Sunday, July 31, 2011

Best Broker for Online Stock Trading and More


Choosing the Best Broker for Online Trading,
from Stocks and Options to Futures and Forex


The best broker for online stock trading – and handling other types of assets ranging from bonds and options to futures and forex – depends on the matchup between the offerings of the vendors and the needs of the investor. As an example, a novice in the stock market who deals only with equities ought to favor a simple system with a user-friendly interface. By contrast, a veteran who uses a rolling sequence of futures contracts to cut down the volatility of the common stocks within the same portfolio would require a system of greater versatility and efficiency.

Even in the case of a particular trader, the proper choice of platform will vary over time. The factors at work include the shifting mix of financial resources and the latest views on retirement planning.

As a backdrop, the brokerage industry relies heavily on the tools of information technology. Due to rapid advances in hardware as well as software, the trading platforms have a way of morphing over time. The same is true of the schedule of transaction fees.

In this roily setting, there is no single package that befits all investors. In fact, the best choice of platform may well vary from one year to the next even in the case of a particular person. As a result, picking a broker for online trading is not a one-off decision that remains forever fixed, but an ongoing task that evolves over time.

Read more on Best Broker for Online Stock Trading and More.

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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Real Story behind Angel Investing


 Review of a Germinal Book 
 on Angel Investing 


Angel capital is a common source of funding for budding ventures. An example lies in the United States, where the level of financial support from business angels is comparable to the sum from venture capitalists.

Moreover, the practice of venture capital is still in its infancy in many other countries. For this reason, the business angel tends to play a larger role in the sponsorship of fledgling firms.

Despite its crucial function, though, the field of angel capital is obscured by a mantle of rumor and anecdote rather than fact and data. An exemplar lies in the U.S., where concrete data on angel capital is hard to come by. Not surprisingly, the scrappy state of affairs is even worse in the rest of the world.

On the upside, however, the dearth of knowledge has become less acute in recent years. A good example is found in an incisive program of research pursued in America. The probing has shown, for instance, that business angels have a penchant for investing in stable firms as well as newborn ventures. Moreover, the usual preference is to invest in a company that has attained a positive cash flow rather than a venture on the verge of bankruptcy.

As a group, business angels invest in a broad spectrum of industries in addition to the pacesetters in the technology sector. At the level of the individual, a cherub is apt to favor the industry they know best from their previous experience in the field.

The angels resemble other sources of informal capital in a number of ways. In particular, the cherubim usually have no more experience, expertise or capital than the friends and relatives of the entrepreneurs.

Read more on Real Story behind Angel Investing.


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