Infolific » Money Management

Short Selling a House

Darren Berardi — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:35:01 +0000

With the deterioration of the housing market, there's been an increased interest in 'short selling' homes. I didn't know much about short selling, so I did a little research. I should say up front that I don't have any personal experience in this topic (thank goodness); here's what I learned, [...]

Retirement Income Funds (RIF)

Peter Alexandrou — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:41:55 +0000

In Canada, a retirement income fund, also known as a RIF, is a specialized retirement account used to force people to withdraw from their RRSP accounts. This in turn will produce income tax for the government to collect. The conversion process must must occur by the end of the year [...]

Day Trading and Technical Analysis

Darren Berardi — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:33:32 +0000

Major Goals Technical analysis is the complete opposite of fundamental analysis so it's no wonder that Day Trading is one of my least favorites strategy. This is a high-risk strategy, even for those that master it. The vast majority of new day traders don't last a year, they lose enough [...]

How to Deal With a 401(k) Plan That Sucks

Darren Berardi — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:12:54 +0000

Most of the time when you read about 401(k)s, it's something like, "contribute at least up to the company match," or, "don't put too much in company stock." But what do you do when your company's 401(k) sucks? Problem: Your company doesn't offer a match. Solution: Contribute as much as [...]

Aronson Family ETF Portfolio

Darren Berardi — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:38:19 +0000

Ted Aronson heads up AJO Partners based in Philadelphia. They manage about $20 billion. All institutional, tax-exempt retirement funds. No retail/taxable funds like Fidelity and Vanguard. And that's why Ted's portfolio is worth looking at. "All of my family's retirement money is in AJO funds," says Ted. "But because the [...]

The 0% Interest Balance Transfer Game

Darren Berardi — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:47 +0000

If you're my age, you grew up playing board games and then computer games (my first ones were just text, no graphics). As adults we often look for a different sort of game such as the 0% Interest Balance Transfer Game. You've probably heard about this game and you've probably [...]

Schwab Review

Darren Berardi — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:47:34 +0000

Section 1: Web Site Functionality Rank Navigation Regardless of your investing skill or internet savvy, Schwab.com navigation is simple and intuitive. There are plenty of tools for every type of investor and the clean and well organized layout makes it easy to find the ones you need. Whether you're browsing [...]

Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)

Peter Alexandrou — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:19:57 +0000

A Registered Retirement Saving Plan (RRSP), is a program offered by the government of Canada where individuals can invest money during their working years. The primary benefit is that income invested is pre-tax and the income tax is due only upon withdrawal i.e. during retirement. For those familiar with US [...]

Value Investing Strategy

Darren Berardi — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:35:06 +0000

Major Goals Value investors, often referred to as Contrarian Investors, are always on the lookout for underpriced stocks. This is a research-intensive strategy, in order to excel you will need to get very good at interpreting a company's financial statements, financial metrics and statistical measures. Value Investors use analysis to [...]

Retail Investors are Idiots

Darren Berardi — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:47:41 +0000

It'd be an exaggeration to say that I'm a fan of Jim Cramer. I do enjoy his show though while at the gym as it makes the 30 minutes on the stationary bicycle go by quicker. I've always considered the show to be entertainment though. Sure there's investment advice, but [...]

Will Bank Stocks Ever Recover?

Darren Berardi — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:21:13 +0000

Yes, they will recover, especially if you own one of the better banks that wasn't hammered by huge sub-prime write-offs or involved in the CDO speculation circus. The best example is probably JP Morgan Chase, they are eating some mortgage losses, but compared to many of the other major financial [...]

Steel ETF

Darren Berardi — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:51:21 +0000

As far as basic materials go, steel is one of the more important ones. We see steel everywhere we go and continued growth in countries like China and India will likely result in steady and possibly increasing demand for steel. That sort of argument is prompting investors to look for [...]

Why Invest In Multiple Market Index Funds?

Darren Berardi — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:43:29 +0000

Let me say at the outset that I am no stock trader and I am only an investor for the long term (over 1 year). After reviewing the results of the various market index funds (DOW Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ, etc.) and seeing that the movement of each one mirrors [...]

ETrade Review

Darren Berardi — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:03:27 +0000

Section 1: Web Site Functionality Rank Navigation Different clients have distinctly different navigation experiences, depending on which E*Trade trading platform they use. Those that qualify for the Power E*Trade platform (30+ trades per quarter) will be offered a powerful interface that makes many aspects of site navigation customizable. You'll be [...]

ScottTrade Review

Darren Berardi — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:46:14 +0000

Section 1: Web Site Functionality Rank Navigation Scottrade's site is very easy to navigate. This is an ideal place for beginning online investors to start, there is very little clutter. Scottrade would be considered basic or stripped down by more sophisticated investors but the design makes navigation simple and intuitive. [...]

Mutual Fund Investing Strategy

Darren Berardi — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:48:34 +0000

Major Goals Many people will tell you that Mutual Fund Investing isn't actually a strategy, but I disagree. When you invest in mutual funds, you and many other investors are pooling money together and trusting a professional fund manager to achieve your investment goals. That makes this a unique approach. [...]

Investing in Debt vs. Investing in Stocks

Guest Author — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:01:16 +0000

Since 2001 the Discovery channel has been airing a documentary television series called "How It's Made" that involves showing viewers how common items that many of us find in our own homes are manufactured. This long running show has attracted an amazing following because many of us are very curious [...]

Tax Efficiency with ETFs

Darren Berardi — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:02:34 +0000

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are generally considered to be tax efficient. Unlike traditional mutual funds that are actively managed, ETFs don't involve a lot of reshuffling throughout the year. With constant selling, ETFs are less likely to trigger capital gains taxes until you, the shareholder, actually sell your shares. However, [...]

Canadian Index Funds?

Darren Berardi — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:36:16 +0000

Does anyone know of a good site that will allow me to find Canadian index funds available? And, is there a site that will allow me to compare funds offered by different institutions? ETF Guy answered: Just like in the US, Barclays is a big index fund / ETF player [...]

Nano ETF

Darren Berardi — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:33:57 +0000

The nanotechnology arena is far too narrow an area for me to invest in through an ETF. Yes, while there is great promise in nanotechnology, the investment rewards are not yet guaranteed and the road ahead is likely to be a bumpy one. An article by Palash Ghosh of Investment [...]