Are you losing money in all kind of speculative instruments like share, bonds and forex and am wondering what asset class to invest in? Why not consider real estate investment with its traditionally higher yields as compared to leaving your money in your bank account. This article will highlight four common strategies that real estate investors use to make money in property investment.
A Variable investment is one where your money is typically invested in stocks or mutual funds. The performance of these stocks or funds varies and is not guaranteed - hence the term "variable investment." Variable investments have many key benefits. They allow you to earn interest by investing in a single company (individual stock), multiple companies, or a specific segment of the market (mutual funds). You can even invest in an entire Index like the Dow Jones or S&P 500. Also, variable investments allow for the greatest return and historically have outpaced all other investment options.
Sounds pretty good, right? It is, as long as you have the tolerance to lose money as well. The volatility of variable investments is a major concern for many investors. The "upside" or growth potential is nearly unlimited, unfortunately so is the "downside" or risk of losing money. One other adverse factor that Variable investments face is the cost. Most have either fees or loads associated with the underlying investments. These fees or loads can reduce the performance by as much as 3.5%, although 1-2% is more common. These fees or loads are applied even in down years so it is definitely something to consider.
A Fixed investment offers a pre-determined or fixed interest rate for a specified period. This is most commonly seen with bonds, CD's, annuities and universal life insurance products. Fixed investments have three major advantages over the other options. First, they provide a guaranteed or known interest rate that is disclosed prior to making your investment. Second, fixed investments are generally designed to protect your initial or principal investment. A Fixed investment also has two major pitfalls. First, because they provide a known or guaranteed interest rate, they generally provide a lower rate than what may be available when you're willing to risk your principal. Second, they normally have restrictions or penalties associated with any withdrawals made during the fixed interest rates term period. This is especially true with CD's and annuities. Overall, Fixed investments can be a great option for those not willing to risk some or all of their money, older clients using the investment interest to provide or supplement their income, and clients looking to provide a hedge against other, more aggressive investments.
Cash Flow Investment Robert T. Kiyosaki in his book explains this real estate investment strategy. He argues that the best investment you get is when you find a property at a bargain and then purchase it with as much debt as possible and then generate a cash flow from the difference between the monthly rent and the mortgage instalment. This method is highly interesting and requires you to really spend time looking for such a real estate investment that fits in that criteria.
So what exactly are these impact investment enterprises? To get a better sense, let's look at some of the sectors that qualify as impact investments. Affordable housing is one sector familiar to most people. Most people support an organization like Habitat for Humanity by making donations, but a foundation, for example, might support them by providing a low interest loan to fund the organization's projects. Microfinance is another impact investment sector. A microfinance institution makes small loans to entrepreneurial people in developing countries to give them the opportunity to start or grow their own business and lift themselves out of poverty. A microfinance institution works similar to a bank, so it is able to generate income and support investors.
A Variable investment is one where your money is typically invested in stocks or mutual funds. The performance of these stocks or funds varies and is not guaranteed - hence the term "variable investment." Variable investments have many key benefits. They allow you to earn interest by investing in a single company (individual stock), multiple companies, or a specific segment of the market (mutual funds). You can even invest in an entire Index like the Dow Jones or S&P 500. Also, variable investments allow for the greatest return and historically have outpaced all other investment options.
Sounds pretty good, right? It is, as long as you have the tolerance to lose money as well. The volatility of variable investments is a major concern for many investors. The "upside" or growth potential is nearly unlimited, unfortunately so is the "downside" or risk of losing money. One other adverse factor that Variable investments face is the cost. Most have either fees or loads associated with the underlying investments. These fees or loads can reduce the performance by as much as 3.5%, although 1-2% is more common. These fees or loads are applied even in down years so it is definitely something to consider.
A Fixed investment offers a pre-determined or fixed interest rate for a specified period. This is most commonly seen with bonds, CD's, annuities and universal life insurance products. Fixed investments have three major advantages over the other options. First, they provide a guaranteed or known interest rate that is disclosed prior to making your investment. Second, fixed investments are generally designed to protect your initial or principal investment. A Fixed investment also has two major pitfalls. First, because they provide a known or guaranteed interest rate, they generally provide a lower rate than what may be available when you're willing to risk your principal. Second, they normally have restrictions or penalties associated with any withdrawals made during the fixed interest rates term period. This is especially true with CD's and annuities. Overall, Fixed investments can be a great option for those not willing to risk some or all of their money, older clients using the investment interest to provide or supplement their income, and clients looking to provide a hedge against other, more aggressive investments.
Cash Flow Investment Robert T. Kiyosaki in his book explains this real estate investment strategy. He argues that the best investment you get is when you find a property at a bargain and then purchase it with as much debt as possible and then generate a cash flow from the difference between the monthly rent and the mortgage instalment. This method is highly interesting and requires you to really spend time looking for such a real estate investment that fits in that criteria.
So what exactly are these impact investment enterprises? To get a better sense, let's look at some of the sectors that qualify as impact investments. Affordable housing is one sector familiar to most people. Most people support an organization like Habitat for Humanity by making donations, but a foundation, for example, might support them by providing a low interest loan to fund the organization's projects. Microfinance is another impact investment sector. A microfinance institution makes small loans to entrepreneurial people in developing countries to give them the opportunity to start or grow their own business and lift themselves out of poverty. A microfinance institution works similar to a bank, so it is able to generate income and support investors.
About the Author:
Frank Miller has a Debt Consolidation Blog & Finance, these are some of the articles: The Factors To Consider Before Using A 401K Calculator You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
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