401k is so Important

You have probably heard 401k accounts mentioned before and have noticed that they're a popular method for saving for retirement. But with so many options out there today for you to save for retirement, why are these accounts so popular? The reasons below help summarize how these accounts are built with your success in mind, and why they're such an important part of your retirement savings plan.

-- #1 They're extremely easy, both to set up and to maintain. You set up your account through your employer and choose from a set of plans how you'd like to invest. The plans are made up of stocks, bonds, money market accounts and other investments. They're usually grouped together by the level of risk they represent-there will be plans with higher levels of risk and higher returns, or plans with lower levels of risk and lower returns. You choose the plan that you think will work best for you and adjust when you see fit. You decide how much of your income you'd like to invest and that amount will be taken out of your paycheck before taxes are taken out and invested without anything else required from you.

-- #2 The 401k contribution match from your employer. This match is the primary reason these accounts are so important. Some employers don't offer this option so you'll want to check with your plan provider. Basically how they work is that your employer will offer to match your contributions up to a certain percentage of your income. So, if you contribute three percent of your income to your account your employer will also contribute that amount of money. This is a great benefit you won't be seeing anywhere else.

-- #3 Your contributions are traditionally taken from your pretax income. This means, among other things, that some of the money you would have been spending in your taxes is now being invested and earning you returns each year until you reach retirement. You will pay taxes on this money when you withdraw it in retirement, but until that time this money is working for you.

-- #4 Because if you don't plan for your retirement, who will? I think this one speaks for itself.

Hopefully now you can see why your 401k is so important. Remember that no matter what you decide to do, the most important thing is simply not to ignore it and do something to save for retirement.

Can I Withdraw Funds

You cannot withdraw funds from your 401k at any time, this is done for a number of reasons, mostly to protect your retirement savings. There are only two real times you'll be able to take money from your account-when you've reached retirement age, or for a brief period immediately after you've left a job. There are penalties, however, for taking funds from the account before you reach retirement age that will really take a large cut out of your savings. This is something that needs to be considered very carefully.

You can withdraw your funds normally after you reach retirement age, which is 59 years and 6 months old. You will have to pay taxes on these withdrawals, but that is because with a traditional 401k account your contributions were made from your pretax income-meaning that you put off paying the taxes on your earnings until making these withdrawals in retirement.

If you decide to take a payout before that time, when you've just left a job, you will have to pay both federal and state taxes, and a ten percent early withdrawal fee. This is a heavy price to pay, depending on what your percentages are it can add up to thirty to forty percent of your withdrawal total. Not only are you losing that money, but you're also losing the money this would have earned for you until you reached the point of retirement. Any financial expert you talk to will recommend you find some other way to secure funds than to take money from your 401k early because of these fees.

After careful consideration if you decide this is still what you need to do you'll want to get started immediately after you leave your employment. The company you worked for will hold twenty percent of what you withdraw for the penalty and taxes, and at the time you do your taxes at the end of the year you'll be responsible for paying whats left of what you owe on that withdrawal in your taxes, so make sure you save some of it for that.

Taking an early 401k withdrawal is a serious decision to make that will need to be carefully thought out and then planned for with your budget.

Trade Safely without Stops

Trade Safely without Stops?

Home :: Finance :: Trading / Investing

By: Jay Leavitt Phd Email Article

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I participate in a large investment club. Many of the members have been struggling to preserve their hard earned retirement funds. Almost all have moaned and groaned as soon as the subject changes to stops. Every member is concerned with previous threats to their investment accounts: Desert Storm, Bosnia, 9/11, Too Big to Fail.

Great Stocks?

Many of the members have invested in great stocks only to watch their value decline: Enron, Citibank, General Motors, General Electric, Cisco, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Filenes Basement, SGI, Bennigans Restaurants, Six Flags. The list is nearly endless.

What caused The Collapse?

The reasons why a stock falls in price are similarly endless: The CEO just sold 150,000 shares; A reasonable forecast was met yet, the stock price crashed; The SEC has subpoenaed the CFO; Consumer confidence is down; Paid a nice dividend, but the price fell even further; Record earnings and the stock still fell.

Everyone appears to hate protective stops and with good reason: I was the only trade at that price; I had a 10% stop-loss, but I was closed out with a 20% loss; If I had a 10% Trailing Stop, I would been closed out too soon, if the stop was at 20% I would sacrifice too much profit.

No Need for Stops

Both SSO and SDS are leveraged 2:1. If there were a justification for stops, this test would be the proof. The test ran from September 2007 through January 2010, starting during the time period when SSO and SDS first became available. There were almost 79% winning trades with an Average Annual Rate of Return [ARR] over 34%. Next, I ran comparable tests on the Nasdaq 100, Mid Cap 400, and Russell 2000, still using the SPXTimer. The largest losing trade for any of them was 21.64%. Each had over 70% winning trades and even higher ARRs. No optimizing was done to the SPXTimer.

On May 6, 2010 the DJ Industrials plummeted 1000 points in under 1 hour. Any Stops you had in place that day would have been executed. The price you would have received would have been far beneath your Stop price. Later the same day, the market rebounded. You would have fared better without Stops.

No wonder why the members growl!

There is a huge difference between trading stocks and broad based indexes. Clearly, it is possible to make much more money with stocks; but, you can also lose more. How many of you have lost money after listening to Cramer or following the tips in a newsletter? How many of you have lost money after buying a stock you believed could not drop any further?

When it comes to investing, singles are easier than home runs -- and they can end up being more profitable. I am referring to broad based indexes. The S&P 500 is an index, obviously of 500 stocks; the Russell 2000 follows 2000. If the CEO of one of their stocks was indited, it would hardly make a ripple in the price of the index. I am not suggesting the price of an index will not fall if there is bad news. But, trading these indexes is the first step toward minimizing risk.

Forex System Trading

Auto forex system trading is the perfect strategy for investors or brokers who either do not have time to watch the market closely or trying to diversify the portfolio. It is like having a professional to trade your account for you, taking care of your profits.

Automated forex trading systems replace the need for manually buying or selling the currencies. With auto forex system trading, you can continue to focus on your own trading strategies and can take benefits of other strategies as well.

Auto forex system trading can be of different types. The systems are based on software and algorithms to generate trading signals. Different automated trading platforms use varied software to generate the trading signals. You can run the system from your own desktop or can leave the trading completely to professionals through your managed accounts.

Auto forex system trading platform is configured to automatically open and close positions at specified parameters. As the forex markets in different countries operate in different time zones, the trading practically continues round the clock. With a managed account in your auto forex system trading, whenever a trade signal is generated, your order will be placed into your account while you are away working or sleeping.

Auto forex system trading is free of the traders’ emotion. As the operations are strictly software driven, you need to concentrate on the strategic decisions, which will be executed automatically. As the automated trading platforms have proper risk management features, your trades will be secured and safe.

Many online brokers offer auto forex system trading platforms for free. You can download the system in your desktop. For a subscription or with the spread, the online broker can manage your investment.

If you purchase an automated forex trading system, the vendor may offer you free trading alert services when you can receive signals whenever a trade is identified. In many trading platforms, your order can be placed automatically, whenever a signal is generated and, therefore, you never miss a trading opportunity and save your time as well.

To take the maximum advantage of the auto forex trading system, you need planning and self-preparation. Always determine beforehand how much of your trading capital you will risk. Work on a demo account for few months before choosing the automated trading platform.

You must also monitor how your accounts are doing on a regular basis. A successful auto forex trading system should be based on low leverage and multiple entry. Always ask for the history and record of past performance of the auto forex system trading platform. The trading platform should be simple enough for you to operate.

Forex Foreign Exchange

Forex is the perfect market to invest as it is free from any external control and free competition. Forex foreign exchange systems are automated trading platforms through which new as well as veteran investors or traders can make investment in the forex market.

They are software-based programs, which you can either download from the internet or can buy and subsequently load in your computer terminal. For running the forex foreign exchange systems, all you need is a computer and an internet connection.

Once you login or enter your forex system, you are directly connected to the ever-operating global forex market, where you can buy or sell currencies. An advanced online forex trading system empowers you with flexibility and ease of training.

If you are a new investor, you can first open a demo account, where you virtually invest some money while you pick up the secrets of trading. You can test the functionality and efficiency of the forex system. The online forex foreign exchange system may have online tutorials through which you learn the basics of trading.

Once you develop confidence, you can open a mini account with your online forex broker. A mini account can be opened with a mini seed amount of $100 or even $50. So with this small amount at stake, you start employing the strategies you have learnt till you are fully prepared to face the real time market challenges. Then you may graduate to a standard account and start investing through your forex foreign exchange system.

Before you choose the forex system look for few vital criteria. First the service provider or the online broker must be affiliated with some regulatory authorities. The dealing should be transparent with terms and conditions clearly specified.

The forex foreign exchange system should offer tight spreads, say 2-3 pips for all major currencies. The forex system should have automated execution facility. It must have extensive charting tools, which are prepared on the basis of fundamental and technical analysis. The system should use technical indicators and should be supported with signal services, which will guide you in investing in the right direction.

The forex foreign exchange system should have multiple contract sizes to suit your trading style. The system should also offer multiple leverage ratios, for example, 50:1, 100:1, 200:1, 250:1 etc. A system that algorithmically blends pricing from multiple data sources to determine the mid-point market price will guide you in identifying the market trends. The forex foreign exchange system should provide you facility of margin trading.

An ideal forex foreign exchange system should have simple software to help you with your trading requirements. If you do not have time to watch the market continuously, it should have auto-trading facility where your orders will be executed automatically based on your preset criteria.

It should have forex market analysis, news, articles, and online tutorials to keep you abreast with the market. It should have a forum where you can get your queries answered by other members and seasoned traders.

Before finally selecting the forex foreign exchange system always ask for the records of past performances and historical data, so that you can have a reliable system. The forex foreign exchange system should employ proper risk management features to keep your investment safe.

Day Trading Technical

Day trading technical indicators are the representation of mathematical formulae a day trader can use to decide when to do the trading. Forex day trading involves buying and selling of various currencies with the goal of making a profit from the difference between the buying price and the selling price within a day.

The day traders employ different strategies like short term scalping where positions are only held for a few seconds or minutes or longer term swing and position trading, when they hold the position for the whole trading day. For their trades they follow one or more day trading technical indicators or develop a strategy based on a combination of many such indicators.

A day trading technical indicator is a series of data points that can be derived by applying a formula to the price data. Price data includes any combination of the open, high, low, or close over a period of time.

Some technical indicators may use only the closing prices while others incorporate volume and open interest into their formulas. The price data is entered into the formula and a data point is produced, which in turn creates the indicator.

The list of day trading technical indicators is practically endless. There are Absolute Breadth Index, Bollinger Bands, Bull/Bear Ratio, Candlestick Charts, indicators based on Dow Theory or Elliot Wave Theory, Envelopes, Fibonacci Levels, MACD, Moving Averages, TRIX, Weighted Close, and many more. All these can be used as a day trading technical indicators with slight or no modifications.

For example, the absolute breadth index or ABI is a market momentum indicator which shows the activity, volatility, and change taking place in the market without paying attention to the direction of the prices. High readings implicate active markets. As a day trading technical indicator, it can predict future direction if combined with other indicators.

Bollinger Bands on the other hand are a kind of moving average envelope. It exist at standard deviation levels above and below the moving average and generally stay within the upper and lower bands. As a day trading technical indicators, it predicts the future market movements. Fibonacci numbers with 4 theories - arcs, fans, retracements, and time zones, which highlight reversals in trends.

Day trading technical indicators has three functions–to alert, to confirm and to predict. So a trader can never miss a trading opportunity or run into loss if he or she can use the indicators judiciously.

The best approach will be to develop a strategy based on more than one indicator. Learning how to use these indicators is more of an art than a science. Through careful study and analysis, a day trading technical indicator can be developed over time, but they can never be full proof.

Successful Forex Robots

Most Forex robots lose money and that's a fact. You get big claims from all of them but if you want to separate the winners from the losers, simply use the two points enclosed and they will save you from losing with a robot and help you find a profitable one.

In a moment we will give a successful Forex robot which we consider the best but first, let's look at how to spot winners from losers.

1. An Independently Verified Track Record

You would expect robot vendors to show you they had made money in real time trading and have the track record checked by a reputable independent body but most don't, all you get is:

A Simulated track record going backwards on paper knowing all the closing prices! That's so easy a kid could do it.

or:

The vendor will claim real gains in the market the so called "live results" but these come from the vendor themselves! In any investment, you should be given an independent audit but most vendors simply expect you to take their word for it.

2.The Background to the Vendor

Normally, robots are made by programmers NOT traders and even the ones who claim that they have been developed by traders have not; for example many of the so called traders were revealed as actors and some have to be anonymous according to the vendors for various reasons but the real reason is - they don't exist. Very few Forex robots, have been developed by traders and that's a fact.

Best Forex Robot - One From a Trading Legend which Has Made Hundreds of Millions of Real Dollars!

The Turtle trading robot is one based upon the rules developed by trading legend Richard Dennis for the so called "Turtle Experiment" where he took a group of people with no trading experience, gave them a set of rules to follow and the rest is history - they made several hundred million dollars in real time trading. This is one of the most famous trading experiments of all time and is well documented, in the international and financial press

The Turtle robot is based on a set of rules that made and still makes huge gains and you have the comfort of knowing, the person who developed the rules was a real trader.