Foreign Investors Group

In the stock market it’s not impossible to watch a stock move up dramatically in a matter of hours or days. Investors and traders can make great money and fatten their wallets every time this happens.

This seems great for every one that wants to try their fortune in the stock market, but the problem is that if you don’t know what stocks to look for and how to properly approach them you could end up wasting cash instead of making your profits grow. That’s why the most important aspect of stock trading is the knowledge FILTER you employ to make your buy and sell decisions.

There are many “fantastic” stock systems and trading strategies out there, but you need to test them in order to discover which ones help you the most. That’s part of your homework as a stock trader. Test, test and test again.

Complicated stock trading strategies that rely on a “boat load” of technical analysis indicators can make you slow, and being slow when trading stocks can be as dangerous as not knowing what to do in the first place.

The worst thing that can happen to a beginner trader is to get information overload. It’s better to go step by step, and test a practical stock trading strategy that can show you how to focus on concrete ways to make money while picking SOLID hot stock trading opportunities once at a time.

In essence, You can be sure that the trading method you employ to approach the stock market and pick stocks can make a big difference in your results as a trader.

They focus on picking certain stocks that can generate excellent gains on the same day.

Visit them today and learn how to take advantage of the market by picking the hottest opportunities this season.

Sharia-Compliant Fund Providing Extremely Low Risk Investments and Consistent Annual Double Digit returns for 10 – 20 – 30 Years!

Cabal Capital Management, LLC announces the launch of the Legacy Fund which provides special alternative investment opportunities into extremely low risk, and very high financial return Advanced High Income Generation Projects through direct investments.

This fund which is not a private equity fund and is Sharia-Compliant is unlike all other investment pool funds, hedge funds, etc. that exist today by offering investments that are focused on both strategic and tactical investment opportunities into Highly Advanced Income Generating Project(s) producing crucial and vital, very high demand commercially valued product(s) that are being sold directly into the largest “Major” Consumer Universal Demand Markets in the world.  These investments allow risk adverse accredited investors the ability to participate in the revenues generated from these projects which allows for and achieves both capital growth and preservation, while providing the investor an extremely low risk opportunity with the benefit of dependable and sustainable alpha generation and the long term growth from these projects.  These fully integrated projects have been designed to last 40 to 50 years or longer for their life cycles regardless of the global financial and credit markets.

Our fund is well positioned to effectively tap into these markets to the benefits of our investors.  The growth dynamics of the United States and Western Europe is based upon local, regional and domestic consumption of all the products these projects produce.  This fund is targeting routine and consistent annual double digit returns (15 – 21%) to investors un-correlated to all securities, commodities, currencies and the credit markets themselves since there will not be any exposure to these markets.  All project investments within this special investment vehicle have been specifically developed and designed to perform across various business cycles regardless of global economic conditions to include recessionary and depressionary environments as well.

The current global credit crisis, current stock market contractions and wild swings in the commodities markets does not and will not impact our ability to produce consistent annual double digit returns now or in the future for our investors since we will never have, need or rely on the credit markets to establish margin accounts or leveraged positions which most all hedge fund type investment vehicles require to operate.  We do not require nor will we ever utilize prime services which the large investment banks provide (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, etc.). We do not rely on the stock, commodity or currency exchanges to generate income since we can not control any of the events occurring in those exchanges for our investors, thus we are totally un-correlated to all securities, commodities, currencies and credit markets. 

In the case of Deflationary and Inflationary Markets, they will have no real effect on these projects and the products they produce.  Coincidentally inflation will only increase the value of the products coming out of the projects. Deflationary markets will have very minimal impact on the products produced within these projects since these products are and always will be vital for any country to maintain a stable economy, thus they will always be in very high demand through out the world regardless of the global economic conditions. 

Risk issues are always addressed through risk management and the review procedures for each and every investment made.  Unlike most projects which have been developed, planned and master planned, every assumption for each project invested in has been tested, validated, verified and proven or it’s not incorporated into these project(s).  Each and every project is also backed up by a detailed Input / Output Financial Cash Model which is a detailed Program / Project Financial Blueprint that shows the quarterly inter-relationships of investments, operational production revenues, operational expenses at all levels, taxes, imposts and fees, special circumstances events, and financial obligations during the life of the Program / Project.

Since energy production and consumption is the key element to any industrialized country, and with energy consumption increasing globally at an annual rate of 5 – 6 %, energy is and always will be vital to both the U.S. and Western European Economies. Allocating to Energy and Bio-Fuels production are two major key areas of involvement and investments within our seven pronged program investment strategies approach, which consists of the following options available to us:  Energy:  Oil & Gas (Example Project to follow), Bio Fuels:  Algae Based Bio-Diesel and Jatropha Curcas {plant} direct fuel source.  Algae Based Bio-Diesel is a direct fuel source currently available and ready for full scale production and delivery {This is Direct Fuel Source and is not a blend for gasoline or other fuel sources!} Algae Based Bio-Diesel Fuel production utilizes proprietary photo enhanced, micro nutrient enhanced, continuous flow, automated, sensor quality controlled, bio-chemical industrial processes and then are pressed, centrifuged, oils separated from water, water treated, cooked, cracked and treated all within a 12 hour cycle (Start to Finish) to complete one batch made ready for use in any diesel engine.  Initially 270 Million Gallons per quarter to several Billion Gallons of bio-diesel per quarter will be produced depending upon the initial size of a project program.  This Algae Based Bio-Diesel Fuel source has a Cetane Rating of 105 -117 compared to 80 – 85 Cetane Rating for #1 diesel fuel currently produced by all the major oil companies, which provides more power, better millage and performance while emitting 60 – 70% less emissions across the board vs. normal standard crude oil based diesel fuels. This Algae Based Bio-Diesel product emits no sulfur and or nitrogen into the atmosphere, Alternative Energy:  Solar / Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Production, Wind and Electric Fuel Cell Systems, Natural Resources:  Gold, Platinum and other Precious Metals Groups and Diamond Mining: Refining, Assaying, Separation using advanced physical technologies and Bullion production of Gold and Platinum as well as Processing, Cutting, Valuation Appraisals of Diamonds and other Precious Stones, Water:  Proprietary Water Science / Technology to Produce Fresh Drinking Water to meet Agricultural, Industrial and Human Public Health needs in critically water short areas through Water production, bottling facilities and distribution.  This can be accomplished with any available water supply {in ground water tables, above and below ground reservoirs with a high saline content normally not recommended for human consumption}, Sea Waters & Brackish Waters anywhere Globally, Hydroponics:  Food Production: Fish Shrimp, Prawns, Fruits Vegetables utilizing USDA inspectors to garner Grade A Choice Status to include direct marketing into Major U.S.A. and International Consumer Demand Markets, and Special Opportunities: Aviation Fuels: JP-1 to JP-12 for Commercial and Military Applications from Algae Based Direct Fuel Sources as well as Advanced Hyper-Speed Information Technologies and other Advanced High Income Generation Project Opportunities as they become available.

It should be noted that traditional large project investments consist normally of only one income generation production element and typically requires three years at the earliest before the investors see any type of modest return on their investment.  Our projects produce immediate results in the first year due to their very nature and global demand.  These Exclusive World Class Projects which are available to us for investments have no less than 2, but normally include 5 or more Major Integrated Income Production Elements within each project.  It should also be noted that each income producing element within these projects are so strong that they could stand on their own and support the entire project, which is why many of these elements are developed together to form an Advanced Integrated Income Generation Project depending upon the requirements and location of the program.

All of the projects that this special opportunity fund invests in involve Proprietary Advanced Technologies and Advanced Physical Science / Processes (not known to the great majority of Asset Manager Companies Staffs).   Other types of investment pool managers, hedge funds, etc. do not know or even have access to these world class development engineering people and the technologies assets and projects that they develop, implement and manage.  Currently we have in excess of $10 Billion Dollars worth of Advanced High Income Generation Projects available to us for investments.

These projects are developed, implemented and managed by Highly Reliable, Senior Internationally Experienced Technical Managers, Senior Science Managers and Senior Logistics / Project Security Management Staff.  There are in excess of 300 Top Level Executive Technical Managers with over 30 years of Experience in each of their perspective Development Sectors available for all projects that our fund invests in.  These projects are designed to insure extreme depth of expertise and experience management which is available to any project at any and every stage of the project program, regardless of location of the project anywhere globally.

We understand that most  Investors, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Major International Banks, Hedge Funds, Fund of Funds, Private Equity Funds and others do not have the technical resources, capability, background and or understanding to evaluate, determine and differentiate between good and bad Large Advanced High Income Generation Projects, Project Developers, Project Implementation Capability and Management of Highly Integrated Multiple Income Steam Revenue Generation Projects. 

This is the strength of the Asset Manager and where he excels; during the past several years  he has been mentored, tutored and trained by some of the oldest and most highly respected, responsible, highly sought after and experienced Development Engineers who have planned, master planned, developed, managed, evaluated and trouble shot Economic Development Projects, Strong Multiple Stream Income Generation Projects, conducted Nation Building and Humanitarian Projects in over 65 countries during the past 40 years.  The training he has received allows him to thoroughly review, comprehend and evaluate Project Development, Project Implementation, Logistics, Security and Management of these projects as well as the risk management associated with each potential investment.  This process has provided him with the understanding, knowledge and insights of Project Development, Implementation, Logistics Operations and Infrastructure development of large income generation projects to determine unequivocally, which Highly Advanced Income Production Projects are viable and which ones are questionable investments at best.

Another Special Note of consideration is that each investment will bring with it potential tax advantages not typically found with other types of investments.  Depending on where the project(s) are located and how the project are legally structured and set up (Development Corporations, Development Authorities, etc. which are authorized by local, state or federal governments) could result in tremendous tax advantages, which each investors tax advisor will need to qualify and determine the best approach for each investors own tax liabilities depending upon their current tax status, situation and strategies.

The results of this Special Investment Vehicle fund are highly advantageous investment opportunities that by far exceed the majority of investment opportunities available to investors from a financial return as well as extremely low risk standpoint by investing in Outstanding Advanced High Income Generation Projects carried out by highly reliable and responsible individuals and organizations.

Face to face meetings are welcomed and encouraged in order to qualify, verify and validate these investment opportunities which stem from the Americana way of project development and implementation with the application of Science, Engineering, Logistics, Security and Management which dates back to over 200 Years during the American Expansion of the United States of America.  Never before in the history of mankind has the shear number and sizes of these Consumer Universal Demand Markets been in place and more importantly, primed and ready to handle and accept these vital, crucial and very high demand, commercially valued products coming from these projects.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Cabal Capital Management, L.L.C. is managed by Kent Sullivan:  www.cabalcapitalmanagement.com

** Fully Integrated Dual Element – Oil & Gas / Real Example Project **

This Oil & Gas production program is headed up by a Top Level Senior International Consultant who is an Oil and Gas Industry Executive which has been involved in the Oil & Gas Industry over the past 50 years.  This Oil & Gas Executive is the Systems Developer, Scientist, Equipment Designer and Engineer who is recognized as an expert in his field by the U.S. Department of Energy who also has called him upon him frequently in the past to trouble shoot particular Oil and Gas fields as a technical advisor and as a trouble shooter to rectify any and all problems associated with troubled oil and gas production fields.

This Top Senior International Consultant has a proprietary and proven 12 step methodology for siting, drilling, completing and production techniques for all wells.  He has a historical commercial success rate of 92% for bringing in all of his wells sited, drilled, completed and producing which also has a normal life span of 15 to 20 plus year’s worth of production.

This Advanced High Income Generation Oil and Gas project is comprised of the following:  A Top Down Electric Air Hammer System which is highly sensorized with Professional Engineers and Scientists managing all operational positions.  These auto sensor rigs provide detailed information by satellite to a centralized operations and training center where all decisions are made by people with 45 – 50 years of successful completion and production experience.

Each oil and gas well completed will be drilled in both soft and hard rock beds and will vary in depths from 3,000 feet to over 13,000 feet.  All wells in this program will be completed initially in the state of Texas, in the United States of America.

Typical production wells will produce 60 barrels of oil per day to 500 – 600 barrels of oil per day and the gas wells will produce in a typical range of 2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to in excess of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The total net operating investment will be returned within 4 months of production for each well.

Multiple producing formations will be completed and isolated with proprietary tools and instruments which will be operated simultaneously through out the life of the wells.  The typical life of these well are 15 – 20 years because of the 12 different proprietary methods used for siting, drilling, completion and production techniques, tools, proprietary materials and instruments used on each and every well which prevents formation damage and increases the life cycle of each well to maximize the highest production obtainable.

This program consists of hundreds of oil and gas wells sited, drilled, completed and in production within a 1 – 2 year period.  These wells will be sited, drilled and completed in historically very well known and documented oil and gas producing formations within the state of Texas, in the United States of America.

Investors will receive an estimated 15 – 21% annual return per year on their investment, with payments coming at the end of each year from this program.  The threshold investment will be an aggregate amount of $400 hundred million dollars which is what the minimum program investment calls for.  A $10 Million dollar minimum investment is the entry point for this program, with all others being on a case by case basis.

Estimated program revenues are based on $60 dollars a barrel and $6.5 dollars per thousand cubic foot of natural gas.  Over the last year crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) has sold as low as $50 dollars a barrel up to as much as $147 dollars a barrel.  Over the past year natural gas has sold from $5.5 dollars a thousand cubic foot to $11.3 dollars per thousand cubic foot.

Example Oil & Gas Well Profile:  One well; properly sited, drilled, completed and producing will conservatively produce 100 barrels of oil per day and 4 million cubic foot of natural gas per day.  This provides the overall program (100 barrels x $60 per barrel = $6,000) $6,000 dollars per day of revenue.  Each 4,000 cubic foot of natural gas (4,000 x $6.5 per thousand cubic foot = $26,000) $26,000 dollars per day of revenue.  Total revenue for this example is estimated at $32,000 dollars per day of program revenue for this example.

** All wells in this program will not produce the same **

Each month this represents a program return of (30 days x $32,000 = $960,000) $960,000 dollars of revenue coming from this one (1) example well.  The investment program we are offering involve several hundreds of program wells being sited, drilled, completed and operating within a 1 to 2 year period.

Remember, this is only two elements of a fully integrated Advanced High Income Generation Project which will involve in most cases several other elements (normally 5 or more) to generate very substantial amounts of revenues over the course of the project life.  With the combination of several other Advanced High Income Generation Elements within one project, this will enhance the financial returns and revenues of the program itself, and thus will also greatly reduce and virtually eliminate any associated risk due to the diversification of the different Major Income Generation elements within each project.

Once again, the result of this Special Investment Vehicle fund are highly advantageous investment opportunities that by far exceed the majority of investment opportunities from a financial return and an extremely low risk standpoint by investing in Outstanding Advanced High Income Generation Projects.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Cabal Capital Management, L.L.C. is managed by Kent Sullivan: www.cabalcapitalmanagement.com

The Ol’ Pension Blues

12/2/2009 By Fisher Investments Editorial Staff

http://www.marketminder.com/a/fisher-investments-the-ol-pension-blues/cbe61fa6-7302-4033-9368-1281867c171b.aspx?source=home

The ol’ pension blues are back—but they needn’t rob investors of holiday cheer.

Story Highlights:

> Corporate and public pensions are underfunded, a fallout from the market plunge and from under-contribution.

> The same pension worries surfaced in the late 1980s and in 2002, and it turned out underfunding fears then were greatly overstated, as they likely are now.

> Corporations contributing more funds to pension plans could be a positive for markets if the extra funds find themselves into stocks, as they did in 2003.

> Underfunded pensions are a widely known phenomenon—meaning the negative impact is likely already largely priced into stocks.

________________________________________________________________________

The holidays are coming, and we can only guess what’s on corporate and public pensions’ wish lists: A big wad of cash. Pensions of all stripes are finding themselves underfunded—meaning liabilities (payment obligations to employees) are greater than what’s in the bank—a fallout from the market plunge and from under-contribution. The average public pension plan is 35% underfunded, and 92% of corporate pension plans were underfunded at the end of last year.

Solutions to the underfunding issues aren’t promising. Aside from Santa’s generosity, options include cutting back on benefits, contributing additional funds to retirement plans, or declaring bankruptcy and falling into the safety net provided by federal pension insurers, like the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The recent market surge has helped some, but many pensions are still in the red.

There are worries the pressure to balance pension plans will hold back or even depress economic growth. When corporations shift funds to retirement plans, they do so at the expense of future profits and growth. Some corporations have reduced operations and expenses to maintain pension contribution levels. Employees at companies with underfunded pensions may feel uncertain about retirement benefits and perhaps cut back on spending and/or investing in stocks. Underfunded public pension plans are likewise a worry. Many public pensions are legally bound to provide stated benefits, meaning options to balance liabilities and assets are fewer. And a state or municipal bankruptcy would heavily weigh on taxpayers—not ideal given today’s weaker economic environment and high unemployment.

However, the ol’ pension blues aren’t new. The same worries surfaced in the late 1980s and in 2002, and it turned out underfunding fears then were greatly overstated, as they likely are now. Why? Many pension funds, corporate and public, invest in “alternative investments,” like hedge funds and private equity. Following bear markets, companies adjust downward their return expectations for the pension plans. (Similarly, expectations are generally adjusted upward during flush times, leading to under-contribution.) This downward adjustment increases the present value of future assets while the low interest rate environment increases the present value of liabilities, making pensions seem more underfunded than they really are otherwise. A function of accounting! Indeed, accounting for pension fund liabilities is complicated and highly subjective—it tends to extrapolate the most recent phenomena into the future, a common cognitive investing bias.

This isn’t to say the pension losses over the last year weren’t real. However, the overemphasis on the underfunding issue isn’t warranted. Even in 2006, before the recession and bear market, public pension plans were underfunded by $361 billion, and that didn’t hold back more growth, nor did it trigger economic or market collapse. Plus, corporations contributing more funds to pension plans could be a positive for markets if the extra funds find themselves into stocks, as they did in 2003.

Underfunded pensions are a widely known phenomenon—meaning the negative impact is likely already largely priced into stocks. More than a market-crushing event, this is likely one more brick in the wall of worry markets like to climb. Though pension plans’ balance sheets don’t look rosy, investors needn’t lose their holiday cheer.

Disclaimer: This article reflects personal viewpoints of the author and is not a description of advisory services by its author’s employer or performance of its clients. Such viewpoints may change at any time without notice. Nothing herein constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or that any security, portfolio, transaction or strategy is suitable for any specific person. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Ol’ Pension Blues

12/2/2009 By Fisher Investments Editorial Staff

http://www.marketminder.com/a/fisher-investments-the-ol-pension-blues/cbe61fa6-7302-4033-9368-1281867c171b.aspx?source=home

The ol’ pension blues are back—but they needn’t rob investors of holiday cheer.

Story Highlights:

> Corporate and public pensions are underfunded, a fallout from the market plunge and from under-contribution.

> The same pension worries surfaced in the late 1980s and in 2002, and it turned out underfunding fears then were greatly overstated, as they likely are now.

> Corporations contributing more funds to pension plans could be a positive for markets if the extra funds find themselves into stocks, as they did in 2003.

> Underfunded pensions are a widely known phenomenon—meaning the negative impact is likely already largely priced into stocks.

________________________________________________________________________

The holidays are coming, and we can only guess what’s on corporate and public pensions’ wish lists: A big wad of cash. Pensions of all stripes are finding themselves underfunded—meaning liabilities (payment obligations to employees) are greater than what’s in the bank—a fallout from the market plunge and from under-contribution. The average public pension plan is 35% underfunded, and 92% of corporate pension plans were underfunded at the end of last year.

Solutions to the underfunding issues aren’t promising. Aside from Santa’s generosity, options include cutting back on benefits, contributing additional funds to retirement plans, or declaring bankruptcy and falling into the safety net provided by federal pension insurers, like the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The recent market surge has helped some, but many pensions are still in the red.

There are worries the pressure to balance pension plans will hold back or even depress economic growth. When corporations shift funds to retirement plans, they do so at the expense of future profits and growth. Some corporations have reduced operations and expenses to maintain pension contribution levels. Employees at companies with underfunded pensions may feel uncertain about retirement benefits and perhaps cut back on spending and/or investing in stocks. Underfunded public pension plans are likewise a worry. Many public pensions are legally bound to provide stated benefits, meaning options to balance liabilities and assets are fewer. And a state or municipal bankruptcy would heavily weigh on taxpayers—not ideal given today’s weaker economic environment and high unemployment.

However, the ol’ pension blues aren’t new. The same worries surfaced in the late 1980s and in 2002, and it turned out underfunding fears then were greatly overstated, as they likely are now. Why? Many pension funds, corporate and public, invest in “alternative investments,” like hedge funds and private equity. Following bear markets, companies adjust downward their return expectations for the pension plans. (Similarly, expectations are generally adjusted upward during flush times, leading to under-contribution.) This downward adjustment increases the present value of future assets while the low interest rate environment increases the present value of liabilities, making pensions seem more underfunded than they really are otherwise. A function of accounting! Indeed, accounting for pension fund liabilities is complicated and highly subjective—it tends to extrapolate the most recent phenomena into the future, a common cognitive investing bias.

This isn’t to say the pension losses over the last year weren’t real. However, the overemphasis on the underfunding issue isn’t warranted. Even in 2006, before the recession and bear market, public pension plans were underfunded by $361 billion, and that didn’t hold back more growth, nor did it trigger economic or market collapse. Plus, corporations contributing more funds to pension plans could be a positive for markets if the extra funds find themselves into stocks, as they did in 2003.

Underfunded pensions are a widely known phenomenon—meaning the negative impact is likely already largely priced into stocks. More than a market-crushing event, this is likely one more brick in the wall of worry markets like to climb. Though pension plans’ balance sheets don’t look rosy, investors needn’t lose their holiday cheer.

Disclaimer: This article reflects personal viewpoints of the author and is not a description of advisory services by its author’s employer or performance of its clients. Such viewpoints may change at any time without notice. Nothing herein constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or that any security, portfolio, transaction or strategy is suitable for any specific person. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Ol’ Pension Blues

12/2/2009 By Fisher Investments Editorial Staff

http://www.marketminder.com/a/fisher-investments-the-ol-pension-blues/cbe61fa6-7302-4033-9368-1281867c171b.aspx?source=home

The ol’ pension blues are back—but they needn’t rob investors of holiday cheer.

Story Highlights:

> Corporate and public pensions are underfunded, a fallout from the market plunge and from under-contribution.

> The same pension worries surfaced in the late 1980s and in 2002, and it turned out underfunding fears then were greatly overstated, as they likely are now.

> Corporations contributing more funds to pension plans could be a positive for markets if the extra funds find themselves into stocks, as they did in 2003.

> Underfunded pensions are a widely known phenomenon—meaning the negative impact is likely already largely priced into stocks.

________________________________________________________________________

The holidays are coming, and we can only guess what’s on corporate and public pensions’ wish lists: A big wad of cash. Pensions of all stripes are finding themselves underfunded—meaning liabilities (payment obligations to employees) are greater than what’s in the bank—a fallout from the market plunge and from under-contribution. The average public pension plan is 35% underfunded, and 92% of corporate pension plans were underfunded at the end of last year.

Solutions to the underfunding issues aren’t promising. Aside from Santa’s generosity, options include cutting back on benefits, contributing additional funds to retirement plans, or declaring bankruptcy and falling into the safety net provided by federal pension insurers, like the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The recent market surge has helped some, but many pensions are still in the red.

There are worries the pressure to balance pension plans will hold back or even depress economic growth. When corporations shift funds to retirement plans, they do so at the expense of future profits and growth. Some corporations have reduced operations and expenses to maintain pension contribution levels. Employees at companies with underfunded pensions may feel uncertain about retirement benefits and perhaps cut back on spending and/or investing in stocks. Underfunded public pension plans are likewise a worry. Many public pensions are legally bound to provide stated benefits, meaning options to balance liabilities and assets are fewer. And a state or municipal bankruptcy would heavily weigh on taxpayers—not ideal given today’s weaker economic environment and high unemployment.

However, the ol’ pension blues aren’t new. The same worries surfaced in the late 1980s and in 2002, and it turned out underfunding fears then were greatly overstated, as they likely are now. Why? Many pension funds, corporate and public, invest in “alternative investments,” like hedge funds and private equity. Following bear markets, companies adjust downward their return expectations for the pension plans. (Similarly, expectations are generally adjusted upward during flush times, leading to under-contribution.) This downward adjustment increases the present value of future assets while the low interest rate environment increases the present value of liabilities, making pensions seem more underfunded than they really are otherwise. A function of accounting! Indeed, accounting for pension fund liabilities is complicated and highly subjective—it tends to extrapolate the most recent phenomena into the future, a common cognitive investing bias.

This isn’t to say the pension losses over the last year weren’t real. However, the overemphasis on the underfunding issue isn’t warranted. Even in 2006, before the recession and bear market, public pension plans were underfunded by $361 billion, and that didn’t hold back more growth, nor did it trigger economic or market collapse. Plus, corporations contributing more funds to pension plans could be a positive for markets if the extra funds find themselves into stocks, as they did in 2003.

Underfunded pensions are a widely known phenomenon—meaning the negative impact is likely already largely priced into stocks. More than a market-crushing event, this is likely one more brick in the wall of worry markets like to climb. Though pension plans’ balance sheets don’t look rosy, investors needn’t lose their holiday cheer.

Disclaimer: This article reflects personal viewpoints of the author and is not a description of advisory services by its author’s employer or performance of its clients. Such viewpoints may change at any time without notice. Nothing herein constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or that any security, portfolio, transaction or strategy is suitable for any specific person. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

American investments for foreign investors can be a lucrative and profitable financial venture. Even when global economies are suffering and not doing well, there still are many investment opportunities to make money in American investments within the USA. The United States is still a world economic power for investing and it’s smart for investors living outside the United States to consider investment projects within the American borders.

For many years, investors all over the world have invested in many other countries investment projects and the opportunities are still there. International Investments are still a good idea for many and allot of times, their may be tax benefits and other features of an investment that can be good for investors. 

International investing for investors living outside the USA can make lots of money and can be a great investment idea. For example, Real Estate projects are available for investors that can make them an excellent profit. Investors may not realize that Real Estate projects can bring in excellent monthly profits from 12-18% dividends.

In these type of American based investment projects, the international and global investor can invest their money in a large community or business project or residential development investments and then they can have their profit or monthly dividends automatically direct deposited into their savings account.

America is still a viable and worthy place to invest your money. Investing overseas is a term relative to which side of the ocean your on. If you live outside the United States and are interested in investing in the USA, you should look at all the options available.

There are other types of investment projects available such as Trust Deeds. These can be solid investments also and just as lucrative as Real Estate investing in America. Again, the advantages can be many and for those investors not living in the United States, it can be a smart place to put your money to make more money. International investments are something to consider now and in the future.

I did a search for “american investments for international investors” and one company that came up was EQlibrium Investments at http://www.eqlibrium.com/ &  http://www.eqlibrium.com/international-investments.asp

Managed Futures describes and industry that is made up of professional money mangers who trade in investments such as commodities, futures, and foreign currency in lieu of  traditional investment s  such as stocks and bonds. These money managers are called  Commodity Trading Advisors(CTAs)

Unlike commodity or stockbrokers who makes recommendations on individual commodities or stocks, Commodity Trading Advisors have a proven track record and trading style,and are under strict regulation with the NFA National Futures Association.

Whether the economy is in a recession, an economic boom or is stagnant…whether interest rates rise or fall…whether there is an economic crisis or stability…in virtually any economic environment, professionally managed futures, unlike stocks, can potentially prosper.

Defining Managed Futures

The term “managed futures” refers to a 30-year-old industry made up of professional money managers who are known as “commodity trading advisors” (CTAs). CTAs are required to register with the U.S. government’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) before they can offer themselves to the public as money managers. CTAs are also required to go through an FBI deep background check, and provide rigorous disclosure documents (and independent audits of financial statements every year), which are reviewed by the National Futures Association (NFA), a self-regulatory watchdog organization.

CTAs generally manage their clients’ assets using a proprietary trading system, or a discretionary method, that may involve going long or short in futures contracts in areas such as metals (gold, silver), grains (soybeans, corn, wheat), equity indexes (S&P futures, Dow futures, NASDAQ 100 futures), soft commodities (cotton, cocoa, coffee, sugar) as well as foreign currency and U.S government bond futures. In the past several years, money invested in managed futures has more than doubled and is estimated to continue to grow in the coming years if hedge fund returns flatten and stocks underperform.

Benefits of Managed Futures

1. Reduced Portfolio Volatility Risk – The primary benefit of adding a managed futures component to a diversified investment portfolio is that it may decrease portfolio volatility risk. This risk-reduction contribution to the portfolio is possible because of the low to slightly negative correlation of managed futures with equities and bonds. One of the key tenets of Modern Portfolio Theory, as developed by the Nobel Prize economist Dr. Harry M. Markowitz, is that more efficient investment portfolios can be created by diversifying among asset categories with low to negative correlations.

2. Potential for Enhanced Portfolio Returns – While managed futures can decrease portfolio volatility risk, they can also simultaneously enhance overall portfolio performance. Adding managed futures to a traditional portfolio can help to improve overall investment quality. This is substantiated by an extensive bank of academic research, beginning with the landmark study of Dr. John Lintner of Harvard University, in which he wrote that “The combined portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) after including judicious investments…in leveraged managed futures accounts show substantially less risk at every possible level of expected return than portfolios of stocks (or stocks and bonds) alone.” (Lintner, John, “The Potential Role of Managed Commodity Financial Futures Accounts (and/or Funds) in Portfolios of Stocks and Bonds,” Annual Conference of Financial Analysts Federation, May 1983)

3. Ability to Take Advantage of Any Economic Environment – Managed futures trading advisors can take advantage of price trends. They can buy futures positions in anticipation of a rising market or sell futures positions if they anticipate a falling market. For example, during periods of hyperinflation, hard commodities such as gold, silver, oil, grains, and livestock tend to do well, as do the major world currencies. During deflationary times, futures provide an opportunity to profit by selling into a declining market with the expectation of buying, or closing out the position, at a lower price. Trading advisors can even use strategies employing options on futures contracts that allow for profit potential in flat or neutral markets. However, profits are not guaranteed, and there is risk of substantial loss.

4. Ease of Global Diversification – The establishment of global futures exchanges and the accompanying increase in actively traded contract offerings has allowed trading advisors to diversify their portfolios by geography as well as by product. For example, managed futures accounts can participate in at least 150 different markets worldwide, including stock indexes, financial instruments, agricultural products, precious and nonferrous metals, currencies, and energy products. Trading advisors thus have ample opportunity for profit potential and risk reduction among a broad array of non-correlated markets.

Managing Risk

One of the major arguments for diversifying into managed futures is their potential to lower portfolio risk. Such an argument is supported by many academic studies of the effects of combining traditional asset classes with alternative investments such as managed futures. Dr John Lintner of Harvard University is perhaps the most cited for his research in this area.

Taken as an alternative investment class on its own, the managed-futures class has produced comparable returns in the decade before 2005. For example, between 1993 and 2002, managed futures had a compound average annual return of 6.9%, while for U.S. stocks (based on the S&P 500 total return index) the return was 9.3% and 9.5% for U.S. Treasury bonds (based on the Lehman Brothers long-term Treasury bond index). In terms of risk-adjusted returns, managed futures had the smaller drawdown (a term CTAs use to refer to the maximum peak-to-valley drop in an equities’ performance history) among the three groups between Jan 1980 and May 2003. During this period managed futures had a -15.7% maximum drawdown while the Nasdaq Composite Index had one of -75% and the S&P 500 stock index had one of -44.7%.

An additional benefit of managed futures includes risk reduction through portfolio diversification by means of negative correlation between asset groups. As an asset class, managed futures programs are largely inversely correlated with stocks and bonds. For example, during periods of inflationary pressure, investing in managed futures programs that track the metals markets (like gold and silver) or foreign currency futures can provide a substantial hedge to the damage such an environment can have on equities and bonds. In other words, if stocks and bonds underperform due to rising inflation concerns, certain managed futures programs might outperform in these same market conditions. Hence, combining managed futures with these other asset groups may optimize your allocation of investment capital.

Evaluating CTAs

Before investing in any asset class or with an individual money manager you should make some important assessments, and much of the information you need to do so can be found in the CTA’s disclosure document. Disclosure documents must be provided to you upon request even if you are still considering an investment with the CTA. The disclosure document will contain important information about the CTA’s trading plan and fees (which can vary substantially between CTAs, but generally are 2% for management and 20% for performance incentive). In addition, most CTA’s require large minimum investments, however investors can get around this buy going through a commodities brokerage firm that has an agreement with various CTA’s and  acts as a liaison between the investor and the CTA.  Another benefit of working with a broker, is their ability to create a CTA diversified porfolio to match your goals and risk tollerence.

In Conclusion

Managed Futures can help:

1. Help improve portfolio performance

2. Reduce portfolio volatility risk

3. Non-correlated investment (to stocks & bonds)

4. Historically serve as a natural hedge against inflation.

5. Portfolios incorporating Managed Futures show

substantially less risk at every possible level of

expected return than portfolios of stocks (or stocks &

bonds) alone.*

* Chicago Board of Trade, “Managed Futures”, Publication (2003 edition).

Futures trading involves risk of loss and is not appropriate for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results

WOODSIDE, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Fisher Investments announces the release of its latest Stock Market Outlook, a quarterly research report published by the Fisher Investments research team under the direction of CEO Ken Fisher and the firm’s portfolio management team. The Stock Market Outlook research report includes Fisher Investments’ latest market outlook, capital markets research and portfolio insights. The Stock Market Outlook provides individual investors an opportunity to gain valuable research and information on the current state of the global stock market.

To access the Stock Market Outlook, simply go to www.google.com and search for “Fisher Investments Stock Market Outlook” and then click on the link for the “Fisher Investments Research Report.”

The Fisher Investments Stock Market Outlook provides insight into the firm’s market and portfolio research with views on:

> Why the new bull market has additional upside potential ahead

> Which sectors and countries may rebound the most

> Why stocks are still undervalued by historical standards

> Signs that global economic recovery is already underway

> And much more investors can put to use in their own portfolios

Fisher Investments conducts internal research to support the portfolio management process for large institutional clients and thousands of private clients. This involves developing capital markets technologies to interpret market events in unique ways and studying the impact of economic, political and sentiment drivers on global stock markets. Some of these research findings can be found in Fisher Investments’ latest Stock Market Outlook.

To get your copy of the latest Stock Market Outlook with insights into Fisher Investments’ market and portfolio research, go to www.google.com and search for “Fisher Investments Stock Market Outlook” and then click on the link for the “Fisher Investments Research Report.” 

About Fisher Investments

Fisher Asset Management, LLC, doing business as Fisher Investments, is a portfolio management company founded in 1979 serving the needs of institutional and individual investors globally. Fisher Investments’ clients include large corporate and public pension plans, foundations and endowments, as well as thousands of high net worth individuals. Fisher Investments is registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its portfolio management team is headquartered in Woodside, CA. Ken Fisher, founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer, is the author of six books including three bestsellers, many academic studies, and has written Forbes magazine’s “Portfolio Strategy” column since 1984. Visit Fisher Investments corporate website at http://www.fisherinvestments.com

About Fisher Investments Research

Fisher Investments has a 50+ person research department, including more than 25 research analysts. The research department’s structure optimally supports the Investment Policy Committee (IPC) as they make strategic portfolio management and implementation decisions. Research teams focus on generating economic, capital markets, and securities research and communicating their findings to the IPC on a daily basis and as changes arise. Fisher Investments Stock Market Outlook can be found at: http://www.fisherinvestments.com/more-about-fisher-investments/fisher-investments-stock-market-outlook

Fisher Investments Stock Market Outlook is copyrighted research material. Past forecasts and performance are not a guide to future forecasts or performance. The value of investments and the income from them will fluctuate with world stock markets and international currency exchange rates and involves the risk of loss.

SOURCE Fisher Investments