Securities Futures: High Risk Investments

Author(s): 

Do security futures, one of the most high risk investments available, have a place in your investment portfolio? That depends on your risk tolerance, a key component of financial planning, and your understanding of security futures contracts.

“Security futures involve a high degree of risk and are not suitable for all investors,” says the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-regulating agency that oversees the brokerage industry.  As with all high risk investments, says FINRA, “if you don’t understand it, you shouldn’t buy it. You could lose a substantial amount of money in a very short period of time.”

A securities futures contract legally binds two parties to buy or sell a set number of shares of a company’s stock for a set price at a specified date in the future, says FINRA. What makes these securities futures contracts such high risk investments? Securities futures contracts require an initial payment, sometimes called a “margin payment,” to cover potential losses. This margin can be used to leverage a futures contract of much high value. According to FINRA, as the degree of leverage increases, so does the potential for large gains or losses over a short period of time.

A drop in stock price can trigger a margin call – a demand for investors to deposit additional funds into the margin account. If an investor is unable to meet a margin call, the brokerage firm may liquidate the securities futures position and hold the investor liable for any losses. “Because of the always-present possibility of margin calls, security futures contracts are not appropriate if you cannot come up with the additional funds on short notice,” FINRA said.

Trading security futures contracts can result in “potentially unlimited losses” and the dangers of these high risk investments can be compounded by trading halts, computer system failures, day trading strategies and illiquid markets, FINRA states.

When it comes to such high risk investments, FINRA says, “you should not risk any money that you cannot afford to lose, such as your retirement savings, medical and other emergency funds, funds set aside for education or home ownership or funds required to meet your living expenses.”

FINRA also advises investors contemplating high risk investments, such as security futures contracts, to do a thorough background check on prospective brokers.

Source: http://www.millionairecorner.com/article/securities-futures-high-risk-investments

reference resource

Women Taking the Wheel

Women in RetirementMany women have not realized that now is the time to take control of your finances.  For too long, a great number of you have relied on men, be it a husband or whatnot, to control your finances and help you plan for retirement.  And the truth is, this line of thinking continues to this day.

Now is the time to put a stop to all that.  Now is the time you take the wheel.  Now is the time to realize that a successful retirement may very well hinge on your own ability to prepare.  Let's take a look at a few facts that every woman should be aware of.

Fact #1:  A longer life expectancy can have a huge effect on your retirement.

If you are a married woman, there is a good chance that your husband is older than you.  In many cases, your husband may be several years older.  More than a decade of difference isn't all that uncommon.  Because of this, there is a good chance that when your husband passes away, he will do so several years ahead of you.  This can mean a great deal to your retirement, as you will need to prepare for the long haul without your husband's guidance.  In many cases, a widow will see her standard of living go down without proper planning.

The same goes for a single woman.  The average lifespan is now close to 85, and you may find yourself living many years beyond that.  While this is clearly a good thing, you must prepare for at least 30 years of retirement, just to be on the safe side.

Fact #2:  A little knowledge can go a long way.

You can't beat a little education to help you get through life.  When it comes to retirement planning, this is especially true.  Whether or not you've been following your husband's lead and allowing him to control all of your finances or allowing a professional to handle things for you, it's time you educated yourself.  Take the time to learn as much as you can about the financial products contained in your retirement portfolio.  Ask questions.  Maybe even take a few basic classes to help you understand anything you might be having trouble with.  Finances can often be a bit difficult to understand for anyone, so never hesitate to educate yourself and stay informed.

Fact #3:  Surveys back up the consensus.

If you follow the numerous financial surveys that are conducted each year, you'll find that retirement planning is a huge issue for women right now.  One of these was conducted by the Society of Actuaries.  Here are some facts that this survey unveiled, and they're not exactly encouraging:

-- Only 8% of female retirees are planning for the long haul, which can translate to a twenty year gap in finances.  In turn, this gap translates to a large number of women who simply aren't prepared for their extended life expectancy without the benefit of a spouse.
-- For men over the age of 85, a total of 45% of them are widowed.  For women, the number is nearly doubled at 85%.  That number may be staggering, but it simply reinforces the need for a woman to know how to handle her finances into her later years.
-- 20% of men at age 65 are expected to need professional care for a number of years after their retirement.  For women, the number is 30%.  While this isn't a huge difference, it's large enough to be concerned.

Source: http://firstsecurityfinancialshow.com/blog/bid/142483/Women-Taking-the-Wheel

more information more..

Increased Market Value of Wind Energy

Precision Wind, LLC of Las Cruces, New Mexico unveiled its Wind Resource Management Suite™ at the WINDPOWER 2008 Conference and Exhibition, North America’s largest wind energy event organized by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Presenting before a record-breaking crowd of WINDPOWER attendees, Dr. James Stalker, CTO of Precision Wind, participated on a panel discussion [...]

Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/press/market-value-wind-energy/

visit our website visit site

The Tipping Point – Resentment is a good thing

There’s a truism – or maybe just widely held opinion – that it’s better to have “going to” goals rather than “away from” goals.  I think that’s definitely the case when it comes to people interested in early retirement. When I first throttled back from working two jobs with occasional 16 hour days a few years [...]

Source: http://singlemomrichmom.com/the-tipping-point-resentment-is-a-good-thing/

read more... read this

The High Cost Of Childcare – How To Plan For It

As parents with young children will tell you, daycare is expensive.  It’s especially costly if you have two small children who aren’t school age yet. As more and more families are dual income these days, young families need to know what options are available to them for childcare so they can manage their finances accordingly. [...]

The post The High Cost Of Childcare – How To Plan For It appeared first on Boomer & Echo.

Source: http://www.boomerandecho.com/the-high-cost-of-childcare-how-to-plan-for-it/

homepage hyperlink

Can You Trust Advice From Your Bank?

Banks are getting savvier about finding ways to sell their products.  More and more Canadians are turning to online sources for financial advice, and banks are getting in on the act by engaging customers on their websites and social media channels. One approach the banks have used for years is to conduct a survey about [...]

The post Can You Trust Advice From Your Bank? appeared first on Boomer & Echo.

Source: http://www.boomerandecho.com/can-you-trust-advice-from-your-bank/

original site other

Zynga Futures Plunge

Filed under:

Znyga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) futures are plunging this morning following last night's warning on revenue and earnings. In its announcement the company said:

We're addressing these near-term challenges by implementing targeted cost reductions in the fourth quarter and rationalizing our product R&D pipeline to reflect our strategic priorities. At the same time, we are continuing to invest in our mobile business where we have one of the strongest positions in the industry. These actions support our strategy to transition from being a first party web game developer to a multiplatform game network. We remain optimistic about the opportunity for social gaming and the power of our player network of 311 million monthly active users.

What Zynga is counting on is Internet gambling. The company already counts millions of players for its play-for-fun casino games at Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). Getting Internet gambling back currently depends on state-by-state changes in the law. Zynga and others are ready to pull the trigger as soon as the federal law is changed.

Until then, the company's success depends on gaining more traction in mobile and not over-paying for companies like OMGPOP.

Shares of Zynga are trading down about 21.5% this morning at $2.21, well below the 52-week range of $2.66 to $15.91.

Paul Ausick


Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings Warning, Internet Tagged: FB, ZNGA

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/10/05/zynga-futures-plunge/

more more info