Should I divide my portfolio up and put the parts in different investment firms or banks?
80913
The SIPC insures your investments (not the FDIC, or SPIC, as people have suggested). Arthur Andersen was a consulting firm. The were a business services firm, nothing else. Other than the owners of Arthuer Andersen, their collapse didn't destroy anyone's assets.\n\nAlso, by holding your investments in multiple investment firms, you would likely expose yourself to more account fees.\n\nMyself, I own all of my mutual funds directly through the fund firms, for no other reason than to avoid fees and higher minimum purchases.
178733
Most of the time,you must face the fluctuation around your investing money at portfolio in your case,but you just need to relax of it.As to you suggestion,that you should have more than one(portfolios:in this case),because if one of your portfolio has an fluctuation,so you will get the benefit from the price,meanwhile your other portfolios must have been decreased as deflation.Because you have got the benefit by the fluctuation,then you can buy more at the portfolio with the decreasing price.So simple,isn't it?\nThank you.
1097883
Hi fren, I think it is not advisable to invest in Mutual Funds this time, provided u have some other investments which can compensate any loss u might incur. I say so because if u follow market, u can see that for few of the very strong funds the NAV has gone down.\nMutual funds, depend on share market and currently all the analysts (national and international) have advised their clients to take a vacation.\nI think for a new investor like you, u should wait for some time, let the market stabilise once then u can think of getting in.
50843
Get an investment consultant. That and diversify. You dont want to have all of your eggs in one basket, just look at what happened with Enron.
470406
As much as you don't like the bank...some might belong there. Take a look at various mutual funds...think about what sort of areas YOU think are growing in the US and in the world right now. Think China and other countries in Asia will be growing quickly over the next 5 to 10 years? Maybe put 1000 or 1500 in an Asian fund. Think telecom will be important? Put some in a telecom fund. Health care? Same thing. But I would also recommend putting a little in the bank...it'll give you a little cushion and might help pay down any credit cards or car loans you might have outstanding....
706312
Personally, I'd prefer prosper.com. But it depends upon how well established you are and what's your risk tolerance. If you're well established with a good foundation and are willing to risk it all, the sky is the limit. But if you're like most, I'd start with maybe 50% in VFINX (index 500 fund, 10% avg return) and the other 45% Internationals. perhaps 1-5% in high risk high return stuff. Repeat until you get comfortable enough to understanding risk before you venture out to deeper waters.
242593
Talk to as many center of influence people as you can.  They will in turn help you with the investment plans.
373007
I believe in investing in the long run and actually prefer investing a diversified portfolio with funds allocated to each asset class by a specified percentage.\n\nBut I do set aside 10% of my portfolio as "play money" for me to invest in individual stocks.  If you want long-term growth that you won't loose sleep, I believe the solid companies to invest now are Barclays Bank ADR (BCS), Honda (HMC), Toyota (TM), Starbucks (SBUX) and Audible (ADBL).  These are arranged from the least risky to the most risky.
197635
invest in a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds for my retirement.
126578
OPM is right. Don't confuse the type of account (401k in this case) with choosing an investment mix. I help businesses design and implement retirement plans and as OPM said, you are limited by the plan your employer chooses. That doesn't mean you should put your money elsewhere, especially if your employer provides any kind of match.\n\nFirst rule of retirement investing: If your employer is going to give you free money, TAKE IT!\n\nIf you work for a fairly large and/or sophisticated employer your 401k may have a Self Directed Brokerage option. If available, this option will allow you to bypass the menu of investment options within the plan with at least a portion of your assets. Ask your employer for the details on the plan available to you.
1116768
When just starting out and you are sure you want to invest in individual companies, sharebuilder.com is a legite place to invest. Others are ETrade, Fidelity, TDAmeritrade, ScottTrade.\n\n I want to warn you that with a small amount of capital and investing in individual stocks, you will be subject to certain risks particular to the individual securities that you buy, because you do not have enough capital to become fully diversified. That is just a warning.  I did it. You can too. Your other option is to buy mutual funds.  That way you will be less subject to individual risk.  Of course if you buy one stock and that stock doubles in price in a matter of months, that is a good feeling.  If on the other hand if you buy one stock and that stock looses half of its value in a matter of weeks that is not such a good feeling.  It has happened to me often. \n\nI have accounts with both Fidelity and TDAmeritrade. TD is less expensive but Fidelity has better research facilities. To me the research is worth the few extra dollars. I do not know what research Sharebuilder supplies but I think I have heard that they have some.  Maybe someone will respond and provide that information.
207767
There are many excellent websites providing investment advice. Investors.com, TradingMarkets.com, and Fool.com are all excellent. They are all different though. \n\nIf you were able to master the material in all three of these sites you would have an extremely thorough knowledge of the market. Applying different investment strategies to different parts of a portfolio provides excellent diversification.\n\nIt is best if you can develop you own skills so you don't need other people's advice. No advice is perfect.
373503
This depends on your goals, level of risk you are willing to accept, and many other factors.  For me, I like shares of small start-up companies.  Very high risk, but very high rewards IF it pans out.
318964
For us little people, I find the best way to invest is with no-load mutual fund accounts.  That way there are no charges or fees either up front or when you eventually sell out.  Also professional managers take care of the investing and do much better than we could ever do.  Second, I find the best way is to make the investment LONG TERM, let it sit no matter and over time I have found my investments always do well.  May I suggest a conservative long time company:  Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund has been excellent for me.
1174211
Well I'm not a financial expert, but this is my personal opinion and that's to spread savings around and not put them all into one option. The stock market (i.e. that frequent buying and selling thing) can be profitable but downside is you need to make a commitment of time and energy and constantly follow the indexes to decide when to buy or sell: it is like taking on a part-time job, so if you don't have the time, inclination or know-how then it can be a pain. \n\nAnother option is to invest in mutual funds, preferably from a good solid bank. I live in India and I only invest in funds put out by the strongest govt banks, not private banks .. cos I figure if a govt bank would crash, the country would crash and then I would have more things to worry about than what happened to my mutual funds!! LOL. Within mutual funds there are low risk, medium risk and high risk funds. The low risk gives lowest returns. Basically it's similar to stock market except that you invest with the bank and then the bank goes on the stock market and does the work for you. High risk funds tend to give more returns (it's a bit like at a horse race, when an outsider wins?) but there's also the risk that there may be no returns for yonks .. I like the idea of spreading savings within the mutual funds too .. i.e. put some in a  low risk, some in a high risk, some in medium risk. \n\nThere's always the ever-faithful Fixed Deposit. With inflation and rising costs, the amount of money you end up with may not have as much buying power in 10 years as it would have today, but it's a safe investment and I feel it's worth having a few FDs that you just place and then forget about till whenever. You can have FDs in different currencies, certain currencies give you higher rates of interest; also the longer you keep the money in the deposit (that's called the Term) the higher interest you get. One reason some people don't put money into FDs for very long periods is if they think they might need the money earlier or if they think the interest rates might improve later. If it's the latter reason, your bank manager could help you calculate if it's worth it to break your FD and re-invest at the newer rate. Sometimes it is. \n\nThe thing I think is the best investment is property. But I would not recommend it as your FIRST investment, only after you have saved and grown your savings. Property is great because it never seems to depreciate, and if it's commercial or rented, can give you a lifelong income. \n\nThose are the practical tangible options I can think of. I also think of investing in my education and learning as a great investment, cos that's something that can't be taken away from me! and also in the betterment of my home as an investment (as it would keep the value of my property higher than if I let it get run down).\n\nOh I forgot to add .. insurance policies. Some of the life insurance policies give you the money when you reach a certain age, (not just to someone else after you're dead .. which was one reason why they never appealed to me before!) I think they make sense if you want something that comes up when you're a senior citizen, especially if you're in a country where you won't get much social security / pension stuff.
204945
It is not wise to invest all your portfolio in just one stock.\n\nI can advise you.
78768
Personally, I think you should first get a lawyer and explain of the situation. Amongst the two partners that will start the new business, decide what assets you will split, if the none weight puller will get any of those assets. Let him know in plenty of time that you are thinking of dissolving the current company, giving him time to consider other options. Depending on how much and how long it will take you to pay off the current assets, decide who gets what. If the deadbeat put in a fare share of capital, then its only fair he get a percent of that back. Let him know the company is not meeting its standard set forth that were thought in the beginning.