- Investment Income: Everything You Need to Know
Investment income is an umbrella term that includes just about any money you make from buying, holding and selling assets. However, there are three main forms of investment income, which we discuss below. Together these types of investment income are… read more…
- Tax-Deductible Investments for Your Portfolio
Incorporating tax-deductible investments into your portfolio can be a powerful strategy to enhance your overall returns. By reducing the taxable portion of your portfolio’s earnings, you can effectively keep more of your investment income working for you. These investment vehicles not only provide tax benefits, but can also align with your long-term objectives, offering a… read more…
- Why Risk Premium Matters
Risk premium is the added return that investors expect to earn from an asset such as a share of stock that carries more risk than another asset such as a high-grade corporate bond. The risk premium is what encourages investors to purchase riskier assets. Without a risk premium, investors would have no reason to put… read more…
- What Are Qualified Dividends?
Earning dividends is a valuable source of income for investors, particularly those saving for retirement. The IRS allows so-called qualified dividends to be taxed at a lower capital gains rate than the higher income tax rate. Here’s a breakdown of… read more…
- How to Buy Snowflake Stock (SNOW)
Snowflake is a cloud data platform company that lets business customers consolidate data from multiple clouds and other sources. After the company’s 2020 initial public offering the price of its shares rose sharply, attracting the attention of hedge funds and other investors. Although it has yet to produce profits since going public, Snowflake is still… read more…
- How to Buy Planet 13 Stock (PLNHF)
As marijuana laws have relaxed, the pot trade has become a legitimate industry and some cannabis-related companies, including Nevada pot superstore operator Planet 13, have gone public, allowing investors to purchase their shares. Investing in cannabis companies has been complicated, however, by the fact that U.S. federal laws still prohibit marijuana. That has kept their… read more…
- Ex-Dividend Date: What Investors Need to Know
The ex-dividend date explained simply refers to the cutoff point for investors to be eligible for an upcoming dividend payment. When a company announces a dividend, it sets a record date, and the ex-dividend date typically falls one business day before that. Anyone buying the stock on or after the ex-dividend date is not entitled… read more…
- What Is a Wells Notice and How to Respond
When the staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made the decision to recommend taking an enforcement action against a person or firm, the commission will often issue a Wells Notice. This notice informs the potential target of a proposed enforcement action of the commission’s plans and provides for a response. Not every… read more…
- A Guide to Fixed-Income Investing
Fixed-income investments can provide a steady stream of income through dividends or interest payments. In the investing landscape, fixed-income is generally considered a less risky asset class since there’s some predictability about what you can earn. You may use fixed-income… read more…
- Understanding Tax-Advantaged Investments
When investing for the short- or long-term, where you choose to put your money matters from a tax perspective. Including tax-advantaged investments in your investment portfolio can help to minimize what you owe on the returns you earn. Tax-advantaged investments can include individual securities but it can also refer to accounts that receive favorable tax… read more…
- How to Buy Netflix Stock
The FAANG stocks are a set of five high-value technology stocks. Together they make up nearly a fifth of the S&P 500’s total value. The “N” in FAANG stands for Netflix. One of the first major tech companies, Netflix arguably invented and defined the streaming era. This has made it a highly successful company and, in the… read more…
- What Is a Tax-Deferred Investment Account?
In a tax-deferred investment account the dividends, interest and capital gains are not taxed until money is withdrawn. These kinds of investments are attractive to people whose earnings or net worth put them in a high tax bracket. They often expect they will be in a lower tax bracket when they retire. But people in… read more…
- In the Money vs. Out of the Money: What Is the Difference?
When trading options, it’s important to understand the difference between in the money vs. out of the money. In simple terms, this is a way to measure an option’s intrinsic value, relative to the underlying asset’s current price. Knowing the difference between the two and when an option is in the money or out of… read more…
- What Hedge Fund Analysts Do for Investments
Every investment class needs someone to manage it. From the market makers and clearing houses that ensure stock trading to the bankers who move currencies around the world, markets are not natural phenomena. They require management. Perhaps nowhere is that more true than in funds. A hedge fund, like similarly structured mutual funds and exchanged-traded funds… read more…
- Why Market Sell-Offs Happen and How to Respond
A market sell-off happens when traders make a lot of sales very quickly. Sometimes a sell-off, which is a particularly aggressive form of a bear market, can encompass an entire market. Other times it may focus on specific industries or even individual assets. It isn’t always a bad thing when market sell-offs occur. They act as a… read more…
- How to Buy Coinbase Stock
Coinbase has taken cryptocurrency legitimate. At least, that’s the position of many in the cryptocurrency community who see the company’s IPO as proof that digital assets have arrived as mainstream investment products. Investors are excited about crypto, even if many don’t quite know what it is. Regulators haven’t made up their minds about how to treat… read more…
- How to Invest With Averaging Down
When a stock you own declines in value, you may be wondering what to do next. You can sell and accept the loss, do nothing and hope the stock’s value climbs again or buy additional shares while the price is low. This third strategy, known as averaging down, could allow you to increase your position… read more…
- Beginner’s Guide to Art Investment
Most people are familiar with traditional investment options like stocks, bonds and real estate. Some investors may be looking for ways to diversify their portfolio, though. One way to do that is by putting money into what is sometimes called… read more…
- Absolute Return Definition
When comparing investments, returns are one of the metrics you might zero in on. But there are different ways to gauge an investment’s performance. Absolute return measures an investment’s returns over a set time period. When choosing where to invest… read more…
- How to Buy Stocks Online Without a Broker
Investors have traditionally used professional brokers to manage their investment portfolios, but there are also a few viable avenues you can follow to manage it solo. If you feel that it’s time that you took control of your investment portfolio… read more…
- SoFi vs. Acorns: Which Is Better?
SoFi and Acorns are robo-advisors, meaning they digitally manage your investments or offer online advising. The two services target digitally native investors and cater to hands-off traders who prefer a passive investment strategy. Both offer investors the opportunity to start building… read more…
- How to Invest in Oil Markets
Oil prices have had a remarkable year. Historically volatile, like most commodities, oil prices tumbled during the pandemic to the point where they dipped into negative territory, meaning it cost more to store a barrel of oil than the product… read more…
- How Does the Fama-French 3 Factor Model Work?
The Fama-French Three Factor model is a formula for calculating the rate of return on a given asset. Like many (if not most) such models, it offers an estimated value based on market factors at large. In this case, investors… read more…
- How Does Securitization Work?
You have probably heard of securitization. It’s a way of turning non-financial assets into liquid securities that investors can buy and sell. Despite its role in the market crash of 2008 and subsequent Great Recession, the process of securitization is not… read more…
- What Is a Joint-Stock Company?
A joint-stock company is a company owned by several, generally private, investors. They’re an in-between creation, held more closely than a public company but more widely traded than a partnership. While largely, if not completely, replaced by modern corporate structures, the… read more…