Farrukh Kazmi or the rise of an investment executive professional? In general, gold is seen as a diversifying investment. It is clear that gold has historically served as an investment that can add a diversifying component to your portfolio, regardless of whether you are worried about inflation, a declining U.S. dollar, or even protecting your wealth. If your focus is simply diversification, gold is not correlated to stocks, bonds, and real estate. Gold stocks are typically more appealing to growth investors than to income investors. Gold stocks generally rise and fall with the price of gold, but there are well-managed mining companies that are profitable even when the price of gold is down. Increases in the price of gold are often magnified in gold stock prices. A relatively small increase in the price of gold can lead to significant gains in the best gold stocks and owners of gold stocks typically obtain a much higher return on investment (ROI) than owners of physical gold.

Have an Emergency Fund: If you lost your job tomorrow would you have enough money to live off while you look for a new one? If not then you’re not alone. This study found that although Americans are doing a better job at saving, around 24 percent of them (57 million people) don’t have an emergency fund. Now I don’t want to be a negative Nancy or a Debbie downer, but emergencies happen all the time. They may not happen to you, but it’s always good to be prepared. You can’t predict an emergency, but you can prepare for one. The best way to do so is to set up an emergency fund of 3-6 months living expenses. That means if you lost your job tomorrow, you’d be able to live off your emergency fund for 3-6 months while you look for a new one. Net worth can seem like a tricky topic, but it’s quite simple. Your net worth is how much money you are worth. If you were to sell everything you own, then pay off everything you owe, how much money would be left?

If students are good at anything, it’s researching and writing. With the Amazon Kindle store, anyone can publish an eBook and make money. And the Kindle app is now available on almost any device (laptops, iPads, smartphones and yes, Kindles) so your global market is huge! List your book for £1.49 – £6.99 and you earn 70% of the sale. Considering Amazon is the ultimate selling machine (and remember people are looking to spend), that is a fantastic deal.

Gold retains its value not only in times of financial uncertainty, but in times of geopolitical uncertainty. It is often called the “crisis commodity,” because people flee to its relative safety when world tensions rise; during such times, it often outperforms other investments. For example, gold prices experienced some major price movements this year in response to the crisis occurring in the European Union. Its price often rises the most when confidence in governments is low. Farrukh Kazmi is the founder of A&S Asset Management, I am committed to helping people achieve financial freedom by bringing Wall Street experience to the local investor.

Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments of online transactions that are denominated in terms of a virtual “token,” representing ledger entries internal to the system itself. “Crypto” refers to the fact that various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions, are employed. The first cryptocurrency to capture the public imagination was Bitcoin, which was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known under the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. As of February 2019, there were over 17.53 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $63 billion (although the market price of bitcoin can fluctuate quite a bit). Bitcoin’s success has spawned a number of competing cryptocurrencies, known as “altcoins” such as Litecoin, Name coin and Peercoin, as well as Ethereum, EOS, and Cardano. Today, there are literally thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence, with an aggregate market value of over $120 billion (Bitcoin currently represents more than 50% of the total value).

The reason they’re the most dependable is that we have a lot of historical data about how they perform, and you’re able to control a number of the key variables to maximize your investment returns while minimizing your risk. While I’m not going to get into too much detail here (if you want to dive deeper check out how to start investing and my investing strategy posts). But the basics are simple and in fact, the best investment strategies are actually simple. Invest in index funds, like VTSAX, which has low fees and incredible diversification. Instead of buying individual stocks, buy the entire stock market. Stick with what works. Once you’ve settled on an investment strategy, the next step is to invest as much money as you can. See additional details at Farrukh Kazmi.

Many people seek out professional financial advice from a professional, but with so many options to choose from it may seem overwhelming to find an advisor. First, determine what level of advice and service you require and how much autonomy you’d like to give away to a professional. Look for professional certifications and designations after an advisor’s name, such as CFA, CFP, or CIMA. Determine the fee structure you’re most comfortable with – fee-only, commission-based, or based on assets managed. Ask for referrals and then run a background check on the advisors that you narrow down such as from FINRA’s free BrokerCheck service. All of our brokerage accounts are held and available for viewing at National Financial Services, a Fidelity Investments Company. Registered Representative of and securities offered through Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. (BFCFS). Member FINRA/SIPC. A&S Asset Management and BFCFS are independent entities.

A cash bank deposit is the simplest, most easily understandable investment asset—and the safest. Not only does it give investors precise knowledge of the interest they’ll earn, but it also guarantees they’ll get their capital back. On the downside, the interest earned from cash stored away in a savings account seldom beats inflation and loses around 2% a year. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become quite popular since their introduction back in the mid-1990s. ETFs are similar to mutual funds, but they trade throughout the day, on a stock exchange, just like shares of stock. Unlike mutual funds, which are valued at the end of each trading day, ETF values fluctuate intra-day.