Your just starting out investment portfolio: Part 2 + MORE Jul 16th

Introducing university and college students to the idea of investing usually leads to the question, “There are thousands of things I could invest in, where should I start?”
It’s true. The investment world can seem paralyzingly huge for someone just starting out. And the work involved in learning about investing might seem overwhelming.
According to The Fund Library, there are over 390 fund companies and more than 32,000 mutual funds and clones available to investors in Canada. Damn, that’s a lot of options. The New York Stock Exchange has more than 2,800 companies listed, while the Toronto Stock Exchange has more than 1,400. It can seem pretty daunting to have to wade through the options to choose the ones that are just right for beginners.
I often suggest that people dip their toes into the investment pool using alternatives that reflect what the market as a whole, or particular sectors of the market, are doing. That means buying an index.
A just starting out investment portfolio can be made up of index mutual funds or exchange-traded funds, also called ETFs…

Over the past few days, I have been looking at retirement and different problems and solutions involved. One of the major problems for recent or near future retirees is the fact that interest rates have been at record lows. In fact, you can barely call them interest rates I guess because they have been near 0% for months now.
The Typical Retirement Portfolio
Traditionally, someone retiring would end up holding CD’s, government and corporate bonds and other low volatility instruments that pay a reliable dividend. In recent years we have seen interest rates on medium to long term government bonds move closer and closer to 0%
It’s Not Going To Get Better Anytime Soon
The issue is that no one expects this to change anytime soon. Governments are stuck with very weak economies, they are trying to stimulate consumption through low interest rates. We might not be in Japanese territory just yet but it does not look promising. Most central banks have been reassuring investors by telling them that interest rates will remain very low for last 1 more year…

TORONTO – Net sales for the mutual fund industry totalled $2.21 billion in June, according to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.
The figure was down compared to the previous month, which recorded net sales of $3.85 billion, but up from the $1.02 billion recorded a year ago.
Balanced fund sales were $2.48 billion last month, falling from $11.7 billion in the previous month.
The institute says investors pulled $127.8 million out of equity funds and short-term money market funds in June, compared with net redemptions of $4.09 billion in May.
Total mutual fund assets under management for June were $907 billion.
The Investment Funds Institute of Canada represents the investment funds industry.
The post June mutual fund net sales up compared with a year ago, says industry group appeared first on Canadian Business.

This GIC rate is offered by Outlook Financial and was updated on 2013-03-14. Click on the link above to get more details or apply online.

WASHINGTON – Ben Bernanke’s sway over financial markets has been on full display in recent weeks. When the Federal Reserve chairman speaks Wednesday to Congress, investors will once again parse each word for any subtle shift in the Fed’s stance on interest rates.
Bernanke has sent financial markets plunging and surging the past two months, depending on whether he was seen as loosening or affirming the Fed’s commitment to ultra-low interest rates. Low rates have fueled home sales, encouraged borrowing and spending, lifted stock prices and helped support economic growth.
Since the financial crisis erupted in 2008, the Fed has kept its benchmark short-term interest rate near zero. And since late last year, it’s been buying $85 billion a month in mortgage and long-term Treasury bonds to try to reduce long-term rates and induce people and businesses to borrow and spend.
The chairman’s two days of testimony begin Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee…