest in mutual funds
• Mutual funds calculate the price of their vehicle daily based on the number of investors and the market-rate or cost for a mutual fund goes up as it becomes more popular- You can find mutual fund of fund products and they have been rising in popularity in the past 5 years- Average cost of a mutual fund is 75 basis points or .75% per year

Hedge Funds

• Contrary to what Investopedia will tell you hedge funds do not always invest in publicly traded securities. They often invest in art, futures, PIPE deals, real estate and other investment vehicles that aren’t highly correlated to the general market.
• Depending on who you ask there are around 12-14,000 hedge funds competing against each other- Hedge fund have developed (the media has developed) an image of hedge funds as being ultra risky employing dangerous levels of leverage- Hedge funds may invest in art, website domain names, stocks, bonds, options, futures, Foreign Exchange, or wind power farms
• Hedge funds manage their portfolios aiming for absolute growth targets and they don’t usually compare themselves against any stock exchange-based benchmark such as the S & P 500 or Russell 3000
• Most hedge funds are attempting to invest their money that is uncorrelated with the overall market
• You have to be an accredited investor (if you live in America. This means meeting high net worth standards) to invest in a hedge fund or hedge fund of fund product- There are several hedge fund of funds. These are investment vehicles that invest in other hedge funds. This way if someone has $2M to invest they can place it into a hedge fund of fund and they will create a portfolio for your funds so that it fits your specific appetite for risk- While fees are starting to come down the average hedge fund manager charges a 2% base fee and a 20% performance fee. Note: America is one of the only places where you have to be an accredited investor to invest in hedge funds.

The Richard Wilson Hedge fund Blog (http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com) is a content rich source for hedge fund industry white papers, trends, articles and professional interviews. I also share lessons I learn in my investment marketing and sales (third party marketing) career and earning a graduate degree at Harvard. I live in Cambridge, MA and can be reached at 503.789.7901 or Richard@RichardCWilson.com

There are those good fund raising ideas and then there are great fund raising ideas. You may have a good idea to make some money for your favorite group or charity. So, what’s next? This article will look at some ways to turn a good fund raising idea into an even better idea.

When it comes to raising money there are some industry standards that have been around for many years. Those fund raising events are car washes, cookie or bake sales, and garage or rummage sales.

Lets look at these 3 staples ands see how you can turn a good fund raising idea into a really great fund raising idea.

Car Washed Are Out

Car washes are ok, but you could offer to do RV’s, trucks, and boats to make even more money. Everyone is busy raising money by washing cars – so why not step up a good fund raising idea and enhance it to make it even better and more profitable. People have invested good money into their RV’s and other recreational toys. They will often be willing to pay much more to have then cleaned especially for a good cause.

No Not the Cookies Again

Bake sales have always been profitable in the right settings, but they are always the same old thing. Cookies, cakes, and pies are the baking goods of choice. You can do much better to create a good fund raising idea. Try baking unique items and charging more money for them. There are hundreds of wonderful baking recipes for very unique baked goods that people will not be used to seeing, and this will give you an edge.

Not another Garage Sale

Garage sales and rummage sales are a fund raiser of choice for many church youth groups and school groups around the country. You could do an auction instead of a garage or rummage sale and make more money by creating more interest. You do not need a professional auctioneer. You could do just fine with some kids doing the auction calling to have some fun.

All in all - a good fund raising idea can be enhanced to become an even better fund raiser with a little bit of imagination and creativity. You can find some great ideas online, but don’t take the idea for facer value. Take the idea and build on it to turn it into a truly memorable fund raising event to raise tons of money for your favorite group or charity.

For more information on fundraising events and projects for your organization try visiting http://good-fundraising-ideas.com a website that specializes in providing helpful tips, advice and fundraising resources to include Good Fund Raising Idea and more.