Friday, May 2, 2008

How to Start an Investment Club - Business Model



How to Start an Investment Club - Business Model
by: chris hickman


Your investment club will need to decide what type of entity you're going to adopt for business purposes. You'll have to decide whether you're going to be a corporation, a general partnership, or limited liability partnership. Each of these business models has their own advantages and disadvantages. ท Corporation. Most investment clubs will avoid becoming a corporation. This is because corporations are taxable business entities that require knowledgeable accounting skills to make them run smoothly and in accord with government regulations. A corporation generally means a lot of paperwork. This paperwork can be avoided by choosing another business model for your purpose of running an investment club. ท General partnership. This type of business model requires less paperwork and knowledge about taxes and other financial issues. Most investment clubs choose a general partnership as their choice of a business entity. A general partnership has nominal paperwork and costs associated with it because the taxes are passed to each partner's tax returns. This type of business model will let you accomplish what you need to do to run your investment club with the least amount of tax influence. ท Limited liability corporations. This type of a business model is much like the general partnership but it gives individual members of your investment group a bit more liability protection. Keep in mind that this type of business entity can be expensive and will need more paperwork. Members of your investment group will have to decide which of the above business models works best for your club. You will have to make a decision one way or the other since establishing a business entity is a requirement for tax purposes.


About the author:Chris Hickman owns a full info site about investment clubs. Check Out his site at http://www.ez-investment-clubs.com/

Thursday, April 24, 2008

How Investment Plans Work


How Investment Plans Work

by: John Mussi


More people are choosing investment plans than ever before. With the rising cost of living and the growing insecurity about the availability of many retirement funds, many individuals are looking to investment plans to begin a nest egg or to make some additional money via investment without having to spend a lot of time purchasing stocks and bonds.
Investment plans allow individuals to simply purchase a specific amount of stocks, bonds, or indices on a regular repeating basis, cutting out a large part of the hassle while allowing for some of the main advantages of investment.
If you've been considering an investment plan but aren't completely sure what they might entail, the following information might help you to decide whether or not an investment plan is the right investment option for you.
The Mechanics of an Investment Plan
Basically, an investment plan is a method of making multiple investments over time at regular set intervals. The funds for the investment are taken from a cheque, savings, or money market account automatically, and are used to purchase stocks or bonds that you have decided upon beforehand. In most cases you can change the amount, frequency, or purchased stocks or bonds of the automatic investments at any time, though depending upon the broker through whom you're doing the investments you may be subject to fees or penalties especially if changing details relatively close to the next investment date. Most online investment firms offer investment plans that you can change at any time free of charge.
Deciding How Much to Invest
When deciding how much to invest each cycle with an investment plan, you should take care not to overextend your funds and bring yourself up short. Make sure that the amount that you choose is available and that you'll have it to spare each time your investment comes up… it can be difficult to plan for events in the future, and just because you have a surplus now doesn't mean that you won't find money running tight a few investment cycles from now.
If you feel that you're reaching a point where you won't be able to afford your regular investment, go ahead and reduce the investment amount or put a hold on the next scheduled investment… better to put less in than short yourself afterwards.
Choosing What to Invest In
Making the decision of which stocks and bonds to invest in can take some time, but it's worth it… this is your money that you're dealing with, and you shouldn't invest it without putting some thought and research into your decisions. Find stocks or bonds that have performed well over time, and that are likely to continue doing so… they may be expensive at times, but you aren't making your total investment all at once so it doesn't matter as much.
Don't be afraid to add new stocks or bonds to your plan later, either… this can help to diversify your portfolio.
Deciding On an Investment Interval
You also need to decide how often you wish to make your investments… this will largely depend upon the cycle of your paycheques and your monthly bills and expenses. You may decide to invest once per month, after everything has been paid, or you might want to invest a little from every paycheque.
The more often you invest, the lower the amount of each investment can be… after all, two or four small investments per month might end up purchasing more than one larger one.
Decide on what works best for your lifestyle, and modify it as needed later if it doesn't seem to work out for you.