Investing in Resources. How to Profit from the Outsized Potential and Avoid the Risks

How individuals and communities can profit from local investing In the wake of the financial crisis, investors are faced with a stark choice: entrust their hard-earned dollars to the Wall Street casino, or settle for anemic interest rates on savings, bonds, and CDs. Meanwhile, small businesses are being starved for the credit and capital they need to grow. There's got to be a better way. In Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit from It, Amy Cortese takes us inside the local investing movement, where solutions to some of the nation's most pressing problems are taking shape. The idea is that, by investing in local businesses, rather than faceless conglomerates, investors can earn profits while building healthy, self-reliant communities. Introduces you to the ideas and pioneers behind the local investing movement Profiles the people and communities who are putting their money to work in their own backyards and taking control of their destinies Explores innovative investment strategies, from community capital and crowdfunding to local stock exchanges With confidence in Wall Street and the government badly shaken, Americans are looking for alternatives. Local investing offers a way to rebuild our nest eggs, communities, and, just perhaps, our country.

The Investing Rip-Off How can you tell whether an advisor is conflicted or looking out for your best interests? What questions should you ask when making important investment decisions? How can you select investments that avoid needless expenses and risk? As investors, many of us have put our faith in the financial services industry when it comes to the stewardship of our wealth. Unfortunately, the industry has consistently failed us on this front. The financial services industry—including banks, brokerages, and insurance companies—is unique among all others. Through effective advertising and marketing, it's been able to evade being painted with the brush other underperforming industries have, and in most cases, their well-designed sales pitch has allowed them to effectively prey on the emotional desires of investors. Based on author David Loeper's nearly twenty-five years of experience with this industry's inner workings, Stop the Investing Rip-off reveals the real costs of the investments we make, details the false and misleading information sold to us, and discusses the devastating effects they can have on personal wealth. With this book as your guide, you'll gain invaluable insights into the major segments of the financial services industry, how they spin their offerings, and the questions you need to ask before committing any money to a financial product or service you may be interested in. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Stop the Investing Rip-off sheds much-needed light on the often-unseen aspects of the financial services industry—exposing what?only insiders know—and shows you how to avoid the conflicts of interest that could compromise your financial well-being.

How to use brands to gain and sustain competitive advantage Companies today face a dilemma in marketing. The tried-and-true formulas to create sales and market share behind brands are becoming irrelevant and losing traction with consumers. In this book, Gerzema and LeBar offer credible evidence–drawn from a detailed analysis of a decade's worth of brand and financial data using Y&R's Brand Asset Valuator (BAV), the largest database of brands in the world–that business is riding on yet another bubble that is ready to burst–a brand bubble. While most managers still see metrics like trust and awareness as the backbone of how brands are built, Gerzema asserts they're dead wrong–these metrics do not add to increased asset value. In fact, by following them, they actually hasten the declining value of their brands. Using a five-stage model, The Brand Bubble reveals how today's successful brands–and tomorrow's–have an insatiable appetite for creativity and change. These brands offer consumers a palpable sense of movement and direction thanks to a powerful «energized differentiation.» Gerzema reveals how brands with energized differentiation achieve better financial performance than traditional brands have. Plus, Gerzema helps readers develop energized differentiation in their own brands, creating consumer-centric and sustainable organizations.

Today's tech-savvy consumers are demanding a more personal customer experience from their banks, and banks are discovering that mobile services deliver individualized, tailored experiences better than any other technology. The Power of Mobile Banking: How to Profit from the Revolution in Retail Financial Services gives banking and financial professionals a well-researched guide for becoming transformational leaders. These leaders can convert their traditional retail «branch» banks into streamlined systems that deliver personalized services to their customers' laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Written by Sankar Krishnan—a career banker and noted financial services industry thought leader—The Power of Mobile Banking includes strategies for adapting mobile banking practices that suit the needs of both developed and emerging markets. Krishnan also shows how bankers can make their products and services relevant to a new generation of digital natives. Krishnan explores the expanding mobile payment systems that offer a wealth of financial opportunities for banking institutions and includes information on the growth of e-commerce, which holds the potential for new and profitable ways for banks to engage with consumers. The Power of Mobile Banking outlines the practical aspects of adapting to a mobile banking strategy and shows how to put the right players in place to ensure the technology works seamlessly. Once in place, a great mobile system delivers excellent service and benefits to users, as well as real value and unique features that cement customer loyalty. The book also offers advice for bankers who want to increase their bottom line by delving into the world-wide prepaid card market. Krishnan includes a discussion on the risks and hazards of mobile banking and reveals the critical investments that banks must be willing to make in order to avoid losing customers to telecoms, retailers, and technology providers. The time for retail banking to prepare for the new paradigm is now and The Power of Mobile Banking is the guide for professionals who want to adapt, evolve, and succeed in this new mobile-driven world.

Stepping Lightly Around the Pitfalls of Estate Planning… Estate planning is one of those unpleasant but really important tasks. Unfortunately, the process is not only hard to get started, it is then easy to make mistakes. Even the most careful and well-intentioned person can slip up along the way. Avoid the pitfalls! The 50 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes outlines the major mistakes and their consequences in an entertaining way-and then proceeds to tell you exactly how to avoid these mistakes. Delivering practical and helpful information in a light tone, the authors help to make these sometimes difficult conversations a little easier. The book's fifty concise chapters are filled with real-life examples, organized under four key areas of mistakes: The biggest mistake of not planning at all Failing to plan for the possibility of mental incompetency Mistakes made during the estate planning process itself And common mistakes made by executors Written by personal finance and estate planning experts, Jean Blacklock and Sarah Kruger, The 50 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes and How To Avoid Them is an essential guide for Canadians interested in planning their estates effectively, with minimal stress on their loved ones.

"Commodities Rising, part memoir and part investment guide, provides a unique and practical perspective that is based on a rare combination of professional experiences." -Donald F. Larson, Senior Economist, World Bank «Jeffrey Christian brings twenty-five years of commodity market experience to his thoughtful and insightful new book. A keen analyst, Christian debunks many commodity market myths. There has been a substantial underinvestment in commodity research of late. His book is a 'must-read' for any investor wishing to avoid the pitfalls present in physical commodity investments.» -Terrence F. Martell, PhD, Saxe Distinguished Professor of Finance, Director, Weissman Center for International Business, Baruch College, CUNY;Public Governor, New York Board of Trade «If you've read one of the recent 'commodity craze' books, you'll appreciate the more careful, thorough account Christian provides here. His anecdotes and analysis will convince you that this is truly an insider's assessment.» -Peter A. Biebel, Vice President, Director of Futures Research, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. «In addition to its depth, Christian's book is extremely reader-friendly, presenting commodity issues from various angles. I strongly recommend to anyone interested in commodities that they read this book; and to those still unfamiliar with the subject, I recommend that they take a look. The rewards will be significant, intellectually and possibly financially.» -Takamasa Akiyama, Professor of Development Economics, Nihon University, Mishima, Japan, and Senior Advisor, Foundation for Advanced Studies onInternational Development (FASID), Tokyo, Japan Analyze the current commodity environment and look out over the next few years to identify potential profit situations in Commodities Rising. You'll learn how commodities can be used to reduce risk and increase returns in a balanced investment portfolio. Author and commodities expert Jeffrey Christian debunks much of the misinformation currently circulating about commodities and provides a reasoned reality-check you can use to evaluate the claims and promises of various publications and brokerages in the commodity field. Specific issues addressed throughout this book include: the variety of commodity investments?exchange traded funds, stocks, futures, and options; commodities in the global economy; commodity trading/investing strategies. Filled with in-depth insights and engaging anecdotes gleaned from the author?s 30 years in the commodity markets, this is an invaluable resource for the serious investor or trader.

The rules of making money have changed-forever With the collapse of investment banks, trillion-dollar-plus government bailouts, and the Dow plunging like a rock, it's never been more important to understand-and actually profit from-the «new rules.» Fact is, Fiscal Hangover, will give you an investing blueprint that will allow you to profit from the changing global economy. For the first time in 200 years, American consumers are stepping down from their position as the driving force behind the world's economy. In Fiscal Hangover, Keith Fitz-Gerald analyzes the declining power of the American consumer and introduces you to the resulting investment opportunities. Without question, the American consumer and the United States government have provided the rest of the world with liquidity in the form of cheap capital and abundant debt. But in light of recent economic events, the rules of the game have changed and that means you must change with them-if you intend on securing your financial future. Unlike most of today's finance books that simply examine the end of the American Empire, Fiscal Hangover shows you how to prepare for the fall, effectively allocate your investments, and thrive in the new global economy. This book offers specific analysis and concrete actionable steps for individual investors interested in grabbing their fair share of what will be the greatest wealth creation in the history of mankind. Examines our current financial situation and offers practical investment advice to overcome the challenges you'll face Analyzes the declining power of the American consumer and introduces you to the resulting investment opportunities Details new investing benchmarks and discusses why the old ones no longer work Explores big picture economic issues that will affect your individual investment endeavors The coming years may hold the greatest investment opportunities of our times, but in order to take advantage of this you'll need the insights that can only be found in Fiscal Hangover.

A do-it-yourself guide to investing like the renowned Harvard and Yale endowments. The Ivy Portfolio shows step-by-step how to track and mimic the investment strategies of the highly successful Harvard and Yale endowments. Using the endowment Policy Portfolios as a guide, the authors illustrate how an investor can develop a strategic asset allocation using an ETF-based investment approach. The Ivy Portfolio also reveals a novel method for investors to reduce their risk through a tactical asset allocation strategy to protect them from bear markets. The book will also showcase a method to follow the smart money and piggyback the top hedge funds and their stock-picking abilities. With readable, straightforward advice, The Ivy Portfolio will show investors exactly how this can be accomplished—and allow them to achieve an unparalleled level of investment success in the process. With all of the uncertainty in the markets today, The Ivy Portfolio helps the reader answer the most often asked question in investing today – «What do I do»?

Everything first-timers need to know to avoid the most common mistakes homebuyers make Written especially for first-timers, this eye-opening guide turns you into an educated consumer, ensuring that the home or condo you buy is both a comfortable place to live and a great investment for the future. Compiled from the experience of hundreds of homebuyers, real estate agents, home builders, and mortgage lenders, it shows you the most common mistakes buyers make and illustrates them in practice so you don't fall into the same traps. Now revised and updated for today's hot real estate market, this invaluable resource covers everything from negotiating with sellers and making the down payment to shopping for the best mortgage and handling the closing. The new Fourth Edition also includes totally up-to-date guidance on using the Internet to find properties, secure financing, and collect important data. If you're thinking about buying a home in this overheated market, don't make these mistakes: Researching selling prices and still overpaying Believing everything your agent tells you Buying into an upscale neighborhood that's moving downscale Underestimating utilities and other costs Allowing your agent to negotiate for you Letting fear get the better of you and not buying at all Written by one of the nation's leading real estate experts and packed with hundreds of valuable tips and suggestions, The 106 Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make, Fourth Edition will give you the confidence–and the wisdom–to buy the right home at the right price.

Acclaimed investment experts Peter Treadway and Michael Wong explain how to protect your investments—and even profit—from the coming sovereign default crises A major sovereign default crisis is looming for the so-called developed economies of the world. The result will be a major redistribution of economic wealth and an overhaul of the international financial system on an epic scale. Investing in the Age of Sovereign Defaults: How to Preserve your Wealth in the Coming Crisis explains what lies ahead, and offers invaluable suggestions to help investors avoid massive losses. Explains why the West is headed for a major default crisis and how investors can protect themselves Contends that the value of gold will continue to rise and that sooner or later government debt, including that of the U.S. and Japan, will be shunned Written by investment experts Peter Treadway and Michael Wong The days of the economic status quo are coming to an end. Investing in the Age of Sovereign Defaults shows investors what's coming and what investors must do if they want to escape unscathed.