Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Career in Personal Finance
What’s a Career in Personal Finance?
A lot of people often don’t know what they want to be. Those who enter college will often get the course they thought they are interested but later on will change courses as they come to realize their actual calling. For me personal finance was one of the courses in college that really called out at me.
You might say it yelled at me. “Take me as your college course!” That would be ho personal finance would be yelling inside my head. It may be weird to some of you but to most of you who had that epiphany of what you want to be, I know you can relate to what I mean.
To the uninitiated, personal finance is simple taking care of your own or someone else’s money. Although, there’s truth to that, but the process and the responsibilities are not as simple as what you might think. Personal finance is using financial principles to help individuals, families, or a singular unit get money, use that money wisely, save some, learn existing and possible life risks that would affect how they will gain and spend their money.
Okay, it may sound simple but combining all these principles to elements like checking and saving accounts, insurance policies, tax management, credit card loans, investments, retirement plans, and social security benefits, efficiently managing the finances is definitely a challenge.
Part of your job as a personal finance professional would be informing people how their financial decisions will come into play with their lives today or in their future. It is your responsibility to educate them on the consequences of their financial actions. With this in mind it is important to provide regular assessments of the client’s finances. Reevaluating the steps that were previously undertaken for financial gain and security should be conducted also on a regular basis to keep the financial situation updated and always in perspective.
Assessing where you are so far financially would mean getting all those balance sheets and income statements in order and trying to balance the values. Simple balancing of assets and liabilities is always the first step in assessment.
Once you know where you stand, you can set goals and objectives. It’s planning aside where you will be financially in say ten or fifteen years. Living off your pension after ten years, enjoying the good life is a goal that most people set for themselves. This is a good goal, since after working for years you earn the right to live the rest of your life relaxed and comfortable. Personal finance professional is supposed to help clients reach their personal goals.
To reach their goals, it is imperative that one has a concrete plan of action. In this plan, financial details will be laid out. Short term and long term goals with corresponding financial computations will help make overall financial planning a lot easier both for the client and the personal finance professional .
Now, assessment, setting objectives, and planning can all be tiring and time consuming stuff but the reason for all these meticulous planning is to ensure that implementation of the personal financial plan will go smooth. Admittedly, the most difficult phase of personal finance management is setting the plan in motion and sticking to it. Discipline is the word here. You need to constantly remind yourself of your final goal to keep you motivated and stick to your financial plan.
With this in mind, it would be important to conduct regular assessments and evaluations along the way. This will keep you focus and see if you have deviated from the main financial plan. You can put yourself back on track through regular reevaluation of your financial status.
This is basically what a career in persona finance will take you. Focusing on individuals or families and helping them with their financial management while incorporating philosophies, ideas, and elements of business and financial management techniques. Is this for you? For me it is.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Best Mutual Funds
As our economic outlook remains poor and that the stock market is in crisis, the investment material has become increasingly difficult. Maintaining a solid investment portfolio can be difficult. An alternative to the difficult task of stock selection is to invest in mutual funds. With thousands of mutual funds to choose, how ... As our economic outlook remains poor and that the stock market is in crisis, the investment material has become increasingly difficult. Maintaining a solid investment portfolio can be difficult. An alternative to the difficult task of stock selection is to invest in mutual funds. With thousands of mutual funds to choose from, how do you know which ones are best?
That's why I made a list of 7 best mutual funds in 2009. After studying the performance, stability and income for hundreds of top funds, I found the best funds to invest in for 2009 and beyond. Part of dividend income from my selection process was to find mutual funds with cash flows, either as dividends or interest payments on bonds (in the form of dividends on mutual funds). This factor becomes increasingly important in a time when stocks continue to decline. As dividends, you'll know you'll get a percentage of revenue yield.
Selection criteria was to identify future trends of mutual funds that perform well in the coming years. As you see, I included a mutual fund that invests in shares of alternative energy or "green" businesses. All environmentally friendly, the green movement is just beginning and will be a boon for the economy over the next 10-20 years. One aspect that is little more than a strategy focusing short gold fund because of the expected increase in gold prices over the next year or two.
Long-term results of the last and most important criterion for selection was a long-term performance of the fund. A stock or mutual fund can also be one or two years of good luck, but it takes real skill to manage the portfolio, which is a good return for over ten years. Do not, many investors buy mutual funds that they will chase the bottom, running the best or the most recent in his best year. If the fund is to have an incredibly fine a year ago, is to stay away, because it is too late, or sell, if you own it.
The 7 best mutual funds for 2009: 1. American Century High Yield Fund (AHYVX) - With the current state of the economy, the best way to make money is to find an investment with a stated income (ie dividends, interest payments on bonds.) American Century High Yield is the Fund has a dividend yield of 9.38% which is much larger than most mutual funds or stock performance.
2. The New Alternatives Fund (NALFX) - is the common ideal background for the times when people and businesses seek ways to the ecological environment of doing things. This fund invests in companies focusing on renewable energy sources as well as companies engaged in energy conservation and environmental protection. Over the next decade the supply of clean and alternative energy will probably sky rocket increasingly popular and necessary.
3. Franklin Utilities Fund (FKUTX) - Utilities Fund is also a good way to get a reasonable stream of income during the period of poor stock performance. This fund has a dividend yield of 4% and a 10-year annualized return of 5.17%, which is very impressive. electricity companies are solid investments with a current dividend income.
4. ING Corporate Leaders Trust Fund (LEXCX) - Although 10-year annualized returns were affected by the recent turbulence in stock markets put at 3.67% (which is better than all but two major mutual fund value strategy ), the Fund ING achieved 10% better than the S & P 500 over the past year. It also has a dividend yield of 2.46%.
5. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals (FKRCX) - The mutual fund has been performing in the last decade with a 10-year annualized return of 14.42% and a current yield of 8.34%. This mutual fund has played incredibly and will continue to play with gold being more of an investment flight to safety for investors
6. Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX) - While the commodities boom earlier this year collapsed, oil prices will return. This is a matter of time. Vanguard Energy Fund had a yield of 10 years of 14.81% per annum, which is better than most funds of any kind. Is well positioned to perform well in the coming years.
7. Municipal Bond Fund (your choice) - Municipal bond rates have risen in recent months and remain a great source of additional income. For example, certain obligations in Florida are the costs of 6% per year in interest. Remember that municipal bond interest payments are tax free, just be sure to choose a link found in your state (if taxable interest payments). How can a tax-free income of 5% or 6% of your investment for 2009 - with the U.S. remains in recession?
That's why I made a list of 7 best mutual funds in 2009. After studying the performance, stability and income for hundreds of top funds, I found the best funds to invest in for 2009 and beyond. Part of dividend income from my selection process was to find mutual funds with cash flows, either as dividends or interest payments on bonds (in the form of dividends on mutual funds). This factor becomes increasingly important in a time when stocks continue to decline. As dividends, you'll know you'll get a percentage of revenue yield.
Selection criteria was to identify future trends of mutual funds that perform well in the coming years. As you see, I included a mutual fund that invests in shares of alternative energy or "green" businesses. All environmentally friendly, the green movement is just beginning and will be a boon for the economy over the next 10-20 years. One aspect that is little more than a strategy focusing short gold fund because of the expected increase in gold prices over the next year or two.
Long-term results of the last and most important criterion for selection was a long-term performance of the fund. A stock or mutual fund can also be one or two years of good luck, but it takes real skill to manage the portfolio, which is a good return for over ten years. Do not, many investors buy mutual funds that they will chase the bottom, running the best or the most recent in his best year. If the fund is to have an incredibly fine a year ago, is to stay away, because it is too late, or sell, if you own it.
The 7 best mutual funds for 2009: 1. American Century High Yield Fund (AHYVX) - With the current state of the economy, the best way to make money is to find an investment with a stated income (ie dividends, interest payments on bonds.) American Century High Yield is the Fund has a dividend yield of 9.38% which is much larger than most mutual funds or stock performance.
2. The New Alternatives Fund (NALFX) - is the common ideal background for the times when people and businesses seek ways to the ecological environment of doing things. This fund invests in companies focusing on renewable energy sources as well as companies engaged in energy conservation and environmental protection. Over the next decade the supply of clean and alternative energy will probably sky rocket increasingly popular and necessary.
3. Franklin Utilities Fund (FKUTX) - Utilities Fund is also a good way to get a reasonable stream of income during the period of poor stock performance. This fund has a dividend yield of 4% and a 10-year annualized return of 5.17%, which is very impressive. electricity companies are solid investments with a current dividend income.
4. ING Corporate Leaders Trust Fund (LEXCX) - Although 10-year annualized returns were affected by the recent turbulence in stock markets put at 3.67% (which is better than all but two major mutual fund value strategy ), the Fund ING achieved 10% better than the S & P 500 over the past year. It also has a dividend yield of 2.46%.
5. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals (FKRCX) - The mutual fund has been performing in the last decade with a 10-year annualized return of 14.42% and a current yield of 8.34%. This mutual fund has played incredibly and will continue to play with gold being more of an investment flight to safety for investors
6. Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX) - While the commodities boom earlier this year collapsed, oil prices will return. This is a matter of time. Vanguard Energy Fund had a yield of 10 years of 14.81% per annum, which is better than most funds of any kind. Is well positioned to perform well in the coming years.
7. Municipal Bond Fund (your choice) - Municipal bond rates have risen in recent months and remain a great source of additional income. For example, certain obligations in Florida are the costs of 6% per year in interest. Remember that municipal bond interest payments are tax free, just be sure to choose a link found in your state (if taxable interest payments). How can a tax-free income of 5% or 6% of your investment for 2009 - with the U.S. remains in recession?
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