Serious Question about Investments

[TxArmyGuy]

Keep the ideas pouring in....

Huntmaster I plan on investing in some Good weapons and scopes, then putting away for a few hunting trips over the next couple of years.

Real Estate is something I want to explore. Does anyone have experience buying Real estate in Foreign countries? Europe? Latin America? Asia? Australia?

 

[gotmilk]

Bro, stay miles away from guys like GotMilk



Do you know me?

I was simply offering some free advice on where he can get free advice. Right now, he can open an online brokerage account and collect interest on his money. Far better rates than any bank will offer.

Fact: There are legitimate real estate development corporations who seek private investors to help with projects. Real estate is hot. You simply deposit money, they use the funds to increase their average deposit balance, and you make 10% to 15% per 120 to 150 day period. The best part is that all funds are insured by F.D.I.C. so you never lose your money. This is a little known fact that only wealthy investors know about because R.E.I.T.'s only seek a certain few investors, unless you have a connection.

Plus, if you paid attention....go back thru my posting history and see how many stock tips I gave that were correct.

SUNX from .03 to nearly .245
KMart's bounce from .78 to $1.85

I also posted on Elite to buy into Invision Technologies after 9/11 because they had the products to detect explosives. In fact, I also called the bounce from $13 to $5ish before it rocketed to nearly $50.

If you lost your shirt in the market....you have no one to blame but yourself unless you own one of the 104 penny stocks which were illegally short sold by offshore hedge funds. Check the 6/10 Forbes magazine article for a brief description about what John O' Quinn, ESQ. has discovered. The reason I know about these is because some of my information gets sent to John's Houston office.

Go back thru and you will see that 3 months before Anthony El-Gindy was arrested for manipulation, I was ragging on his ass and taunting about how his day was coming. Nothing like the FBI kicking your door down at 7 in the morning.

Victus called it correctly. TX does not need a "broker"...he needs a financial planner. Or...he needs to learn how to invest conservatively....CD's...savings....tax free municiple bonds...and keep a brokerage account active in case the market heats up again.

If you are afraid of online posters and advice from people you never met, why bother posting on Elite?

 

[gotmilk]

I would invest in a deer ranch!

Yeah..but you would shoot all your deer and then you would have to open a meat market.

 

[angel_eyes]

I am a financial planner. Although we are publicly traded, we do not have a seat on the exchage...we are also one of the largest and first financial planning companies in the country.
Getting rich quick is something that we do not believe in, our emphasis is long term wealth. Financial planning is actually a science that is very involved...After working for prudential and now at my new place I can tell you it is something very unique and unlike anything I've seen before.

I am a Registered Representative/Stockbroker/Financial Planner, there is a HUGE difference. Make sure the person you go to has a CFP, Certified Financial Planner after their title. This is a 2 year program and most regular "stockbrokers" do not take the time to acquire one. Ask about what current licenses they hold and maintain, and how long they have been in the business and with that particular firm. A good broker should at least have a series 63,7,65, and 66 minimum and a history with the company they are representing.

I can only emphasize what has been said above. The person you meet with should do a full financial background and provide you with recommendations based on your risk tolerance and long term goals. You need to consider the funds/stocks 1,3,5, and 10 year average returns. Stay off the net, don't listen to friends "stock tips," and run from any brokerage firm that has a "stock of the day" recommendation. Investing is a personalized strategy and can vary greatly from one person to the next depending on age, income, prior investments, long and short term goals, and risk tolerance.

Just remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

 

[SofaGeorge]

Bro, better Idea....Stay away from a broker and get a financial planner.

The best advice I can give you right now is forget there are even online brokers. And stay away from stock message boards...

Two more bits of absolute wisdom.

I shouldn't have said broker. I use three CFP's (but like an idiot I still call them my 'brokers').

And for God's sake listen to this bit of adivce on staying away from stock message boards. They will only make you sick, feed you misinformation, and eat up time in your day.

Prime personal example - when SNRS (now snrse.ob) was at $12 a share... I fully concentrated my account and fully extended on margin. I knew everything there was to know about the product and the company... and it was the most in the bag sure thing in the world... and I followed all of the SNRS message boards on Yahoo, Raging Bull, etc... Well, following FDA approval of their device... it promptly plummeted from $12 to $6... and now it is down to $.08 a share. Did I make a mistake? To this day I can honestly say NO. The technology was incredible.... way ahead of its time... and the use figures for the procedure are great. And I still lost. Stay away from stock message boards.

 

[gotmilk]

And for God sake listen to this bit of adivce on staying away from stock message boards. They will only make you sick, feed you misinformation, and eat up time in your day.

The Raging Bull is the pit of hell. I have to laugh at Lycos for allowing such a piece of crap as Janice Shell aka "janice456" for posting 40,000 messages there. Like her boss Richard Marchese is not shorting the entire penny market thru his chop shop via Merrill Lynch.

The next 3 months are going to be a trying time for investors and I would not want to be inexperienced. The illegal short sales thru Canada (HI Mark Valantine you P.O.S. @ Thomas Kernaghan) will need to be covered at some point. On the flip side...all the accounting scandals will cause further investor panic and the market will drop some more.

I can't wait to see what happens to Dick Chaney's Halliburton this Summer. Fudged books, deals with Iraq, paper fronts to hide the deals.

 

[clusterfoxtrot]

I shot some Karma to SofaGeorge. As another person who has been burned from a variety of angles, here is what I know:

1) Determine what you want to do with your many, where do you want it to go and why. If you have more windfalls coming and are not risk averse, then your decisions will be far different than if you are 40 with 2 kids nearing college.

2) Pay off all your high-interest debt, other than a house, mainly for its tax advantages.

3) CONSULT A TAX ATTORNEY. Financial planners are useful, but they rarely understand the ramifications of cash planning and liquidity.

4) Diversify your portfolio. Look for long term, dividend-oriented stocks, balanced with munis, 401-K, etc. If you want some adventure and want to be a day trader...set aside 25,000 to play with. When you burn it, walk away from the table.

5) Be wary of any investment advisor that steers you towards speculative businesses. Chances are they have a vested interest in this company.

6) Split your cash between several money managers.

7) Do your research on the accuracy of their analyst recommendations. There is a web site, and I cannot remember the name for the life of me, that gives you the track record of all of the major analysts.

8) If you have any business savvy...consider using some of it to start your own company after your discharge. One of the best investments you can make is in your own business with your own money. After all 37% of all millionaires own their own business!

CF

 

[Casablanca]

Regarding foreign investments; I wouldn't recommend International Real Estate. I'm personally selling foreign properties in Morocco where foreign investments dropped by 95% since last year!!!! (April data.) Real estate in the US is kinda high but safe and stable. Swiss real estate and banks are safe, it could be a good idea to invest for a winter/ski residence! The only problem is that if you inject your $ in overseas real estate, you won't be able to get any credit, therefore immobilizing a lot of $ which could be "making babies" in high yield investment accounts. I'll shortly find myself in the same position as you are and have decided to do the following:

1) Pay all high interest debts (small ones first)
2) Real Estate Investments; 20% down and loan for the rest.
3) CDs
4) Bonds
5) Stocks (mostly options/selling short)
6) about 1 year of living expenses in a Money Market (easy access for emergencies)

*** Don't put your $ at risk by investing in specific sectors; diversify !**
*** Do consult a financial planner/advisor***

Please don't hesitate to critique my post-hope this helps

Actually... There's a pretty good book out by David Bach "How Smart Women finish rich" I found it very useful for basic financial planning info, but since you're not a chick you may find it too women oriented (lotsa stats about women in business)MotleyFool is also a good source of basic info.

 

[SofaGeorge]

Regarding foreign investments; I wouldn't recommend International Real Estate. I'm personally selling foreign properties in Morocco where foreign investments dropped by 95% since last year!!!! (April data.) Real estate in the US is kinda high but safe and stable. Swiss real estate and banks are safe, it could be a good idea to invest for a winter/ski residence! The only problem is that if you inject your $ in overseas real estate, you won't be able to get any credit, therefore immobilizing a lot of $ which could be "making babies" in high yield investment accounts. I'll shortly find myself in the same position as you are and have decided to do the following:

1) Pay all high interest debts (small ones first)
2) Real Estate Investments; 20% down and loan for the rest.
3) CDs
4) Bonds
5) Stocks (mostly options/selling short)
6) about 1 year of living expenses in a Money Market (easy access for emergencies)

*** Don't put your $ at risk by investing in specific sectors; diversify !**
*** Do consult a financial planner/advisor***

Please don't hesitate to critique my post-hope this helps

Actually... There's a pretty good book out by David Bach "How Smart Women finish rich" I found it very useful for basic financial planning info, but since you're not a chick you may find it too women oriented (lotsa stats about women in business)MotleyFool is also a good source of basic info.

 

[SofaGeorge]

Casablanca, sorry for the reprint of your post without comment. I was starting to write that it was basically good stuff - then I got called away from the computer. Usually when you close out screens without sending the post it just disappears into oblivion. This time for some reason it just posted automactially without comments and with just your quote in the box.