2011 Best Simple Investment Strategy

Again in 2011 the best investment for most people will be mutual funds, but the best investment strategy might differ from last year. In today's investment world there are few bargains out there. If you want to go with a simple conservative strategy - here it is.

There are three basic investment choices in terms of both risk and profit potential: LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGHER. From left to right this translates to money market securities, bonds, and stocks. Mutual funds are your best investment vehicle because they are designed for and managed for the average investor; and they come in all three of the above varieties. This means that you can put together a simple version of the best investment portfolio for 2011 by owning just three different funds.

As the year 2011 unfolds: low risk investments pay low interest rates, bonds are expensive, and stocks are not cheap. With few bargains out there your best investment strategy is to play it conservative, keep it simple and cover all three bases with mutual funds. This way you have diversification within all three funds and across all three levels in terms of risk and profit potential. Now let's look at the best investment in all three areas or fund categories, and then move on to a simple strategy for 2011.

If you are investing in a 401-k or other retirement plan, your best low-risk investment is likely a STABLE or fixed account option if one is offered. These often pay interest rates higher than you can get outside of a retirement plan. Otherwise, go with a taxable money market fund unless you are in a higher tax bracket. Consider a tax-exempt money fund if you are not in a tax-favored account (like an IRA) and are in a higher tax bracket. If interest rates go up significantly in 2011 money market funds might be the best funds in your investment strategy.

The best investment strategy in the medium-risk area is to go with an INTERMEDIATE-TERM bond fund. Look for a fund that holds high quality bonds, but not the highest quality. The latter hold lots of U.S. government securities, which pay less in interest income than comparable corporate bonds. Higher income without excessive risk is what you want from a bond fund. Avoid long-term funds because they can be risky and will get hit for big losses if interest rates soar in 2011. Intermediate-term bond funds are your best investment in terms of risk vs. profitability.

In the higher risk, higher profit potential area your best investment is an EQUITY-INCOME stock fund that invests in large-company dividend paying stocks. Look for names you recognize like GE, IMB, and Exxon in a fund's list of their top holdings. An S&P 500 index fund can be your very best investment option because these funds hold stock in 500 of America's largest and best companies.

Your best simple conservative investment strategy for 2011: keep equal amounts of money in each of the three funds recommended above. KEEP is the important point and the key to long-term success beyond 2011. The best investment strategy as years go by: once a year move money around to keep all three funds equal in value. In this way risk will remain moderate and you'll stay on track with a relatively conservative investment portfolio.

Why People Don't Buy Insurance

As an insurance salesman for many years, it often puzzles me why people don't buy sensible protection. Why "self-insure" a large risk instead of buying affordable protection? Here is my "Top 10" list of why people don't buy insurance.

1. It is not required.

You may be required by a business contract, bank loan or state auto liability requirement to buy insurance, however, in most cases, protection is a choice. No one requires you to buy higher auto liability limits beyond minimum requirements OR to protect your assets beyond the bank lien requirement OR protect your family with Life Insurance. Many people don't believe in buying something that they are not required to buy regardless of the value.

2. Some Don't Believe in Insurance

Sometimes a client will only buy the coverage required and then only begrudgingly. They have no belief that the insurance has any value and consider any money spent on it to be a waste. No discussion of their potential risks or how insurance can be helpful will have any impact.

3. Cultural Heritage does not Value Insurance

I have observed a cultural component to buying insurance. Since insurance is a product of the sophisticated, capitalistic economies of Europe and North America, if you are outside of this cultural group, you are less likely to value the protection. My experience has also been that people of recent Asian heritage typically are less focused on buying coverage. My office helps many first, second and third generation Mexican-American's in our Austin, Texas, community and we can see the progression as each generation becomes more Americanized in their attitude about insurance.

In my experience, the opposite is also true. People of recent English heritage (or English educated) typically are very focused on their potential lawsuit risks and often buy broader protection including higher liability coverage than my average client. This makes sense because of the long history of insurance in England.

4. Uneducated on Their Financial Risk

Many people buying insurance don't have the experience or understanding of their potential financial risks. For example, one-third of the people in Texas who are uninsured for Healthcare expenses have more than adequate incomes to buy health coverage but make the choice not to. A major injury or illness can cost far more than they realize. I believe that their choice not to buy at least a catastrophic health plan speaks to the lack of understanding of their potential risk.

5. Denial of Known Risks

This is the "it won't happen to me" self-insurance plan. I see it all the time; clearly understood risks that can be economically insured, but the risk is ignored.

6. Misunderstands Risks

People buy coverage "backwards" everyday. For example, a low deductible on auto collision is purchased but important higher liability limits are not considered. If you understood your risk, the much greater financial risk is a lawsuit after a bad auto accident. The couple hundred dollars difference in your collision deductible is trivial.

Another example is buying Accident protection instead of Life Insurance. Most people don't realize that you are four times more likely to die of an illness rather than by an accident. Many people misunderstand their risk and think that accidents are more likely.

7. Intangible Product

Beyond a policy document, insurance is an intangible product. It is a conditional contract with a promise of potential future financial benefit, not an automobile or box of chocolates.

8. Confused about Insurance Choices

This is a common problem. Too many choices with too little understanding of the choices are a recipe for confusion. A confused person won't buy the protection they need.

9. Unfavorable Attitude toward Insurance Companies

Sometimes people know they need to buy protection, but don't trust that the insurance company will fairly pay claims. Maybe they have had a bad experience or didn't understand a claim outcome in the past.

10. Lack of Funds

If insurance was free, everyone would buy wonderful protection. The reality is that coverage does cost money and you have to pick and choose what you buy.

David W. Crump, Ross Gray Insurance Agency I specialize in Business, Health and Personal Insurance sales and service. A graduate of Texas Tech University (BBA Marketing), I began my career in retailing of Toy, Hobbies and Games. I have been a business owner but changed careers to insurance after selling my interest in a Dallas area Game Store Chain thirteen years ago. Hobbies include Gardening, Music (Bass Vocal) and Stock Investing. See our website at http://www.quoteaustininsurance.com/. Ross Gray Insurance Agency has a 30+ year history serving Central Texas on all facets of insurance. We are located in South Austin at 2404 S. IH-35. We are here to help!

Is Life and Health Insurance Important?

In 2008, I lost my Father to a fast moving cancer. Dad was 85, and had lived a good long life. He worked hard, played hard and was always an excellent role model. I am proud to have had him as my Father, mentor, and friend.

In 2010, we lost Mom. She too was 85 when she passed and like Dad, had lived a good life, and was the best Mom anyone could have ever asked for.

The passing of Mom and Dad taught me many things, the most important of which being the value, and importance of being properly insured, and pre planning for death. Something we must all face sooner or later.

When I was a younger man, thinking about life, health and final expense insurance was not high on my priority list. Youth has a way of making one feel invincible and immortal. Getting older, those feelings have been replaced by the reality of middle age, and the realization that I now have more good years behind me, than ahead.

Today, I'm 51 and fast approaching 52... Not "old" but then again, not young either.

Once upon a time, I was the Vice President of Western Operations with one of America's largest banks. Good salary, 401k's, perks, and most importantly, health and life insurance! Today, I'm self employed and paying 100% of the insurance cost that used to be covered by my former employer! What a HUGE difference in costs!

Accordingly, with the proposed "Obama care" requiring ALL Americans to be insured, the need for affordable health insurance  is more important than ever!

Don't fool yourself thinking you're to young to buy insurance you're not! Accidents and death can occur anytime, anywhere and your age means nothing! I learned this lesson the hard way in 2005 when an uninsured driver hit me.

Be prepared! Any stay in the hospital can cost your tens of thousands of dollars, and if you're not prepared, could lose everything you've worked so long and hard to build! Funerals are not cheap either! If, (God forbid) you died today, would there be enough money to pay your bills, protect your loved ones, and pay the final expense's?

The loss of my Parents, and my aging has taught me the importance of NOT putting off protecting my health, and life until it's to late! I've protected myself, and my family, and I hope my article convinces you too also! Trust me when I say, the small monthly insurance premium expense is far worth the protection, and peace of mind!

Edward Benko is the founder, and owner of Genesis Credit Solutions, Inc. A licensed, bonded, and insured Loan modification, foreclosure prevention,mortgage financing, credit restoration / repair firm which provides legitimate professional help at a realistic cost affordable to any and all. Since 1992, Edward Benko has been a leader in the mortgage, finance, and credit industry by building his career on a reputation of honesty, and integrity..traits not often found in an industry reputed as profit driven, dishonest, and ruthless...

Stop Smoking and Have a Healthy Body

In the initial twenty mins of your quitting smoking, you acquire your heart rate, blood pressure and temperature of your hands and feet back to regular level. After a period of eight hours from quitting you can expect to get typical oxygen level and a 50% diminution in the quantity of nicotine and carbon monoxide in your bloodstream. Altogether these internal processes are awful to have in mind, only whenever you quit smoking, then you will finally get a healthier internal body.

A current cessation of smoking will contribute to decreased coughing and asthmatic episodes, additionally, a 50 percentage less risk of preventing coronary cardiopathy. Whenever ceasing is prolonged further, danger of stroke for a non-smoker is decreased, although danger of heart problem is reduced to half for a tobacco user. A consecutive decade of non-smoking will lead to a 50 percent diminution in the chance to get lung cancer, and also there's an important decrement in the probability to develop oral, pharyngeal and esophageal cancer. Eventually, additional five years of cessation leaves you the identical chances as a non-smoker to acquire coronary heart disease.

Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_2110092_17.html?ktrack=kcplink

biography mahatma gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most famous Indians ever to have walked the planet. His campaigns of passive resistance and civil disobedience proved to be a great success; through his work, the less privileged people of the world have gained a higher quality of life.
After successfully studying law at University College, London, Gandhi returned to India. He tried in vain to set up a law firm in Bombay in 1891, but soon found work as a legal advisor in Durban, South Africa.
It must have been quite a culture shock for the young man on arriving in that country. Apartheid was thriving, so anybody who was not white was treated as inferior, second class citizens. Gandhi decided to do something about this problem though, and began his method of passive resistance and non-cooperation, drawing on the likes of Tolstoy and Jesus as his inspirations. It was by no means an easy ride. He regularly endured terms of imprisonment, and was harshly beaten several times. Twenty years of this type of campaigning paid off, when in 1914 the South African government made several concessions to the Indian people living there.
After the First World War, Gandhi decided to concentrate on improving life in his native India. His ideology was well received and he soon had a healthy following that regularly practised passive resistance. The British government didn't like the campaigning and deemed it to be revolutionary. Consequently, British troops massacred many innocent Indians at a demonstration in 1920.
This caused Gandhi to instigate a policy of non-cooperation towards the Brits. Indians began removing their children from government run schools and masses of people began squatting in the streets to protest. Even when faced with physical punishments, such as being beaten with a truncheon, they would refuse to move.
In retaliation Britain imprisoned Gandhi, but he was soon released. In 1924, he was forced to call an end to the campaign of non-cooperation due to rising levels of violence from India towards Britain. Ironically, the opposite of what he preached was starting to take place. Six years later he began another campaign against the payment of tax, and many of his followers joined him on a demonstration march to the sea. In 1934, he formally resigned from politics, having been imprisoned several more times. When imprisoned, Gandhi would begin fasting in protest. The British hated this, because they knew that if he died whilst being wrongly imprisoned the repercussions from the Indian people would be catastrophic.
In 1947 India gained independence, something that Gandhi had worked towards for a long time. He was against partition though, wishing that those of Moslem and Hindu faith could live peacefully side-by-side. He was also very critical of the caste system, whereby some Indians of high social standing were deemed "˜untouchable'. Tragically, a crazed Hindu assassinated Gandhi in 1949.
If he had wanted, Gandhi could have lived a very comfortable life as a lawyer. Instead he devoted it to prayer, fasting and meditation. He wore basic clothes and lived off fruit, vegetables and milk. He gave up his personal comfort to bring well-being to millions of others.

Your Time and Diversification

How you diversify your investment portfolio should relate to the amount of time you can spend managing your investments.

If you have very little time or just want to spend a few hours (or less) a month managing your portfolio than you will want to look at mutual funds, stocks that will be for the long term or ETFs for the long term.

If you are willing to trade more frequently, or even very frequently, then you can use different criteria in picking your investments.

Most mutual funds have restrictions on how frequently you can trade without paying a penalty. Some funds require that you hold them 30, 60 or even 90 days. Such holds automatically reduce your trading activity. Many fund families also have what is called round-trip penalties. These penalties literally stop you from making any type of trade for a year if you violate the fund's rules which typically say you can't sell and buy back any combination of the same funds four times in a year.

The drawback to investing solely in mutual funds is that you may be at greater risk of losing your money during a major or long-term drop in the markets like our recent recession. This is precisely why during this recession you heard about so many people losing more than 50% in the value of their retirement account.

The alternative to mutual funds is exchange traded funds, simply known as ETFs. These are similar to mutual fund groups but not managed on a day to day sell/buy basis like mutual funds. Since they trade like stocks they can be bought and sold at any time. Many of the popular brokerages now offer many ETFs with no trading fees, but even then trading fees have become almost negligible.

You can also find individual stocks for the long haul, particularly dividend paying stocks.

So once you have decided how much time you can devote to managing your investment portfolio you can select the groups you want to work with (see our article, "Your Diversification Questions")

There is software on the market that you can load onto your computer that will let you analyze stocks, ETFs or mutual funds in a manner that matches both your tolerance for risk or potential losses and the amount of time you have for management. For example, by telling a software program like Dynamic Investor Pro that you prefer to hold your positions a minimum of 30 days you will limit your trading frequency dramatically compared to someone who says their preferred holding period is just five days.

There are other means of controlling your trading frequency to match your available time. There are also other aspects of controlling the diversification of your investment portfolio that we will discuss in the future.

Author Raymond Dominick has been investing in the markets since his teenage years. He is the designer of Dynamic Investor Pro investment software. An experienced business manager and journalist, he has been a registered investment advisor representative, also a professional photographer who loves escaping to the wonders of Glacier National Park in Montana. View his software at: http://www.dynamicinvestorpro.com