The relative strength index (RSI) is a technical analysis tool that can be categorized as a momentum oscillator. The index tells you how quickly things have changed over a specific period. There are several ways you can use the RSI to help you enter or exit a trade. The RSI will show you when momentum is accelerating as well as when it is overdone. It can also identify periods when prices and momentum are diverging.
What is the RSI
The relative
strength index was developed by J. Welles Wilder as a way of defining the
rate of change. The RSI is calculated and then turned into an oscillator that
fluctuates between zero and 100. The default parameter for the RSI evaluates
the last 14-days but this can be altered to either increase or decrease sensitivity.
How to Use the RSI
The RSI in the chart of gold describes momentum and oscillates in a range that fluctuates between 1-100. When the RSI is trending higher, positive momentum is accelerating. The reverse is true when the RSI is falling and trending lower. The beauty of the RSI is that you can evaluate the movement in the price of an asset in conjunction with momentum when you chart it on a trading platform.
When prices are rising and the RSI is also
rising, you should expect the trend to continue and accelerate. When prices are
declining and the RSI is also declining, you should expect the downtrend to
continue. A divergence occurs when the RSI is moving at one direction and
prices are moving in another. Divergence is a yellow warning sign and tells you
that the trend could be weakening. Another way a divergence can be measured is
through trend lines.
During this period the price of gold was
rising but in September, the RSI failed to rise to fresh highs in conjunction
with prices. This downward trend, measured by the dashed trend line, shows that
the trend in momentum (the RSI) is sliding. This tells you that although prices
are rising, and the momentum behind the rally is losing steam.
Overbought and Oversold Readings
Another way to use the RSI is to look for
periods when the RSI has reached an extreme level. Reading on the RSI above 70
is considered overbought
while levels below 30 are considered oversold. The RSI can remain overbought or
oversold for an extended period. When a market is trending, the RSI can
continue to trend. A reading above 70 is providing a warning signal alerting
you to be cautious. The same can be said when you experience a reading below
30.
Takeaway
The relative strength index is a momentum
oscillator that describes the rate of change of prices. To calculate the RSI,
you measure the change over a lookback period which has a default of 14-days.
This default can be changed, and you can use different periods including,
daily, weekly, monthly and intra-day data.
There are several ways to use the RSI as a
tool that can help you trade the capital markets. The RSI is often used as an
indicator that measures overbought and oversold readings. The RSI can remain
overbought or oversold for an extended period when a trend is in place. In
addition, the RSI is used as a momentum indicator that tells you if momentum is
rising or falling. The RSI is also excellent in helping you spot periods of
divergence when prices are moving one way, but momentum is moving in a
different direction. The RSI is an excellent technical analysis tool to place
in your trading arsenal.
Money. There never seems to be enough of it for the things we need. What’s worse is that Americans are increasingly unable and fearful about what they would do if an emergency expense hit them.
Are you prepared if your car needed a major repair? What would happen if your refrigerator died or you’re unable to work due to an extended illness?
Ordinary expenses are rising while paychecks are stretched thinner by the month. How are we to save for a rainy day when it’s hard enough keeping our heads above water when things are going well? Fear not! We have taken information from experts and compiled them into a collection of the best money-saving suggestions we’ve found.
Debt and Savings in America
It isn’t news that incomes are stagnant while the cost of everything continues to rise. One only needs to look at their account balances for proof. Since 1960, average personal savings has decreased from 10 percent to 8 percent.
While savings are down, consumer debt has risen.
According to reporting from the New York Federal Reserve, consumer debt has risen to an all-time high of $4 trillion and rising. The biggest sources of debt are mortgages, auto loans, and student loans.
However, it isn’t just the necessities like food, shelter, transportation, and education that make saving money more challenging. Credit card debt is breaking previous records over $800 billion, the former record in 2008. On average, credit card users state that they roll over $2,500 in credit card debt each month.
You don’t want to be caught off-guard when the unexpected happens. Here are some ways that you can avoid becoming a statistic and save money for emergencies.
5 Painless Ways to Save for an Emergency
According to statistics, 28 percent of Americans don’t have any money saved for an emergency. The first step to creating a rainy day fund is to have a plan and a goal in mind.
Evaluate Your Finances
If you haven’t made a budget yet, now is a good time to start. This will help you see exactly where your money is going and identify areas where you can cut back. You’ll also want to determine how much money you need to put into an emergency account. A general rule of thumb is to save at least three full months of living expenses.
Use Your Budget as a Savings Guide
Once you know what your fixed and variable expenses and have identified areas where you can save money, create a category on your budget to account for your emergency fund. Many mobile banking apps will allow you to allocate a certain percentage or dollar amount and arrange an automatic deposit into a savings or money market account. Make sure to choose a bank or credit union that offers competitive rates and a range of investment/savings products.
Estimate the amount you can save by certain milestones such as “Within Six Months” or “Yearly Savings Goals”. You can also use a 52-week savings plan to start saving with just a few dollars a week. Reconcile your budget, savings plan, and goals to create an action plan to reach your goals.
Look for Other Ways to Save
Are you carrying a credit account with a high-interest rate? You can save money by consolidating your credit onto one low-interest card and leaving the higher interest account dormant. Don’t close any accounts, though, as this will lower your credit score.
Pay off any smaller loans as soon as possible, and avoid taking on any unnecessary debt.
Increase the Funds in Your Account Whenever Possible
You can sink the cash you save from getting rid of that car loan or using credit cards with lower interest rates right into your account. Expecting a tax return? Put that into your rainy-day fund as well. The same goes with other financial windfalls, big or small.
Make Savings a Priority
Use the business advice to “pay yourself first” to your advantage. Too many people see saving money as an afterthought. “I’ll put away whatever is left from my paycheck each week,” is a common mindset.
Rather than saving “when you have a little money left over”, determine a set amount that will help you reach your goal within the time that you set to reach it, and put that amount aside first before you spend another penny.
Follow these tips and before you know it, your money pool will be overflowing.
Final Thoughts
Few of us have unlimited resources and a supply of cash on hand. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find ways to create and increase your rainy-day fund. By incorporating the above suggestions into your personal budgeting/savings plan, you’ll be better able to meet whatever challenges life throws your way.
If you’re new to the whole online trading industry and want a simple and fuss-free way to trade and invest, why not opt for binary options?
Binary traders earn from the fluctuations in prices, similar to other traders. The only difference is that binary options do have a preliminary stated risk and profit potential, hence deriving the name of “binary” in binary options. This essentially means that traders either suffer the risk and lose money or profit from the reward and gain returns. Basically, you need to predict and bet on whether the price will go higher or lower after the expiration. If you bet correctly, you win and if you don’t, you lose. Traders lose the amount that they have bet in the trade while winners win around 80% of the amount that they bet (but this is also dependable on the broker too!)
For example, a trader predicts that the price of the EUD/USD will be higher in the next minute and he decides to place a bet of $10. If he is correct, he will earn a profit of about $8 depending on the broker and if his bet is incorrect, he will lose the $10 that he bet.
Put Option
In binary options, there are several specific technical terminologies that brokers and traders use. You cannot sell an option but instead, you can buy a put option. You purchase a put option if you predict that the price will drop. This means that you enter a deal whereby you bet that the price will decrease.
Call Option
Conversely, you buy a call option when you predict that the price will rise, and enter a deal whereby you bet that the market price will increase.
How to Start Trading Binary Options
Step 1: Build Your Strategy
You can start with trial and error to test out different approaches and see which one is the best fit for you to earn profits. Combining different indicators is also another way to come up with a personalized strategy for yourself. Some of these indicators include price levels, trend, candle patterns, chart patterns, moving average indicators, Fibonacci levels, on-chart indicators, and area indicators. This is not an exhaustive list of indicators and there are still many others that function differently and complement others. Matching signals from different indicators is recommended to ensure that the chances of getting a bad signal is lower and hence increasing your chances of a profit.
Step 2: Calculate the Returns
Since your broker gives you an approximately 80% return if your bet is correct and you lose 100% of your bet if you get it wrong, you want to figure out the ratio of success of your strategy and evaluate yourself the maximum loss that you will suffer until you want out.
For example, if you do 100 trades at $10 each, your total amount invested will be $1000. You choose a strategy that has about a 55% success rate, translating into about 55 out of 100 successful trades. Bearing in mind what was stated above, if you get about 55 successful trades, this means that you will earn a profit of 55 x $8 + $440 and lose about 45 x $10 = $450. Instead of earning from these 100 trades, you end up suffering a loss of $10 which renders this trade unprofitable and proves not ideal at all.
This is where you can consider opting for another strategy with a higher success rate of say 70%. If you do the calculations similar to the previous example, you will make yourself a net profit of $260, which is much more idealistic than the previous strategy. Hence, by playing around with different strategies and success rates, you will be able to discern for yourself a strategy that works for you and reaps the profits that you want.
Step 3: Money Management Strategy
Bear in mind that luck plays an important role as well. Let’s say you deposit $100 in your account and invest $20 in each trade, you will likely fail as you do not have enough capital to start earning profits, and can only handle a maximum of 5 losses before you are wiped out.
Therefore as a rough gauge, traders normally have enough deposit for at least 100 losing trades, since the chances of having 100 consecutive losses in a row are unlikely.
Step 4: Choose Your Binary Options Trading Broker
Choosing a legitimate and reliable options broker is crucial as there are many scam brokers out there who do not let you withdraw your money. If you are new to trading you should definitely check out this list of options brokers. Typically, good brokers:
Are authorized and adhere to the legislation set by the country.
Have been operating for a substantial period of time since scam brokers are usually caught between one to two years.
Have reasonably many good reviews online. Bear in mind that certain brokers can have fake reviews that normally consist of only less than 10.
Offers a range of trading assets in order to prevent you from being restricted.
Possess a friendly and comprehensive interface.
Have a wealth of trading indicators to facilitate a better trading experience and higher chances of earning.
To get started, follow the steps provided by your broker to open your account. This typically involves verifying your identity by providing required documents and information, as well as confirming your account details to ensure everything is accurate. Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll need to deposit the initial amount you want to start with, as specified by your broker.
Be sure to keep in mind the tips mentioned earlier, instead of having too little money in your brokerage account that will prevent you from making enough trades to earn profits.
Step 6: Begin With Your First Trade
You’re finally ready to go! Typically, it is recommended to invest about 1% of your total funds in your trading account. These are some basic steps to follow:
Change the investment per trade to your desired amount.
Choose the expiration time of the binary option.
Conduct your analysis and choose your specific strategy.
Click on “call” if you predict that the prices will increase or “put” if you predict that the price will decrease.
Wait until the binary option expires.
Track results.
Repeat again.
Final Thoughts
Trading binary options are one of the easiest ways of managing your financial assets without the process being too complicated for newbies. Rules are extremely simple and easy to follow, and there is also a limited risk per trade depending on your bet, therefore preventing you from losing too much.
Final tips are to build a strategy that works for you with a good success rate, calculating your capital carefully, and being smart. Change your strategy if you don’t find it to be working well. You can consider getting a demo account first to practice before using your real money.
Transitioning from being a college student to working full time can be tough for many people. Full-time work brings a whole new set of concerns and expenses, ranging from buying and maintaining a professional wardrobe, to choosing among retirement plan options and more. Add to that the fact that you may have more disposable income than you ever have before in your life, and you may suddenly find yourself struggling to keep up with your bills. There are a few things you can do to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Make a Budget:
It may sound boring, but it is critical to
know what you are spending your money on as well as what the base amount you
need is for such necessities as rent, food, utilities and transportation. You
may want to do this on a piece of paper, a spreadsheet or with an app.
Use Automatic Savings:
The earlier you start to build your savings the better off you will be. To start, you should be putting away money for two different necessary accounts, an emergency fund and retirement. It is usually suggested that you put away three to six months’ worth of expenses in your emergency fund. This will depend in part on your tolerance for risk and the security of your job, but it is important to remember that no job is entirely secure. If your work offers a retirement plan, that money will be automatically deducted from your paycheck. You can do the same with your emergency savings, having a certain amount of your deposit diverted each month into that account.
Use Credit Wisely:
Some people might say you should not own or
use credit cards, but this is not the case. Responsible use of credit cards
helps you build up a credit record. They can save you money as well if you get
credit cards that offer rewards. The key is responsible use. You should get
into the habit of paying off your credit card monthly. You also shouldn’t have
too many credit cards since even if you are not using them, it could affect
your credit score.
Refinance Student Loans to Save Money:
You may be surprised to learn that you do
not have to pay off your student loans at the original interest rate you agreed
to. You may be able to refinance them and get repayment terms that
are more favorable. You could choose a shorter term for repayment. This would
actually mean that you pay more each month but save in the long run since you
will pay the loan off sooner. If you are feeling pinched at the end of each
month, you may want to choose a longer term that will lower your monthly
payments.
Talk to Professionals:
No one goes out into the world knowing how
to do these things. You might benefit from an appointment with a financial
planner or another financial professional to discuss budgeting, investments and
how to reach
your future goals. For example, do you want to buy a house within a few
years? Do you dream of early retirement? A professional can help you achieve
those goals.
A fixed-income fund is a type of investment that offers
regular returns. Many people in Australia consider fixed income as less risky
compared to stocks since investors will have an idea what the rate of return
is, without having to worry if the values in the market fall or fluctuate.
In this type of investment, the funds get invested in
different kinds of assets, depending on the existing fund policy. A fund
manager will manage all the money, including what you’ve invested, to grow the
fund. That said, the fixed income fund is ideal for those who are
relatively new to investments and prefer a low-risk option.
Here are the things that you need to know if you’re planning
to invest in fixed income funds in Australia.
What Are The Different Investment
Policies?
Keep in mind that there are different investment policies
associated with fixed-income funds, and you have to choose one based on your
needs carefully.
Below are the common options you’ll encounter:
Short-Term Fund – If you want to invest in debt instruments for a short period, typically with less than 1-year maturity, then check out this type of fund. Short-term funds are also ideal for those who want a low-risk investment.
Long Term Fund – This type of fund is low-risk, as the short-term fund. However, as the name suggests, this fund gives investors the chance to invest their money in debt instruments that have a duration of more than a year.
General Fund – This type of fund allows you to invest in both private debt instruments and government bonds. Like short-term funds and long-term funds, general fund suits investors who want a low-risk investment with consistent interest. The low-risk nature of this fund makes the return less volatile even if there’s a chance for the bond price to change based on the market conditions.
Flexible Fund – As the name suggests, the investor in this type of fund should be flexible to whatever decisions that the fund manager makes. There’s no restriction in terms of investment proportions in this type of fund, unlike the other ones previously mentioned. The fund manager looks into the conditions of the market and decides for appropriate proportions. Since flexible fund gets invested in many assets, this is ideal for investors who would like to diversify and are willing to accept a moderate level of risk.
Fund Of Funds – Like the flexible fund, this type of fund is ideal for individuals who want to diversify their investments and who can accept a moderate risk. This policy allows for the investment of the fund in other types of funds, including mixed funds and mutual funds. For this type of fund, around 65% goes to other funds while the rest goes to debt instruments and stocks.
Balanced Fund – When you choose this policy option, your money gets invested in debt instruments, equity, or deposits. This type of fund is also ideal for investors who want to diversify their portfolio and are willing to accept moderate risk levels.
Mutual Funds – Your money gets invested in different types of foreign debt instruments. Mutual funds have a high risk since foreign investments are subject to price and exchange rate fluctuations but offer greater returns.
What Are The Benefits Of Investing
In Fixed Income Funds In Australia?
Investing in a fixed-income fund in Australia offers many
benefits. Depending on what goals you have for your investment, you get to
enjoy the following:
Generate a Source of Income – Since fixed income funds offer regular return rates in a specific time frame, it can become a steady source of income for you. In many cases, the return from fixed-income investments gets exempted from taxes.
Investment Portfolio Diversification – As already mentioned, fixed-income funds offer a less risky investment than the stock market. This type of investment is less sensitive to geopolitical events, economic downturns, and other macroeconomic risks.
With saving for retirement and
achieving long-term goals in mind, you probably already have a significant
investment portfolio. However, if you want to minimize losses that result from
market swings, it’s an excellent idea to allocate a portion of your investment
portfolio to fixed-income funds.
Protect Your Investment’s Absolute
Value – Investing
in fixed-income funds is an effective way to protect and preserve your
investment capital because of its stated rate of return. Fixed-income funds are
perfect for individuals who are nearing their retirement and don’t have enough
time to recoup investment losses. Since this type of investment carries minimal
risk, investors have the assurance of safe investment returns.
Is There a Chance to Experience a Loss in Fixed-Income Funds?
As already mentioned, a fixed income fund is a low-risk
investment, which means that it doesn’t get easily affected by fluctuations. A
loss is unlikely since most fixed income funds offer regular returns. The
return is consistent, like getting five percent annually and getting paid every
six months. The only chance for investors to experience a loss in a fixed
income fund is when the fund manager fails to invest in assets with the highest
yields.
However, it’s essential to note that fixed-income funds may
depreciate in value, which happens if they get sold before maturity at a lower
price.
Who Should Invest in Fixed-Income Funds?
Fixed-income funds are ideal for investors who want to stay
on the safe side of the road and don’t want much risk. Of course, since a fixed-income
fund is low-risk, you also can’t expect a high return from it. Nevertheless,
this type of investment offers regular returns, which can be a source of income
for many people. It can also be a great way to diversify investment portfolios
and achieve capital preservation.
Despite being low-risk and offering regular return rates,
investors in Australia still must study the information of the fixed-income
fund before shelling out money for it. Read and understand its prospectus, so
you know what to expect exactly.
Final Thoughts
A fixed-income fund is an approach in investment which focuses on the preservation of capital. This type of investment can give you a steady stream of returns with lesser risks than other forms of investments available today. While it’s a safe investment choice in Australia, it’s essential to review the things discussed in this post first before investing in fixed income funds to make sure that it’s a good fit for you.
Because if you want to become a successful investor…
…you need to read this article.
Why?
Because we are here to tell you how you can beat the market. And who doesn’t want to beat the market?
But I am not talking about beating the market by 5 or 10%. I am talking about beating the market by a factor of almost 5x. If the market goes up 20%, would you like your stocks to go up by 100%?
That is exactly what the Motley Fool Stock Advisor stock picks have done over the last 22 years. Keep reading and I will tell you more in this article about the Motley Fool stock picks revealed!
In this article, you will learn:
How the Motley Fool stock picks have performed since inception
What their best stock picks have been
How their picks have performed over the last 8 years
What their current stock picks are
How to get a Motley Fool subscription at the lowest price possible
Motley Fool Stock Picks Performance Since Inception
Did you know……the averageMotley Fool Stock Advisor stock pick going back to 2002 is up 873% compared to the 176% return from the S&P 500 as of November 10, 2024?
Sounds too good to be true, right? So, what is their BIG secret?
Their big secret is that the Motley Fool has done an excellent job of picking a few stocks that double or triple each year. Now, to be clear, not every one of their stock picks is profitable. Over their 22 year history about 66% have been profitable and they have sold about 38%. But if you follow their investing strategy of holding at least 25 stocks for at least 5 years, you will have an excellent chance at beating the market as the few BIG winners more than make up for the losers.
The Motley Fool Best Stock Picks
So how specifically did they get those returns? When I dig deeper in to their 500+ stock picks, I find many stock picks that have absolutely phenomenal returns.
Don’t you wish someone told you in 2004 to buy Amazon, Netflix, and Nvidia in 2005?
When I saw this I didn’t believe it. It seems highly unlikely that Nvidia is really up 90,000% from April 2005. That is 900 time. So I went to Yahoo Finance and looked at the historical prices and behold Nvidia is now at $147.63 and its adjusted close was $0.16 as you can see below:
So 147.63 divided by 0.16 is 922.6875 so it really is up about 92,168%!
Here’s another way to visualize their overall returns (chart as of August, 2024)
Their “winner” stocks more than offset the “loser” stock picks (and yes, they do make some “loser” picks). And so you end up with returns like the chart above (their stock picks have recovered nicely after COVID).
Motley Fool Stock Picks Recent Performance
And our experience being a Stock Advisor subscriber over the last 8 years (and actually buying many of their picks) reveals that they have consistently beat the market over time.
Their stock picks from 2016 thru 2024–that’s 192 stock picks–are up an average of 94.8%. That means on that their last 192 stock picks, on average, have almost doubled!
And we are here to reveal many of the Motley Fool stock picks!
How are these Stock Advisor returns even possible, you ask? The answer is quite simple – each year the Motley Fool picks more stocks that go up than go down. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY–they pick a lot of stocks that double and triple each year!
So, here is our in-depth analysis of the Motley Fool and their stock picks.
Here are the Motley Fool’s Stock Picks revealed!
History of the Motley Fool
The Motley Fool began in 1993 as a free financial media company.
The
brother duo of Tom and David Gardner shared their investment ideas on message
boards and online posts.
And with their unique combination of humor and humility…
…the brothers garnered thousands of like-minded individuals (affectionately known as the “fools”).
So, what is the goal of Motley Fool?
The
goal is to empower non-professional investors to outperform Wall Street
analysts.
By 1997, the company took its investing site to www.fool.com.
In
2002, Motley Fool rolled out its first premium investing service, Stock
Advisor.
And, as they say… the rest is history!
From that point on, the company continued (and continues) to expand its free and premium service offerings.
This includes New York Times Best-Sellers, newspapers, podcasts, radio shows, newsletters, and more.
Okay, now that you know the history…it’s time to get to the RESULTS!
Motley Fool Stock Advisor Summary
So, what do you get when you sign up for the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor?
Stock Advisor comes with all of
the following:
Two stock recommendations each month straight to your inbox (every other Thursday).
An all-access pass to the Motley Fool Stock Advisor historical picks.
The Motley Fool’s “Top 10 Best Stocks to Buy” report.
The Motley Fool’s Starter Stock recommendations.
Proprietary research and exclusive benefits.
All information is easy to find and laid out in an organized manner.
The past Stock Advisor recommendations performed so well because they pick stocks poised to perform well based on a buy and hold strategy, so many are still good investments long after the original recommendation date. Take a look at their all time best stock picks:
Those results are absolutely amazing. Imagine if you had bought these stocks back in 2004 and 2005 but sold them after they doubled–wouldn’t you be kicking yourself? The Motley Fool says there are a few keys to using their stock picks successfully. You should plan on:
staying invested for at least 5 years;
you should invest regularly;
you should hold at least 25 stocks; and
you should hold on during the market downturns
and allow you winners to run!
I have actually been a paid Stock Advisor subscriber since 2016. I buy about $1,500 of each of their specific stock recommendations. Over the past 8 years, my portfolio has easily outperformed the S&P 500 returns. For example:
their 2023 picks are up 20.9%,
their 2022 picks are up 10%,
their 2020 picks are up 27.4%;
their 2019 picks are up 51.1%,
their 2018 picks are now up 128% (that means my 2018 portfolio has more than DOUBLED in value in just 4 years);
their 2017 picks are up an amazing 348% (thanks to NVDA and TTD) and
their 2016 stock picks are now up 206%.
My results show that 66% of their stock picks are profitable.
Overall, like I said at the top of this article, since inception the Motley Fool stock picks are up, on average, over 800% compared to the SP500’s 176% so that is almost 5X the market’s return!
But if you want to see some specific stock picks, then keep reading.
How do they get these great returns?
They do a phenomenal job of picking a few stocks each year that double, triple or quadruple. Sure, they pick some losers, but the winners do really, really, really well. So to be successful with the Motley Fool picks, you need to buy every pick and you need to plan on staying invested for at least 5 years, as you will see below…
As of November 10, 2024, here are the results of some the Stock Advisorstock picks for me over the last 8 years:
2023: CRWD up 151%, NOW up 96%, and DDOG up 38%.
2022: VRTX up 72%, ASML up 74%, and TTD up 75%.
2020: TSLA up 531%, SHOP up 115%, CRWD up 189%, ASML up 141%.
2019: TTD up 360%, HUBS up 291%, SNPS up 335%, NTDOY up 88%.
2018: SHOP up 450%, FICO up 616%, OKTA up 231%, ANET up 303%, ZS up 354%.
2017: NVDA up 3,364%, TTD up 1,292%, FTNT up 644%, ODFL up 563%, CMG up 550%.
Don’t miss out on their 2024 picks–their next one comes out this Thursday.
But how do they compare to the OTHER Motley Fool product–The Motley Fool Rule Breakers service?
Motley Fool Rule Breakers (Now Part of Epic) Summary
The Motley Fool’s Rule Breakers service is no longer available as a stand alone service. It has been rolled into their Epic Service which now includes:
1 Rule Breakers pick,
1 Stock Advisor Pick,
1 Hidden Gems Pick and
1 Dividend pick per month.
So, what is the difference between the Motley Fool’s Epic and their Stock Advisor services?
As of November 10, 2024, here are the some of Epic’s best stock picks over the last few years:
2023: CRWD up 170%, SG up 136%, PUBM up 68% and CAVA up 113%.
2022: TMDX up 114%, CELH up 155%, HUBS up 125%, UBER up 235%, ANET up 164%.
2021: TTD up 80%, AXON up 56%.
2020: WING up 206%, HUBS up 199%, ISRG up 95%.
2019: SKX up 169%, AMD up 111%, DDOG up 282%.
2018: MDB up 1,026%, PANW up 412%, AXON up 641%, MDB up 527%.
2017: TTD up 2,482%, HUBS up 764%, MELI up 615%.
2016: SHOP up 3,442%, AVGO up 965%, CMG up 654%.
So, as I said earlier, they really did pick stocks that doubled, tripled and much more since they were picked since 2016.
It’s important to keep in mind that all Motley Fool stock picks are based on a buy and hold strategy, which typically means holding them for at least five years.
Since 2002, the Motley Fool has steadily beat the stock market.
Accordingly, the company focuses on picking stocks that have the best shot at beating the stock market.
In fact, Motley Fool was one of the first newsletters to recommend stocks
like:
Amazon.com (up 27,095%)
Netflix (up 43,776%)
Disney (up 5,421%)
Nvidia (up 90,369%)
Motley Fool Stock Picks and
Their Performance
No one in their right mind would sign-up for a non-proven service.
Motley Fool recommends two stocks per month. If you are looking for your one-stop shop for stock recommendations you will want to consider the Motley Fool. Many of the Fool stock recommendations have doubled or tripled over the years.
But do not take my word for it.
The “winning” and “losing” picks combined are outperforming the S&P 500 to this day. Remember they say you should plan on holding their stocks for at least 5 years. Now look here their older stocks picks have done for me (as of May 4, 2024):
For the Year of 2018
Overview: 17 out of 24 picks are in the positive.
Average Return of all 2018 recommendations:129%
Market Return over the same period: approx. 97%
For the Year of 2017
Overview: 21 out of 24 picks are in the positive.
Average Return of all 2017 recommendations: 348%
Market Return over the same period: approx. 132% (beating market by 216%)
For the Year of 2016
Overview: 19 out of 24 picks are in the positive.
Average Return of all 2016 recommendations: 220%
Market Return over the same period: 162%
Are you kiddin’ me? Now THOSE are some very impressive results.
So How Much is a Subscription to the Fool's Stock Advisor service?
The Stock Advisor service is usually $199 a year, but there is a special sales page for new subscribers. They frequently run special promotions like "40% OFF" and "TRY IT FOR JUST $99." So if you are a new subscriber, click THIS LINK and you can save $100.
And, there is a 30 day cancellation period for a full refund.
Motley Fool Stock Picks Summary
Now that the Motley Fool stock picks are revealed…
…you can see how the Motley Fool can seriously outperform the S&P 500.
So, is the Motley Fool worth your
money?
If you are looking for a service to recommend hot stocks, there is likely no better place.
You can get the Motley Fool Rule Breakers or Stock Advisor for just $99 per year.
The best part?
You can easily recoup your initial investment in the service with a
single investment in one of the company’s stock recommendations.
In comparison to other stock advisors, the Motley Fool is an excellent choice because:
You cannot beat the price (most competitors
charge 3x more than Motley Fool).
The program has a long track record of success.
The program is highly intuitive and easy to follow.
However, to be clear, not every stock the company picks is a clear-cut
winner.
If you look at historical stock prices, the Motley Fool (like everyone else) makes some questionable picks in retrospect.
But, if you purchased every recommendation, you would be doing more than
fine.
Here are a few pro tips to be
successful with the Motley Fool:
Sign up for the Motley Fool Stock Advisor or Rule Breakers (just $99 per year).
Save your money so you can act on the Motley
Fool stock recommendations.
When you receive the stock recommendations, buy
as soon as possible.
Buy-and-hold these recommendations because many
of these recommendations recover quickly.
No one can predict the stock market correctly 100% of the time…
…but the Motley Fool continues to outperform the stock market over the last 8 years.
With the 30-day money back guarantee – what do you have to lose? Click the image below to get their next 2 picks free.
*** Updated with Stock Prices and Returns as of May 4, 2024. NOTE: Rule Breakers is now only available with the Motely Fool’s Epic Bundle Service which includes Rule Breakers, Stock Advisor, Real Estate Winners and Everlasting Stocks. Read this review of the Motley Fool’s Epic Bundle for all the details. ***
Today, we are here to bring you our Motley Fool Rule Breakers Review.
But first, I want to ask you a question…Have you heard of “buy-and-hold” investing?
I am going to assume
that most of you are well-aware.
But for those who need a refresher, buy-and-hold investing entails buying stocks and holding those stocks for long periods (5 years or longer), regardless of market activity.
Therefore, you tolerate short-term price fluctuations because over time you believe that solid, profitable companies will recover and continue to rise in stock price.
The classic buy-and-hold strategy may not be “exciting” in the traditional sense. It is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. It is what I call a get-rich-slowly scheme……but it can produce exciting long-term returns. Just ask Warren Buffet.
Let’s take a
real-life example of buy-and-hold investing.
Say you purchased 500 shares of Tesla stock in 2011 at a price of $2.00 per share (yes, that was the split-adjusted price back then). Even though the price dropped to $1.51 in 2012, you continued to hold onto it. If you are a buy and hold investor, you still have those shares today, which are worth about $180 each.
In this example, your 500 shares and $1,000 investment are now worth $90,000!
On the other hand, if you decided to cut your losses and sell your 500 shares in 2012 when the Tesla stock price dropped down to $1.50 per share, you would have definitely lost $250 AND you would have missed out on it’s amazing rise over the last decade.
If you were a Motley Fool Rule Breakers subscriber in 2011, you would now be $79,000 richer because they picked Tesla back then. They also re-recommended it in 2013 when it was at $35.
This is exactly what Rule Breakers is all about, finding stocks that are set to be market leaders in developing industries. Other 1,000+% Rule Breakers picks include MercadoLibre, Shopify, Google, Salesforce, Intuitive Surgical, Chipotle, AXON, TTD, and many more.
As of May 4, 2024
When you buy-and-hold, you are trusting that you picked solid stocks and that you will receive substantial appreciation in the future. Do you see the importance of buy-and-hold strategies yet (no offense to the day traders with us today – we love you too)?
But, if you are onboard…
…I have uncovered an excellent way to maximize the returns on your investments.
About the Motley Fool
The Motley Fool is a significant player in the financial media space. The brother duo of Tom and David Gardner founded the company back in 1993.
Today, over 30 glorious years later, the company employs over 300 people and 500,000 subscribers.
The Motley Fool provides a mix of free and premium services for stock news and analysis. You can access investment news, research, and guides on the main website (www.fool.com). The Motley Fool cuts out the fluff and focuses solely on investment advice.
Outside of the free main website, Motley Fool offers two paid newsletters. The newsletters are Motley Fool Stock Advisor and Rule Breakers. Both newsletters provide investment advice to increase your investment returns. However, each newsletter focuses on a different type of stock investment.
The Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter focuses more on high-growth stocks in emerging or relatively new markets.
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor service focuses more on growth stocks in established markets with lower volatility.
Today, we are here
to talk about the Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter.
But don’t worry – we
will compare both newsletters further down the page.
So, are you ready to
get started?
What Are Growth Stocks?
The Motley Fool Rule Breakers is a newsletter for the
“high-growth” investor.
But what do we mean by “high-growth” stocks? Growth stocks are mainly companies selling more goods and services each year, typically in a new or growing industry. However, you cannot look at growth rates as a standalone reason for choosing a stock.
Instead, the Motley Fool Rule Breakers service looks at companies likely to turn a high-growth rate into sustainable, long-term cash flow.
And the payoff for growth investors can be HUGE.
Now that you know a little about growth stocks…
…what really
constitutes a high-growth stock?
According to the website, the Rule Breakers newsletter “focuses primarily on under-appreciated growth stocks with solid management and a sustainable business strategy.”
One of the most critical pieces of a Rule Breakers stock is that each company meets the two following criteria:
The company is an innovator
The company operates in an emerging industry
However, these are just two criteria for being a “Rule
Breaker.”
We will get into the other “rules” to becoming a Rule Breakers stock shortly.
You can read about the six rules that break all the other rules.
Rule #1: The company must be a “top dog” in an growing industry
As Motley Fool states, “It doesn’t
matter if you’re the big player in floppy drives — the industry is falling
apart.”
However, on the other side, you can be in a great industry, but be too
small to realize your growth potential.
To follow this rule, David seeks innovative companies that are leaders in an emerging industry.
Rule #2: The company must
have a sustainable advantage
Whether the advantages are through…
Business
momentum
Patent
protection
Visionary
leadership
Inept competitors
…a Rule Breaker must have the edge over other competitors.
These advantages will keep each company stacking gains for years to come.
Rule #3: The company must
have strong past price appreciation
You know what they say about the best growth stocks…
…they tend to keep growing!
Therefore, each Rule Breakers stock is a proven winner in the market.
Rule #4: The company must
have proper management and smart backing
Name one company with incompetent management that maintains success.
Go ahead – I will wait.
Can’t think of any?
This is why David seeks only the best of the best.
Rule #5: The company must
have strong consumer appeal.
The most successful companies have a strong customer base.
That is a dead giveaway, right?
Well, giveaway or not, it is a rule to become a Rule Breaker.
Rule #6: The financial media
is overvaluing the company.
Rule Breakers are simply “too expensive,” according to the
financial press.
However, these “experts” may be overlooking a company’s transformative
value.
Rule Breakers do not overlook transformative value.
What Do You Get with Rule Breakers?
Let’s kick-off the Motley Fool Rule Breakers review with what you get with this service. Okay, now that you know about the Fool’s proprietary stock-identifying system it’s time to reveal what you get with your Rule Breakers subscription.
The price of admission (retail price is $299 per year) includes the following features:
Two new stock picks each month
David Gardner and his team go through thousands of stocks each month.
The result? You receive two of David’s best recommendations delivered to your inbox (generally on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month).
These Rule Breakers stock picks follow the criteria mentioned above.
Ten Timely Buys
When you sign up for Motley Fool Rule Breakers, you’ll get a list of 10 timely buys based on Motley Fool’s research.
This is an upgrade from what they used to offer, which was a list of five “Best Buys Now.”
Motley Fool chooses the 10 best stocks to buy right now from a list of more than 200, based on their Rule Breakers criteria.
Rule Breakers Starter Stocks
As of May 4, 2024
So, with Rule Breakers you get 2 brand news picks a month, or 24 a year. They frequently re-recommend stocks, and they end up selling almost 50% of them over time.
Instead of buying all the
recommended stocks, I suggest checking out the “Starter Stocks.”
Motley Fool believes that these stocks are the best in the Rule Breakers portfolio.
Many have experienced exponential growth, including the three in the image above.
This list is updated regularly to reflect each stock’s performance and potential.
As a rule of thumb, Motley Fool
suggests buying at least three
starter stocks (with a total of fifteen stocks in your portfolio).
From there, you can begin to
include more volatile stocks recommended by Rule Breakers.
Community and Investing Resources
Each stock idea comes with an
extensive research report.
The report lays out, step-by-step, the opportunity and risks associated with the investment.
You’ll also get access to ideas and opinions from the Motley Fool community.
So How Much is a Subscription to the Fool's Stock Advisor service?
The Stock Advisor service is usually $199 a year, but there is a special sales page for new subscribers. They frequently run special promotions like "40% OFF" and "TRY IT FOR JUST $99." So if you are a new subscriber, click THIS LINK and you can save $100.
And, there is a 30 day cancellation period for a full refund.
Rule Breakers Performance
As part of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers review…
…we are going to assess the service’s past performance.
First of all, you need to know that I have been a subscriber since January 2016. I also opened up a brand new ETrade account at that time and I have purchased roughly $2,000 of each and every one of their stock recommendations.
As of March 24, 2024, here are the results of Rule Breakers and Stock Advisor picks since I have been tracking them beginning in 2016:
As you can see, the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock picks that I bought have absolutely CRUSHED the market and are outperforming the more popular Motley Fool Stock Advisor service.
Based on my experience over the last 8 years, it is absolutely worth it!
If you want to see more detail, take a look at some of these picks from the last few years as of May 4, 2024 prices…
November, 2023 pick NU up 44%
October, 2023 pick CAVA up 112%
October, 2023 pick SWAV up 54%
June, 2023 pick IOT up 48%
April, 2023 pick DUOL up 71%
March, 2023 pick PUBM up 68%
February, 2023 pick SG up 136%
February, 2023 pick CRWD up 171%
December, 2022 pick MNDY up 63%
December, 2022 pick BRZE up 57%
October, 2022 pick CELH up 155%
October, 2022 pick HUBS up 126%
and July, 2022 pick UBER up 235%
They achieve these fantastic results because they really do pick a few stocks that double or triple each year, and that makes up for the few losers that they do pick.
However, if you are not ready to spend a dime, you can take advantage of Rule Breakers’ 30-day money-back guarantee.
The free trial provides full access to the entire website.
So, is Motley Fool
Rule Breakers worth the money?
In the world of investing, “value” is determined by two
things:
The price of the service
The impact the service has on your investments
Therefore, “cheap” does not always equal cheap (and vice
versa).
For example, you may save money with a cheap service…
…but what does that mean for your portfolio?!
Rule Breakers provides the best of value and quality.
At just $499 annually, it is hard to find a more cost-effective service.
Furthermore, it is hard to find the quality of advice on other investment services (which are always more expensive).
We conclude that Motley
Fool Rule Breakers is well-worth the money.
You can easily make back your $499 investment with one good stock buy.
Motley Fool Rule Breakers vs. Stock Advisor
So, this can’t possibly just be a Motley Fool Rule Breakers review…
…because you also need to know about Motley Fool Stock Advisor.
One of the primary goals of Motley Fool newsletters is to beat the market with their stock picks.
To that end, these
investment pros offer two newsletters:
Motley
Fool Rule Breakers (I am concerned if you are not aware by now)
Motley
Fool Stock Advisor
The platform of
these two services is very similar.
Each stock picking service consistently beats the market.
However, the difference
between the two lies in the investing methodologies.
Rule Breakers picks are geared toward growth investors.
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is geared toward less volatile investments.
But the goal of each
service is to uncover stocks that are overlooked by Wall Street.
For this reason,
both services make a compelling case for your consideration.
Perhaps you want to know which stock picking service performs better.
I showed you my portfolio, but what does Motley Fool say about the results of its stock picks?
Overall, Rule Breakers stock picks are outperforming the S&P 500 by 264%. But what about the Motley Fool Stock Advisor?
We can’t forget this isn’t a true “apples-to-apples” comparison, since Rule Breakers stock picks are more risky than Stock Advisor’s stock picks.
Overall, both sets of stock picks have experienced impressive growth.
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor has outperformed the market by a higher percentage.
Assuming you buy all recommendations from both services, you would do better with the Motley Fool Stock Advisor.
So, which service is the best fit for you?
That is for you to decide.
Fortunately, you can
try both services for free.
That is right – Rule Breakers and the Motley Fool Stock Advisor offers a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee.
So How Much is a Subscription to the Fool's Stock Advisor service?
The Stock Advisor service is usually $199 a year, but there is a special sales page for new subscribers. They frequently run special promotions like "40% OFF" and "TRY IT FOR JUST $99." So if you are a new subscriber, click THIS LINK and you can save $100.
And, there is a 30 day cancellation period for a full refund.
Who Should Use Rule Breakers?
With the Rule Breakers service, you will win some, and you will lose some.
The service is trying to predict the next “big thing.”
Therefore, this strategy comes with significant volatility
(unless you can predict the future).
For this reason, I recommend using this service if you have
an established portfolio.
If you are brand-new to investing, you need a solid base
before speculating on individual stocks.
For those with an established portfolio, the Motley Fool’s Rule Breakers service is excellent if you can bear the additional risk and want to boost your gains.
However, I suggest allocating a small percentage of your
overall portfolio to buy these stocks.
Additionally, Rule Breakers stocks are primarily for long-term investors.
If you are seeking a quick dollar…
…Rule Breakers is not for you!
If you are looking for a service that will tell you when to
buy, at what price, and when to sell…
…again, Rule Breakers is not for you!
Finally, if you are not able to withstand short-term drops
in stock price…
…Rule Breakers is not for you!
I am only telling you this because I want you to be successful.
So, who can be successful with Rule Breakers?
Let me tell you the ideal candidate for the Motley Fool’s Rule Breakers service:
An investor that is looking for high-quality, long-term investment ideas.
An investor that is looking for anonline community of investors.
And remember, Rule
Breakers has historically more than doubled the S&P 500s returns.
Therefore, if you are savvy enough, you can improve upon the
Rule Breakers performance by performing your own analysis on each
recommendation.
In case you forgot, you can try Rule Breakers risk-free with
their money-back guarantee.
So How Much is a Subscription to the Fool's Stock Advisor service?
The Stock Advisor service is usually $199 a year, but there is a special sales page for new subscribers. They frequently run special promotions like "40% OFF" and "TRY IT FOR JUST $99." So if you are a new subscriber, click THIS LINK and you can save $100.
And, there is a 30 day cancellation period for a full refund.
Final Thoughts
And that is our Motley Fool Rule Breakers Review.
So, now you know ALL of the facts regarding Rule Breakers.
The bottom-line?
Motley Fool Rule Breakers is an excellent service to complement your investing.
My favorite thing about Rule Breakers is transparency.
David Gardner and his team make recommendations and show you
the results (forever).
This company does not
sweep bad recommendations under the rug.
Instead, Rule Breakers embraces the inherent risk in the
market and shows that even the experts cannot be 100% accurate.
Fortunately, David and the team are so successful that the
total results (gains and losses) generate plenty of new customers.
Why?
Because overall, Rule
Breakers is winning!
However, this service should not be your sole resource.
But Rule Breakers can expose you to investment ideas you
never imagined.
These ideas can include different investments, industries,
or companies.
So, apart from making money, you stand to learn plenty of new information.
You can learn from the online community of investors, too.
The forums contain endless information and expert-level
analysis from experienced investors.
Therefore, investors of all experience levels can learn
something here (even David Gardner himself).
In addition to knowledgeable, the forums are full of
friendly and supportive users.
You may even get lucky enough for David Gardner to respond
to your question.
The other Rule Breakers analysts spend plenty of time on the forum, as well.
With all that Rule Breakers can offer…
…why have you not
signed up already?
It is time to take control of your financial future TODAY!
When you decide to work with a financial adviser and put your money and
possibly your future security into someone else’s hands, it pays to do some
research before you make a final hiring decision. The good news is there are
useful documents that give you vital information about how an individual or
firm does business. The internet opens up easy access to a number of records
and serves as a vehicle for relevant professional information to help you make
an informed choice. Here are helpful ways to learn more about investment
advisers.
Read the Form ADV
Financial professionals are required to be registered, so make sure you
always work with a registered money manager. If you do not and something goes
wrong, you may not be able to recover your money even if you get a legal ruling
in your favor. Most financial advisers do their work legally, but you still
need to take care and look after your own interests.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission requires financial professionals to register a Form ADV, which gives you valuable information about how the individual or firm operates, names of officers, the nature of investments, and its style of investing. These disclosure statements are available to you free on the SEC’s Investor Adviser Public Disclosure, or IAPD, catalogue.
Find out What Agency Oversees Them
Asset professionals will be overseen either by the SEC or FINRA, the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
SEC—Use the SEC’s search feature to look up investment professionals.
FINRA—Check licenses and professional
backgrounds, including past complaints, using its BrokerCheck
Some finance managers may be registered with both, so perform all
applicable searches.
Clarify Their Professional Credentials
There are different types of investment advisers, and there are various
types of industry designations they can hold based upon their specialties.
If you have specific names of money professionals, you can look them up
on business-related databases such as Crunchbase. This platform allows you to
search for financial managers to learn important company facts. For example,
you can easily see data about Fisher
Investments, an independent money manager, when
you perform a search. This pre-compiled information can make your research
easier when you narrow down your choices.
Conduct an Interview
Once you have researched histories, checked credentials, and understand
something of how a money professional operates, conduct an interview,
preferably in person. Meeting face to face helps you get an idea of personality
and gives you a sense of how a person or even a firm would be to work with.
Do not hesitate to question them about their licenses and registrations
and even if they have had complaints in the past. If they have, ask how they
handled the situations. A reputable asset manager such as Fisher Investments
will readily answer your questions. Even though technology makes many aspects
of life quicker and more convenient, nothing is better than a personal meeting
to get a feel for motivations, habits, and practices.
Deciding to hire a financial professional is a big
decision. Once you make it, use convenient modern tools to check the details
and history of anyone with whom you are considering working. A bit of research
now can give you peace of mind later.
Investments are all about taking risks and
hoping that things will turn out as you hoped they would. However, things do
not always go as we wish, and anyone can face an investment loss. The losses
could be as a result of negligence, or worse, investment fraud. In case of
investment fraud, you can quickly recover through compensation, but only if you
follow the legal requirements.
Most investors are not aware of the legal
requirements and regulations. Remember that you cannot afford to make further
mistakes as a minor error will result in further losses. This is where an investment
fraud attorney comes in to make the case more manageable and help you
recover your investments. Some individuals feel like hiring a lawyer is an
extra expense they would do without. They opt to handle the fraud case by
themselves, but that is because they fail to look at the bigger picture to
realize the numerous benefits that come with hiring an attorney. If you are
skeptical about the idea, here are some reasons why you should let an
investment fraud attorney handle your case.
The Attorney Experienced
Unlike you, the lawyers have been offering these services for the longest time. This has helped them gain the necessary skills and knowledge to handle your case and ensure that it is a success. The little you know about investment fraud law is not enough to help you navigate through the situation. Let the attorney do what he does best, rest assured that things will turn out great.
Saves You Money
You are probably wondering how hiring a
lawyer can help save money while you will pay for the services. However, if you
look at things from the right perspective, you will realize that letting
experts handle the issue can help you save a lot. The attorneys know what needs
to be done to help you recover your investment. This means that they will be no
chances of making mistakes. No mistakes mean that there will be no further
losses, thus saving you money. The amount collected from this is more than what
you will spend on paying for the services.
Saves You Time
You are busy with other things around the
business, and this is not the right time for you to be running back and forth,
attending court sessions, and presenting your evidence. With the right
investment fraud lawyer by your side, you can entirely focus on running things
around your business and maximizing productivity, with peace of mind knowing
that someone is handling your fraud case.
Increased Chances of Compensation
As mentioned, the lawyers are experienced.
They have handled similar cases before, and they understand what needs to be
done to prove that your investment losses were as a result of fraud. They can
easily collect evidence, and since they know the law better than you do, there
is a higher chance that you will get the compensation you deserve.
These are a few of the benefits to expect
by hiring an investment fraud attorney rather than handling the case. Take your
time and look for a reputable and reliable attorney to enjoy these benefits and
more.
HowTheMarketWorks.com is the number one leading FREE investment simulation. It is far more developed, customizable and has many more features than Investopedia.com. I will outline the specific features that HowTheMarketWorks.com offers, making it the number one stock game.
1. HowTheMarketWorks.com Has a Full Time Live Support Team
Unlike Investopedia.com, HowTheMarketWorks.com has a full time live support team that responds to requests within one business day. We know how difficult it may be to navigate an online simulation platform, so our support team is always here to help. Our site users can contact us through our phone line, live chat or by email. On the other hand, you can only contact Investopedia.com by emails which can be less efficient.
2. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers Teachers a “Trade Note” Tool
HowTheMarketWorks.com offers teachers a “Trade Note” tool. This tool requires students to justify each trade (buy or sell) they make on our site by writing a justification note of up to 300 characters. This feature was added to our site to ensure students think before they trade; to make sure they don’t just trade blindly or impulsively. It is meant to ensure the trading challenge doesn’t become a gambling game. Investopedia.com doesn’t have this feature.
3. HowTheMarketWorks.com Displays Live Rankings:
Unlike Investopedia.com, HowTheMarketWorks.com displays live real-time rankings. Every trade a user places will automatically be updated on the rankings page. Even users who don’t log into our site will have their ranking constantly updated. On the other hand, Investopedia.com evaluates rankings overnight only so the rankings aren’t up to speed.
4. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers an Integrated Curriculum With Built-in Assessments For Teachers:
HowTheMarketWorks.com offers teachers an integrated curriculum with built-in assessments. Our site offers teachers roughly three dozen lesson plans with built-in assessments, aligned to state and national standards for personal finance, economics, accounting, management, marketing, and investing. When a class contest is created, teachers can assign online lesson plans as homework for their students. After every assignment, the site will generate an automatic assessment quiz, and allocate the student a grade. If teachers are interested in accessing even more lesson plans, the upgraded ad-free site, PersonalFinanceLab.com offers over 300 integrated lessons with built in curriculum. On the other hand, Investopedia.com doesn’t offer any of these additional teacher resources.
5. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers Students a Career Center:
HowTheMarketWorks.com is here to help your students get ahead, so our site exclusively offers students a Career Center. The Career Center consists of a job search engine and a job search advice column. The job search engine holds a bank of jobs and internships from Indeed and Zip Recruiter. There is an easy filtering system so students can get very specific with their job search. They can filter out a certain state or job type etc. The job advice column consists of a wide range of articles that cover tips and tools students can use to help them find a job. On the other hand, Investopedia.com doesn’t offer its students any additional career resources.
HowTheMarketWorks.com Has Customizable Teacher Reporting Tools:
HowTheMarketWorks.com offers teachers an endless amount of customizable reporting tools to help them keep track of their students progress. There are two types of reports; assignment reports and portfolio reports. The assignment report is essentially a report card which will list each students overall completion of the selected assignment and their grades. The portfolio reports shows your students open positions, transactions history, detailed balances, realized profit and losses, and the trade notes. On the other hand, Investopedia.com doesn’t offer its teacher any reporting tools.
Takeaway:
HowTheMarketWorks.com is the number one FREE stock game, and outperforms Investopedia.com. It offers its users far more features than Investopedia.com like a live support staff, “Trade Note” tool, live rankings, integrated curriculum with built-in assessments, a career center and a reporting tool.
Cryptocurrency
has never been more popular and sought after. A lot of people are trying to
mine cryptocurrency because it could make them inordinate amounts of money, but
to do so you need to know what you are doing. Getting started can be difficult,
but once you understand the process and what you need to do to maximize profit,
you will have a clearer look at how you should approach crypto mining.
The Basics of Getting Started
Mining
cryptocurrency is time-consuming and costly. Miners must either pay someone to
build their rig or build it themselves. These rigs, which include a crypto
wallet, a mining rig, access to a mining pool, and the software to actually
do the mining, cost a lot of money to run. They require large amounts of
processing power and electricity. It’s a delicate balance between how much it
costs to mine the cryptos and how much they are worth.
When you buy or
build the equipment that you need and purchase the necessary software for the
cryptocurrency you are trying to mine, you will need to figure out how you are
going to power your operation. This is perhaps the most risky and fragile part
of mining cryptocurrency. If your energy bill is too high, you won’t end up
making money.
The Cost of Mining Bitcoin & Others
Each cryptocurrency is different and requires different things. Bitcoin, on one hand, is limited and will go up in value. But since bitcoin will get more and more expensive, the cost to mine them will also go up. Ethereum alone takes up the same share of electricity as a small country. Mining cryptocurrency is not cheap, and as long as the economic incentive exists there will be plenty of miners ready to keep the network moving and mine cryptocurrency into their wallets.
By far the most
sensitive aspect of mining cryptocurrency is energy. It takes a lot of power to
run computers mining bitcoin. The rest of the equipment takes up huge amounts
of energy. It is not uncommon for big cryptocurrency mining operations to use
as much power as small countries.
In fact, the
global use of cryptocurrency is on pace to match the energy needs of Hungary
and New Zealand, representing around 0.2 percent of the world’s global energy
consumption. Needless to say environmentalists are concerned about the effect
this has on the environment, but compared to many of the other ways we use energy
it doesn’t seem to stand up.
Still, it costs
a lot of money to mine bitcoin. Estimating that, with a specific supplier, it
would cost £5,292 a year in constant use. So this brings up an essential aspect
of mining cryptocurrency. How do you do so while cutting down on energy?
Cutting Down on Energy Costs
Cutting down on
the cost of energy is everything when it comes to mining cryptocurrency. There
are plenty of ways people are trying to do this. First, using solar power to
keep your operation running is a popular option, especially in the desert.
Those with the tools and resources available to set up solar-powered rigs are
finding that is quite a good investment. When you set up a solar panel system,
the cost of mining goes way down. This opens many more possibilities for
profit.
Another way to
cut down on the cost of mining is to use one of the products released
specifically for this reason. For example, Node
is a product that makes mining simple and cost-effective, mining cryptocurrency
slowly but using less power than a toaster.
Finally, the
most basic way to cut down on energy use is to switch providers. According to
the specialists at the site MoneyPug, which is used widely in the UK to help
you switch
energy supplier, when you are mining cryptocurrency you need energy that is
cheap but reliable. Taking a look into who can offer you a better price while
remaining reliable will change everything about your mining costs.
There is no
getting around the price of mining cryptocurrency, but you can make it as cheap
as possible. Getting started correctly is key, but taking every step to cut
down on the costs of energy will, in the end, be what makes your operation
successful. When you cut down on power, you increase your profit.
One
of the truest forms of mental poison is thinking too much, which if left
unaddressed, can dramatically change your behavior, thinking and also your
personality. This negative habit can also have adverse consequences on your
work life, school life, and personal relationships and particularly in trading.
Trading isn’t a game of chess as most people think but there are no chances of
improving your odds by over-thinking.
Success in trading comes when the trader has adequate tools to analyse the market and have a proper sense of the industry. Suppose you’re a Forex trader and you keep worrying about the success of your trade during your dinner, during your sleep-time, this can soon become a grave issue. Your Forex career will not just be affected but it can even hamper your personal life. Here are few tips to stop over-thinking during Forex trading.
You Can’t Go Back in Time
Before you place a trade, it is recommended that you take a close look at the current market condition. In addition, you should also make sure to review the brokers that best suit your needs and locations. In case you find the market benefits you, you should immediately consider another influential factor that can contribute to the movement of price of the currency pair. If you place a trade, don’t ever look back because you can’t go back in time. Learn a lesson from the professional traders as they trade without letting their emotions rule them. You should know the tricks of controlling your emotions as this will let you execute high-quality trades in the market.
Thinking and Over-Thinking Won’t Make You Rich
If people could earn due to over-thinking, there wouldn’t be anyone poor or unhappy. Everyone has a time in life when they lost an opportunity but that shouldn’t enable you to regret the past. Embrace the present and know the current rates of exchange in the market. The most seasoned traders in the Forex market have several losing trades but they still ensure that they lose a portion of their account in case the trade moves against them. Try to have a proper risk management strategy for each trade that you make.
Concentrate on the present
You should always live in the present and your entire focus should be on the present. This way you can remain updated and start each day with new energy. Take into account the recent trends and make sure you follow them in order to make right decisions while trading in the Forex market.
Stay Aware of the Hindsight Trap
Whenever a trader gets obsessed with trades post play-out, this is called the hindsight ‘trap’. They keep torturing their mind about missing a trade or exiting some trade ahead of time. You have to realize the fact that there are times when you can miss some trades and there are times when you won’t be able to exit a trade at the right time. Instead of wasting your time thinking about things that drive you crazy, make sure you focus on the present.
Stay Updated With the news
If you think of creating a career in the world of Forex trading, make sure you have a clear idea of the news that dictates the industry. In case there are predictions of price fluctuations, you should base your decisions accordingly. Don’t over-trade.
Therefore, if you’re an over-thinker, you should stop this bad habit as this would only do harm to your trading career. Be realistic about your expectations of your trading, and avoid overthinking.
If you’re looking to become a Foreign exchange trader someday, it’s imperative to educate yourself with the ins and out of the industry. Forex trading for instance, refers to the process of converting one currency into another. It’s one of the biggest financial markets around the world, which allows every trader to earn significant profits, both short-term and long-term. Thus, it’s no question that education is the key to successful trading.
To reap the benefits of forex trading, here
are a few reasons why you should start educating yourself to trade.
You Can Use The Trading Fundamentals to Your Advantage:
Before anything else, you, as a potential trader, should have an in-depth understanding of how the process of trading works. Most people who want to trade should know how to determine the currency values and the relevant factors that can affect the exchange rates.
Take note that the first step to becoming a
successful trader is to learn the basics of trading. When you know the basics,
you’ll be one step closer to attaining financial freedom and stability.
You Can Boost Your Exposure to Different Trading Strategies:
Getting started with forex trading takes a lot
of time, effort, and practice. Without proper education, your trading
strategies might not be as effective as they should be. That said, properly
educating yourself can be a great idea. You can do this by joining online
trading courses or reaching out to forex experts in exchange for valuable
advice.
Besides, there are many available courses and master traders on the internet who can help increase your exposure to different strategies. These professionals possess the knowledge and expertise that are essential in your pursuit to become adept in the foreign exchange industry.
For instance, when you’re starting out, it’s
best to follow experts like Jack Morgan and Warner Buffet.
That way, you can enhance your network and have access to some tips and
techniques from experienced forex traders and market players.
You Can Take Advantage of an Accessible Market:
One of the reasons why you should educate yourself to trade is your ability to make a trade at any time and generate more revenue. Generally, the Forex market is accessible 24 hours a day, which makes it easy for you to invest and become a skilled trader.
Because of this, there’s no reason why you
shouldn’t start learning to trade. By educating yourself about the rules of the
market, you can get the most out of it for your financial needs.
You Can Protect Your Investment:
Generating money in the Forex market is indeed essential. However, you can’t really do that if you don’t protect your investment. Just like other financial marketplaces, the Forex comes with volatility, which means that the price value of the currencies can either increase or decrease at any point in time. And if you don’t know how to mitigate these risks by not understanding the market forces that impact trading activity, then you might probably end up losing your investment.
Given this scenario, educating yourself to
trade can play an integral part in risk management. It can be an excellent way
of safeguarding your capital while earning more profits.
You Can Stay Updated:
Of course learning to trade in the Forex market is equivalent to staying updated with the latest news and trends. When you get yourself educated, you make sure that you always know what’s going on in the market. Your learning journey doesn’t stop at taking courses online and surrounding yourself with experienced traders and experts. Instead, you continue to train yourself by listening to the current updates and anticipate future trading trends and risks.
You Can Develop an Effective Trading Plan:
In addition to strategies, trading in the Forex markets requires you to create a trading plan for yourself. A trading plan for instance, is the summary of guidelines that will define and shape your trading behavior. This will outline your financial goals, trading behavior, risk management strategies, and the standards in making trade positions.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to educate
yourself on how to trade so you can develop a trading plan that will allow you
to make money with forex. This crucial
document can go a long way in helping you become more disciplined and focused
while trading.
Conclusion:
Hopefully, you find this article helpful in
your efforts to keep moving forward in the foreign exchange market. Remember
that by training yourself on how to trade, you’re able to attain long-term
success in forex trading. The more you train yourself to become an expert, the
more you can create wealth opportunities for you and your family.
Lastly, keep learning and look around until
you discover the right trading techniques to succeed as a trader.
There’s not a person in the world who hasn’t heard about Wall Street. Every time you turn on the news, there is at least one mention about America’s financial industry. Wall Street has a significant impact on the economy due to the fact that it’s the trade hub of the most important financial markets. What is life really like for a Wall Street trader? It’s not all rainbows and sunshine. Traders aren’t all millionaires who walk around with their fancy suits, making guesses about the stock market direction as they and expecting large sums of money.
It’s difficult to become a stock trader on Wall Street. It’s even more difficult to run this kind of business. This doesn’t mean that you should hate Wall Street. Far from it. You get paid better compared to average people, not to mention that you’re involved in important transactions and you’re always learning new things. Undoubtedly, Wall Street traders do things differently. In this article, we’ll let you in on a few secrets. Read on meticulously.
1.Not All Wall Street’s Movers Make Millions
The biggest appeal of becoming part of Wall Street is the ability to make a great deal of money in a relatively short period of time. Anyone who spends enough time in the industry is able to retire in their late 30s owing to the wealthy pay. If you take a close look at companies such as JP Morgan, you’ll see that they make big bucks. But what about the rest? The truth is that not all traders make tens of millions of dollars. Some of them actually lose money. The point is that you shouldn’t be fooled by the news you hear about big bonuses.
Traders who work on Wall Street don’t make a fortune. Average day traders make anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 in salary and bonuses. They work a lot to make a profit through trades. Even the tiniest mistake can lead to financial ruin. Making it big on Wall Street is possible though. How much money a stock trader can make depends on the investment portfolio, risk management strategy, and trading experience. The reward doesn’t come easy. It’s necessary to prepare in advance for the moment of opportunity.
2.Wall Street Traders Know How to Cut Loose From Bad Trades
A bad trade can be defined as a trade that results in a loss. Back in 1998, John Meriwether almost disrupted the global economy. Numerous Wall Street banks were brought together to try to fix his mistake and save the economy. This is not the time or place to get into details. What is important is that individuals engaged in the financial market have to take a look at what is going on in the markets and create a good strategy so that they have a better chance of making a profit.
Wall Street traders know how to cut loose from bad trades. More precisely, they know what to do to positively alter their trading performance. Here are just a few examples of good habits you can copy:
Concentrate on the bigger picture
Get away from the financial markets a little bit
Study your winning trades
3.Wall Street Doesn’t Have a Drinking Problem
When you think of Wall Street, the first image that comes to mind is one with a person sitting back and sipping on expensive champagne. There is no denying that traders on Wall Street drink. They do it to entertain clients or simply because it’s the tradition. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to think that they have a drinking problem. Investment professionals don’t abuse alcohol and they also don’t indulge in binge drinking.
California, a nation that is considered to drink more wine than others, doesn’t have offices sitting on top of cellars full of wine. As a matter of fact, if you were to talk to an Oakland DUI attorney, they would immediately tell you that they have never had a stock trader as a client. They know such behavior, i.e. drinking and driving, can put an end to their career. They would never risk being charged with a felony. Some aspects are greatly exaggerated when it comes to the financial industry.
Wall Street players have some of the most stressful lives. However, that doesn’t mean that they indulge in excessive drinking. They have their ups and downs, just like everyone else. Most stock investors are willing to bet on the sober curious approach – in other words, they prefer to socialize without consuming alcoholic drinks.
4. Most of Wall Street is Honest
Contrary to popular opinion, Wall Street traders aren’t greedy, conceited, or arrogant. The truth is that these professionals are good people. They are honest. As a matter of fact, they are more honest than we give them credit for. There is no such thing as a culture of bad behavior. Many stock traders work their way up the career ladder and they know that without honesty they can’t achieve the pinnacle of professional life. The bottom line is that the New York stock exchange consists of humans.
5.The Most Influential People on Wall Street Aren’t Based in New York
Wall Street is based in Lower Manhattan, in New York City. New York has been for a long time home to important financial institutions. Surprisingly, not all investment professionals are in the most populous city of the United States. Stock trading can be done from anywhere in America. Location isn’t really important. Buying shares that trade can be done from outside your home country. The most influential people on Wall Street don’t even live in New York, just so you know.
Case in Point
John Stumpf, the former CEO of Wells Fargo, a multinational financial services company headquartered, lives in California. He is one of the most prominent businesspersons. John Stumpf made billions in the financial market. The only thing that affected his financial performance was the sales scandal where employees allegedly opened checking and credit card accounts for clients without their consent.
Introduction to Marketspilot Cryptocurrency Broker
Market Pilot is a company that offers cryptocurrency brokerage services for traders across the world. This broker has started its operations very recently, and its parent company is Click World Ltd. This broker is based out of Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica. Providing quick, easy, and sharp brokerage services for all of its customers is the USP of Markets Pilot broker. Their trading platform is great, with quick accessibility and very easy to navigate as well. On top of that, it doesn’t take much time for users to start trading with this broker.
The account opening process is seamless, and the verification procedure is also surprisingly quick. Right after the verification is done, users can set up their own trading stations in less than a minute, and they can start trading. When it comes to asset classes, Marketspilot offers around a hundred cryptocurrencies. These cryptos include all the major crypto-crypto pairs like BTCETH and some crypto-fiat pairs like BTCEUR etc. Markets Pilot broker offers great liquidity because of which the client trades get executed very fast. Let’s explore some of the predominant features of this crypto broker in this detailed Marketspilot review.
Salient Features of Markets Pilot Crypto Broker
Markets Pilot broker offers a wide
variety of value adds for their traders apart from the mainstream brokerage
service. These services are offered in the interest of their users. Using these
features, traders get to gain their knowledge and make their trading journey
simpler & profitable. Let’s understand some of these below.
Financial
Calendar
– Users can stay updated with all the financial as well as economic news and
corresponding events. Unless you are an absolute novice crypto trader, you must
have known the importance of news & events in determining the volatility of
markets. Hence, this service can be considered as a great plus for the crypto
traders.
Learn From
The Pros
– While trading with Markets Pilot broker, users get to learn from the
professionals in the industry. Users get to track the best performing traders
with the help of social trading and get to learn their techniques on a daily
basis. They also can copy their signals and become profitable.
Market
Information
– Market Pilot users can access valuable reports and market analysis from the
cryptocurrency experts and financial professionals across the world. These
reports will enable users to get the right idea of what is happening in the
market and take their trading decisions accordingly.
Assets
Index –
Traders can access a wide range of cryptocurrencies with Marketspilot broker.
This is important because users will get exposed to a wide range of options,
and the opportunities to trade will only increase while trading with this huge
database.
Exploring the Sirix Trading Platform
At Markets Pilot broker, traders get to use a world-class trading software known as the Sirix trading platform. This is THE most comprehensive trading tool and is widely used by traders across the globe. With great accessibility, this software can be used on any of the devices such as Desktops, Laptops, Smartphones, and Tablets. Also, with cross-device functionality, traders can pick-up their trading activities from where they left.
Sirix platform can be downloaded on to your desktops, and the software link can be found on the Marketspilot broker’s official website. It is known as Sirix Station, and it has all the industry-grade trading features. The trading terminal looks very simple yet powerful. It is very easy to navigate, and all the required options, such as different chart types, time frames, and trading tools, are right on the main page of the trading terminal. There is also an option for ‘One-Click Trading’ using which traders get to place their trades with a single click of a button.
Sirix platform can be downloaded on to your desktops, and the software link can be found on the Marketspilot broker’s official website. It is known as Sirix Station, and it has all the industry-grade trading features. The trading terminal looks very simple yet powerful. It is very easy to navigate, and all the required options, such as different chart types, time frames, and trading tools, are right on the main page of the trading terminal. There is also an option for ‘One-Click Trading’ using which traders get to place their trades with a single click of a button.
Sirix Station – Trading Terminal
There is also a Sirix web trader which can be used on any electronic device with a browser in it. Users don’t have to go through the hassle of downloading and installing any software. They can trade on the go with this web trader. It is surprising that this web trader is just a complete replica of the original Sirix Station software. This adds a huge value because, typically, many brokers have their web traders for the sake of it with limited options. But, Markets Pilot broker providing a web trader with such great quality is commendable.
Sirix Web Trader – Trading Terminal
Apart from these both, there is a Sirix mobile app that is available for both Android and IOS devices. We have tested both these apps, and they are brilliant to operate and trade. The landscape charts, charting tools, user interface, and navigation are just on point. We want to go a step ahead and say that this app can directly compete with the likes of MT4 & MT5 mobile trading apps. All the order types, advanced indicators, and social trading features can be accessed right from the app.
Markets Pilot Sirix Mobile Application – Trading Terminal
Deposit & Withdrawal Methods
It is a fairly simple process to deposit and withdraw money to your Marketspilot account. There are four major ways to fund your account. They are via credit cards, wire transfer, ePay, and Bitcoins.
Withdrawals can be made through the same medium, and there is no deposit or withdrawal fee charged at all. To make a withdrawal, users can contact their personal account manager, and the payments will be processed in less than a day.
Customer Support
The customer support team of Marketspilot broker work 24/5 a week. There is no weekend support. However, traders can fill a customer form and send their queries to the support team. They will get a reply back within 24 hours.
Customer Contact Form
Clients can reach the Markets Pilot support team through phone, email, and live chat options. They can call +44 2080-898169 to talk to a representative. Email queries can be sent to support@marketspilot.com. Out of all the available ways, we found the Live Chat option to be pretty great. The chat executive was quick responsive and addressed the queries to the point showing great professionalism and relevancy.
Conclusion
Overall, Marketspilot is a great
broker to trade with if you are looking for a wide variety of markets, low
trading fees, and a world-class trading platform. Apart from these, the
education and support they provide make them stand out from the rest of the brokers.
Being a new entry to the market, this broker proved that promising services
could be provided without any market experience. So we can only expect this
broker to grow and provide better services with time. Hence it is a sure shot
‘Yes’ for Markets Pilot crypto broker from our side.
If you are a beginning investor, one of the most important things you can do is to stay current on the stock market. In fact, this is vital for investors at any level of experience. You cannot make good trading decisions if you do not know what is going on. The world of the stock market turns quickly, and sometimes you may need to decide rapidly whether to buy or sell. An understanding and knowledge of current conditions can guide your choices. Here are five simple ways beginners can keep up with the stock market.
1. Get News Alerts
Current events on the world stage, in politics, and even natural conditions can affect the stock market as readily as purely economic factors such as inflation can. For example, extended drought conditions can make food prices rise. If you have holdings in this industry, your stocks could be affected.
Therefore, sign up for alerts for both general and financial news. When you register, some news services let you specify keywords or phrases. When your criteria appear on the internet, you will get a notice. Be sure to vet your information sources, not all news sites are created equally.
With alerts, you know when events occur, which helps you to respond calmly rather than panic and perhaps make a trading decision you might regret later.
2. Seek Out Information From Industry Experts
Some financial firms publish information about current events as seen from the investing viewpoint. For example, insights on current events from Fisher Investments, an asset manager, inform you of the to-the-minute occurrences as well as offer wider perspectives with market analysis and updates.
The internet is a huge boon to investors because it allows for news to be almost instantaneously spread around the globe. If something happens across the world that affects your holdings, you will know about it almost as soon as it occurs. Veteran financial companies such as Charles Schwab or asset manager Fisher Investments want to provide a service by informing clients of current events as well as those seeking to learn about the stock market. This is a good way to gain knowledge so you can consider how current events may affect your holdings.
3. Read News Aggregator Sites
Websites such as Google News and Apple News put top stories as well as commentary in one place so you can go to them quickly and easily. They are good sources of financial and stock market data from around the world, and you can have it all there at your fingertips without having to manage RSS feeds. For beginners, these sites are simple and effective. You learn what you need to know without a great deal of effort or time.
4. Listen to Podcasts
If you have a long commute or often perform work that allows you to listen to audio files, podcasts are a good way for beginning investors to catch up. Podcasts may include newscasts, interviews, and weekly digests of news events. There can be a delay, however, between events and when you listen. In the financial world, even one day or a few hours can make a story outdated. Therefore, podcasts are a good source of information when combined with other news sources that offer a more immediate delivery.
It is important for all investors—not just beginners—to stay current with stock market news. With the advent of the internet and today’s technological advances, it is easier than ever for beginning investors to keep updated and get an analysis of overall market conditions. Knowledge is power, and the more you know about current stock market conditions and news, the more likely you are to make sound trading decisions.
HowTheMarketWorks.com has been the leading FREE investment simulation platform teachers use for over a decade. Our site is far more customizable and developed than StockMarketGame.org. I will highlight the main features that our site offers that StockMarketGame.org.
1. HowTheMarketWorks.com Is a Fully Free Site:
The HowTheMarketWorks.com team wants to make sure every school can take advantage of an investment simulation platform so our site is FREE to use for everyone. Unlike the StockMarketGame.org which requires all schools to pay fees to participate, unless you have an external sponsor.
2. HowTheMarketWorks.com Displays Live Portfolio Updates:
HowTheMarketWorks.com displays live portfolio updates, meaning that there is instant order execution. As soon as a user places a trade (buys or sells a stock), it is instantly displayed on their portfolio. Along with every stock quote price, the daily high, low, and volume, you will also see the stock chart. The stock chart shows the stock price for the last day, month, or up to 5 years back. On the other hand, StockMarketGame.org only updates your portfolio once a day. So if you place a trade you will only see it on your portfolio the next day.
3. HowTheMarketWorks.com Displays Live Rankings:
HowTheMarketWorks.com displays live real-time rankings. Every time you place a trade the value on the rankings page will automatically update your position. This means every buy, sell, short and cover can move you up or down in real time. Users who don’t log in or trade are still updated every hour. On the other hand, StockMarketGame.org only updates rankings at the end of each day.
4. HowTheMarketWorks.com Is Fully Customizable:
HowTheMarketWorks.com is fully customizable unlike StockMarketGame.org. Our site allows teachers to set up their OWN stock game at their convenience for their OWN students. Teachers have the liberty to choose the lengths of the stock game; their own start and end date. They can also customize their game by choosing what currencies students are allowed to trade and what type of trading students are allowed to execute, like day trading or penny stock trading etc. On the other hand, the StockMarketGame.org; is one large trading challenge that teachers have no control over.
5. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers an Integrated Curriculum With Built-in Assessments for Teachers:
Only HowTheMarketWorks.com offers teachers an integrated curriculum with built-in assessments. Our site contains roughly three dozen lesson plans with built-in assessments, aligned to state and national standards for personal finance, economics, accounting, management, marketing, and investing. A teacher can assign a lesson plan to their students online, and our site will generate an automatic assessment quiz. The students will be graded on the quiz, and teachers can view this grade through the teacher reports. If teachers are interested in accessing even more lesson plans, our upgraded ad-free site, PersonalFinanceLab.com offers over 300 integrated lessons with built in curriculum. On the other hand StockMarketGame.org doesn’t offer any of these additional teacher resources.
6. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers Teachers an Endless Amount of Customizable Teacher Reporting Tools:
Only HowTheMarketWorks.com offers teachers an endless amount of customizable reporting tools to help them keep track of their students progress. There are two main types of reports; portfolio reports and assignment reports. The portfolio reports shows your students open positions, transactions history, detailed balances, realized profit and losses, and the trade notes. The assignment report is essentially a report card which will list each students overall completion of the selected assignment and their grades. StockMarketGame.org doesn’t offer its users these reporting tools.
7. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers Students a Career Center:
We at HowTheMarketWorks.com want to help students get ahead, so only our site exclusively offers students a career center. Our HowTheMarketWorks.com career center offers students a job search engine and a job search advice column. The job search engine holds a bank of jobs and internships from Indeed and Zip Recruiter. There is an easy filtering system so students can get very specific with their job search. They can filter out a certain state or job type etc. The job advice column holds a bank of articles that cover tips and tools students can use to help them find a job. This column covers a wide variety of topics like how to ace an interview, the five biggest mistakes of job seekers and everything in between. On the other hand, StockMarketGame.org doesn’t offer the students any additional career resources.
8. HowTheMarketWorks.com Offers Teachers a “Trade Note” Tool:
One of the most important customization tools we offer our teachers that StockMarketGame.Org doesn’t, is that we allow teachers to enable a “Trade Note” tool. This tool allows teachers to require their students to justify their trade by writing a short sentence justifying why they are placing this trade. We allow up to 300 characters per trade note. This features ensures that students don’t blindly or impulsively trade, they do research before any trade. StockMarketGame.org doesn’t offer this tool, which allows students to use the trading challenge as a gambling experience.
Takeaway:
HowTheMarketWorks.com is the leading FREE investment simulation platform. We offer many features that StockMarketGame.org doesn’t which makes us the most developed and reliable platform. Our site is 100% FREE to use, so if you haven’t registered to our site, register today here, you have nothing to loose!
If your students are fortunate enough to
learn about investing at your school, they are undoubtedly learning about the
difference between money market funds, mutual funds, stocks, ETFs, and bonds.
Hopefully, they even participate in classroom investing practice games or even phone
apps that help to familiarize them with important concepts.
It’s great to teach children about the
risks and rewards of moving some of their money into the markets, but have they
learned how to participate safely in an online world? They need to make sure
that their money — and identities — are secure. Here’s a possible syllabus to
get you started.
How to Make Sure That a Broker Complies With Regulations
You already know that brokers are held to
certain regulatory standards. For example, when it comes to handling account
applications they can only accept signed documents that are sent by postal
mail, hand-delivery, or fax.
Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to learn all the rules. It’s even harder
to consistently recognize when a financial institution is flouting any of those
rules.
Considering that numerous government
entities place regulatory demands on brokers, it would be overwhelming to try
to explain all of them to your students. You can, however, teach your students
about a single resource that can demystify regulatory issues. The tool, BrokerCheck by FINRA (Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., a non-government regulator) provides the
information needed to make informed choices before selecting a broker.
How to Identify a Broker’s Vigilance With Security Issues
Regulatory compliance is only a first step;
brokers that care about security go well-beyond these measures. Even if your
students don’t understand all of the technical details, they should look for
brokers that do the following:
Data encryption: When brokers encode all
data rather than storing it on their computers or in the Cloud in its raw,
plain-text form, the data is unusable to hackers if it ever gets stolen
Security questions: This long-standing
system helps ensure authorized log-ins by setting up a list of personal questions
and answers that have been previously created by the user. These can include
anything from mother’s maiden name to the name of the first pet.
Two-factor identification: This feature goes
beyond security questions by requiring account holders to log in with two forms
of identification. Most typically, they enter a password; then the broker texts
a code to their phones. Entering this code on the site helps prevent
unauthorized users from successfully gaining access to an account.
Strong password requirements: Brokers
should require that user passwords are of sufficient length and that they only
accept passwords that contain both upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and
special characters.
What Details to Learn Before Signing up for an Online App
Your students will want to use their phones for investment transactions. Of course virtually all known brokerage houses offer phone apps, along with other online and even phone-in options. Other companies offer only phone and online service. Before signing up, your students should absolutely become familiar with the security methods used by any financial institution.
Equally important, they need to determine
how the institution gets paid for its services. Even those that brag about free
trades get paid somewhere. Perhaps they charge monthly or annual participation
fees. Maybe they grab the interest earned on money sitting in cash accounts. Of
course, they may develop countless methods that no one has yet conceived of. As
investors, your students need to uncover the secrets and determine if they seem
fair and affordable so that they do not overly-affect investment returns.
The Importance of Protecting Data Before Sending it
Your students must understand that many
things can happen to their information before their transactions reach a
financial institution. They must pay close attention to their device and
network security so that serious threats have a near-impossible time getting
through.
Broker apps are not the only things used on
a student’s device. Even seemingly-benign apps should have strong passwords,
and every free game or other app should be researched to ensure that it won’t
carry threats that get installed on a device.
Additionally, no student should feel safe
without installing a good anti-virus system, which should be immediately
updated after installation. Virus definitions should be updated every day, and
devices should be regularly scanned for any malware that might have previously
escaped detection.
Finally, make an extra effort to remain
updated on the latest threats that your students should know. For example, one
threat that’s making the news is called “juice-jacking.” Phones that get
battery boosts through public charging stations, such as those that are increasingly
common at airports, are likely to load malware along with a battery charge. Students
need to limit their charging activities to places that they absolutely know to
be safe.
Investment Returns Are Only Part of the Picture
Your students have lots to learn before
becoming knowledgeable investors. Back in the 1700s, investment options were
pretty much limited to cash and stocks. Bonds made the scene in the 1800s as a
useful vehicle for funding government projects and businesses, and stock
indexes were introduced shortly thereafter.
These types of investing were generally
limited to a relatively small group of affluent people. Once mutual funds were
introduced in the 1980s, the markets opened up to everyday people. New types of
investments are now introduced with some regularity. Each new alternative opens
the doors to the keep informed in an effort to retain some semblance of control
over investment returns. Your students need to learn many things in order to
become successful investors.
Now, as myriad online alternatives have
entered the mix, they also need to learn how to protect their devices and
remain updated on an ever-increasing forms of security threats. As their
teacher, your role has become more complicated. Provide them with the right security
mindset now, and your lessons can carry them well into the future.
Before you can go to graduate school, there’s one thing that you need to accomplish: GRE (Graduate Record Examination). This is a pre-requisite needed to get into graduate schools except medical school and law school.
GRE
is a standardized
examination
similar to college entrance exams. GRE is used to measure whether a graduate
school applicant is eligible based on their aptitude in terms of vocabulary,
mathematics, as well as analytical writing.
Scoring
for verbal and quantitative tests will range from 130 to 170, and are always in
whole numbers. Theaverage score can be somewhere from 150 to 152.
On the other hand, the scores for writing can range from 0 to 6 and can have
half-point increments, with the average falling around 3.5.
Main Advantages of Having a Master’s Degree
According
to theU.S. Census Bureau, there are currently around 21
million Americans with a Master’s degree. That’s about 13.1% of adults in the
USA. This only shows that citizens are not really aware of the advantages a
Master’s degree can do for their career.
While a bachelor’s degree might be enough to get you a stable job, having a Master’s degree has a significant edge in terms of the positions you can handle in a company – something you might not be qualified for otherwise.
Also,
it might take you several years to be able to rise from the ranks having a mere
BS or BA degree. Having an MA or MBA makes it easier to switch or transition to
higher echelon positions.
But,
while there are several reasons for wanting to take a Master’s degree, what
might persuade you more to aim for graduate studies is the earning potential.
To illustrate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the United States Department of Labor, the median annual wage of a person with a Bachelor’s degree in the field of securities, commodities, and financial services is around $90,000. For someone with a Master’s degree in the same job field, the median salary is almost doubled, at $170,000.
Other Reasons for Wanting a Master’s
Degree
Apart
from the motivators mentioned above, other reasons to get a master’s degree
include the following:
You want to gain specialized knowledge and skills in a particular field, which can be a significant contribution to the industry where you belong.
Continuing education expands your professional network. This is especially beneficial since you get to mingle with professionals and other notable personalities, unlike in the undergraduate school, which are usually students with no job experiences yet.
If you’re a person who continually loves learning new things, taking a Master’s degree can help you hone your skills in research, writing, and analytics. This enables you to solve complex problems and projects that may arise when you finally handle essential positions in a company.
How to Prep for the GRE
If you’re now decided to take a master’s degree to boost your career, you must be prepared to take the GRE. Each individual has different strategies on how to go about the preparation, and these strategies can make or break your chances of making it to the graduate school.
To
up your odds, severalGRE prep companies can provide you in-depth GRE
preparation services so you can concentrate on taking the test instead.
In
preparing for the GRE, you should also take into account these things:
Schedule
– it’s recommended to take GRE around
a year prior to your intended start of graduate school. This is because, in
case of failed results, you still have plenty of time to retake it.
Test
location – there are
around 1,000 test locations scattered around 160 countries. You should be able
to choose from these college campuses and independent test facilities,
depending on your convenience.
Registration
– you should be able to register at
the website of Educational Testing Service (ETS.org). You can choose between a
computer-delivered exam or paper-delivered exam as well as the date of
examination and preferred testing location.
You’ll
be given chances to retake the test every 21 days, but you can only register
five times a year. The examination coverage will include quantitative
reasoning, verbal reasoning, analytical reasoning.
These
may sound intimidating. However, you don’t need to spend all your time with the
preparation. The recommendation is typically around two to three months’ worth
of intense GRE study, which can be spread out over three to four months.
Conclusion
A
college diploma is already a big deal and can get you far in your career.
Coupled with hard work and a little bit of luck, you can reach your dreams in
no time. You could imagine how much more can you achieve when you have that
three extra letters next to your name.
Having
the option to better yourself is something not everyone can have, so consider
yourself lucky.