1. Delta- How much a option moves wrt to its underlying.Example, Nifty moves 100 points, 11000 CE moves 50 points, i.e. Delta is 0.5
2. Theta- 'Time is money',literally! As time runs out on expiry most options expire worthless, time decay is theta.
3. Vega- Option prices are affected due to volatility. In recent time option prices were high, why? Volatility.
High vol=high premium and vice versa.
4. Gamma- The rate of change of delta. Example, 11000CE is at 50, Delta being 0.5, nifty moves 10 points, call becomes 55 delta changes from 0.5 to 0.55, gamma of that option is 0.05.
Main Categories of Fundamental Analysis
The economy is definitely a very interesting thing!
The financial market is extremely sensitive to macroeconomic events, which is why you should never dismiss fundamental analysis of the market. Nevertheless, an analyst does not spend all day on checking out the news feed. I should remind you, once again, that everything you read on this website results from my own experience and practice.
I divide fundamental analysis into the following categories.
Analysis of The Main Macroeconomic and Political Trends
An analyst does not keep close tabs on the economic statistics day in and day out in this case. The main data sources necessary for understanding the global balance of power are as follows:
View and opinions of the international experts. Ratings and assessments given by the independent publishers;
speeches by national leaders, heads of the key political and economic institutions, and the scientists; and
news bulletins.
Such an approach provides a trader with the general idea of the prospects for investment in a foreign currency. From the basic point of view, the main market changes occur while expecting a major political or economic event to happen. Let me give you an example.
The European economic downfall caused by the expectations of the Greek economy to go bankrupt. Fear of the upcoming negative events led investors to withdraw funds from European assets and give up using the euro as an investment tool. As a result, EUR/USD quotes were plunging over the long term against the backdrop of growing risks of the European country’s economy going bankrupt.
The Presidential elections may cause economic volatility. Though one doesn’t know for sure who would be the next head of state, investors are a bit afraid of the risk that a protest candidate can win, which will bring a medium-term economic downfall.
The growing protest movements may signal worsening of the economic and political situations. The historical record is peppered with examples of the strikes organized by doctors, taxi drivers, public service drivers, miners, or enterprise workers. They managed to cripple entire cities and even countries, which definitely affected the national currency value.
Said otherwise, an analyst must keep an eye on the soaring trends and foresee how an event may affect the currency exchange rates.
Corporate Sector Analysis
First, we need to figure out what the term “Index” stands for. If you have already visited the brokers’ websites I mention in my list, you could not help but notice that almost all of them offer to trade stock market indices. Before you start trading something, you should study what exactly it is.
The stock market index (the index basket) is a composite indicator, which expresses price changes for an asset group. The most popular stock market indices show how the stock basket price of the national champions from different fields may vary. Let me tell you a bit more about the most popular stock market indices.
Dow Jones Industrial Average.—The blue chip companies of the American economy. Deals with the stocks of almost all the fields except for the transport and the utilities branches.
S&P 500—500 large companies having common stock listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ which capitalization makes up 75% of the whole US stock market.
NASDAQ—All the companies traded on the American NASDAQ stock exchange.
S&P/TSX—The large-cap companies traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Canada).
Mex IPC—The large-cap companies traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange.
BOVESPA—The large-cap companies traded on the B3 Stock Exchange (São Paulo, Brazil).
Euro Stoxx 50—The European blue chip companies from 12 Euro-zone countries.
Euro Stoxx 600—The large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap companies from 18 Euro-zone countries.
FTSE—The Blue chip companies of the London Stock Exchange.
CAC 40—The Blue chip companies of the Euronext Paris pan-European Stock Exchange.
FTSE Eurotop 100—100 most highly capitalized blue chip companies in Europe.
FT30—30 largest British companies.
DAX—The blue chip companies of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
IBEX 35—The blue chip companies of Bolsa de Madrid (Madrid Stock Exchange).
FTSE MIB—The blue chip companies of Borsa Italiana (Italian Stock Exchange).
AEX—The blue chip companies of the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
SMI—20 largest companies traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
ATX—The blue chip companies of the Vienna Stock Exchange (Wiener Börse AG).
OMX STKH30—The blue chip companies of the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
MICEX Index—The blue chip companies of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. All transactions are calculated in rubles.
RTSI—Russian stocks traded on the Moscow Exchange, calculated in the US dollars.
Nikkei—225 largest companies of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
TOPIX—All the companies traded in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Hang Seng—The blue chip companies of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
S&P/ASX 200—The large-cap companies traded on the Australian Securities Exchange.
you might have noticed the term blue chips. I think we should clear it up. A blue chip is stock in a largest and most reliable corporation of the highest stock liquidity. The term itself originates from the blue casino chips, which are of the highest value.
How Can We Use the Stock Indices for Analyzing the Stock Market?
If you trade shares of a separate company, the stock index may be a leading indicator for you. For example, your trading tool is a share of Apple Inc. (the U.S. technology company). In order to analyze, you should compare dynamics of the stock change with dynamics of the S&P500 index. If the share grows faster than the index, it may be too late to open a long-term position. If the index grows faster than the share, you can make purchase with no doubts.
Which Indices Should a Forex Trader Work With?
A forex trader should pick the indices that match his trading tools same as one does in the stock market. Let’s have a closer look at the most popular currency pairs, which are EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD.
Every mentioned currency pair works with the US dollar, which is why we may use the S&P500 and Dow Jones Avg (DJA) indices for analysis.
We may add the European indices for the EUR/USD currency pair. The French Cac40, the German Dax, the Dutch AEX and the European FTSE Eurotop 100 will be good enough for us to cover the European side.
We may use the FT30 index for the GBP/USD currency pair. However, as practice shows, a trader tracks the same indices used in case of the euro.
We should pay attention to the main European indices and the SMI index (SIX Swiss Exchange) in case of the USD/CHF currency pair.
We should analyze the USD/JPY currency pair by examining the Nikkei 225 index dynamics.
How Do Traders Use the Stock Indices?
A trader uses the stock indices as a trading and analytical tool. I think we should consider a few trends that might work in the market economy conditions.
A trader applies an index as the leading indicator of the upcoming changes in the national currency price.
For example, if the S&P500 index uptrend shifts to a descending trend, we will see the dollar fall against the primary world currencies. Is such case, the index should be considered the leading indicator for the U.S. currency. A trader may open a short position and keep tracking the changes in the index.
You should never forget that our trading instrument is a currency pair, not a national currency. If the dollar is weakening because of some macroeconomic events and the situation in the eurozone is much worse, with the euro being under great pressure, the EUR/USD currency pair quotation may go up or down unpredictably. It is most likely we will see a wide price range with great volatility. It is unwise to expect a clear up or down trend in these conditions.
A trader uses a stock index as a trading tool catering on any other asset’s rate.
Suppose you see that the oil is on an uptrend. In addition to buying a derivative (CFD or the oil future), you can also buy the CFD or the index future, which are based on the largest oil companies’ quotation.
Naturally, the first option is the most popular scenario. Many traders keep several index charts indices in the workspace designed to help them to comprehend the actual trends of the national markets. Sometimes the indices react faster than the currencies in case of an unexpected international event. We use the term “correlation” for such phenomenon.
The term “correlation” stands for the dynamics ratio between two assets. If you see that the Canadian dollar rate repeats the movement of the US dollar rate with high accuracy, you can say that they are correlating and a trader is looking at a positive correlation of the two assets.
Catastrophes, Wars, or Terrorist Attacks
Unfortunately, one cannot imagine the modern world having no emergencies that bring influence to bear on the lives of a large number of people and on the economy of the states. If we take a currency chart and analyze it throughout its existence, we will see that the largest price movements were caused by the global accidents that triggered enormous shock in the society.
Monetary Reforms by the National Authorities
A cenrtal bank do increase / decerease interest rate to stimulate the economy
Economic Statistics
Daily economic statistics is the most intelligible fundamental analysis tool for a trader. You can find a daily updated economic calendar on the website of your broker
A standard economic calendar usually contains five columns:
Exact local (for your location) time of the news publication;
the title of the news or the identifier’s name. For example, “Statement by the Bank of France director” or “The inflation rate in the Eurozone;”
previous indicator value;
consensus forecastis the result of the expert analysis, which determines the most probable consequences of the news;
current value. It is the real value, which is filled immediately after the news is released; and
the news importance level.
Usually you see this indicator in displayed in a clear view (as stars or bars) in the broker’s economic calendar. The lowest value (for instance, marked with one star of three possible) means that the news will probably not affect the foreign exchange market while a three-star news has every chance to cause strong volatility.
I feel quite confident in recommending that you focus on the consensus forecast if you are planning to keep a close watch on the economic statistics. Do a little research and find the important news release dates on the currency pair chart. You will see that the strongest movements occur when the real value turns out to be very different from the predicted one. In other words, the experts made a mistake and their forecasts did not work well.
Remember this trend as it will come in handy in your work.
What is truly difficult about fundamental analysis of the forex trade market is a huge amount of information and a large list of sources that might be wise for you to follow.
This is not only about the newsfeeds. I am also talking about expert publications, analytics and forecasts. As it always has been, the key task of a trader is to identify the essentials, so as to not waste time and energy. Let’s try to gain insight on the main economic indicators that you will often see in the news feeds, and which have the strongest impact on the currency pairs quotation.
10 Most Important Macroeconomic Indicators
I have looked through the economic calendar over a long period and wrote out the macroeconomic indicators that I found essential to explain to my readers. If you find that some indicator is missing, please, feel free to write about it in the comments. I will add them to the article if necessary. Let’s begin!
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Gross domestic product is a macroeconomic indicator reflecting the market value of all the final goods and services (ready for consumption), produced for consumption, export and accumulation by all the economic fields on the territory of a country within a year, regardless of the national affiliation of the factors of production used.
In other words, GDP displays evaluation of all the goods and services produced in the country. This is a key indicator of the national economy used by a trader. The GDP news in the economic calendar are usually marked as important.
Key Interest Rate
Key interest rate is the minimum interest rate on which the central bank provides the commercial banks with loans. It plays a critical role in setting the interest rates on the bank loans and exercises influence on the inflation rate and the funding costs of the banks.
From my perspective, this statistical indicator has the strongest impact on the foreign exchange market, since it is actually the main monetary policy tool of the central banks.
Durable Goods Orders
Durable Goods Orders (DGO) is the indicator reflecting the order volume of the durable goods that the manufacturers have. Durable goods are the types of goods that can be used for three years or even longer.
The analysts use this indicator for forecasting the GDP level of the country. The greater the demand for the durable goods, the better the economic situation of the state is. The slump in demand may indicate the end of upturn in the economic cycle and the beginning of recession.
Leading Indicators Index
LEI is a composite indicator used for complex analysis of the national economy and making a three to six months forecast. The index is built upon the following indicators:
Factory orders level;
amount of the jobless claims;
money supply overall indicator M2;
workweek average duration;
stock value of the largest enterprises;
durable goods order level; and
consumer confidence index
A trader/analyst should track first the index dynamics pattern instead of watching the absolute index value. If you see a downfall in several reports, you can be sure about a slowdown in economic growth of the country.
Purchase Managers Index
I am talking about the whole group of indices based on the surveys of the professional associations. The specialized institutions survey the managers of various industries and make a conclusion about the current state of the industry out of it.
Of course, surveys cannot be considered an accurate indicator and the market almost never reacts strongly when they are published. However, if you work in a specific field, for example, trading shares of pharmaceutical the companies, the surveys among the managers of this field may help you to understand the true state of the field.
Consumer PMI
This indicator is very much the same as the previous one and the whole group by its meaning and influence over the market. In case of the PMI, the analysts survey the workers of a particular field. In this case, we are dealing with the poll conducted among the families in order to figure out their consumer expectations.
Respondents to the survey can give only the “worse” or “better” responses to a number of questions:
Financial situation of the family comparing to the previous period;
expected financial situation of the family during the year;
evaluation of the economic situation during the year;
estimation of the expected unemployment and economic downfall; and
evaluation of the family purchases (clothes, household appliances, etc.).
A trader-analyst may derive benefit from this indicator only in case of estimation of the long-range investments.
Consumer Price Index
CPI is the key indicator reflecting the underlying inflation in the country. It displays change of the aggregate price in the group of the most important consumer goods that form the so-called consumer basket of goods and services. For clarity’s sake, I must say that the basket includes more than just food.
There are also minor consumer price indices used for evaluation of changes in a separate economy sector. CPI Ex Food & Energy is a most popular indicator, which does not include the most volatile fields such as food and energy.
Industrial Production Index
This indicator reflects the change in the factory output volume. I think you understand perfectly well what conclusions can be drawn if the manufacturing output of a country keeps falling. I would like to clarify a couple of things before we talk about the next index.
If you take into account the sectoral indicators, figure out what share of the GDP a given field makes up. In other words, a significant change in the factory output volume would not much affect the economy of a country that gains 95% of its revenue from tourism.
We are talking about the so-called low base effect. I will explain it by giving you an example. Let’s say you have had $10 on your account and you earned $20 extra. You got a 200% profit, which is a fantastic result but I do not think you can really say that you have become a lot richer.
Conclusion: take into account the GDP structure of a country before analyzing the sectoral indicators.
Personal Income
The more people earn, the more they spend. If the people cannot afford to spend money, there is no sense for the state and the enterprises to drive up production. Therefore, such indicators as the consumer income and expenditure behavior or the level of unemployment are important for fundamental analysis.
The greater the income and expenditures of the people, the higher the economic growth rate of the country is.
Initial Jobless Claims, Nonfarm Payrolls and Level of Unemployment
This group contains the indicators reflecting the as-is state of the U.S. labor. Three indicators get the statistics simultaneously on the first Friday of each month and it is always a momentous event for each trader. Over the years, the news about the U.S. citizens’ employment have always caused a leap in the exchange market volatility.
I think it’s about time for you to have a break and make an analysis of the main currency pairs charts behavior at the moments of the news release about the unemployment in the US. Take a short-term time frame such as M1 or M5 for visual clarity.
If you are not planning to make fundamental analysis, you need to pay attention to increasing volatility and widening of spreads at the time of the most important macroeconomic statistics released.
Balance of Trade
Balance of trade is a key indicator of a country’s foreign economic activities. In fact, that is the balance between exports and imports, or in other words, the ratio of the value of all the goods exported abroad and the goods imported from other countries.
There are two key points a trader must understand:
The indicator is to be analyzed over time, that is, in comparison with the previous periods.
The greater the export of the country, the greater the need for its national currency is. Consequently, trade deficit can reduce the demand for the national currency, which will lead to the decline in the national currency value against foreign currencies.
I think I have given you my list of 10 most important macroeconomic indicators, which you will often see in the newsfeed. Of course, there are many other indicators but after you are through with this lesson, you need to draw the following conclusions:
Conclusion #1
The indicators have different degrees of reliability. The results of the surveys are less reliable than the mathematically calculated indicators.
Conclusion #2
The same indicator may have the varying degree of importance in different countries. You should carefully make an analysis of the importance of a sectoral indicator before building a trade forecast on its basis.
Conclusion #3
The news affects the price in different ways. Some of them just pass unnoticed while others start a tremendous volatility in the market. If you want to have true and fair view, you need to analyze the quotation changes occurred at the time of the different news releases.
Expert Reports and Researches
The MetaTrader 4 platform will intermittently provide you with notifications on the published researches in addition to the macroeconomic statistics. A title may look like this:
Report by the German Research Institute;
OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries);
International Energy Agency Monthly Oil Market Report.
Each of these reports contains a large amount of information, which is mostly interesting for the analysts working in specific fields. I have never seen the trader who were interested in studying detailed reports but you need to understand that any unpredictable data or unexpected statements can cause a great stir in the market.
The main conclusion you should make is that a trader should keep an economic calendar in plain view and take into consideration the time of the news release marked as important by the news agencies in his trade.
Speeches of the Officials
Speeches of the officials contain a lot of useful information that may come in handy for the analysts and investors. As you might have guessed, sometimes the statements of the officials may influence the market greatly by the rise of volatility. Let us have a look at the few examples from the economic calendar:
Speeches of the head of the Central Bank or the US Federal Reserve System;
speeches of the top public officials (e.g. Presidents, Prime-ministers, Chancellors, Kings, etc.); and
speeches of the parliament members and the members of various sectoral committees.
The substantive content of such speeches may consist of:
Report on the indicators over a certain period;
judgement and attitude to a problem;
answers to the questions of the journalists or professional associations;
personal assessment of the certain events; and
future plans and prospects.
As my practice shows, when the top public officials express their opinion about a certain problem or answers a question, you can see the strongest reaction of the market. At the moments of big pressure, they often betray themselves and as we know even an misinterpreted phrase can cause an explosion in the market volatility.
I recommend you to track the currency quotes during the press conference of the ECB or the FRS heads and make a conclusion about how the market reacts to the certain words.
Key Conclusions of the Lesson
I think we should now finish this lesson on fundamental analysis and go directly to the key conclusions.
Stability of the national currency directly depends on the state of the national economy.
The strongest impact on the market may be caused by:
Unexpected events such as catastrophes, terrorist attacks, bankruptcy filings, etc.;
macroeconomic data that appeared to be worse or better than the expected one; and
speeches by the top public officials of the country.
You can evaluate the real importance of the news only by putting together the time of the news release with the currency chart. Today, the release of data on any indicator can influence the market a lot while in a year it will not mean anything to the investors.
The volatility growth is the main thing you need to pay attention to when news is released. This results in the difficulties that the traders may encounter while opening or closing positions and widening of spreads. Besides, the market becomes less predictable when news is released.
Adherents of technical analysis may not track the news content, but they have to take into account the time of their release for the further trade planning.
Macroeconomics is a global environment and nobody can fully understand all its aspects. Usually an analyst would pick a specific specialisation and become an expert in one or several trading instruments such as oil, gold, bitcoin or the U.S. industrial stocks. When one decides to become a trader, they usually learn the ropes and then develop main patterns of how the currency pairs’ quotes react in one case or another.
Home assignment
I do not think I can force you to make the home assignment but I do advise you to spend 10 minutes to consolidate the lesson. The home assignment on fundamental analysis will be like this:
Recall a natural catastrophe (a hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, etc.), find out the exact date and find it on the chart . See how it affected the currency pairs’ quotes.
Make an analysis of how the U.S. unemployment statistics release (published on the first Friday of each month) affected the the EUR/USD currency pair quotations over six months.
Look at the economic calendar over the next week (you can find it on a broker’s website from my list) and make a schedule when the most important news will be released.
WHAT IS STOCK RESEARCH REPORT – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
As a first time investor, what you will do, if you want to invest in the stock market? You may plan to avail the services of the professional stockbroker or to undertake the research work by yourself, right? Now, when you are planning to invest, then have you ever thought from where you can get the stock research report of the companies absolutely free? By using the report, you can analyze the past performance of the company and then take an informed decision.
Going through the stock research report before putting your money in the stock market is necessary to take the best investment decisions. However, there are both the advantages and disadvantages of the stock research report, which are as follows:
Advantages
You can learn the stock analytical approach very fast by analysing the research reports. In a very short period of time, you can get to learn the techniques, which is carried out by the reputed financial advisors to determine the performance of the shares.
When you are beginner to the market, then a lot of time may be wasted surfing various websites and collecting data of the companies. If you have a stock research report in hand, then you can save your precious time, read the reports and invest wisely.
Sometimes, the stockbroker you have hired may give you the wrong information just for the purpose of minting extra money. The research reports help in saving your hard earned money, here you can go through the opinions of the certified stock market advisors.
Disadvantages
There is no doubt that the opinions provided in the stock research report are reliable but sometimes, you have to act according to the prevailing market situation. The opinions of the advisors may not matter in the current situation. So, it matters to ask for the recommendations from the other financial advisors also before taking any further action.
Sometimes, going through the stock research reports, you may get confused and not able to arrive at the right investment decisions as different opinions are various advisors. In such a situation, it becomes very challenging to invest in the stock market.
Bottomline
Hence, it cannot be denied that a research work is highly important to invest and succeed in the stock market. However, it requires a great deal of patience to go through the stock research reports as reading them on the regular basis will improve your analytical skills. So, it is imperative to weigh down the advantages and disadvantages and then take a decision to invest.
How to Generate Consistent Returns Trading Foreign Exchange
Without doubt the biggest problem traders face is trying to generate consistent returns trading foreign exchange.
Everyday Forex traders all over the world rise at the crack of dawn in the anticipation of making money Forex trading. However unfortunately 95% of these traders are doomed to failure.
So why is this?
The main reason that traders fail is that they don’t have the required forex education, they think that all they have to do is buy & sell the market and they’ll make money that way. Boy are they so wrong!.
Understanding Price Action
Being able to read candlestick charts is a huge advantage in understanding price action. Each candle is telling a story about the current market sentiment which novice traders overlook on a daily basis. If you become familiar with the most common candlestick patterns that occur daily, then understanding price action will become much easier.
Consistent Returns Trading Foreign Exchange
In the video recording below, I illustrate how one of our members used their understanding of price action coupled with patience and timing to execute a perfect entry with little draw-down to take +32 pips profit out of the market. Of course this doesn’t happen everyday however knowing when and where to enter a position is vital, so understanding price action is crucial in helping you achieve Consistent Returns Trading Foreign Exchange.
Conclusion Learning where to buy & sell the market isn’t easy, however price seems to have a strange habit of arriving at obvious area’s. Knowing where these area’s are can help you exploit the forex market.
Naming Your Company: 8 Things You Should Consider Before You Name Your Company
Naming a startup is one of the most difficult challenges while the idea of start-up forms in your mind, as it involves multiple strategies that are a blend of art, science, and preservance.
A wrong name could have a number of implications. A name that does not echo with the customers, is difficult to pronounce or spell or is too close to another business’s name, can have adverse effects on your brand.
Naming a startup –
One of the first and most significant decisions a start up founder needs to make is the name of the company.A wrong name could have a number of implications.A name that does not resonate with the customers, is difficult to pronounce or spell or is too close to another business’s name, can have adverse effects on your brand.
However, not always a company with a mediocre name is unsuccessful. A distinctive name can attract the kind of customers you want and keep those away you don’t way.
But in the entrepreneurial world, is there ever a situation when you do not want to entertain a customer? Naming a startup –
Success rates
Your clients, investors or customers are influenced by the name you choose to give to your business, as it makes a huge difference when it comes to the ultimate success of your overall venture. Studies show that cool and quirky company names occur more frequently in media coverage, either because there’s something newsworthy in the name or because many journalists are more attracted to highlight companies with fun names than mediocre ones.
The simpler the better
When creating a company, you focus on reducing any barrier that might keep your target customers from reaching you. They say, what’s in a name. Well, when it comes to business, name is one of the most important things that matter. A wisely chosen name is simple to spell, easy to write, and leads to one and only one possible URL. This enables more people who’ve heard about it to find it online.
The name is the first thing people get to know about your company. While a good impact of the name might create inquisitiveness or relevance, a bad impact might create lack of vision , details, and creativity about your company. Before you plan a date to launch it, people and your target customers might have already made judgement regarding it.Also, start-ups whose names or an element in them, strike a chord or connection with the target customers do not stay away from success from a long time.
We tell you a few things to consider before you name your company.
1. Search for a unique name to avoid similarity
A unique name not only differentiates your start up from others, but also helps build a brand and sparks an emotional connection with customers. Choose a name that can make it the talk of the town. Naming your company, which has a similar pronunciation, or meaning as some other company on the internet, might make it look old or nothing special.
2. Find something that defines your product or service
Just like your resume defines your professional skills, your company name should define what your company is all about. If not define, it must at least give a brief idea of what your company is involved in. Don’t come up with a made up word, as they complex your company name and may be unable to create a perception for that product.
3. Go for a name that can be reachable on all domains
While surfing the internet the most widely used extension is ‘.com’. You may choose any domain for your company, depending on your choice. However, before registering your domain, see if the company can be available on other domains as well. The more number of domains for your company, more will be your visibility.
4. Easy to speak and easy to spell
Being quirky just for the sake of it, could be a big mistake. When start-ups look for names that are quite quirky, all they’re thinking about is whether the name is unique, without considering the fact that it may or may not be easy for the world to spell or pronounce. That, your company’s name has to be different is true, but pushing too hard, to come up with a name, can backfire your company.
5. Don’t push too hard
I am not sure, how do parents come up with a name for their baby, but they definitely don’t have to struggle with the name, no matter how different do they want it to be. Similarly, you want something different and unique, list down a few names that you can think of and choose from one of them. The harder you try after a limit, the more will it be difficult for you to choose.
6. Avoid naming a company after yourself or a profession
You may want to name your venture something that you can relate to. However, if the venture name describes the services or products, and is something people can connect to, the chances of success are higher than usual. A good name has layers of meaning and association.
7. Get registered with the help of a lawyer
Understand what regulations, licences and taxes you will need to follow. Once you have decided the name, get in touch with an IP lawyer and learn all the regulations you need to follow with respect to the name of your venture and your domain. Establishing a business is not easy. The last thing you might want to get involved with is a copyright or other legal issue.
8. Final analysis
If you’re lucky you‘ll end up with three to five names that pass all your tests. In that case, think of the names that match your first criteria. Which names fit your objectives and which name according to you will the consumers relate to.
Professional naming firms generally donate six to eight weeks, to come up with a suitable name for a new company. You may not have as much time. So plan ahead and spend a few weeks on selecting a few names. Once selected, start analyzing which name would be the best and there it is- your very own venture, shining in big, gold letters.
Cash Flow Management Tips for New Small Business Owners
Managing your business cash flow efficiently helps to facilitate growth and provides greater flexibility with your decision-making. Having healthy cash flow allows your small business to operate strategically, ensuring you are in a position to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.
Use Bartering
It may be one of the oldest forms of trade, however, small businesses’ cash flow can benefit from bartering. Negotiate deals to trade products and services with your suppliers who are also customers. For instance, if you own a waste removal business that targets the technology industry, consider organizing an arrangement to trade waste management services for web hosting services. This reduces your operating costs and frees up cash for other purposes. Search for business-to-business bartering services in your local community.
Speed Up Payments From Customers
Having slow-paying customers is inevitable for most businesses. Introduce incentives to encourage your customers to pay early to help offset late payments. You could offer scaling discounts for clients who pay early. For example, if you own a small accounting business, offer a 10% discount for clients who settle their account 10 days early, an 8% discount for clients who settle eight days early and so forth. If you sell big ticket items, consider requesting customers to pay a deposit. Use accounting software to help your business track slow-paying customers, and send your customers automated reminder emails before payment is due. Your business could initiate a cash on delivery policy for customers who frequently make late payments.
Keep Inventory Low and Frequently Turn It Over
Keep minimum inventory and ensure it is frequently turned over to help your business maintain steady cash flow. Purchase inventory regularly to avoid cash being tied up in unsold stock. For example, if your small business purchases $200,000 worth of inventory a year, make 10 purchases of $20,000 as opposed to one purchase of $200,000. Product sellers could also explore the possibility of using drop shipping to reduce the amount of inventory they have to hold. Review your inventory every quarter; have a strategy to clear stock that has not turned over. For example, if you own an online store, have a once-a-quarter sale day where you offer excess stock at a 20% discount.
Manage Expenses Optimally
Managing your business expenses prudently can free up funds, helping to improve cash flow. Many expenses are unavoidable, but you have the ability to control them. Utilize creditors’ payment terms. If a payment is due in 10 days, pay toward the end of the term so your cash can be used for other purposes in the interim. This can be organized by setting up internet banking to make automatic payments for reoccurring expenses the day they are due. Look for suppliers with flexible payment terms that fit your small business. For example, if you are a product seller, you may require leeway with a supplier’s payment due dates at certain times of the year to accommodate seasonal demand.
At different stages of startup life-cycle, namely – startup and early-stage development, growth and expansion, and maturity, the requirement for funds inevitably comes up. As the meeting of such requirements comes to the mind, entrepreneurs tend to consider various options for sourcing funds. In this blog, we will be looking into such sources for raising funds from.
Seed Capital and Early Stage Funding stage:
Seed funding when the business is pre-revenue and it may still be developing an MVP. This funding is used by the startup to: cover the initial costs of starting, to invest on the R&D and to sustain the venture. The funding that happens is close to having or already has some revenue but remains unprofitable. Sources of funding in this stage is:
Funding by Friends and Family:
Though the personal relationship comes handy while raising funds from these parties, potential conflicts can be avoided by securing these investments after performing supporting legal compliance. We suggest you prepare funding contracts that fully discloses the terms of the financing.
Personal Investment/Bootstrapping:
Also, referred to as bootstrapping or self-financing or some call it having “Skin in the game” traditionally available options under this are:
Investment from savings
Borrowing against real estate assets
Liquidating personal assets
Using personal assets as collateral for a loan
Private or Governmental grant funding options: Grants are funds that need not be paid back. Grants usually carry stipulations as to how the grant money can be spent over a specific time period. Qualifying to become a beneficiary of grants is time-consuming and tedious.
Crowdfunding: This fund is raised online by the collective efforts and cooperation of a network of many individuals. There are two types of crowdfunding:
Securities crowdfunding: Startup sells securities in the company in exchange for capital from investors..
Reward crowdfunding: Startup reward (by offering company’s product or services to the investor for free or at a reduced rate) their investors for making investment
Equity Funding:
Most common source of funding for early-stage businesses wherein investor gets a partial ownership of the company for the investment made. Various options under this source are:
Venture Capital: VC funds are typically derived from a pool of professionally managed funds contributed by an individual venture capitalist or institutional investors. Funds are invested for exchange for an interest stake in the venture, for the directorship, the right to approve the loan on behalf of the business, the authority of hiring or firing, involvement in business decisions etc.
Angel investors: These are affluent individuals who are interested in investing privately in small businesses during early stage of growth. Angel investors fund in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.
Debt Funding:
Funds are borrowed with the intent to be repaid within a fixed period, with interest. Interest paid on the loan is tax deductible for the borrower.
Mezzanine Financing:
Mezzanine financing is a form of debt with warrants or convertible debt, which begins as a loan and later converts to equity if the loan is not repaid or a certain return on investment has not been achieved.
You’ve probably heard about the Bloomberg report that confirmed eight out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months. It’s a scary data point that operates as a cautionary tale for potential start-ups. When you choose to build your own company, the odds are against you.
If you’re considering such an endeavor, do your homework and learn from the mistakes of those who came before you. Here are four reasons why businesses fail and tips for how to avoid them.
Poor Funding
The brutal reality is that even those business owners who found companies in their own garages still need money. In order to provide a product or service, there are unavoidable expenses that many people fail to consider until it’s too late. Once they realize they’re low on funding, panic sets in, leading to poor decision-making as well as the potential for bad business loans from predatory lenders.Poor funding is one of the easiest issues to address if you plan well in the beginning. Simply add a subsection to your business plan that estimates expenditures during the first two years. Pay special attention to the first few months, when costs have the strongest tendency to spiral. Determine how much money you’ll need as well as how much you can borrow without creating a burden on your company’s financial model.
Lack of a Viable Revenue Stream
No matter how great your intentions are for your new enterprise, there simply has to be a revenue stream. Without one, your new business has no chance for survival. Without money, you won’t be able to cover expenses such as your work-space, utilities, staff, or suppliers.
Too many founders of new companies are starry-eyed about how their business will function. They naively presume that as long as they offer a great product, the money situation will take care of itself. This couldn’t be further from the truth. If you want to avoid this issue, create a business plan complete with ideas on how to monetize your product quickly.
Market Saturation
Would-be entrepreneurs start too many businesses without weighing the level of competition in the intended field. Market saturation spells doom for many fledgling start-ups. Some enterprises are de-facto oligopolies that can only sustain a few legitimate companies. Even niche fields are oftentimes swarming with companies, and the Internet era means there’s more competition than ever. Companies that don’t take market saturation into consideration quickly discover that they’re playing an almost-impossible game of musical chairs for consumer dollars.
Even if you have what you consider a great idea for a new company, it’s important to investigate the level of competition in the marketplace. Overcoming this problem is more about perspective than business tactics. It helps to take a cynical point of view, presuming that other entrepreneurs have already mined all the best ideas. This should lower your expectations about the potential of your revenue stream, forcing a more cautious approach.
Awareness of market saturation will also create the ancillary benefit of heightening your competitive drive. The desire to prove that you can carve out your own niche in the marketplace will prove beneficial.
Dysfunctional Leadership
Think about every business horror story you’ve ever heard. Blame always goes to the people at the top of a company’s food chain. That’s not coincidental: Poor leadership propagates throughout a company. If the people at the top are prone to bad decisions, their mistakes will cross boundaries. Hiring standards and practices will be poor, financial decisions ill-considered, and company goals vague. Companies rarely overcome the pervasive difficulties of dysfunctional leadership.
Whether you like it or not, the instant you found a company, you take on a leadership position. Behave accordingly, knowing that everyone you bring on board will look to you for guidance. It’s a high-pressure situation, and you may not feel up to the task.
The math shows that starting a business is extremely difficult. If you follow the steps above, however, you’ll position yourself better than the failed companies that came before you.
5 Terms You Need To Understand Before Investing In Bonds
Before you get started on bond investing, you should first be familiar with some of the terms that people commonly use when discussing bonds.
Here’s an explanation on four bond-related terms that you should understand before investing in them.
# 1 Maturity Period
Unlike stocks, bonds come with a maturity period. By definition, the maturity period is the lifespan of a bond, before it matures or expires. Some investors may also know it as the maturity date, which is the date when the bond matures, or tenor which is the amount of time left before the bond is repaid.
For example, a 10 year bond issued in 2018 will have a lifespan, or maturity period, of 10 years. In 2028, the principal sum borrowed by the bond issuer (the entity that issued the bond) will be repaid to the bondholders (individuals who lent the money). Once all payments, including interests, have been made, the bond is said to have matured.
Do note that some bonds have features that may affect its maturity period.
Puttable Bonds: Puttable bonds provide an option for bondholders to demand repayment of these bonds at a date earlier than its maturity date. These dates are usually specified within the offering document.
Callable Bonds: Callable bonds are the opposite of puttable bonds. These bonds offer the issuer an option to redeem the bonds at an earlier date. These dates are also usually specified.
Perpetual Bonds: Perpetual bonds are unique as they do not have a maturity date. Bond issuers usually have the option of redeeming these bonds at specific points in time if they wish to. Very often, they will simply let the bonds roll on until they are able to receive a lower interest rate than what they are currently paying on their bond.
One thing to note is that these features of a bond may increase or decrease the market value of bonds, depending on whether the features are of advantage to bondholders or bond issuers. For example, a callable bond gives bond issuer an advantage since it gives the issuer the option, but not the obligation to redeem the bonds at an earlier date. On the other hand, a puttable bond gives bondholders the advantage to redeem the bond earlier, if they would like to do so.
# 2 Credit Rating Of The Bond
Bonds across the world are usually rated by one of these three rating agencies; Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch.
When a bond is rated AAA, the highest possible rating attainable, it means that the rating agencies are very confident about the ability of the bond issuer to meet its repayment obligation. In essence, these ratings are scores that determine the quality of a bond. The higher the rating, the higher the quality a bond is deemed to be.
Below is a table from Investopedia that depicts the different grades that can be given by major rating agencies, and what they mean in terms of returns and risk:
Bonds that are rated below BBB (or Baa for Moody’s) are considered junk bonds. This does not mean you cannot invest into them. Rather, it means that the rating agencies consider these bonds as very risky investments. Such bonds tend to pay a much higher coupon rate as a premium to investors for taking on such high risk.
It’s important to note that most bonds in Singapore will not be rated. This doesn’t necessarily mean that these bonds are of poorer quality, but rather, that they simply weren’t rated by any of these rating agencies.
# 3 Coupon Payments
Generally, coupon payments can be understood as the annual interest repayment that a bond issuer is giving, in return for the capital borrowed from the investor. For example, a 10 year bond with a coupon payment of 5% provides investors with a return of 5% a year. An investor who invests $100,000 into the bond can expect a coupon payment of $5,000 (5%) each year, for the next 10 years.
However, once a bond is traded on the secondary market (i.e. you buy the bond from another investor, instead of buying it from the bond issuers directly), coupon payments may not always represent the annual interest rate an investor stands to receive.
That’s because the price of bonds traded on the secondary market will fluctuate, even though the coupon payment each year remains the same. This happens because new bonds may be issued to the market. If market interest rate goes down, a bond issuer will be able to issue new bonds at a lower interest rate. This causes the effect of existing bonds in the market being more attractive, and hence, it’s value will increase.
For example, a bond with a face value of $100,000 and a coupon payment of 5% may see its value increase to $110,000 if interest rates were to fall. In this instance, the annual interest returns for the bond to a new investor who buys it at $110,000 will become 4.55% (5,000/110,000).
# 4 Yield To Maturity
While coupon payments tell you how much you will receive each year, this does not equate into what your annual returns, or yield to maturity, will be if you hold the bond till maturity. Let us explain.
Assumptions – Face Value: $100,000, Coupon Payment: 5% – $5,000 per annum, paid out once a year, Maturity Period: 10 Years
Scenario A
Assuming an investor buys the bond from the bond issuer and holds it till maturity, his coupon payment of $5,000 will give him a 5% return each year, which is also his yield to maturity.
Scenario B
However, if an investor buys the same bond with a 10 years maturity for $110,000, his coupon payment will still be $5,000. At the end of 10 years, he will only receive the face value of $100,000, despite paying $110,000 for the bond. Hence, his yield to maturity is only 3.78%.
The yield to maturity calculates the bond yield from the day an investor buys a bond to the day the bond matures. What you need to remember is that this may or may not be equal to the coupon payment received from the bond issuer.
# 5 Bond Duration
When interest rates increase, bond prices tend to decline, and vice versa.
Duration is a measurement of how sensitive a bond’s price is, with regards to the changes in market interest rates. The higher the duration of a bond, the larger its price movement will be when market interest rate changes.
Understanding Bonds Before You Invest In Them
While bonds are generally considered less risky as compared to stocks, it doesn’t mean that they are without risk. As explained above, bonds issued from different companies can have differing credit ratings, maturity and returns as well as see its prices fluctuate with market sentiments or changes in interest rates. So be sure to understand some of these characteristics of bonds before you invest into them.
Supermarkets Play These 7 Psychological Tricks And We Fall For Them Every Time
Admit it, you love supermarkets despite the fact that grocery shopping is boring .
If you want to learn how easy it is to manipulate a human, you go and visit a supermarket. They are vultures preying on our psychology and also earning money out of it. Don’t believe us? We noticed these 7 psychological tricks supermarkets play and we fall for it, every single time.
#1 Shopping trolleys too big.
They go way too far with this one, honestly. Shopping trolleys were invented in 1938. Purposely built larger than what a family would need. The trolleys encourage you to buy more.
#2 Bakery products are sold at impulse
The smell of baked products is enough to make you hungry. The products are normally kept near the front desk. This makes you inclined to impulse purchases.
#3 They exploit kids, literally.
They purposely place the cheapest products in the most bottom shelf, so that they are easy to ignore. The most expensive ones, however, are placed at the eye level of children i.e. 1.6 m above the ground.
#4 The walls are always painted red or yellow.
Warm colors make you want to stay in a place a little longer, sustains your attention and also encourages you to buy more.
#5 They force you to walk everywhere.
The essentials are scattered all over the place which forces you to walk the whole damn store.
#6 You’re tricked into associating red with discounts.
Everywhere near the market, there are posters of the discounts. And obviously, they are all red. But all the signs do not denote a discount or an offer. Unfortunately, you’re tricked into thinking that you are going to get a discount.
#7 There are no clocks so that you lose track of time.
The tiles are too small in the aisles with expensive items and you think you are moving fast. You aren’t allowed to know the time because you’re made to lose track and shop more.
WHY PEE?
If you were given a dollar every time someone told you that you have to pee after having sex , you would have a spectacular sports. But there is beyond after the sex-pee routine ...
What do you have to do ALWAYS after sex? Doing these routines can be the difference between a stimulating sex life or a sore vagina. "Good sexual hygiene should be the rule, not the exception, especially after sexual contact," says Sherry Ross, gynecologist and women's health expert in Santa Monica, California.
As he points out, "sex can infect a series of bacteria. It's a challenge for the vagina to defend itself. " Therefore, peeing after sex can prevent an STD (you know the dreaded sexually transmitted diseases). But there is much more to consider. Here you have five super-easy post-coital rituals so that your vagina is happy and healthy (and in the process you have a stellar sex life).
WASH WITH SOAP AND WATER
And not only the hands. "The remains of sexual lubricants and the bacteria that remain in the fingers, mouth and rectum can increase the chances of developing an infection," says Ross; that's why he recommends using a soap without alcohol or perfumes around all these areas. Simply soak a towel with hot soapy water (or just water) and wash moving from front to back. Internal cleaning is not necessary: the vagina has its own "internal washing cycle that keeps it clean and balanced," he explains. That is, forget about douching.
TAKE A HOT BATH
In addition to feeling like a sex queen, taking a warm bath with a few drops of extra coconut oil will help moisturize the outer skin of the vagina and soothe any vaginal swelling or irritation that occurs after intercourse, says Ross. In addition, the risk of infection is reduced .
DRINK WATER
"As with exercise, after vigorous sex
you should hydrate,
" says Indiana University Health Obstetrician Nicole Scott. Dehydration affects your entire body and, if your mouth is dry, you may have noticed the penetration of your vagina as real sandpaper.
Drink one or two glasses of water after sexual intercourse: it will hydrate you and help you to eliminate from the vagina annoying bacteria that cause sexually transmitted diseases.
HAVE A YOGURT
Or any other food rich in probiotics . "Yogurt, kimchi, kombucha and other fermented foods have the same good bacteria found in the vagina," says Kelly Kasper, an obstreta at Indiana University Health. If you consume them after sex, you will decrease the risk of infections.
SEE IN COMMAND PLAN
Once you're clean and fresh, avoid urinary tract infections with cotton underwear and loose pajamas. Even better: go "on command" for optimal air circulation. If you are shy, avoid tight nylon clothing to sleep, as it can trap moisture and help bacteria to grow, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
If you enjoy cooking and need a source of extra income, take advantage of our ideas to make money on food and start billing!
Optimize your talents and earn extra income
Not everyone was born to be chef de cuisine, but there are very good people out there who know perfectly how to delight the people to whom he cooks and who receives praise all the time. If you are such a person and if you even imagine developing a food activity, then maybe you should explore our ideas to make money from food . Who knows if the perfect business idea is not here for you!
6 IDEAS TO MAKE MONEY ON FOOD
First of all, it must be said that a good business idea need not be megalomaniacal. It all depends on your goals and the means you have available. If you just need some more money at the end of the month, adapt the idea to your needs. But if, for example, you are unemployed or want to change your career, it may be the perfect opportunity to embrace a new challenge. So take a look at our ideas to make money on food and think about it.
1. MAKE A GARDEN
Organic products are fashionable. And if you have a place at home, take the opportunity to cultivate for yourself, but if you have a surplus, sell it to people close to you - like coworkers, friends, family, parents of your child's classmates, for example. Any group or association to which you belong can also be a good place to advertise your fresh and homemade vegetables.
It is easy to have a biological garden if it is on a small scale. And this will attract many consumers, who are increasingly awake to the need to have healthier eating habits. If you have someone in the family who lives "on the land" and grows, enjoy doing the same thing. Bring the leftover foods and sell them in the city.
If you like this type of life and you have a lot of land, you should consider taking this business more seriously, not just as extra income but as permanent work.
2. MAKE JAMS
If you have a vegetable garden, an orchard or someone to give you the food that comes from it, make the product yield and make compote and other simple derivatives. With simple but elegant jars, and a tasty product, you can get some money without even having a lot of work.
3. RENDER YOUR KITCHEN ROBOT
If you have a bimby, a yammi or another kitchen robot , make it pay for itself. Make a list of inexpensive and inexpensive recipes and start selling out. It goes without saying that you can do it even if you do not have a kitchen robot. Just like to cook and see in this your idea to make money with food.
4. COOK FOR COLLEAGUES
Does every day take lunch to work and are coveted by lazy colleagues? If you make lunch for yourself, increasing the dose will not make you lose much more time and can still make you some money. Ask one or another colleague to give them lunch in exchange for a payment that appeals to them, but that compensates for their work and resources.
If you have children in school and you know of parents who do not have much time, but who prefer to give their children homemade food instead of the one that is served at school, make them the same proposal.
5. DIFFERENTIATE FROM WHAT ALREADY EXISTS
Instead of full dishes, you can also dedicate yourself to just preparing some foods, such as burgers, bread or sweets. But run away from the banal and look for the best opportunities.
As we have already mentioned, it is no secret that people are increasingly concerned about what they eat. There are more and more vegetarians, vegans and people who, even if not intolerant, flee to gluten or lactose . So make hamburgers, but vegetarians, gluten-free bread and sweets without added sugar, only with the natural sugar that the foods used already contain.
You can also make tofu, seitan and vegetable drinks. Make use of these ideas to make money on healthy foods and see how success is guaranteed!
6. TURN TO DIGITAL
If you're used to teasing your friends with pictures of their appetizing cooking, follow two ideas to make money from foods that will not let you down.
Create an appealing Instagram account - Well-taken pictures of well-pampered meals attract followers. And accounts with many followers can result in good sponsorships, such as a supermarket chain;
Dedicate yourself to a blog of nutrition tips - if you are knowledgeable in the subject, you will not miss any subscriptions. Not only good photographs live a good blog, but also good writing and good advice. Share your knowledge with anyone you want to read. If you have a good audience, the marks will come to you.
Understanding APR, Interest Rates and Repayments in Loan
In the world of finance, there is plenty of jargon floating around which can cause it to seem more complex and dense than it is in reality.
When applying for a loan, it is incredibly important that you know exactly what you are signing up for, and how APR, interest rates and repayments will affect your finances.
Here is some information to help you break down APR, interest rates and repayments.
APR
Standing for annual percentage rate, APR is the annual rate that you are charged for any loan which you may take out. In essence, it can provide you with a clear figure for what you can expect to pay for a loan on a yearly basis.
This is incredibly useful when comparing different lenders, as they can often differ greatly with regards to their various fees and rates.
APR is displayed in the form of a percentage, which you can use to calculate repayments. Bear in mind that some APRs are fixed, whereas others are variable, meaning that they could change at any time.
Interest Rates
Nearly every loan will have an interest rate applied to it. This is the rate applied to the overall sum of money you have borrowed which is added onto repayments.
It is worth bearing in mind, however, that interest rates can vary greatly depending on the loan type, and can sometimes be more complicated than they at first seem (additional fees, terms and conditions), so it is always worth reading the small print.
Repayments
When you take out a loan, it will need to be repaid, usually by a certain time. Most repayments are made on a monthly basis, although they can vary greatly in this regard.
Before taking out a loan, you should have a sound repayment plan in place to ensure that you can meet repayments (taking into account interest).
Failing to meet repayments can have significant consequences, not least because your credit file could be adversely affected, potentially stopping you from receiving prime interest rates on finance products in the future.
These are undoubtedly some of the most important terms you will come across when applying for a loan. Make sure you fully understand them before making an application, and always make repayments on time.
Why Learning Accounting Can Help You In Your Investing
Investors need to be equipped with sufficient knowledge to make informed choices regarding their investments. It’s not a stretch to say that ideally, we as investors should have knowledge in many disciplines in order to ensure we can make optimal decisions, although realistically, it is difficult to gain competence in a wide variety of subjects.
However, I would assert that learning accounting would be one of the core necessities when it comes to investing, as accounting is, after all, the language of business.
A key pillar of investing
So why is accounting so crucial when it comes to investing? It is because learning basic accounting concepts and techniques allows us to better appreciate financial statements released by listed companies, and equips us with the basic knowledge to understand if a company is doing well or poorly. In addition, knowledge of accounting allows us to spot unusual items within financial statements quickly, and to be able to discern if a company’s management may be overly-aggressive in recognising revenue, for instance.
Note that accounting is a discipline which allows for a wide range of options on how to classify certain items within the financial statements – it is up to the discretion of the company on which option it would like to use, as long as it is able to justify the decision. If we are aware of these accounting concepts, we can then decide for ourselves if such decisions are justified, or if the company is simply seeking to sweep problems under the carpet. So, which areas of accounting should investors get a basic grasp of?
The key aspects of accounting
Four areas of accounting are especially important in today’s environment: (1) Revenue recognition; (2) depreciation and fixed asset policy; (3) accrual versus cash accounting; and (4) mark-to-market accounting. Let me explain why.
Revenue recognition allows a company to recognise revenue at various points within the sales cycle. The problem is some companies may aggressively recognise revenue even when their goods and services have yet to be delivered.
Depreciation policy is important because some companies may depreciate their assets over longer useful lives than the norm, hence booking in a lower expense per year in order to make their profits look better.
Accrual versus cash accounting is an essential core concept of accounting whereby revenue is not equal to the inflow and outflow of cash – we should understand that ultimately, cash prevails and the cash flow statement should be treated with greater importance than the income statement.
mark-to-market accounting is even more relevant in today’s world as more companies hold listed securities or make acquisitions. Mark-to-market accounting assesses the investments to see if there are any impairments to be made, which would flow down to the bottom line as large expenses if so.
The above illustrates the importance of understanding basic accounting concepts to ensure that we stay knowledgeable on how companies report their finances.
Basic guide to what is mutual fund ? and how it works .!
Basics of Mutual Funds in India
Mutual Fund is a financial means that allows multiple investors to ‘pool’ their capital in order to put together an enormous savings corpus. This money is then invested by investment experts called Fund Managers who have deep knowledge about financial markets and investing in share market.
The joint fund is invested in different asset segments like debt, equity, and liquid assets etc. The capital is referred to as ‘Mutual Fund’ because all gains or losses, risks, and returns associated with the investments done with the savings are jointly shared by the investors in accordance with their contributions.
First, we should understand these two entities:
Company: A company is created when a group of individuals come together with the intention of doing business. Every company must have a distinct title
Shares: It is your contribution or share within a company that can be in the form of minute ownership. For instance, if you own 50 shares of $ 100 each for XYZ Company, it means you have invested that much amount and now you own that much share in the company.
A person who studies the market and analyses the performance of company can directly buy or sell shares and invest in the stock market. But for people do not have good understanding of the market and cannot take good investment decisions themselves, Mutual Fund comes as an excellent option.
Just as you own shares in a company, Mutual Funds (MF) have ‘Units’ in the company. If you invest $ 5,000 in XYZ MF and the cost for a unit is $ 10, you get 500 units of XYZ MF. As the MF grows over the time, the cost per unit also grows proportionately. Let us assume the initial corpus of a MF was
$100,000,000 and the cost per unit was $10. After one year, the investment grew to $ 134,000,000, so the cost per unit will then be $ 13.40 approx.
Following are some unique terms associated with mutual funds that every investor must know:
Offer document –It is the formal document that summarizes the essential aspects of the fund. The document contains terms and conditions of the fund, the objective of the investment, the asset segment that the fund will be invested in and other details like performance history of the fund, who will handle the fund and the risks involved.
NAV (Net Asset Value)– It is the price per share or cost per unit of the fund. The NAV varies depending on the performance of the fund. Units are traded at the current NAV or the value at the time of buying/selling.
NFO (New Fund Offer): It is the new fund/scheme introduced by an AMC in the market. You can purchase units of the new funds at the offer price.
Types of Mutual Fund Schemes
The different types of mutual funds are classified on the basis of their structure, asset segment and investment objective.
Categories based on Structure:
Open-Ended Funds:The units in this fund are open for redemption or purchase throughout the year. The redemption or purchase is done at current NAVs. These funds proffer liquidity to investors.
Close-Ended Funds:The units in this fund can be bought only at the opening offer period. To support liquidity, these funds are listed on a stock market.
Categories based on Asset segment:
Equity Funds: These funds invest in shares/ equity stocks of companies. Though these are high-risk funds, they tend to generate higher returns.
Money Market Funds: These funds invest in liquid instruments such as CPs, T-Bills etc. They are reliable investments for people who want to invest excess funds for immediate but modest returns.
Debt Funds: These funds invest in instruments like debentures, government bonds and fixed income resources. They are reliable investments and offer fixed returns.
Sector Funds: These funds invest in a specific sector of the market. For instance Banking funds invest only in companies that associate with the banking sector. Returns are linked to the success of the sector and risk involved is dependent on the kind of the sector.
Hybrid or Balanced Funds: These funds invest in a combination of asset segments. The percentage of equity may be higher than liability in some cases while it is just the opposite in others. In this way, risk and profits are balanced out.
Tax-Saving Funds: These funds invest mainly in equity shares as investments in these funds are entitled for deductions specified under the Income Tax Act. The risk involved is quite high but you can get exceptional returns if performance of the fund is good.
Index Funds: These funds invest in tools that mirror a specific index on the exchange in order to represent the performance and profits of the index like buying shares that represent NASDAQ, NYSE .
Fund of funds: These funds invest in additional mutual funds. Profits depend upon the success of the objective fund.
Categories based on Investment objective:
Income Funds:These funds invest money mainly in fixed-income tools like bonds and debentures with the intention of providing wealth protection and regular income to investors.
Growth Funds:These funds invest money mainly in equity shares with the intention of providing wealth appreciation. They are risky funds that are ideal for investors who can afford long-term investments.
Liquid Funds:These funds invest money mainly in temporary or interim tools like COMMERCIAL PAPERS’s and TREASURY-Bills(T-bills) with the intention of providing liquidity. They are low risk funds with modest returns.
Advantages of Mutual Funds
As mutual funds continue to gain popularity in India, numerous new funds and plans are launched in the market on a regular basis. Some of the advantages of investing in Mutual Funds are:
Risks diversification:As the fund is invested in various securities, the risk gets diversified. The prospect of all the stocks performing poorly all at once is very less. Losses incurred on a few stocks are compensated by gains on others. This eventually minimizes risks.
Organized investments:Mutual funds clearly specify the assets that are being targeted for investments so investors can direct their savings to various asset segments in a structured manner. The investors also gain access to schemes that were otherwise inaccessible to them like foreign securities.
Professional supervision:Mutual funds are supervised by fund managers of AMCs. The managers utilize their financial investment knowledge to diminish risks and increase profits for investors.
Reasonable investment alternative: MF is reasonable investment alternative for people who do not have considerable capital to endow in equity or tools that need a big investment. Moreover, the transaction cost is extended over multiple investors thereby reducing individual costs.
Asset alternatives:Different kinds of asset alternatives are open for investors to choose from like debt, equity, hybrid sector, fund of funds, and index funds etc.
Tax benefits:There are many funds/plans that have been created to work as tax-saving tools like equity linked saving schemes or ELSS. Investments in these plans are entitled for income tax deductions.
Easy acquisition and redemption:Except for the lock-in period, funds can be purchased and sold easily at the current value or NAVs.
Excellent returns:Mutual funds provide excellent returns on long-term investments as investors can branch out risk to increase overall returns.
Safe investments:All MFs fall under a regulatory which makes sure that the transactions are according to the regulations. This adds an element of security to the dealings.
Flexibility:Several MFs offer flexibility by allowing investors to switch between plans/ funds to gain superior returns.
SIP advantage:SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) lets investors put in small sums recurrently as an alternative to lump sum investment thereby attracting investors from different income levels.
Disadvantages of Mutual Funds
Though MFs come across as excellent investment options for all, there are some disadvantages associated with them as mentioned below:
Costs and Risks: Unstable market conditions can generate variations in the cost of the investment. Additionally, there are expenses related to mutual fund investments that usually do not crop up when purchasing individual securities directly.
Zero power: Investors cannot control the investment as fund managers take all the decisions. Investor can just contribute funds.
No assurances: There are no assured returns because mutual funds invest in equities as well as debt. The profits depend upon market conditions.
How to invest in mutual funds
Mutual funds are easily accessible to investors. People can invest in them in the following ways.
Direct:Investors can apply to a plan themselves by contacting the nearest AMC(asset management company) office or by logging on their website. Forms can be obtained or downloaded from the website and submitted at the office. The applications can be submitted online too. Online processing has become popular for reasons such as:
Convenience: Funds can be applied right from one’s home or office.
Comparison: There are numerous online financial service providers that can help view and compare funds and plans from different companies.
Cost-effective: Investors can circumvent agents so the investments become cheaper as commissions are not included in the purchase cost.
Choice: All the relevant information including brochures is available online for reference. This allows investors to make informed decisions.
Professionals:These are agents who reach out to investors in order to provide information about different funds offered by a company. They help in the process of applying and dealing with issues like redemption, transfer of units, termination etc. The agents usually charge up to 6% as their commission. This fee is included in the buying value of fund units.
Mutual Funds offer several advantages but it is the responsibility of the investor to make reliable investments. You must choose funds bearing in mind your investment objective, liquidity needs, investment duration and affordability to make the most of Mutual Funds.
Having some back-up cash in your savings can make you feel a little more secure in life. We all know how hard it can be to put money away though,
especially if you often get to the end of the month without much left in the bank. Our tips will help you top up your savings and make the most of the money you do have.
1. Choose your account carefully
There are so many options out there when it comes to savings accounts. Choosing the best account for you and making sure you get a good interest rate will mean you can accumulate more savings, however big or small the cash you start with.
Take your time, do your research, and make sure you choose the account that works best for your situation (if you’re struggling with this, check out our article on the basics of saving). Things like the amount of money you would like to start the account with, whether you’d like to be able to withdraw your cash or not, and how much you will be adding each month can affect the interest rates given.
2. Set a goal
Instead of just putting money away, put it away for a purpose. Think about what you might want to put the extra money towards, and use it as a motivation to count your pennies. For example, in the short term you might want to go on holiday, buy a new phone, or save up a couple of months’ worth of just-in-case living expenses. In the long term, maybe you want to buy a house or even retire.
3. Track your spending and create a budget
Spend a month tracking absolutely everything you purchase. Then, break how much you’ve spent on categories like food, entertainment, eating out, etc. Once you have this information, you’ll be able to easily see the areas you can cut back on. Use this to plan a budget based on your income, and see if you can find room to save a portion of the money you make.
4. Pay off your debt first
If you have credit card debt, outstanding loans, or store cards, it’s usually worth paying these off before you start saving anything. It might seem strange to suggest not putting money into your savings will help build cash, but it will actually improve your finances long term. The interest taken by most credit cards and loans is much higher than the interest you could earn in a savings accounts, so it makes sense to pay the debts back as quickly as possible, decreasing the amount of money you lose in interest payments.
Once you get into the habit of putting money aside, you’ll love watching your savings grow!
Things to check before buying a Land / investment in real estate.
Real estate (property / land) is one of the hot business today .
everybody want a own house to live . so this business will not go out ..
Here are the certain things you need to check before buying the property
1) land documents
check if seller owns the land or not . check the size of the land too.
2) water
its the important one . check the source of drinking water. if the land has a ground water within 30 to 60 ft deep . its better.
3) electricity
check for the electricity. lamp post must be near not more than 100mts distance
4) Transport facility
make sure . its is within 7 km from nearest petrol bunk / gas station . or near to bus / rail stop
