A Brief Look at Investment Options

 You can!  Small investment clubs are all over the U.S. made up of local, non-professional investors.  None are paid for what they do.  Each benefit in the profit or loss of the club.  All benefit from the knowledge gained.  Clubs have been in existence since the mid 1900s.  Do it yourself. 15 Feb

 Investing is nothing more than deciding what to do with your discretionary money.  Some people spend it on items to make life nicer now.  Some people put it aside for future expenses.  Some people try to have the money grow so that they might live better in the future. 15 Feb

 45 Years ago, let’s say, you had $2000 extra. You need to decide what to do. 1. Buy a new car. 2. Put it in the Mattress. 3. Invest it to grow for the future. 15 Feb

 Mid price range car.  Additional Costs – Gas, Oil, Maintenance, Insurance. 15 Feb to 10 years the investment would be used up and become essentially worthless.

 45 years later you would have $2000 – enough to buy a car.  How much of a car would that buy today? 15 Feb Would your money would be “safe” from loss?

 What options do we have?  Bank Savings Account  Certificate of Deposit (CD)  Government Bonds  Private Bonds  Stocks  Other 15 Feb 20137

 Savings paid an average of 3% over 45 years.  $2000 becomes $7790  CDs paid an average of 4% over 45 years.  $2000 becomes $12,150  Interest income is taxed as ordinary income  A new VW in 2003 costs $19,795 plus tax, registration and prep charges. 15 Feb

 Government Bonds paid an average of 4.5% over 45 years.  Very little risk to the original investment  $2000 becomes $15,149  Private Bonds paid an average of 5.5% over 35 years.  Some risk to the original investment – may be tricky  $2000 becomes $23,477  Interest income is taxed as ordinary income. 15 Feb

 The Stocks on the Major Exchanges Grew at 7.5% average over 45 years.  Some risk to the original investment, but most of the risk is manageable.  $2000 becomes $55,695  Small companies grew 9.5% annually over this period (small cap).  $2000 becomes $130,041  Gains are taxed at as little as half ordinary income – Dividends are be taxed at a lower rate also. 15 Feb

 Better Investing (an investor support organization) investment strategy has a goal to double the value of investments every 5 years (15% annually).  Many clubs do not achieve this goal  At 15% over 45 years $2000 becomes $1,239,169  Better Investing is also known as BI 15 Feb

15 Feb SUMMARY OF INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE

 Paintings  Horses  Real Estate  Gold  Collections  Lottery 15 Feb

 The will to start.  Some discretionary money.  Some help.  An investment plan  See support information at the end of this program  Look at some suggestions found here and in other places that will be suggested. 15 Feb

 In order to increase your wealth so that you can beat inflation, you need to take an active part in investing.  The stock market offers the best possible return and the lowest long term risk.  There are several strategies to invest in stocks. Better Investing has one of the better strategies and tools sets for evaluating investments. This is a good place to start. 15 Feb

 Better Investing: a non profit organization for supporting investors –  AAII (American Association for Individual Investors): a for profit organization for supporting investors – Feb