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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Why not gold as an investment?

FOR centuries, people have been fascinated with gold. Many have gone to great lengths to obtain it—from chasing the mythological golden fleece to the California Gold Rush in the 1800s. There are a lot of advantages in investing in gold and here are three reasons why you should consider gold as a potential investment:
1. Gold is rare.


 Just Jewels necklace and earrings

Gold is one of the earth’s rarest of metals. Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest investors, even said that the world’s stock of gold is only 170,000 metric tons, which combined can form a cube of about 68 feet per side. Given the scarcity of the metal, it is still widely sought all over the world and used in many aspects, such as in jewelry making and in the industrial and medical fields. With its decreasing supply combined with the world’s increasing demand and usage for it, the value of the precious metal will go further up.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/2. Gold is timeless.
For years, gold has been used to create material things such as coins, artifacts, and jewelry because it can stand the test of time. In fact, gold can verily be the means to preserve wealth. Some families pass on their gold possessions—especially in the form of jewelry—from one generation to the next. It is a worthy investment because it retains its status and value while never failing to match any look at any year, era, or time.


3. Gold is a good hedge against inflation.
Ever heard your parents saying everything is cheaper back in the old days? If so, then they are talking about inflation. Inflation is when the prices of commodities and goods increase, which then decreases the value of a currency and gives you lesser purchasing value. Because the value of paper money decreases, stocks and other asset classes are affected as well, which can be detrimental to investors. As a way to protect their investments, gold traders and investors turn to gold because its value increases in times of inflation—like food and oil prices—as the rate of dollar decreases. Investing gold is also a way to diversify your investment portfolio, thereby spreading the risk and yielding higher returns.

Now that you have more reasons to see gold as a worthy form of investment, you can now start investing in this metal.

We have the right place for you to acquire the best pieces of gold jewelry that will give you the best value for your money. Just Jewels, a jewelry store established in 2005, strays away from the conventional styles of jewelry stores by incorporating a unique style of pricing jewelry. Just Jewels uses the ‘By the Gram’ method, which determines the retail price of a jewelry item according its weight. Through this, Just Jewels ensures its clients that every cent is worth it when buying jewelry.
Aside from its unique pricing, Just Jewels also offers the widest variety of jewelry designs out there, with more than a thousand designs per store waiting to be discovered. Owning gold is not only limited in the form of bullion coins, bars, and artifacts waiting to be put inside a vault. It can also be in the form of jewelry pieces, which are not just fashionable but usable as well.

With Just Jewels, not only will you get the best out of your jewelry, but you will also see an investment worth considering. So go ahead, invest in gold.
Just Jewels branches are located in Glorietta 4, SM Southmall, Festival Mall, SM City Manila, SM Megamall, Robinson’s Galleria, SM Mall of Asia, Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu, Jupiter Makati, and Veranza Mall (General Santos City).

Source url: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/12/30/why-not-gold-as-an-investment-/

3 Smart Retirement Moves to Make in 2015



The start of 2015 is right around the corner, and with it comes an opportunity to make three smart moves that can help you secure a more comfortable retirement.
What are those three smart moves?

No. 1: Update your contribution amount. In 2015, the contribution limits for most employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k), 403(b), 457, and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan, increase to $18,000 from $17,500. In addition, if you are age 50 or older in 2015, the catch-up contribution limit rises to $6,000 from $5,500. That's more tax-deferred money you can sock away for your retirement, but you need to tell your plan that you want to increase your contribution.
In 2015, the IRA contribution limit remains $5,500, with a $1,000 catch up for those aged 50 and up. If your age now permits you to add the catch up, or if you haven't taken advantage of the $5,500 limit in the past, why not try to max out your plan next year?
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/All else being equal, the more you sock away for a longer period of time, the better off you'll wind up. So take advantage of the 2015 limits to give yourself an edge in retirement.
No. 2: Align your investment allocations with your current reality. In most 401(k) and other employer-sponsored plans, you set your investment choices once, and then they continue with every contribution until you specifically request another change. That fire-and-forget automatic strategy can do wonders for the discipline needed to keep you investing, but it also means the choices you madeyears ago might not be relevant to you today.
As you age and your life status changes due to things like children and getting ever closer to retirement, it could make sense to update your selections. Additionally, plan choices change over time, and if a former selection is no longer available, the replacement your plan administrator chose for you might not be the best fit.
So at least once a year, look at the choices in your retirement plans and your current portfolio balance and make adjustments based on your current reality. The increase in 401(k)-style contribution limits coming into effect on Jan. 1 offer a great opportunity to go into your plan and take care of all the adjustments at once.
No. 3: Review your retirement planning tax strategy. When qualified retirement plans got their start, they came with the basic premise of tax-deferred contributions, tax-deferred growth, and withdrawals taxed at your full marginal income tax rate. Those traditional plans still exist, but they have been joined by Roth-style plans. In a Roth-style plan, your contribution is taxed as ordinary income, your investments grow tax-deferred, and qualified withdrawals at retirement age are completely tax free.
On top of those qualified plans, you can always invest in an ordinary brokerage account and label it as "off-limits until retirement." In an ordinary account, you can take money out at any time for any reason without penalty, and you can also buy and hold fairly tax efficiently, only owing dividend taxes along the way and capital gains taxes when you sell. Which option is best for you depends on your individual situation and what your employer offers.
If you're in a low tax bracket now and expect rates to be substantially higher when you retire, a Roth would make the most sense. If you expect either tax rates to be lower when you retire or your income to be substantially reduced, so that you are withdrawing money at lower tax brackets, then the traditional style would likely work more effectively for you. If you're looking to retire super early, then the flexibility of an ordinary brokerage account might provide the best opportunity.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/

Take control of your retirement in 2015
Whether you plan to retire in the very near future or you anticipate several decades before calling it quits, making these retirement moves in early 2015 can improve your chances of retiring successfully. The new year is just day away, and if a better financial future is one of your resolutions, there's no time like the present to get started.
Keep more of the money youve earned
Youve paid taxes year in and year out, and once retirement comes you deserve the biggest check you can get every month. Weve identified three backdoor Social Security loopholes that you cant afford to miss if youre looking to get more of the cash youve paid in. Click here to find out more.

Source Url:http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2014/12/30/3-smart-retirement-moves-to-make-in-2015.aspx

Monday, December 29, 2014

Gold retains position as safe haven for 2015

Stack of Gold Bars

Gold has retained its place as a safe-haven investment in 2014, despite the rising strength of the US dollar and turmoil elsewhere in commodity markets.

The price has remained stable and what’s more, experts believe that the long- term outlook for the precious metal is well supported over the coming year..

The price of gold looks set to end the year almost unchanged on 12 months, closing last week at around $1,175 (£755) an ounce after starting the year at $1,205. Fears of a crash in the price were overblown.

Goldman Sachs has now set its long-term forecast for the price of the yellow metal at $1,200 an ounce for the next three years.
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The investment bank estimates that this is the break-even price for the majority of gold- miners once all costs such as exploration, management and mine repairs are included. As such, the price of gold may well fall below $1,200 in the year ahead, but lower prices would force loss-making miners out of business and reduce supply, helping prices to recover eventually.

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Miners are in a hole 03 Dec 2013

Mark Bristow, chief executive of FTSE 100 miner Randgold Resources, has said: “The [gold-mining] industry is clearly stuffed at $1,140 and it will be a bloodbath at $1,000.”

Hunter Hillcoat, from broker Investec’s natural resources team, has set a price forecast of $1,150 an ounce for next year. The Investec team sees a resurgence in the US dollar, rising interest rates and falling inflation as challenges for the year ahead.

The price of gold has an inverse relationship with the world’s reserve currency, the US dollar. A fundamental shift in American monetary policy this year has removed the main driving factor behind the price of gold during the past decade.

As the price of gold has fallen from a peak of $1,900 in May 2011, investors have reduced their holdings. Holdings in gold exchange- traded funds (etfs), which allow investors to buy shares in a fund which tracks the gold price, have fallen in the past 12 months. ETF Securities said that $561m of investor money had exited its gold funds in the past year, bringing total assets to $9.6bn.

Global demand for gold has been weak during the past three years. The latest figures from the World Gold Council showed year-on-year gold demand falling by 6pc in the three months ended in September. Jewellery demand declined by 4pc, while bar and coin demand slumped by 21pc in the third quarter.

The longer-term outlook for gold demand remains stable. Jewellery purchases of 534 tonnes, which make up more than half of total gold demand at 929 tonnes, are supported by strong buying across India and China. In India, demand jumped 60pc during the third quarter, according to the World Gold Council, and when combined India and China make up 54pc of global gold-buying.

The Reserve Bank of India unexpectedly removed rules on importers in late November that required them to sell 20pc of their shipments for re-export, the so-called 80:20 rule. The resurgent US economy is also fuelling global demand for jewellery purchases.

Central banks have also been accelerating gold purchases ever since quantitative easing began in early 2009. Central banks added 93 tons of gold to reserves in the third quarter, with more than half of all buying coming from Russia, according to the World Gold Council. Central bank purchases are expected to hit more than 400 tons for the full year, in line with 2013.

China is buying huge amounts of gold as it seeks to increase from the current 1pc of reserves. Alternative ways of protecting wealth, such as a bank account or government bonds, have all seen rates of interest destroyed by monetary stimulus. With negative rates on some of the safest bonds in the world, such as Switzerland and Germany, and once adjusted for inflation, investors are also paying banks to hold their cash.

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So how do investors get access? Luckily, there are plenty of low-cost options. Popular physical gold exchange-traded funds include ETFS Physical Gold (PHGP), denominated in sterling, and ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU), denominated in US dollars. For those who want to own gold coins or bars, there are established dealers such as ATS Bullion, BullionByPost, and Chard.

The first rule of investing is capital preservation. The resilience of the gold price, much like falling yields on UK gilts, is a canary in the mine of the global economy, showing that investors think the anaemic recovery could rapidly unravel without being propped up by money-printing. A balanced portfolio should hold an allocation of about 5pc in assets such as gold. The future is uncertain and gold is the most effective insurance against that.

Source Url:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/11311566/Gold-retains-position-as-safe-haven-for-2015.html

An Investment Strategy that’s Hidden in Plain Sight


 

Asset Class ETFs News:

 

Black Friday might be behind us, but I’m still hunting for bargains this holiday season. This year I’m determined to be tempted only by the sales on the things I actually want andneed. Too often I’m tempted by a bargain that turns out to be, well, a dud.
The challenge for investors is much the same. We’ve all become more fee conscious in recent years, and are often seeking more for less,  but just may end up getting… less. If you think there’s got to be a better way, you’re right.
I’m talking about smart beta, which can offer a similar risk and return profile to certain traditional active strategies at a lower cost. As I discussed in my last post, smart beta strategies seek to enhance risk-adjusted returns through  exposures to desirable factors or themes – much as traditional active strategies do —  but delivered  in a transparent and rules-based way, like passive strategies.
So where might this “hybrid” class of investments fit into your portfolio? Let’s take a peek under the hood of smart beta to find out.
Where returns come from
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/You can think of the return of any portfolio as the result of its many exposures.  Many investors compare the total return of a fund to a relevant market benchmark. This comparison helps us determine if the manager is faring well or poorly compared to the relevant opportunity set. Any return above that benchmark return is “active” – the value added by the investment manager, beyond exposure to the broad market.  A portion of that active return may be the result of the manager’s skill: their unique insights in security selection, country bets or market timing.  And a portion of that “active” return can be attributed to the fund’s exposure to style factors, like value or momentum – the very same style factors that can be captured in smart beta strategies.

SaraShoresBlog


The total risk and return of the portfolio is the sum of these parts — proportions will differ, but our research suggests that on average, most actively managed portfolios have significant exposures to smart beta factors. For example, an average 35% of global equity managers’ active risk is explained by smart beta, like the style factors previously mentioned; for about a third of global equity managers, smart beta contributes 50% or more of their active risk. The phenomena is even more pronounced for fixed income managers, where exposure to interest rate and credit factors account for nearly 70% of the risk in the average core plus fixed income portfolio.
The takeaway? You are probably already a smart beta investor  – chances are your actively managed funds include significant exposure to smart beta factors . We think owning smart beta is a good idea, but  you may also be paying active-like fees for those exposures. And that’s exactly the a-ha moment – smart beta strategies can efficiently deliver many of the same themes present in actively managed portfolios, with greater transparency and at a fraction of the cost.
Active, index and smart beta
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/

The growing adoption of smart beta products should inspire all investors to examine their current portfolios. We believe investors should seek returns from every potential source – and that all investors should consider the proportion of active, passive and smart beta investments that can help meet your own investment goals.
In my next post, we’ll look forward to 2015 and how we expect smart beta to shape investment results in the coming year.

Source Url:http://www.etftrends.com/2014/12/an-investment-strategy-thats-hidden-in-plain-sight/

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

How to Pick the Best Dividend Stocks

A portfolio of solid dividend stocks is one of the most surefire ways to create wealth over the long run. Dividend payers generally outperform their non-dividend-paying counterparts, and they also tend to be less volatile, helping to ensure a good night's sleep.
Source: 401kcalculator.org via Flickr.
But how do you know which dividend stocks to pick for your portfolio? Here are a few things to keep in mind when making your next investment in a dividend stock.
When will you need the income?One of the most important considerations when formulating a dividend strategy is your investment time frame. Someone with 30 years before retirement can afford to accept a lower dividend and a little more risk, while those who plan to retire soon need to think more about their current income.
On that note, don't ignore stocks just because their dividends are low. Some stocks that yield around 2% are among the best dividend investments on the market because their dividends are raised regularly and substantially. Sure, a 2% annual yield now isn't much, but if the company boosts the dividend by 8% per year, in 30 years you'll be receiving yearly income equal to more than 20% of your initial investment.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/Low-paying dividend stocks can still make great investments if they have a solid track record of raising their dividend -- 25 consecutive years or more is a good rule of thumb. A healthy payout ratio is important as well. The payout ratio shows us how much of its earnings a company pays out as dividends. So a stock that pays $1 in dividends in 2014 and earned $2 per share has a 50% payout ratio. A high payout ratio can mean a stock could have trouble paying out its dividend in the future, whereas a lower payout ratio indicates that the dividend is sustainable and has room to grow. A payout ratio of less than 60% is generally preferable.
Two names that immediately come to mind are Colgate-Palmolive and Wal-Mart, both of which pay about 2% but are excellent long-term dividend stocks, based on the characteristics I just mentioned.. These two companies have raised their dividends for decades, and . And, their respective payout ratios are 49% and 38%, based on the current year's expected earnings.
Of course, if you need income now (or in the near future), you may want to look at some of the dividend aristocrats with slightly higher payouts. For example, Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED  ) has a 3.8% yield, has paid out less than 60% of its trailing 12-month earnings, and has raised its dividend for 39 consecutive years.
The past tends to repeat itselfI mentioned looking for companies with a solid track record of dividend increases. Well, there is a group of companies, known as the Dividend Aristocrats, that have raised their payouts for at least 25 consecutive years, no matter what the economy or the rest of the market is doing. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, if a stock behaves a certain way for a number of years, chances are it will keep doing so. This is particularly true of older, established companies like the two I mentioned above.
Some of these companies have impressive track records. For example, Procter & Gambleand 3M have both raised their dividends every year for nearly six decades. You can see a full list of the Dividend Aristocrats here, and there are plenty to choose from.
PG Dividends Paid (TTM) Chart

Beware of extremely high yieldsDon't those mortgage REITs and business development companies look tempting with their double-digit dividend yields? How about beaten-down energy stocks like Transocean, which has a yield of 17.3% as of this writing?
While some of these super-high-yield stocks can make good speculative investments, they have no place in a retirement portfolio, where you generally keep money you can't afford to lose. There are a few reasons that a stock's yield can be too high, making the stock a bad fit for retirement.
For example, if a stock has declined in price recently, like the aforementioned Transocean, the high yield is a result of a problem with the company or an industry. A stock may also produce a high yield if it is in an inherently risky industry, such as mortgage real-estate investment trusts and business development companies. These types of stocks tend to be very reactive to market conditions, and as a result, their profits can be fragile. For example, mortgage REITs are sensitive to changes in interest rates.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/

A recipe for successA well-constructed portfolio of rock-solid dividend stocks is a great way to create wealth over the long run. Many investors consider stocks like these to be "boring," but I disagree.
As a final thought, consider that I have named nine stocks here as good examples of solid dividend investments. Every single one of them beat the S&P 500's total return over the past 20 years. That's saying something, because the S&P averaged a 9.6% annual return during that time period. Returns like these can really add up over long periods of time.
The holy grail of dividend stocksMost dividends stocks are boring. If you want dividends, you can't have growth -- or so "they" told us. But The Motley Fools top analysts have recently uncovered a largely unknown way you can profit from the growth of wireless technology that could double your money on top of paying you a growing, LEGALLY GUARANTEED income stream every single quarter.To get the full story,simply clickhere.

Source Url:http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/22/how-to-pick-the-best-dividend-stocks.aspx

Why I Doubled Down on This High-Yield Stock

I was in business school when I learned the most profound financial lesson of my life. However, that lesson didn't come from a textbook, but from my brokerage account statement. I'd just received my first-ever dividend payment from a stock I had purchased. It was at that moment that I became hooked on income stocks and the passive income those stocks provided.
A personal favorite is born and then reborn
My favorite income stocks are those that pay fatter dividends, and I've found some of the fattest hiding out in the energy sector. A longtime favorite of mine is LINN Energy LLC(NASDAQ: LINE  ) , which was a little gem I picked up shortly after it went public. Over time, I've added to my position as my portfolio has grown because I really like the generous income stream from the company's oil and gas wells.
However, one thing I don't like about LINN is the fact that, because it's an MLP, I've had to spend a little more effort at tax time filing extra paperwork, which I guess is my labor for all the income it sends my way each year. That paperwork and tax structure also meant that I couldn't buy it in my IRA account at the time because it had rules against owning MLPs.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/So, I was particularly excited when LINN Energy decided to offer investors a less-paperwork-intense, and IRA-friendly, option by creating LinnCo LLC (NASDAQ: LNCO  ) as a vehicle to own units of LINN Energy. Because of these reasons, LinnCo has become a favorite income holding for me, and one that I was happy to double down on during the recent sell-off in the stock.
Why I should actually hate LinnCoIf I were looking for capital gains, I'd probably hate LinnCo right now. The company's stock price has been going in the wrong direction for a few years.
LNCO Chart
LNCO data by YCharts.

I'm not after capital gains from LinnCo right now. I'm looking for income that I can use for other purposes, which, in my case, is used to buy growth stocks. However, I actually like it when income stocks sell-off because, as the stock price goes down, the dividend yield goes up. So, if I buy more of an income stock after the price has dropped, I can lock in a higher long-term income stream for less money than the last time I bought shares. We can see this inverse correlation in the following chart.
LNCO Chart
LNCO data by YCharts.

Buying when a stock's price is down is all very Warren Buffett-like if you ask me. He has said countless times that he likes to buy when a stock goes down, and to be greedy when others are fearful. However, Buffett isn't stupid enough to buy just because a stock has gone down knowing that some stocks go down for a reason. And while there are legitimate reasons why LinnCo's stock is being sold off, I think investors are really overreacting.
What I see that I think others are missingThe big worry among investors is that LINN Energy will cut its generous income stream. Given that LINN Energy's income is produced by oil and gas wells, the slump in oil prices is definitely a cause for concern. However, LINN Energy is very well-insulated against the plunge in oil, as it hedges its exposure to the volatility of commodity prices by locking in the future sales of a bulk of its production a few years into the future. We see this in the following chart, which shows that nearly all of the company's cash flow is locked in for the next two years.

Source: LINN Energy LLC Investor Presentation.
This slide gives me a lot of confidence that LINN Energy's cash flow is much more solid than the sell-off in the company's shares would seem to indicate. It's why I have no problem doubling down on LinnCo's stock -- because it's just so rare to find a company that has 90% of its cash flow protected for the next two years.
This doesn't mean the company won't have to ax its distribution if oil prices remain weak. Obviously, if only 90% of its cash flow is protected, then something has to give for the other 10% if prices remain low. That's a risk that energy investors simply have to live with. However, the odds of a big cut occurring are less likely than investors are pricing into the stock because, as much as investors worry about its debt, LINN Energy has years before that would ever be a problem. Further, it has plenty of options to fix the situation.
Not only that, but the current turmoil in the market offers new opportunities. The company could take advantage of the turmoil to buy back its cheap units to reduce its future distribution requirement. It could also take advantage of the fall in oil prices to buy oil assets now that the price of assets are beginning to fall. Add it all up, and LINN has countless levers it can pull to continue paying a generous distribution, even if its generosity lessens a little bit. 
Investor takeawayI took advantage of the sell-off in LinnCo to add to my position because I am not overallocated, and I can stomach the volatility while staying unafraid of a dividend cut. I also left myself some room to add even more if the sell-off continues.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/

While there's a growing risk that the dividend will be reduced, that's a risk that no income stock is without, especially one that pays out as much as LINN does. I'm simply of the opinion that LINN is better insulated to handle the current storm than investors give it credit for, so I have no problem being a little greedy while others are fearful.
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Source Url:http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/21/why-i-doubled-down-on-this-high-yield-stock.aspx

Monday, December 22, 2014

Fidelity’s Feingold: 5 Investing Strategies for 2015

A person puts a coin into a piggy bank sitting next to a 2015 sign.
 With the holiday season upon us, we should make time to reflect on the past year and think about our financial goals, milestones we hope to reach in 2015 and how we can better prepare for retirement.
It’s also important to remember tax season is around the corner. Therefore, now is also a great time toreview your investments and your saving and spending behaviors. Next, you can determine resolutions that may be right for your financial situation.
As you plan your 2015 resolutions, here are five tips to consider that may help you enhance your investing and retirement planning strategies.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/1. Give your portfolio a tuneup. Now is a great time to review portfolio holdings and performance, and to determine how to maintain an investing strategy to help reach your goals. Take a look at your investments. Does your portfolio align with your risk tolerance? You can find online tools through brokerages to help you understand your portfolio’s gains and losses. Investors can create a diversified portfolio with multiple ETFs, for example. Using dollar-based investing, you can streamline the asset allocation process.
2. Maximize retirement contributions. According to ShareBuilder's Financial Freedom Survey, released in March, which conducted 1,008 interviews of adults 18 and older from Feb. 13 to Feb. 16., 57 percent of working Americans are concerned they won’t save enough money in time for retirement. By taking advantage of your employer’s retirement plan, you can work toward growing your retirement nest egg.
Beginning in 2015, employees will be able to contribute up to $18,000 annually to their 401(k) plans. Determine how much you can comfortably contribute. If possible, you may want to max out your 401(k) contributions and your employer match if you have one. If you can swing it, setting aside the full amount can be a great way to maximize your long-term investments.
3. Think about putting that holiday bonus to work. Examine your personal financial situation, and determine how you can best use the additional funds from a work bonus or holiday gifts. You may want to consider starting an investment portfolio, building an emergency fund or using that money to help a reach milestone like a down payment for a car or home.
Once your account is established, you could continue to grow it through automatic contributions. Programs, including ShareBuilder’s automatic investing plan, enable you to invest a set dollar amount on a regular basis and at a low cost. Becoming accustomed to putting away money on a regular basis is a critical first step – and it may build over time.
4. Set attainable goals that may help you feel good about your progress. Committing to a budget and making regular investments is similar to establishing other habits, such as working out or eating right. The more you do it, the easier it may become. Most people receive quarterly statements that update them on their retirement accounts, making it easy to check in on their progress a few times a year.
Consider using these check-ins to set quarterly goals, such as increasing your weekly or monthly contribution to your individual retirement account, or your automatic investing plan, or increasing your 401(k) contribution by a certain percentage. To stay motivated, it’s important to have clear goals and think about your timelines. Make sure to balance your short-term goals (a car or vacation, for example) with long-term goals, such as retirement or a down payment for a home.
5. Consider exploring international markets. When determining if international exposure is right for you, make sure you have a well-rounded portfolio with investments that match your financial needs and goals. Various apps and online tools may help investors educate themselves about international investing and offer insight on everything from broad country exchanges to stock-specific data.
When thinking about international investing, it’s important to keep the risks in mind as well. International investing can provide your portfolio needed diversification, but remember, this will not guarantee a profit or protect against market losses, and fluctuations in currency and changes in political or economic conditions could impact your investments.   
These steps may help you make headway toward reaching your investing goals in 2015. Remember, it is never too early or too late to get started planning for your financial future. And although those first steps may seem daunting, there are many quality tools and resources that may help you along the way.
http://www.contrarianinsights.com/

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Source url:http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-smarter-mutual-fund-investor/2014/12/10/5-investing-resolutions-for-2015