How Broad Should Your Investment Portfolio Be?

Depending on your short or long term objectives, you will need to identify your target before considering to invest your money and more importantly: knowing how much to invest.

How do I know which investment duration to choose?

This all depends on your financial needs. If you believe that you will need to have access to your investment at any given time, you shouldn't take any risks and should always opt for investments which don't require your funds to frozen for any period of time. Liquid investments are always key in this instance.

However, if you have other investments which are liquid and want to invest additional funds, then you could always opt for longer term investments (5 to 10 years) which leaves your doors open to more choices. Although longer investments sometimes involve slightly higher risk, the rewards are significantly higher than those of short-term investments.

Let's take a look at various investment lengths and what they mean for you:

Short term:

Professional investors and fund managers will generally classify a short-term investment as one which lasts 3 years or less. Those usually include a saving account, a money market fund or any other type of investment which offers you some sort of guarantee on your investment's time frame. Although you don't really benefit from high payouts, the main advantage of this type of investment is security of your funds.

Medium term:

Usually lasting between 3 to 8 years, a medium-term investment still contains minimized risk over the period of time of your investment, while the rewards are slightly higher than those mentioned in the previous point. With a good diversification of your funds and well thought-out placement of your investment in commodities, you can get a healthy return on your investment.

Long term:

Usually going beyond 8 years, long-term investments make time your best friend. This allows you to invest in markets which usually contain volatility in the short-term but which are historically the most profitable in the long term, given that they always get back to their original level before finding new peaks.

Finding your own objectives:

Your objectives are not only defined by the length of your preferred investment choices, but also by the amount of capital that you have. There are usually two types of investment: one which aims to generate capital from a low sum, and one which entails investing a large sum of money in order to generate periodic returns on that large investment. You should also always ask yourself what your goal is; if it's to save for a house, retirement, or your kid's college fund, avoid any risky investment which may hinder your goals.

How's your temper?

Even if you find the perfect time frame and know exactly how much you're going to invest, an investor's nerves can sometimes be their own worst enemy. If a loss of 10% of your funds will stress you out, you're better off opting for a safe investment which will not stress you out as much. Placing long-term investment in diamonds is the preferred method of many people simply because it is a safe method which gives you a steady return every year.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

What Markets Should You Use for Your Portfolio?

A couple of years ago I made a fundamental mistake: until then I had my portfolio focused mostly on index futures markets. For years I have had with this approach really nice results. But that year, I experienced how frustrating it can be, to go through a couple of periods when index markets are underperforming. That was when I have decided to work really hard and improve my intraday portfolio composed of automated trading systems (ATS).

Smooth equity isn't just about the systems - it is a smart combination of markets, timeframes, trading approaches, and, later on, also innovative position sizing. When you think about it, there is the logic behind it.

Even though in times of financial shocks and surprises there is barely any negative correlation in the markets, there are still some markets which live their own lives - and they offer us smart way for diversification.

The result is that when one of the market groups is not doing well, there is another, which compensates the losses from the first one - and makes the equity overall smoother.

What market groups you should use

This is the first question - what markets groups you should combine in order to get the desired result - smooth equity.

We have following futures groups: Index, Currencies, Metals, Energies, Bonds, and Grains. Every market group lives its own life and you can find at least one noticeable market in every group that can represent the whole group.

Personally, I have experimented with all groups and, besides currencies, I can highly recommend any combination. The currencies are, from ATS point of view, highly unstable (for example in Forex, ATS are failing really fast and it is really difficult to find profitable ATS for Forex). It also depends on how many markets you create a system for, and how many markets you trade with your account. But even with rather a small account, you can trade 3-4 markets. For such cases, I would recommend following combinations:

Combination of 3 markets (pick one market from each market group):

• Index
• Grains
• Energies

Combination of 4 markets (pick one market from each market group):

• Index
• Grains
• Energies
• Bonds

Nowadays, I trade several portfolios that are based on the 4 groups mentioned above. Here is an example of one of them (breakout strategies, 30-minute chart, 5 markets, equity for the last 8 years, trading 1 contract per system):

The net profit for all 8 years and all markets combined is 421,548 USD and the max drawdown is just 12,315 USD.

Smoothen the equity by using multiple timeframes

The second way how to smoothen your equity curve (in a combination of trading several markets from different groups) is using several timeframes for every market (ideally without changing system parameters, or with just small changes).

It is more like a final touch than smoothing the equity, but it brings up an interesting idea that it might be better to add new timeframes instead of trading multiple contracts in the same timeframe. Another option is to optimize also the timeframes (check the results of your system on several timeframes and pick one timeframe for each market - it can, but doesn't have to be the same) - but then, we need to ask ourselves how much of over-optimization this is.

Anyway, here is another example of the portfolio mentioned above, when for every market we add the second, 15-minute, timeframe. The equity is slightly smoother, the drawdown hasn't increased so much, but the profit has.

The net profit is 812,457 USD and the drawdown is 18,815 USD.

What systems to use

The best variant is to have in a portfolio both trend and also counter-trend systems. Still, it is sufficient to have a system that can smartly react on both situations (equally, if possible).

I am specialized in breakout strategies and I can say that it is all you need to have a balanced portfolio across several markets - but only if you have systems trading both long and short. Sometimes you just need a simple breakout strategy that doesn't have great performance (that you wouldn't trade individually), but in combination, you have a nice portfolio with smooth equity curve. You need to constantly focus on the performance of the portfolio - it is more important than the performance of underlying systems. Remember when there is a huge drawdown for one market (system), the others can compensate that and you can still make a profit.

For that, you need to have a quality workflow setup how to create new and new strategies, as you will need a lot of them and for several markets. At the same time, it is crucial to have a setup of robustness testing procedures so that we can add to our portfolio really robust strategies.

Article Source: Here

Market Mood Swings And How To Benefit From Them

You must have heard many news like - market dropped due to some political upheaval in the middle east or the market soared due to some referendum in Europe. In the age of globalisation, all the markets and businesses across the world are intertwined, hence any geopolitical event has the potential to move the global markets.

But where does that leave the investors? What should be their ideal approach to counter such uncertain situations? The good news is - whether markets fall or rise, it's an opportunity for the investors. Here's how.

Investors In The Market Cycle

The reason we say that whether market falls or rises, it's always an opportunity for the investor is because if the market falls, all the stocks on your watch-list, most likely, will be in the buying range. And when the market rises, it's a perfect point for you to sell the stocks which have reached their target price.

The key point is - if you have a long-term perspective in stock investment, it will be your armour against all the uncertainties of the stock market.

Let's take a look at the market phases which comprises the market cycle.

The Bear Market

The bear market is a market condition where the prices of the securities fall considerably and the market goes through a significant downturn. In such situations there is widespread pessimism about stock prices and a lot of panic selling takes place which further escalates the downturn.

Though it's a nature of the market to swing up and down, intraday traders and short-term investors, who deal in huge quantities, have no other option but to sell their holdings to minimise their losses.

However, long-term investors have an advantage in this phase, as they can choose to hold their stocks while they also have an alternative to average their existing stocks and buy new stocks. Always remember, the bear market is a perfect opportunity to enter the market and build a robust portfolio.

Market Accumulation Phase (Consolidation)

This phase takes place after the markets have hit the bottom and some value investors think that the market situations is good to buy as the worst is over. Valuations of stocks are very attractive in this phase while the market sentiment is still bearish. Which makes it an ideal time to enter the market. In the accumulation phase, prices are flat, as the disillusioned sellers start selling while the wise investors pick it up at a healthy discount. Owing to such turn of events, market starts to pick up.

To get through such phases, investors should just be patient and hold their stocks. Giving in to your impulse of selling stocks due to continuous consolidation will only bring you losses. It's just a phase which passes sooner or later.

The Bull Market

The bull market simply means that the market is on its upward drift. The market index goes high and all the major stocks start soaring. This is the phase investors invest for. One thing investors should ensure while going through this phase is that it's not a buying period, it's the time to review your portfolio and sell stocks which have reached their target price. In a way, all the investment, and calculated risks you take while the market was down pays off when you reach this phase. If you make the right choices, you will be handsomely rewarded.

Anyone who would like to experience our service can register on our site and access our Research Reports on stock calls that we have exited. Or can also subscribe for our weekly newsletter wherein we'll send you our research report for free. We have maintained an accuracy rate of 94% year on year on our stock calls, with due research, proper planning and discipline. We offer investment options in both SHORT TERM as well as LONG TERM. Selecting the right company at the right time and at the right price can help you grow your investments.

Article Source:Here

How to Invest and Why You Need a Plan

What makes rich people rich? Looking at the spending pattern of various income groups in the U.S. makes it clear: Savings. The real difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich spend a larger share of their income on savings (pensions and insurance) and education.

Source: WSJ, Labour Department,

When building wealth, preserving wealth, and passing it to the next generation is the formula for financial success it is surprising that less than 20% of Americans do have a written plan when it comes to investing and even retirement [1].

The paradox in human behavior is that we are perfectly rational and capable of planning for a major event in our lives, but this is usually forgotten when it comes to investing. In fact, you will find that only a third of investors have a written plan guiding their investment strategy and retirement plans.

Why is a plan needed?
The investment world is a harsh jungle, a world of murky waters where the smartest and the most organized survive and become successful while the rest are gobbled up. A written plan short circuits our normal response to something as emotional as money. It prevents us from resorting to our gut feelings and emotions. Instead of following the herd mentality that may prompt you to make unwise investment decisions, a plan will force you to stick to a rational strategy that is underpinned by fundamental investment principles. Some of the difficult emotions that you will have to overcome while investing include:
1) The fear of failure
2) The tendency to continue with a certain approach just because you started it
3) Personal matters such as relationship issues at home

It is also important to point out the main reasons why investors fall prey to the market and lose their precious funds:
1) Omitted facts and figures mislead investors into investing in a structurally unsound company or financial instrument
2) Overconfidence makes some investors think that they are invincible and that they can always beat the market.
3) Everyone wants to be seen as a champion, the successful general capable of leading an army to victory. This can make you make investment decisions that are not based on rational thinking but rather the desire to impress your friends, co-workers or family members

By having an investment plan written down and actually following what it says, you will have dramatically increased your chances of winning and increasing the size of your nest egg or investment portfolio. The following are simple steps in creating a plan and avoiding the herd mentality and instinctual impulses that turn us into fools when investing:

1. Set up specific and realistic goals
For example, instead of saying you want to have enough money to retire comfortably, think about how much money you'll need. Your specific goal may be to save $500,000 by the time you're 65.

2. Calculate how much you need to save each month
If you need to save $500,000 by the time you're 65, how much will you need to save each month? Decide if that's a realistic amount for you to set aside each month. If not, you may need to adjust your goals.

3. Choose your investment strategy
If you're saving for long-term goals, you might choose more aggressive, higher-risk investments. If your goals are short term, you might choose lower-risk, conservative investments. Or you might want to take a more balanced approach.

4. Develop an investment policy statement
Create an investment policy statement to guide your investment decisions. If you have an adviser, your investment policy statement will outline the rules you want your adviser to follow for your portfolio. Your investment policy statement should:

Specify your investment goals and objectives,

Describe the strategies that will help you meet your objectives,

Describe your return expectations and time horizon,

Include detailed information about how much risk you're willing to take,

Include guidelines on the types of investments that make up your portfolio, and how accessible your money needs to be, and

Specify how your portfolio will be monitored, and when or why it should be rebalanced.

A smart investor with a written down plan and strategy has already won half the battle without making a single financial decision. By implementing the plan and adhering to laid down rules of operation, the smart investor will avoid the pitfalls caused by human emotion and behavior and end up winning big.

Article Source:Here

4 Ways How You Can Quickly Improve Your Trading Results

In today's article, I would like to summarize several important points that helped me quickly to become a better trader in the area of automated trading. Some of the points might be a little bit surprising, but I believe that there will be interesting topics you can think about.

1. COOPERATION

There isn't any other thing that would help me to improve my own trading so dramatically as cooperation with other traders. In the past, I used to be an unapproachable trader, proud of my self-sufficiency. On the other side, I got the opportunity to work with other, really skilled people, and I consider this to be the best what could happen to me and to my colleagues.

Team spirit and cooperation with people, that are on the same wavelength, where every team member has his unique skills, extraordinary experience, and know-how, this all can perform miracles. This experience has also taught me to be much more open in other projects. The trust is, of course, crucial, and in my case, it takes always a long time before my co-workers deserve my full trust. What I have always cared about, was their broad- and open-mindedness, because these are, according to my experience, the most important values that my co-workers need to have (and their high level of skills, of course).

When looking for co-workers, I recommend not to hurry and slowly test their limits, especially when it comes to their skills. It is also important to work with people, that understand trading and have real experience in trading, as well as experience in live trading - without this experience there wouldn't be enough of pragmatism, caution, and care (as beginning traders without any real experience are rather naive).

2. PAPER, PEN AND CHART SCREENSHOTS

I probably couldn't count a number of trading hours that I spent just with paper, pen and chart screenshots.

I have found out that this old-fashioned technique is really powerful. You are not disrupted by other tasks, you don't over-complicate things and you can focus on what is really important.

Mostly, I print out the chart containing several indicators, trades or breakout levels and I just think about them - if I get any idea for a rule, system, or how to make the trades better. I just let my creative part of my brain flow and I make notes.

I spend all day making notes (you can get really a lot of ideas within a day), then I move to the computer and start to work and test those ideas.

Trading is, to a certain level, a creative process and pen and a paper have really improved my trading more that I can even admit to myself.

3. MARKET SYSTEM ANALYZER

Successful automated trading is about a portfolio. It is about the ability to see the bigger picture.

I have learned this in the moment when I started to put my strategies together and test the output of the combinations

The portfolio is the key. Some of the strategies will fail in the future - that is a reality that even the best traders in the world have to face. Thanks to my international project I am in personal contact with several of them and I can say that all of them have in their portfolio constantly about 20% of the strategies failing. It is the part of trading. On the other side, high-quality, diversified portfolio and sufficient capitalization that is based on the Monte Carlo Analysis, make this unpleasant reality quite bearable. In a good, diversified, portfolio, the failing strategies never make too much harm and they only represent a small, acceptable, risk. Using Market System Analyzer I have learned really a lot, especially to be able to see the bigger picture and understand the wider consequences. Think big, not small.

4. LOSING TRADES

I know that none of us likes losing trades and drawdowns - and who should.

On the other side, even these unpleasant moments have their positive impact. When you experience drawdowns, you can be depressed, or you can take it as a great moment and an opportunity to get better, to improve your strategies and all your trading.

Personally, every time when all goes well and my equity grows, I have tendencies to get lazy and practically forget about trading. But trading is a highly-competitive business and it is always good to spend a couple hours with trading every day - even in the good times. For me, the losing period is always an impulse when it is time for improvement. This is why I see in losing periods lot of positive, lot of opportunities.

Mostly, during the losing period, I go through the most recent losing trades that caused the drawdown and I start questioning myself - why did that happen? I start to compare the trades, check volume, volatility, thinking what has changed. Sometimes, I just observe and wait what pops up in my mind. Sometimes, I just let the things absorb (to get some space for an idea). Either way, sooner or later comes some idea - and that moves me forward. As you can see, even losing trades can be beneficial, if we are willing to learn something new.

And that really is all for today.

Happy trading

Article Source: here

Increase Your Wealth With Stock Market Investment

Investing in the stock market is one of the fastest ways to maximize your returns. However, this form of investment also comes with a high level of risk. While it is common for investors to grow rich overnight with stock market investments, it is equally common to lose a lot of money in the stock market.

So then how can one leverage this investment choice without taking on too many risks? Here are a few guidelines that can help you to make the right stock market investments at the right time.

Background Research

For investors, doing background research on which companies to invest in is the key to building profits. It has been observed that first-time investors usually invest in big companies as it is considered a safer option. You can also look deeper and focus on the companies of tomorrow but you should know how to identify them. This is where background research comes in handy. You need to understand industry trends to make the most of your stock investments.

Company Health

To enjoy best returns it is advisable to invest in good companies. You can determine a company's quality by its financial health and track record with customers and investors alike. For you to keep earning returns the company should continue to perform well in the future too.

It's All About Timing

For success in the stock market, it is very important to invest at the right time. Making timely decisions to buy and sell stocks is the key to earning big returns.

Let Your Portfolio Evolve

Over a period of time, as companies change their strategies, you should also allow your portfolio to evolve. It is better to spread investments over a diversified portfolio to reduce risks. This is a common strategy investors use for long-term success. Never put all your eggs in one basket is indeed the golden rule for stock market investment.

Reinvest To Multiply Your Profits

One good strategy is to re-invest the profits earned from previous investments. This concept is called 'Compounding'. As you re-invest the base of your investment grows and thus returns are higher. If you are a proactive investor and you are reinvesting profits earned then there are good chances your returns will be very good in the long-term.

Avail The Services Of An Investment Manager

If you don't have enough know-how on stocks and trends then you can choose to hire the services of a good investment manager. If you have a good risk appetite, then you can give your investment manager some flexibility. Remember while losses are part of the investing process, a good investment advisor should be able to come up with a strategy to keep this at a minimum while maximizing your gains.

Today there is so much information available online and you can also use an online trading platform to buy and sell stocks thus making stock investments easier than ever before. Sign up with a reliable online provider and give it a shot!

Article Source:Source

Trade in Oil With Online Brokers

Apart from trading in stocks and shares trading in commodities is also a promising area for improving ROR of your investment. You can trade in various commodities of daily consumption such as cereals, grains, spices, oil and much more. Trading in all such consumer products yields the good return and also diversifies your portfolio to a much wider spectrum. This diversification reduces the risk of losses and provides a cushion against any uncertainties. Although almost all the commodity markets yield same returns, investment in oil or trading oil in the commodities segment has proven to be a prosperous option.

As we all know oil is one of the most prominent consumer products of modern days. The demand for oil moving upwards and the supply is also moving almost in the same direction. As the demand and supply of oil and its ancillary products do not seem to get exhausted in the near future it is always recommended to invest in such long-term, prosperous areas which would add diversity to your portfolio and to your profit margins. Trading in oil and other energy products are generally done through intermediaries.

In previous times where there were no online platforms for buying and selling of oil people used to limit their transactions only to a certain area and a specific person. However, the modern day technology has facilitated many online platforms through which oil traders can get in touch with oil online brokers who can help the traders in executing their transactions. Perhaps, technology has made the oil trading through online brokers much easier and flexible.

An oil trader can meet an online broker who is situated in some other country and is willing to involve in a trade. The online oil trading through online brokers is a modern phenomenon under which no physical meeting happens. The traders post their requirements in an online portal which is either developed or maintained by the online broker. Then, he forwards it to the respective parties and if both are on the same grounds the broker will execute the agreement.

If there are any disagreements the broker will try to mend them and then execute the contract. In any of the situations, online brokers play an important role in agreement execution. The payment to an online broker can be made in the mode that is agreed by both the parties.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9690105

Bonds are an integral part of every Canadian's portfolio for good reason. Bonds carry the "promise" of fixed income with regular stable cash flows. But with interest rates hovering at all-time lows, the pressure to make every cent count has never been greater. Creating such exposure smartly can make all the difference in the returns.

A portfolio for the average Canadian probably contains fixed income securities, otherwise known as bonds. Bonds are particularly attractive to those investors at or near retirement as they look to replace their regular and stable salary with a similar certain stream of interest income.

Unfortunately purchasing bonds in Canada is not as easy or as cost effective as purchasing stocks. Unlike equities which trade on an open stock market exchange with fully transparent bid and ask prices, bonds in Canada have to be purchased through a 'dealer network' which effectively removes all the efficiency and transparency of a fully functional liquid market.

This is where it gets unpleasant for the retail investor. Compared to gigantic financial institutions who invest billions of dollars with pooled assets, it is extremely challenging for the retail investor to purchase a bond with the similar efficacy as these large behemoth financial institutions.

The only thing that might be worse than purchasing bonds through Canada's dealer network is purchasing a bond mutual fund. The average expense ratio on a Canadian bond mutual fund is close to 1.75%. In an interest rate environment where long term yields are hovering around 3.5%, that's like sharing my hamburger with a stranger and him taking half of it in one bite. I don't think so!

So how can the retail investor get the fixed income exposure with a handsome seniority and a tight bid ask spread? The average investor should consider Bond ETF's to create the fixed income exposure in their portfolios.

ETF's are managed by big financial institutions, and trade on any number of stock exchanges just like your favorite stock. The benefits to the average investor are numerous.

A bond ETF, is basically a bunch of different bonds bundled up in a portfolio and traded in the stock market. Unlike the individual bonds themselves, there is substantially more liquidity in bond ETFs, which makes for a tighter bid ask spread. Basically, investors can easily exit their position at any time without the cost of large transaction fees.

This advantage alone is all retail investors should need to convince themselves that bond ETFs are the most efficient way to gain exposure to the fixed income market. In addition, these Bond ETFs have huge amounts of assets under management and have superior purchasing power. For example, total assets under management for the major Canadian Bond ETFs is in excess of 2 trillion dollars. Guess what - that gives these ETF companies huge leverage in negotiating with the best bond issuers. Not only are they able to trade in and out of bonds at much better spreads than you or I could ever get, but they also have access to the best issuers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9606126