Daily Investment Tips

Thomas Kaplan, a billionaire investor has been profiled in the latest issue of Business week magazine. He is also the Chairman of Tigris Financial Group

Thomas Kaplan gold forecast

Kaplan says the big rally is still to come. It’s not riots in the streets he envisions, but a more fundamental case of demand outstripping supply as gold becomes a currency in its own right.

Gold Stocks he is holding

Thomas has invested in in Vancouver-based mining company NovaGold Resources. Other investors in this mining operationg include George Soros & John Paulson.

Best Thomas Kaplan quote

“People view gold as emotional, but when they demythologize it, when they look at it for what it is and the opportunity it represents, they’re going to say, ‘We really should own some of that.’ The question will then change to ‘Where do we get the gold?’ “

Source Businessweek Gold Evangelist

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Amp, Billionaire, Business Week Magazine, Businessweek, Currency, Evangelist, Financial Group, George Soros, Gold Investments, Gold Source, Gold Stocks, Investor, Investors, John Paulson, Mining Company, People, Rally, Riots, Thomas Gold, Thomas Kaplan, Tigris, Vancouver

Novagold resources is a Vancouver based mining company. The interesting thing about this mining company is the heavy hitters who have bet their money in it.

According to an article in businessweek. Some of the famous billionaire commodity investors who have invested their money in it are, George Soros, John Paulson and  Thomas Kaplan.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Billionaire, Businessweek, Commodity, George Soros, Heavy Hitters, Investors, John Paulson, Mining Company, Money, Novagold Resources, Stock Analysis, Stock Tips, Thomas Kaplan, Vancouver

Eldorado Gold is a Canadian gold mining company. It has operations around the world.The company stock is listed in NYSE.

Eldorado Gold Competitive advantages

The only North American mineral operator with mines in China. Which places it at a strategic position to take advantage of the booming Chinese economy.

The company has low cost strategy, Eldorado aims to keep the costs of mining, processing, transport, and selling around $375 an ounce.

When you think about that low cost strategy, gold could fall dramatically from its current heights around $1200, and Eldorado would remain profitable.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Canadian Gold, China, Chinese Economy, Company Stock, Competitive Advantages, Eldorado, Gold Investing, Gold Mining Company, Gold Stock, Investing In Gold, Nyse, Ounce, Stock Analysis, Stock Investing

If you are interested in calculating the value of your home you can take advantage of free home values tools.

Many Web sites offer home valuation information free or for a fee. One online site offering a free tool is Realtor.com, the official site of National Association of Realtors.

The Home Values tool on REALTOR.com can show you what houses around yours have sold for recently.

Try the tool at Realtor Home Values

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Advantage, Association Of Realtors, Free Home Values, Free Tool, Free Tools, Free Web, Home Valuation, National Association Of Realtors, Realtor, Web Free

Before selling a house you need to determine the value of the house. One method of estimating how much a home is worth is to look at the latest home sells in the neighbourhood.

You can get this information by talking to Realtors located in the neighborhood. You may also talk to neighbors who have sold their properties. You can even go further and talk to people who have just bought a house in the neighborhood and ask them how much they paid for the home.

Another option is go to neighborhood open houses. Open houses are a good opportunity to view comparable homes for sale in your neighborhood and chat with real estate professionals about the local real estate market.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Home Value, Homes For Sale, House Selling, Local Real Estate, Local Real Estate Market, Neighborhood, Neighbors, Neighbourhood, Open Houses, Real Estate Market, Real Estate Professionals, Realtors, Selling A House, Selling House

In an interview with CNNMoney website Pat Lashinsky, CEO of national mortgage brokerage ZipRealty shared some ideas on how to boost the value of your house and be able to sell it at the highest price possible.

Pay a few hundred dollars to get your house inspected before you put it on the market. Then arrange to make any necessary repairs yourself. (In most states the law requires you to disclose to potential buyers any defects of which you’re aware.) “Taking care of any inspection issues upfront helps sellers limit the points that buyers can negotiate on,” says Pat Lashinsky, CEO of the national brokerage ZipRealty.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Cnnmoney, Mortgage Brokerage, Mortgage Tips, National Mortgage, Necessary Repairs, Website Ceo, Ziprealty

If you’re ready to purchase a new home or refinance your existing mortgage you can get online mortgage quotes for the lowest interest rates and lowest total cost mortgages.

The best way to find the lowest mortgage rate is to compare lenders loan terms with those of others online. The following websites provide services for online mortgage quotes.

American Lender Resource

“one-stop shopping” for consumers seeking lenders with the knowledge and information they need to make the best home financing decisions for themselves and their families. Visit Website American Lender Resource

Mortgage Quotes

A detailed website providing a section for advice and articles. Visit website Mortgage quotes

Shoprates

Another well designed website packed with ton of information to help you naviagate around the mortgage market. Visit their website shoprates

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

The best place to shop mortgage quotes anonymously. Visit website Zillows

Loan Network

It is not just about mortgage loan, they also provide quotes on student loans and auto loans. Visit site Loan Network

UK Online Mortgage loan quotes

Mortgage Quotes UK Visit site Mortgage quotes

Go Direct UK. Visit site GO Direct

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: American Mortgage, Auto Loans, Best Websites, Existing Mortgage, Home Financing, Interest Rates, Loan Terms, Lowest Mortgage Rate, Mortgage Lender, Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage Loan, Mortgage Market, Mortgage Marketplace, Mortgage Quotes Uk, Mortgage Uk, Online Mortgage, Refinance Mortgage, Resource Mortgage, Student Loans, Uk Mortgage

Pittsburgh financial advisors are spread from advisors working in high street firms to independent financial advisors running their own advisory firms.

Pittsburgh Top Ranked Financial Advisors and Investment advisors.

Barron does annual ranking of top financial advisors and the following financial advisors from Pittsburgh were ranked among the top 100 financial advisors in the state of Pennsylvania.

1. John Waldron of Waldron Wealth Management Pittsburgh was ranked at No. 1

2. Robert of Fragasso Fragasso Financial Advisors Pittsburgh was ranked at No. 6

3. David Jancisin of Merrill Lynch Pittsburgh was ranked at No. 13

4. James Lowden of UBS Financial Services Pittsburgh was ranked at No. 16

5. Ahmie Baum of UBS Financial Services Pittsburgh was ranked at No. 20

6. Carrie Coghill-Kuntz of D.B. Root Pittsburgh was ranked at No. 29

Other financial advisors around Pittsburgh include:-

• Wright Associates Pittsburgh
• Peridot Capital Management Pittsburgh
• Express Financail advisors pittsburgh
• Lincoln Financial advisors pittsburgh
• Legend financial advisors pittsburgh

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 1 John, Advisory Firms, B Root, Barron, Capital Management, Coghill, Financial Advisors Investment, Fragasso, Independent Financial Advisors, Investment Advisors, John Waldron, Kuntz, Legend Financial, Lincoln Financial Advisors, Lowden, Merrill Lynch, Peridot, State Of Pennsylvania, Ubs Financial Services, Waldron Wealth Management

John Meriwether is a good example of why many investors never learn from their mistakes. Investors delude themselves thinking “This time its different”

John Meriwether was the co-founder of Long Term Capital Management, together with two future Nobel Prize winners, Myron Scholes and Robert C. Merton. With this two brainys on board it seemed this hedge fund was a sure bet.

The fund got off to a flying start, it raised $1.01 billion from high net worth individuals. It delivered annualized returns of over 40% (after fees) in its first years. Nothing could go wrong.

But when the Russian crisis hit in 1998, it lost $4.6 billion in less than four months. With mounting losses and a bailout from the FED the fund was closed in early 2000.

You would have thought John Meriwether had learnt from his mistakes. But immediately after LTCM closed shop Meriwether launched JWM Partners. A fund that would continue many of LTCM’s strategies. He managed to convince investors to invest in him by promising them this time he was going to use less leverage.

Whoever said lightening doesnt strike twice was wrong, just like the Russian Financial crisis of 1998 killed LTCM, the 2007 Credit crisis struck JWM partners. JWM Partners LLC was hit with 44% loss from September 2007 to February 2009 in its one of its fund. As such, JWM Hedge Fund was shut down in July 2009.

Never buy into the idea “This time it is different.”

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Bailout, Bet, Co Founder, Credit Crisis, First Years, Four Months, Hedge Fund, High Net Worth Individuals, Investors, John Meriwether, Jwm Partners Llc, Leverage, Long Term Capital, Long Term Capital Management, Losses, Myron Scholes, Nobel Prize Winners, Robert C Merton, Russian Crisis, Russian Financial Crisis

Jim Simon is a hedge fund manager with Renaissance Technologies. A.K.A as “Quants”  Traders with PHds and rely on complex mathematics in making money.

When they came to the scene with their mathematical models for investing it seemed they had found the answer to the age old question “Is there a perfect formula to make money in the stock market?”

From a NYT article:-

Mr. Simons was celebrated as the King of the Quants after his in-house fund, Medallion, posted an average return of nearly 39 percent a year, after fees, from 2000 to 2007. It was an astonishing run rivaling some of the greatest feats in investing history.

With those kind of results it was easy for investors to get carried away with the idea that Jim Simon and the rest of Quants family were the messiahs.

Past results is not an indicator of future performance.

After the collapse of Bear Sterns and Credit crises most Quant funds are fighting for their own survival. The NYT article further reported : -

The combined assets of quantitative funds specializing in United States stocks have plunged to $467 billion, from $1.2 trillion in 2007, a 61 percent decline. And One in four quant hedge funds has closed since 2007

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Bear Sterns, Collapse, Crises, Feats, Hedge Fund Manager, Investment Returns, Jim Simon, Jim Simons, Mathematical Models, Medallion, Nyt, Nyt Article, Phds, Quant Funds, Quant Hedge Funds, Quantitative Funds, Quants, Renaissance Technologies, Stock Market, Trillion