Infolific » Investing

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

The 10 Basic Principles of Investing

Darren Berardi — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:22:18 +0000

It's very likely that you'll try several investment strategies before you find the one that best suits your goals and investing style, but there are some basic investing principles that hold true for all strategies. Whether you are reading biographies of the most famous investors of all time such as [...]

Do You REALLY Need A Large Emergency Fund?

Darren Berardi — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:14:40 +0000

There have been a ton of PF bloggers posting about emergency funds: Money Smart Life provides a good overview with special guest appearances by other PF bloggers Lazy Man, Binary Dollar, Money Matter and More Musings, Digerati Life, and Sun's Financial Diary. I'm not going to rehash any of the [...]

New Lessons of the Stock Market

Darren Berardi — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:43:50 +0000

The following definitions are more useful than any stock market news you'll read anywhere else CEO -- Chief Embezzlement Officer. CFO -- Corporate Fraud Officer. BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius. BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month [...]

Companies Are Hoarding $1,000,000,000: Atlas Shrugged?

Darren Berardi — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:50:18 +0000

I grabbed the image below from the Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper. It shows the tally of the money being held by companies. Sure a strong cash balance is good, but when the numbers are this high it means vital investments are not being made to ensure future growth. [...]

All About Mutual Funds

Darren Berardi — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:45:15 +0000

A Mutual Fund is, in essence, a pool of money from several investors that is managed by a professional money manager or "Fund Manager" for a fee. Granted, that's a simplistic description for a complex type of security but from an investor's perspective, it's a pretty accurate definition. They're a [...]

401K Guide and History

Darren Berardi — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 07:32:58 +0000

Are you contributing to a 401K, IRA or Roth IRA? You should be! This guide explains everything you need to know about these wonderful tax-free wealth building tools. Definition and History of the 401K I'll cover the 401k first because that's the one that seems to prompt the most questions. [...]