While running your business towards success, you will need to be focused on enhancing and maintaining product or service quality while also focusing on strengthening customer relationships. However, your product or service and your customers are not the only elements you will need to safeguard as a business owner as you will also need to consider effective methods of keeping the future of your businesses finances secure. Your businesses relationship with lenders such as banks, creditors, suppliers, and others will need to be safeguarded to drive your business towards success. The following effective ways to protect your businesses finances are vital.

Cover Your Employees To Protect Your Business

Your employees are crucial elements in your business as they are right at the core of essential functions. While many business owners make the fundamental mistake of assuming that key employees can be replaced, not only will it be time-consuming and frustrating to find top talent, the process could also cost your business substantially. Therefore, you should consider Keyman Insurance or other similar coverage best to protect your employees as well as your business. Such cover will payout a lump sum to the company and beneficiary of the employee, protecting all key members of your team.

Liability Protection

It is impossible to entirely rule out the possibility that an employee may be injured while at work. What’s more, you cannot be confident that any client, customer, employee, or even delivery person will not experience an injury on site. Rather than hope injuries won’t occur, and your business won’t receive a legal summons, you should protect your business with liability cover policies that are relevant to your business.

The Importance Of Data Security

Data security efforts are vital for all businesses in the 21st century. Regardless of the size of your business and the industry you are operating in, data security can ultimately protect your business from cyber hacks that will compromise your finances as well as put customer and client information at risk. As a business, physical assets are not the only assets that are of vital importance as data is equally as important when it comes to running a successful business. Therefore, you will need to implement data security measures that protect your businesses information from an online perspective. Securing your wifi and consulting a professional to protect your data best is extremely important.

Minimize Debt Effectively

Businesses who are continually feeling chased by heavy debt burdens often crumble under the financial pressure and end up shutting their doors inevitably. Therefore, another effective method of protecting the finances of your business is to focus on ways of eliminating debts. You could consider the snowball method or other methods to pay off debts, and when it comes to avoiding the need for credit usage, you could consider creative ways of raising funds for your business rather than applying for loans. When considering just how excessive interest rates on business loans can be, it makes perfect financial sense to avoid lenders where possible.

Deciding on what type of career you should focus on can be stressful. While some people seem to be born with an idea of what they want to do, most people struggle. Different people have different priorities. While some want to focus on having the potential for high earnings, others would prefer to have job stability. The things you want in a career often change as your life changes as well. When you are fresh out of college, a job that is high stress and requires a lot of hours may be exciting and allow you to learn. As you get older, this type of work may lose its appeal.

One thing to keep in mind when you are weighing your career options is that nothing has to last forever. In past decades it was common for someone to take a job and work their way up in that company throughout their career. Today, it is much more common to not only jump from employer to employer but even to transition into a different career. Knowing that your decision today is not something you are stuck with forever can make it easier to commit to one path. Selecting a major that allows you flexibility in careers ensures that you will have a way to transition into a new career down the line.

Choosing a Career in Finance

If you are interested in a financial services career, whether it is working directly with clients on managing investments, or on the business side, you can expect a wide range of career options. Investment banking, brokerages, and many other banks and financial services companies have a great need for smart, eager to learn applicants. The field can be competitive, but there is a reason for this. Financial services work is well compensated. Even at the entry-level, the jobs pay more than traditional entry-level positions.

Landing a Job

This is not a field that employs people without a college degree. Applicants who major in math, economics, or a similar choice will stand out in the sea of resumes. You can take out private student loans to pay for this degree. Lenders are generous with borrowing limits, which allows you to focus on your education. Help boost your resume after graduation by taking at least one internship while you are in school.

Working in Finance

While it can be a challenge to land that first job in the financial field, you will find it much easier to move up the career ladder. There are many different types of jobs available for anyone hoping to work in the field. If you find that your first job isn’t the best fit, transitioning into a new position at your existing company allows you to explore other options. Some common positions available for new graduates include working as an investment banking analyst, financial analyst, and financial auditor. In any entry-level finance position, you will be responsible for performing research, producing reports, and often, developing forecast models. The first few years in your career will give you a good overview of the many positions available in the world of finance. That allows you to make a decision on what you find most interesting and how you want to direct your career.

If you want to make sure that you are the best you can be when it comes to investing, then you have to make sure that you follow these key tips. If you do, then you will soon find that you are able to make way more money and that you can be way more comfortable too.

Know why you are Investing

If you don’t know why you are actively investing your money or even what your goals are, then you may find that you end up making mistakes or that you end up losing sight of the bigger, financial picture. Getting rich should not be your ultimate goal. If you think this way, then you may find that you end up going down some sketchy paths and this can cause you to make some very bad choices in the long run.

Read Books

You should sign up to your company 401K and you should also open up an IRA as well. That being said, you have to make sure that you do not rush to invest your money. While investing in stocks is not too complicated, there is certainly a lot of information that you need to digest. It’s highly recommended that you dive into some personal financial books if possible, so you can then begin to explore the relevant options. If you visit www.bestinvoicingsoftware.com and you need some help with managing your business finances for investment purposes then this websites is a great source.

Never Invest in Something you Don’t Understand

Although this may sound very much like common sense, you would be surprised at how easy it is for you to fall into a trap when you are seeing nothing but dollar signs. You may find that you end up struggling to know what you are doing and that you end up throwing money down the drain as well. This can really go against you, so you have to make sure that you do everything you can to understand the topic of your choice before you go ahead and throw money at it.

Don’t Jump into Fads

Avoid jumping into fads, or things that everyone is talking about. At the very hype of Bitcoin, everyone was talking about it and everyone thought that it was the next digital currency as well. Most people don’t understand a lot about investing, so they jump onto fads and anything else of the sort. You have to avoid this if you want to become the best investor that you can be, or you may end up paying for it in the future.

Get Protective

You also have to make sure that you get protective when people are greedy. Be more cautious of your investment when people are trying to tell you to invest more or if they want something from you. Remember that there is nothing wrong with you talking to your friends and your family about your investment, but you do have to make sure that you are doing what you can to make sure that you are aware of the influencing factors around you. If you get greedy and see an opportunity you may find that you invest too much, and this can ultimately work against you far more than you realise.

If you want to make sure that you are doing what you can to try and capitalise on the economy then this is great but remember that other people are probably doing the same thing that you are. This may tip the scales a bit and it may make it harder for you to come out on top so keep that in mind if you can so you can make the best investment possible.

In stock marketing, day trading continues to skyrocket in popularity, making more people continue attaining financial freedom. It also allows them to have the ability to live life, depending on their terms.

Some years back, it was a popular method to earn with the “Dot Com” bubble, and later, the bubble busted before the interest waned. After a decade, there was the “Great Recession” after there was interest in day trading. Today, there is a huge group of active traders who are looking for information on how they can start day trading. Much information available is overwhelming. That’s why it’s essential to learn day trading proven techniques at https://day-traders.net/.

It is easy to make a huge amount of money day trading, as many people have done before. However, if you’re a beginner, it requires you time and dedication to learn the intricacies. With careful planning and the right information, you’ll be able to put yourself that you can earn a living.

Overview of Day Trading

Day trading refers to a speculative trading style involving the opening and closing any position within a day. 

For example, assume that you’ve opened a new position at 11 AM and close it at 3 PM on the same day. It means you’ve completed a day trade. However, if you completed the next day, it is no longer day trading.

Active traders, which also means day traders will use trading strategy and technical analysis to make a profit within a short period and can also use margin in increasing buying power.

If you want to be a successful day trader, you don’t have to pick any stock and trade it. You have to use a strategy involved in money management and rules parameters.

How Day Traders Work

A day trade deals with capitalizing on short term price movements through active buying and selling stocks.

The traders look for volatile shares in the market. If there is no volatility -short term price movement – you will not get an opportunity. However, the more the stock will move while trading, the higher profit you will make or lose in that single trade.

If you want to succeed in day trading, you should exercise risk management skills. That’s why day traders are thought of as managers of risk because they have to put their money risking to make more money, and if they mismanage the risks, they get a hard time to make money consistently.

Successful traders often always have their predetermined entry and exit points prior to entering the trade. It helps take their emotion from trade, and that keeps the trader in over managing their position.

Requirements For Day Trading

Day trading is essential to investors. However, as a beginner, before you trade with real money, consider these things:

• Knowledge Of Trading Technical Analysis And Terminologies

Day trading is an exceedingly difficult skill to master and become competent. Therefore, when you want to trade, consider it like a professional. The way you aim at making money will depend on your ability to perform day in and out. If you decide to day trade but without any education or training, that’s a recipe for disaster – you will lose money.

• Develop A Strategy Or Adopt Proven Trading Strategy

It might take you long before you can develop a strategy you’ll be using to trade. It’s, therefore, best you adopt the approach other traders are using. When creating your own, you will have to backtest and refine it before trading with real money.

• Practicing

You might have read some articles, books, or enrolled in trading courses and feel like you’re ready to start trading. The reality is, you’re even not close to being ready. And that’s why practice will come into play.

With there being many forex brokers to choose from, you’re often left with questions of which is the best option? Even if you have a checklist of what makes a good forex broker, there are still qualities and characteristics to watch for that not every broker has.

There are quite a few forex brokers on the market that sport multiple red flags and do not have their client’s best interest at heart, or do not meet the proper regulations for forex trading, Hugosway being an example. However, that doesn’t mean the perfect forex broker isn’t out there.

We created a list of five qualities and characteristics to look for that make a good forex broker.

Follow All Licensing and Regulations

Likely the top quality of a good forex broker is that the company follows all licensing and forex trading regulations. Unregulated brokers can get themselves, you and your money into shady situations, all of which you do not need.

Ask yourself this – are you comfortable with your money being handled with an unregulated broker?

Offers a Demo Account

Another excellent quality of a good forex broker is that the company offers a demo or trial period. It’s a standard business practice to provide clients with a trial period of a few weeks or one month or give them access to a demo account with fake money. This allows the client to become familiar with the platform and make sure it’s a good match for them.

A good, regulated forex broker should have no problem offering you a trial period or demo account at no risk to you.

Choice of Account

Since you’re the client and the broker makes a bit of money off you, a good trait of a forex broker is allowing you to choose the type of account best suited for your needs. With forex trading being popular, there are different types of accounts available. Your broker should offer access to them.

One type of account is an ECN forex broker that acts as a bridge between forex traders and executing trader requests and orders. You can take a look at the top ECN brokers of 2020 to see what they all offer.

Adequate Customer Service

Having good customer service is a huge asset for a forex broker for a few reasons. To start, since someone can forex trade 24-hours a day, it’s important to have access to customer service 24-hours a day. Especially for a new trader or someone testing out a new broker, anytime customer service access is a huge perk.

Adequate customer service also comes in the form of real-life customer service technicians. When you’re calling with a question, you want to speak to a live person right away, not having to push numbers in hopes of getting the right answer.

Ease of Deposits and Withdrawals

Another essential quality, and for some forex traders, the most important quality, is the ease of deposits and withdrawals. That is your money in an account through the broker, which means you should be able to access it at any time without any issues.

Before choosing a forex broker, take time researching what it offers and the reviews about it. Past experiences from other traders will help give an image of what the broker is like.

With the world coming to terms with a global pandemic, focusing on your studies, preparing for SATs, LSATs, GRE, GMAT, etc. is becoming even harder. However, with universities and colleges shifting to online mechanisms for education, the students need to keep preparing despite the myriad of challenges they are facing in these times of crisis.

When it comes to all these exams, the test preparation market has a huge role. However, the choices that the students make right now will have quite an impact on the future of the test prep market, especially the online test prep market. The test prep market is predicted to reach over $30 billion by 2021.

Transition From Physical Classrooms to Online Classrooms

The current and forced transition of schools to distance learning is revealing several benefits of remote education. Test preparation is now shifting from physical classrooms to online classrooms. There is a lot of benefit for companies to learning how to invest in test preparation courses. Let’s see why is that and how is it good for the online test prep market.

When it comes to education, classroom courses have several benefits that are irreplaceable. For example, for students of engineering or physical sciences, there are a lot of things that can’t be taught remotely. However, when it comes to online test preparation courses, it depends on only two things.

1. Instructor Quality
2. Curriculum Quality

·       Instructor Quality

Previously, to increase their market and to enroll a higher number of students, test preparation centers used to employ a lot of instructors. In doing so, they compromised on the quality of education being imparted by those subpar instructors.

However, when it comes to online test prep, there is no need to hire a below-average instructor because there are no physical classrooms. In this way, not only will the test prep companies will have resources to invest in a quality instructor, but the students will also get quality education, and thus, will be able to perform better.

·       Curriculum Quality

When it comes to standardized tests, the curriculum and type of questions that come in those tests are certain. The challenge for the test prep companies is to create an effective curriculum. What they need to do, at first, is to create a simple model that will help all the learners, no matter what their capabilities are.

hen, the second step will be to provide such content that will help the students work on their problem areas. Research says that online learning is as effective as classroom learning. Therefore, the test prep companies have to design a curriculum that will help the students in a better way while they are studying online.

With the help of various online tools such as lesson planners, creating assignments and quizzes, etc., you can ensure that the students get tools for interactive learning.  Students need to ensure that they read PrepScholar reviews online of the test prep companies so that they would know that they are getting quality education.

However, not all students belong to the same social and economic class. In the wake of COVID-19 and the transition from physical learning to e-learning, we have seen that the students who are of lower socioeconomic status are facing loads of difficulties. This is since they lack access to the internet and have less reliable devices.

Steps That Online Test Prep Companies Need to Take

With so many test prep companies available online quite a few steps the test prep industry is shifting away from the classroom, they have to address the social and economic disparities that exist in society. Otherwise, it will become just another way for rich and wealthy students to get a leg up.

·       Offer Need-based Scholarships

Several students can’t afford the rates of online test prep. Is it fair and just that they will not get the guidance they deserve just because they can’t afford it? This is where scholarships come in. Test prep companies have to implement a mechanism through which bright students of lower economic standing will get scholarships.

·       Improve Their Device Availability

Not all of the students have access to high quality, expensive devices. We need to ensure that the online test prep material is compatible with all devices, so that people all over the world, even those with very affordable and cheap phones can have access to quality education.

Moreover, the online test prep industry needs to make their courses available offline as well. Making the course content downloadable would be beneficial for many people who don’t have access to the internet 24/7.

Final Word

In these unprecedented times, even though there are several challenges, the world, especially the world of online preparation has changed for the better. Both the online test prep companies and students need to adapt.

Here’s to a better and effective online test prep world!

Investing has become much easier in the digital age. People can simply log into online accounts and transact large sums of money in an instant.

The popularity of brokerage apps like Robinhood make stock, options, and even crypto trading easy for enthusiastic investors.

Digital investments do not need to be stored, are highly secure (assuming an investor is using a legitimate platform), and often feature cost-competitive fees on transactions and trades.

With the ease of investing virtually, some wonder why people go through the hassle to Buy Gold Online and store physical bullion.

Gold bars can be heavy and pose a significant security risk if stored at home. People who choose to have their bullion investments secured in a bank must trust the institution and their security measures, especially if the entity is far away.

Even in the modern era, purchasing physical gold has several advantages. Gold has long been seen as valuable by countless civilizations and the yellow metal still remains desirable in the modern age.

Gold prices have surged across 2020 due to low interest rates and activities by central banks to stimulate the economy.

Many are adding bullion to their portfolios as upward momentum keeps gold prices strong during this time of economic uncertainty.

The Many Benefits Of Buying Physical Gold

One of the strongest advantages of buying physical gold is its tangibility. Gold bars, coins, and rounds held in a person’s hand are a unique investment. They are not able to be destroyed by the natural elements and can not be hacked or digitally altered (like some investments in the virtual world).

In times of crisis, gold bullion can be a literal lifesaver as it is extremely liquid and seen as a stable store of value.

Gold is one of the only assets that is not a liability at the same time for another entity. No contract is needed to make a gold coin, bar, or round valuable.

Privacy is another advantage of purchasing physical gold. Most investments, especially those made digitally, are tracked and traced. Other people who have access to a digital portfolio could then see a person’s estimated wealth.

On the other hand, physical gold can be purchased anonymously. It remains one of the few assets that can be bought and stored in a completely private manner. This is a huge advantage for those interested in keeping their investment practices hidden.

The portability and simplicity of gold storage (if willing to do so) is a third reason why people often purchase physical gold. One can hold thousands of dollars worth of gold in the palm of their hand and store it in a small safety deposit box.

Stacks of bills can quickly become overwhelming and hard to manage. Other physical bullion options, like silver, do not pack as much value in a small space like gold does.

The value-density of physical gold gives significant advantages to purchasing bullion.

Finally, an advantage of purchasing physical gold is the lack of specialized knowledge required. Stock trading often takes research and practice to become at ease with. Even the most experienced traders still spend time honing their craft.

More research and knowledge are often required for investments like cryptocurrencies and stock options due to their specialized nature.

Buying gold bullion does not require any special knowledge other than understanding the day’s spot price. No speculation or price predictions are needed. Gold bullion is easily recognized and can be bought in just a few minutes by even a first-time investor.

In a complicated financial world, the simplicity of physical bullion can not be understated. Buying ‘digital gold’ like gold ETFs or gold-backed cryptocurrencies are more complex.

Buying Gold Bars, Coins, And Rounds

The best types of physical gold investments are bars, coins, and rounds. All three are easily accessible and recognized across the world. In general, buying gold coins is the best option for investors. Coins are easy to sell or trade when needed and often are sold at a higher premium than bars or rounds.

Larger investors should opt for gold bars. The premiums on bars lessen as the value grows higher. One bar is also much easier to store than a multitude of coins.

Physical gold rounds are another option for investors. While rounds do not have the desirability of gold coins, some mints create beautiful rounds with unique designs, making them popular collector items and investments.

Buying Physical Gold Is Still Popular In 2020

Investors should not shy away from purchasing physical gold. Bullion is a smart choice to hedge against economic uncertainty and diversify a portfolio.

To most people, the stock market seems like a relatively elite world where those with money get countless opportunities to make even more money. However, even those with smaller budgets can seize the chance to profit as the result of an investment. In this article, we share a few hints and tips on how you can make a modest amount work in your favor in the world of stocks, shares and other investments.

Open a Mutual Fund Account

Simply put, this type of fund is an opportunity for a group of individuals to club together, pooling money that is then distributed across a variety of assets by professional financial experts. The return that is generated by those investments is then shared between the individuals who have paid into the fund. Because multiple people pay into the same account, the amount of capital required per individual can stay low, while the payoff may still be considerable.

Opt for a Stocks and Shares ISA

In a number of countries, potential investors can open a savings account that sees the deposited funds put into the likes of shares, government and corporate bonds and trusts. The UK’s version is known as a Stocks and Shares ISA. This type of account can be opened with almost any bank. The costs involved are usually similar to those of any other investment account. As with any interaction with the stock market, there is no guarantee that your money will generate significant returns – and, indeed, you may even lose money – but you won’t usually have to pay tax on your profits. There is usually only a very small initial lump sum deposit required to open an account of this kind. In the UK, it can be as low as £100 and up to £20,000 for the calendar year. It’s also possible to pay in monthly, investing as little as £25 each time. Be sure to carefully compare available accounts before you make your choice, as the related costs can vary significantly.

Seek Out Commission-Free Trading

On many platforms, commission is charged whenever you buy or sell stocks. This is often either known as a commission fee or brokerage fee. However, commission-free trading is now an option, allowing you to save more on your interactions and therefore have more available to invest in your next trade. Simply see the WeBull review for the stock trading mobile app that offers a commission-free trading platform in order to learn more about how this approach can work.

Better to Go Big Than to Invest by Degrees

Interestingly, as is the case in many other fields, it’s best to make one big investment when purchasing shares than to purchase a variety of individual units. This is because, where commission is charged, it is calculated per transaction. For this reason, it’s most common for a block of shares – usually numbering 100 – to be sold as a single transaction. In a relative sense, this keeps the charges lower than they would be if you paid per individual share, as each of these purchases constitutes its own transaction. As a result, it’s usually smarter to save up and buy a big block of the same type of share than spreading your funds around thinly.

Increasing numbers of entrepreneurs like Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr are drawn to taking over existing businesses. The strategic plan envisions a rethinking of the business model.

There is a widespread misconception that founders who sell their businesses are concealing material facts from potential buyers. Traditional thinking states, ‘If the business is so great, why are you selling it?’ This naturally lends to increased scrutiny. Yet, the global economy is predicated on demand and supply, buy and sell. It is an intractable reality of the market, and it exists at every level of retail and wholesale activity.

Founders sell businesses for any number of reasons, including lifestyle changes, new ventures on the horizon, or simply to cash out at the top of their game. On the flipside, buyers are always on the hunt for bargain deals. Arguably the most important precursor for success vis-a-vis business ventures is brand-name awareness. This goes to the heart of trust, credibility, and market share.

Indeed, companies like Pier 1 Imports, Macy’s, Dressbarn, American Eagle Outfitters, Signet Jewelers, Bath & Body Works, Stein Mart, Microsoft Store, Brooks Brothers, CVS, GameStop, GNC, H&M, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Victoria’s Secret have announced large-scale closures of their retail operations.  Businesses divest from poorly performing stores in order to shore up their cash flow, rein in expenditure, and improve profitability over the long-term.

The shuttering of tens of thousands of retail operations across the United States is fuelled by the ‘steroid induced’ Retail Apocalypse, driven by the coronavirus pandemic. Fortune.com author, Phil Wahba inked an op-ed in April 2020, ‘Coronavirus Will Harm Already Weak Retailers Long After It’s Been Contained’. In his expose, he goes to great pains to elaborate the damage faced by the retail sector vis-a-vis the coronavirus. The switch to e-commerce has accelerated in 2020, owing to the social distancing requirements, and virulence of the pathogen causing the coronavirus disease.

How Entrepreneurs Are Capitalizing Under Current Market Conditions?

At first glance, one would be remiss to postulate that profitability is possible during an exceedingly difficult period in the global economy. Like trading and investing, profits stand to be made whether markets are rising or falling. The analogy to trading is an important one, given that put options in futures markets can be profitable to traders during downswings. Under current market conditions, the reality is markedly different. Entrepreneurs who buy ailing businesses are not looking to short the future income potential of their acquisitions; they are looking to turn things around to become profitable under current market conditions.

Two serial entrepreneurs are worthy of mention: Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr. The former is a social media influencer with millions of followers across Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook et al. He’s also a property mogul, and a business tycoon. Together with former NASA scientist, Alex Mehr – who just so happens to be the co-founder of Zoosk which sold for $280 million – the pair kicked off a Florida-based investment company known as REV (Retail E-Commerce Ventures).

This disruptive retail company is making hay while the proverbial sun shines in 2020. With the Retail Apocalypse wreaking havoc on bricks and mortar operations across the US, Lopez and Mehr are turning things around for many established brand name companies. To quote Lopez, ‘… The number-1 corporate objective, when crossing the chairs, is to secure a distribution channel into the mainstream market, one with which the pragmatist customer will be comfortable.’ For Lopez and Mehr that is e-commerce.

According to Digital Commerce 360, Amazon.com’s Q2 North America revenues skyrocketed 43%. Such phenomenal growth is a testament to our times, thanks largely to the pandemic which has funneled retail activity, from land-based operations to e-commerce. According to Amazon’s financial reports, worldwide revenue growth in Q2 increased 33.5%, and virtual sales of groceries increased 300%. This is not unique to Amazon; similar trends are evident with eBay, AliBaba, and virtually all other e-commerce retail operations of existing land-based businesses. For REV, the strategy is clear: Harness the brand power of existing SMEs by transformative change [from land-based footfall traffic to e-commerce]. Identifying lucrative opportunities is the biggest challenge, but several important acquisitions have already been made.

Modell’s Sporting Goods

Modell’s Sporting Goods is an established provider of sports & activities, accessories, and footwear. With 130 years of retail experience in the sporting industry, Modell’s Sporting Goods has consistently delivered on expectations. Land-based stores are available in DC, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. But the Retail Apocalypse dramatically affected the brand, leading to an important decision – a buyout by Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr.

The decision was inked on 14 August 2020, when REV paid $3.64 million to purchase Modell’s assets after the sporting goods retailer announced bankruptcy and liquidation of the chain. The reason why Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr purchased the company was clear as day: people love the brand name. A turnaround strategy from land-based operations to e-commerce has already proven to be successful.

Pier 1 Imports

Pier 1 Imports is another example of a well-known retail brand that was struggling to make ends meet in 2020. Once again, the Retail Apocalypse with a steroid-induced bolus from the coronavirus accelerated losses at land-based retailers across the country. on July 31, 2020, a $31 million purchase was finalized of Pier 1 Imports by Retail E-Commerce Ventures (REV) under the stewardship of Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr. As anticipated, Pier 1 Imports remains a well-known brand with massive e-commerce sales potential.

Dressbarn

Dressbarn is another example of an ailing land-based retail chain that shuttered all of its land-based stores in 2019. REV made the bold move to acquire the company and launch online sales through a clever combination of social media ingenuity and e-commerce. By determining where customers are, and contacting them on their terms, REV managed to turn Dressbarn around with year-on-year increases in revenue. Thanks to smart marketing, analytics, and big data, REV is able to fully assess each brand that it acquires, or intends to acquire based on a set of factors. Criteria include the quality/value of the company’s assets, customer affinity for the brand, and brand awareness.

Many other serial entrepreneurs have ventured into this territory, hoping to transform once-ailing Len-based operations into thriving e-commerce ventures. It is definitely a challenging environment in 2020, but all signs point to the runaway success of REV under its innovative leadership duo.

If you take a broad perspective on investing, it could be said that it’s the same thing regardless of which country you’re doing it in. In a sense, you’d be correct. After all, what more is investing aside from designating money for certain funds in hopes of growth? 

Investing is similar no matter where you go – in principle, anyway. The goal is generally much of the same in each country but, just like legislation and culture, every nation has their own investing structure and regulations surrounding it. 

Looking at building an investment account in the country of Canada. It’s not too dissimilar from the United States, which houses the largest stock exchange in the world in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Although Canada may not have the biggest stock exchange or population of investors in the market, they do have their own respectable investing infrastructure set up, and here’s how you can take advantage of that. 

Take Stock & Audit Your Unique Financial Situation

There truly is not a single one size fits all investment strategy to follow, regardless of where you live. Even the best investment accounts in Canada won’t bring financial success if the funds aren’t allocated in alignment with your personal goals. 

The first and foremost thing to consider is your age. An 18-year old’s investment strategy will be a bit different from someone who just turned 60 and is glancing toward retirement on the horizon. Some can afford more risk than others, some can’t. The tables can easily be turned, and some 18-year old’s may have no room for risk because of lack of funds, whereas the more seasoned investor has managed his finances well and can afford to lose a bit on venture. This just goes to show how circumstantial investing can be.

Combine your age with your financials. Do you have a job? Are you in school? What’s your annual average income? Do you have a decent savings for emergencies or loss of income? Is your salary expected to taper up or down over the course of the next 5-10 years? Ask yourself these questions, as well as taking an honest assessment of your expenses, both necessary and liberal costs, as well as your insurance situation.

Compile everything about you, your money, and your goals into an investment strategy that suits where you want to go and steers your money toward the desired outcome you see in the future. No single person can do this for you. 

Looking at Investing Options for Canadians Like You.

The most significant stock exchange in Canada is the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Much like the United States’ NYSE in terms of stature, this is where most trading is done. Whether you’re a day-trader or someone who buys individual stocks, the equities in your fund will likely be held and traded on this exchange.

In terms of investment accounts for Canadians, they’re similar to what the US and other major countries have introduced, with some slight differences. 

1. TFSA Accounts

You have the tax-free savings account (TFSA), which is a form of investment account that can hold differing forms of assets, including cash, but is not taxed at all upon withdrawal for capital gains. This is very similar to what America has in the form of a Roth IRA, where your investments are not able to be written off on your tax deductions, but you do not have to pay on them later when reaping the benefits. 

This is ideal for those who expect their income to increase, or be higher at the time they plan on withdrawing their investments from the account in comparison to what they’re paying on the income at the time of deposit. The Canadian TFSA also has an annual contribution limit – for 2020, the limit is $6,000 CAD. 

It comes with some caveats though. If you failed to meet that contribution amount for the year prior, whatever amount under $6,000 you were you would be allowed to contribute in the following year. So, if you only contributed $4,000 for the past three years, in 2021, you’d have $6,000 of “rollover” contribution room. 

2. RRSP Accounts

A registered retirement savings account is much like a standard IRA account in the sense that your contributions are tax deductible and you will pay taxes on them upon withdrawal. You’ll also pay a withholding tax for any reason other than retirement, post-secondary expenses, or the purchase of a new home. Your contribution limit will also be reduced by the amount you withdrew. The dollar amount contribution limit for 2020 is about $27,000 CAD, and to qualify for opening one you’ll need to be under the age of 69. 

At age 71, your RRSP will automatically be converted into an RRIF, which is a registered retirement income fund, with payments needing to begin dispersing by age 72 at the latest. There is a minimum annual withdrawal, and the withdrawals will be taxed at your marginal tax bracket. 

3. Cryptocurrencies 

Investing isn’t just for retirement, and, although cryptocurrency very well could help you do that, it’s far more than just a retirement account. Cryptocurrency is something that Canadians can add to their investment portfolio to promote breadth and depth within their asset classes.

Much like gold, except likely with more upside, cryptocurrencies currently serve as somewhat of an alternative asset to more traditional governmental currency-backed investments. You know inflation is always a risk, and at the moment interest rates are regressing after having previously given savings account owners a glimmer of hope. These uncertainties make cryptocurrencies a quality alternative, contrarian asset to hold.

4. Brokerage Accounts

It should go without being said that you have the classic brokerage account used for trading equities, options, and other assets on the market in the day to day. Taxed at your traditional capital gains rates, these aren’t generally used for retirement purposes alone, but for more active and exploratory investors. Nevertheless, they’re a useful tool to have in your belt of investment account types.

In Summary, Have Some Depth 

It’s great to have a spread-out portfolio over multiple account types, and you needn’t worry about committing to just one. Implementing this alongside a customized investment strategy is enough to produce some precipitous gains in any country, including Canada.

Marion Underwood
Marion Underwood has been working as a blogger ever since he was young. His blog is filled with informative articles on business, investment, and finances. Marion also writes guest posts about these topics to other online platforms.

At ClickTrades, the online European trading brand owned by KW Investments Limited, traders have the opportunity to trade some of the leading financial assets, including CFDs on popular stock market indices. At times, when stocks are very volatile, the broker aims to provide access to instruments that are more liquid and at the same time, carry tight trading costs.

Known for its sharp considerably towards ensuring optimal trading conditions, ClickTrades had managed to assemble a very comprehensive offer that includes CFDs based on multiple asset classes, such as forex, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, but in this article, we would like to focus on mainly on indices CFDs.

Three of the strongest indices CFDs are part of the offer

By studying the ClickTrades indices CFDs offer, we can easily notice that due to a very diversified list, some of the major global indices are available for trading with competitive costs. The German DAX30 had been one of the best-performing European indices since the March selloff took place, managing to recover more than 90% of the losses. Spreads are variable (starting at 2.6 Euros) and the maximum leverage goes to 1:200, while the overnight swaps represent the last trading cost associated.

Moving ahead, the US stock market had been the leading-performer this year and because of that, US-based stock indices had been very popular among retail traders. With ClickTrades, you are able to get involved in the tech industry with CFDs on Nasdaq 100 or get exposure to some of the leading US companies with contracts on the CFD for S&P500. The same trading conditions apply (variable spreads, overnight swaps, and up to 1:200 leverage) to ensure that customers can get involved in the market without large trading costs.

ClickTrades trading conditions

When trading with ClickTrades, conditions will depend largely on the account type chosen with the broker. At present, there are three different accounts available (Essential, Original, and Signature), each providing access to a pre-defined number of trading features.

In case you want to test the trading conditions and the ClickTrades platform, you can easily open a demo account, without having to put money at risk. In terms of live trading features, the broker offers access to daily market reviews & financial research, daily analyst recommendations, full access to a video library, and assistance from a dedicated account representative.

Other advanced features include special trading conditions, the ability to use the Trading Central, open access to research, or one-to-one meetings with an account representative, but you will need to make an upgrade from the basic Essential account to get access to them.

Trading Platforms

The main trading platform available at ClickTrades is the proprietary ClickTrades WebTrader, a solution designed to create the optimal trading environment. With it, traders can stay connected to the market on the go or from the comfort of their workspace, while access 2,100+ world-class assets. It integrated risk management tools, news, 3^rd party resources, and advanced charting to improve the overall trading experience.

Alongside the WebTrader, the popular MetaTrader 5 is also part of the offer, to ensure that diversification in terms of trading platforms is provided. MT5 is very intuitive, comes with different execution modes, a wide range of analytical tools, and automated trading facilities.

Summary

CFDs on Indices continue to be some of the most traded instruments among retail traders and ClickTrades enables access to competitive trading conditions for its customers. By providing support for leading indices CFDs around the world, tight trading costs, and optimized trading platforms, ClickTrades confirms its status as one of the highly trusted global trading brands.

Risk Warning: The materials contained on this document are not made by ClickTrades but by an independent third party and should not in any way be construed, either explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, as investment advice, recommendation or suggestion of an investment strategy with respect to a financial instrument, in any manner whatsoever. Trading CDF’s involves significant risk of loss

The days of just investing into a few stocks or a mutual fund for your future or some speculative financial gain are now gone. For the first time in a while, the world is beginning to start to see new types of currency available for use in transactions. Cryptocurrency has come to life over the last decade, especially the last 3-5 years as the news and talking points surrounding it continue to grow. If you’re not a crypto head though, you may be wondering what exactly it is and whether or not you can earn money through investing in different cryptocurrency.

What It Is

For now, cryptocurrency essentially serves as a value-holder that is usually backed by a blockchain service created to serve a specific purpose. What is a blockchain service? That’s another lesson entirely, but in short it is a decentralized transaction logging protocol that creates a chronology or provenance of its transactions. It’s decentralized because it is unregulated, which is one of the many reasons citizens and governments are skeptical about the asset.

However, we are starting to see to see online retailers accept crypto (primarily Bitcoin or other prevalent currencies) for transactions, essentially replacing money in these circumstances. This, however, is a slow and arduous process, so it’s unknown whether or not it will ever be widely accepted everywhere or even by most businesses. Some of the world’s largest corporations still don’t accept it, and, although it does seem to be progressing in that direction, the day when it finally becomes the widespread accept norm is a big question mark.

How To Invest 

This doesn’t stop cryptocurrency from being a viable asset to invest in though. Investors can trade upon these blockchains and purchase their own cryptocurrency shares while those with the computer wherewithal go about mining for new coins. Even if this alternative currency, much like gold, never reaches the level of prominence seen by the likes of the US Dollar (USD) or any other global standard value-holder, it still fulfills the role of an asset to hold with upside. 

Near the end of 2017, the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed near the value of $20,000 USD per coin, and it was probably this little PR boost around that time that really brought cryptocurrency to light for the public who had yet to hear of such a thing. Since then, things have regressed back to a less inflated state with the price of Bitcoin generally fluctuating between $8,000 and $11,000 over the course of the last year. For a new asset class, it’s actually been rather steady.

Types Of Crypto

The bigger name blockchains serve as a generally safe investment for the time being and those looking to hold long-term investments. You can easily put a few thousand dollars or more into a big-name, steadier cryptocurrency and treat it just like any other alternative asset – except, of course, for the fact that this one has the upside as being accepted as currency in some places with some great prospective for expansion and future growth. 

If the long-game isn’t your strong suit and you’re more of a day-trader seeking some quick gains or even just the thrill of watching the market, there’s cryptocurrencies available for you as well. If you watch the crypto market, or keep track of the financial market as a whole, you likely come across updates about new cryptocurrencies becoming available to be traded on your platform of choice. 

Crypto ICOs and the Upside Involved

While the blockchain may have existed before now, a new crypto making its way onto an official trading platform is basically like a stock getting its IPO on the market, except with more volatility depending on what company you’re comparing it to. (Crypto coin IPOs are actually referred to as ICOs, by the way.) These cryptocurrencies can be likened to penny stocks more so than a growing business getting a much-anticipated IPO, but you understand the comparison. With this novelty and unknown aura that accompany this new block comes volatility, and that is where you can earn money making a play on it.

Some of these new currencies that come onto the market may start out with a very low value in USD, with plenty of them entering the market under $1 per coin and some far less than that. This obviously presents an opportunity for tenacious growth if the technology backing it and people introducing it are right. Holding even just a few whole coins is a big deal if your currency of choice rises to prominence in the future. 

For an even quicker turnaround however, you’ll want to note that these sometimes fluctuate wildly over the course of the day. Also not to be forgotten is the fact that crypto trades at all hours and all days, unlike traditional institutions like the New York Stock Exchange where the markets traditionally open at 9:30AM EST and close at 4:30PM so everyone can go home. This is part of decentralization, and the trades can happen at all times. This means you have a keep a closer eye on the market than you would if you were trading in more traditional stock options.

Because of this factor, prices are always changing and somewhat erratic with these newer, smaller blockchains. This presents your chance as an opportunistic profit-chaser to get in on the action and capitalize. That is, if you play your cards right and have access to the right information rather than just trading random currencies, that would be preferential. 

Multiple Strategies Can Benefit

Cryptocurrency investing is not just for speculative investors or enterprising college students. Earning money through investing in cryptocurrency is something that’s a very real, very promising opportunity for every form of investor out there. Whether you’re a retiree, in your prime working years, or even just a teenager looking for investing experience, there are numerous ways to invest in cryptocurrencies can benefit your investing knowledge and, potentially, your wallet. 

Bruce Hebert

Bruce Hebert is a successful blogger who publishes content about business, investment, and cryptocurrency. Bruce wants to help his readers make the most out of their earnings by understanding these topics and guiding them in making investments

News is what most traders expect when trading. Regardless of what kind of analysis they practice (fundamental or technical), the news release is an important event that no trader can ignore.

Why is news release so important and what is news?

Conventionally, the news is an important economic event, on which the financial policy of a particular country depends, which in turn significantly affects the value of the currency of a particular country. Such news includes reports from leading economists, meetings of important economic institutions, the results of board meetings of world banks, elections, as well as reports from industry leaders in leading manufacturing countries.

All of the above news includes macroeconomic indicators that every trader should consider when trading. According to the results of certain events, a report is issued, which can greatly influence (and sometimes may not affect) the market movement.

News can be both planned and unexpected. Experienced traders are strongly advised to ignore sudden news, as spontaneous trading is rarely effective.

What news is better to trade on Forex?

The best option is scheduled news, the schedule of which can be found on any economic calendar. These calendars indicate the dates and exact times of the release of very important macroeconomic events. The most important news is:

• Inflation data;
• Information on unemployment;
• Interest rate data;
• Information about GDP;
• Industrial growth reports.

Other news may carry weight, but not as much as the publication of the above data. However, if you only trade news, then other news may also be useful.

Unfortunately, one cannot predict exactly what the news will be. But for certain issues, there may be certain prerequisites. And, if you have enough information to predict the final report, you can place pending orders and just follow how your deposit is increasing.

Most of the time in Forex trading brokers simplify things for traders and they have a section that is allocated to the news. Thus traders are able to check them, which helps them greatly. However, some broker websites lack them and as soon as you learn how to compare forex brokers with each other it becomes easier to choose a proper one for trading.

The main task of a trader is to follow a new emerging trend, which may (or may not) appear in connection with the release of this or that news.

How do traders trade on the news correctly?

When you have decided what news to trade on Forex, look for the relevant news releases in special economic calendars. It is advisable to put informers with a sound signal so that you do not forget that there will be a news release soon and you will need to start trading. Traders also indicate the time zone, so that the calendar correctly displays the date of the news release. Most of the Forex news is published in Pacific Time.

Not every broker can guarantee a high-quality signal when trading news. There are strong delays, distortions, or simply no signal from the terminal. In these cases, it is best to choose a broker that traders speak well of and who provides, if not ideal, then a stable quote signal.

Some brokers offer a deposit insurance service for news trading. If a broker provides such a service – spare some money and use it. It can save your deposit from unforeseen situations, or incorrect trading.

Choose the right currency pair to trade. It is worth remembering that every news release from each country is directly tied to its national currency. Accordingly, if there is news about Canada, then the currency pair for trading should be USD/CAD (dollar against the Canadian dollar). Other currencies for trading are selected in the same way.

Despite the fact that the market reaction to news can be unpredictable, there are a number of factors that determine the dynamics that are interesting for traders after the news is released.

For example, there is news that the US unemployment rate is 5%, but the previous news was 7%. This means that the state of the US economy is improving, therefore, the dollar is getting stronger against the background of this news. From this, we conclude that it is necessary to make transactions of purchase/sale of currency in favor of the US dollar.

What traders do not do when trading the news?

• Place buy/sell orders in advance;
• Leave the platform unattended;
• Do not use Stop Loss and Take Profit limits;
• Use trading robots that are not intended for news trading.
• Do not use the services of deposit insurance.

These are the main points, which should not be done if you often trade on the news.

As mentioned earlier, for this it is important to choose the right broker who, first of all, is interested in the client’s earnings. Unreliable brokers often dislike traders who trade on the news. If these are dealing centers that pay traders not actually earned money, but their own, they can in every way impede full-fledged trading on the news.

• Actual disconnection of the platform from the feed. That is, during news, the terminal simply does not work – traders cannot perform operations and the dealing center does not have to pay anything.
• Slippage. This is the opening of a deal at a less favorable price, as stated by the trader in the trade order.
• Increasing the spread. The broker makes news trading more expensive for traders, while the signal quality does not decrease. A relatively honest method, practiced by both dealing centers and some brokers.

Trading systems that allow traders to trade on the news

There are a lot of both home-made trading programs and other versions that are specifically targeted so that a trader can safely and profitably trade on the news. Most of them are incomplete, they are characterized by a large number of structural miscalculations. Using such programs should be very careful. This applies more to those robots that are freely available and distributed directly by the traders themselves.

If we are talking about corporate boxed versions, then their work is more streamlined and often brings good profits to traders. But even such systems have a number of disadvantages that should not be overlooked.

• The price is too high. Sometimes such an investment does not fight back even after several months of trading.
• The quality of the support team varies from company to company.
• The algorithm can break at any time. Due to the dynamics and volatility of the market, even the most efficient and theoretically perfect mechanism can fail. And this is not a miscalculation by developers or a trader who uses robots. This is the specificity of the market and nothing can be done about it.