Daily Investment Tips

Groupon IPO was billed to be the IPO of 2011 but due to market uncertainties this year and doubts about company practices, doubts started creeping up. With few weeks to go before the IPO, there is a feeling demand for the stock is higher than anticipated. Groupon is even revising is price target.

Barron’s, the weekly finance newspaper has dampened the feel good factor. According to Reuters, analyst at Barron have a negative recommendation for Groupon:-

Investors may want to avoid Groupon Inc’s high-profile IPO this week because the deals and coupon website operator has an unproven earnings record and slow growth, according to Barron’s newspaper.

It said that a a $10 billion market value is a lot for a company with no profits and an unproven business model and this IPO is one deal to avoid. In other words, Groupon is a ticking time bomb!

Personally I think, this talk that the daily deals market has a low barrier of entry and Groupon can be out foxed by a new entrant is abit over rated.

Real Barriers To Entry

Groupon has nearly 4000 employees, this is evidence that this is a labour intensive industry and new entrants will have to invest heavily to compete. Groupon has an email list of over 30 million subscribers. Any one who has done Internet marketing will tell you to get people to sign up to an email list is hard work. Already other wannabes daily sites have closed shop or scaled down their operation, this include Facebook and Yelp. Google has also gotten into the act after failing to buy Groupon for a reported $5 billion. But Google is a search company that has failied to replicate it’s search success into other areas.

The biggest draw back for wannabe daily deals site is the thin profit margins, and they are getting thinner. What is the point of investing millions in a daily deals site for low returns?

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Barriers To Entry, Barron, Earnings Record, Feel Good Factor, Market Uncertainties, Price Target, Reuters

They say no one can see the future but that has never stopped men from predicting the future direction of stock market.

Investment prediction 2011

The following is a round up of some of the boldest investment predictions for 2011, from around the cyberspace.

S & P 500 Investment Prediction / Forecast 2011 From Barron

In the December 20th edition of Barron’s, leading strategists gave their forecasts for the S&P 500.

Those ranged from a low of 1,250 by Douglas Cliggott of Credit Suisse (CS) to a high of 1,450 by David Kostin of Goldman Sachs (GS).

Commodities Investment Prediction For 2011 From The Street

Commodities have been on a run for a long time now, some investors have started having the feeling this is another bubble. Peter Schiff, head of Euro Pacific Capital, speaking to the street.com, sees the bubble bursting sometime after the first quarter. He said commodity investors aren’t taking seriously enough the slowdown in China’s economy. He also said commodity prices are driven so much by speculation.

Home Price Forecast / Prediction 2011 From WSJ

The consensus estimates survey of 114 economists is that home prices will only rise by 0.8% next year, meaning that prices by the end of 2011 could be little different from where they were at the end of 2009. See WSJ Article

Dow Jones Industrial Average prediction 2011

2010 was a good year for DJIA. It soared 76 percent the past 21 months.  Will DJIA top 14000, I couldn’t find an answer to that.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 21 Months, Barron, Commodities, Commodity Prices, Credit Suisse, Cyberspace, Djia, Dow Jones, Dow Jones Industrial, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Economists, Goldman Sachs, Good Year, Kostin, Peter Schiff, Sachs Gs, Slowdown, Stock Market Investment, Strategists, Wsj Article

In their annual ranking of Top financial advisors. The editors of Barron online ranked Ron Carson of Carson Wealth Management Group as the top independent financial advisor in Omaha, Nebraska.

This is how Carson wealth management group on their website.

Carson Wealth Management Group was founded on traditional values; hard work, loyalty, uncompromising quality, and personal services. When we manage your money, you get all this and more. We call it True Wealth…all that money can’t buy and death can’t take away. Our goal is to help our clients find True Wealth by uncovering what is truly important in their lives. We are dedicated to taking you on this journey.

They even go further and politely ask for your business. Please consider Carson Wealth Management Group and Experience the Difference for yourself.

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Barron, Editors, Financial Advisors, Independent Financial Advisor, Journey, Loyalty, Management Group, Money, Omaha Nebraska, Personal Services, Ron Carson, Top Financial Advisor, Traditional Values, True Wealth, Uncompromising Quality, Wealth Management

Jim Cramer is the poster boy for stock pickers. The man has a tendency of leaning toward bullishness even when the market indicators show danger ahead.

Jim Cramer is a household name across US Thanks to his daily CNBC show “Mad Money,” Hundred of viewers tune in to his weeknights for his stock predictions, stock forecast and stock picks.

With such a large following I was interested to know his track record in picking stocks. Have investors made money by following his stock picks?

Jim Cramer Historical Track Record in Stock Picking.

According to analysis done by Barron back in 2007. If you had followed Jim Cramer stock picks between 2005 – 2007 you would have lost money.

Over the past two years, viewers holding Cramer’s stocks would be up 12% while the Dow rose 22% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 16%, according to a record of 1,300 of the CNBC star’s “buy” recommendations compiled by YourMoneyWatch, a Web site run by a retired stock analyst and loyal Cramer-watcher.

We also looked at a database of Cramer’s “Mad Money” picks maintained by his Web site, TheStreet.com. It covers only the past six months but includes an astounding 3,458 stocks -– “buys” mainly, punctuated by some “sells.” These picks were flat to down in relation to the market. Count commissions and you would have been much better off in an index fund that simply tracks the market.

As Cramer warns in his website, Always do your own research as these are recommendations and I make no guarantees. No one cares about your money more than you do!

For more details on Barron Analysis, read the full article at moneycentral

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Barron, Buy Recommendations, Cnbc, Commissions, Dow, Guarantees, Household Name, Index Fund, Jim Cramer, Mad Money, Market Indicators, Picking Stocks, Poster Boy, S 500, Stock Analyst, Stock Pickers, Stock Picking, Stock Picks, Stock Predictions, Thestreet Com

If you are looking for a financial advisor or financial planner based in Boston then I suggest you look at the list of top financial advisor listed on barron online or the list of top financial advisor at Boston Magazine.

Top Financial Advisors By Barron Online

Barron has a ranking of top 100 financial advisors in the state of Massachusetts. The following five financial advisors and planners from Boston made it into the list.

Raj Sharma of Merrill Lynch Boston was ranked No. 1

Victor Livingstone of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Boston was ranked no. 2

William Sullivan of UBS Financial Services Boston was ranked no. 6

James Odorczuk of J.P. Morgan Securities Boston was ranked no. 7

Ross Dolgoff of J.P. Morgan Securities Boston was ranked no. 8

20 Best financial advisors

On Boston magazine list of 20 Best Financial advisors around Boston the following made it into top five:-

Raj Sharma of Merrill Lynch Boston was ranked No. 1

Marc A. White Jr. of JPMorgan Private Bank, Boston was ranked no. 2

John D. Spooner of Citigroup Smith Barney, Boston was ranked no. 3

William J. Sullivan of UBS Financial Services, Boston was ranked no. 4

Andrew H. Zimmerman of Merrill Lynch, Boston was ranked no. 5

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Bank Boston, Barron, Best Financial Advisors, Boston Magazine, Citigroup Smith Barney, Dolgoff, Financial Planner, J P Morgan, J P Morgan Securities, John D Spooner, Livingstone, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Private Bank, Stanley Smith, State Of Massachusetts, Top Financial Advisor, Ubs Financial Services, William J Sullivan, William Sullivan

The key to selecting a good financial advisor or financial planner around Las Vegas area is to go by the reviews and recommendation of others. People who have used the services of a certain financial advisor are likely to give you an honest opinion.

There are several places online where Las Vegas financial advisors / Las Vegas financial planners are reviewed.

Barron Ranking of Las Vegas Financial Advisors.

Barron has an annual ranking of top financial advisors. The following las vegas financial advisors were ranked in top 5 among top Nevada Financial advisors.

1 Randy Garcia of The Investment Counsel Company

2 Brian Buckley of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

3 Deborah Danielson Danielson Financial

Another place to find Las Vegas Financial Advisors / Las Vegas Financial planners is at Yelp. The good thing about Yelp is that the site is reviewed by users like you.Some of financial advisor from Las Vegas at Yelp Financial Services are:

Leornard Bensons Company

Hiey Insurance Agency.

Another online resource for Las Vegas financial advisors is the Yellow pages. Although these are purely Ads, the one advantage is that they have a large resource of listed Las Vegas financial advisors and Financial planners. See Yellow Pages

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Barron, Brian Buckley, Danielson, Financial Advisor, Financial Advisors, Financial Planner, Financial Planners, Financial Services, Honest Opinion, Insurance, Insurance Agency, Investment Counsel, Las Vegas, Morgan Stanley, Online Resource, Smith Barney, Stanley Smith, Vegas Area, Yellow Pages, Yelp

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

If you are looking for financial advisors around or near Bellevue, Washington you have various.

My first option I recommend you have look at the list of top 100 financial advisors in the state of Washington by Barron. The financial advisors are ranked by Asset under management.

Barron Top 10 Financial Advisors Around Bellevue

1. Phil Scott of Merrill Lynch was ranked at No. 1

2. Jeffrey Crosby of Ameriprise Financial was ranked at No. 4

3. Kevin Fitzwilson of Coldstream was ranked no. 9

4. Michael of Ernst Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranked at no. 10

5. Paul Ried Paul of R. Ried Financial Group was ranekd at no. 11

6. Kathleen Weber of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranekd at no. 13

7. Terry Cook of UBS PWM was ranked at no. 14

8. Michael Boone of MWBoone and Associates was ranked at no. 16

9. Michael Matthews of UBS PWM at no. 18

10. York Harris of Merrill Lynch was ranked at 20

My second option is to go through to Yelp the online market place and go through the listing of financial advisors. The financial advisors are reviewed by users of the website.

See Yelp Financial advisors page

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Ameriprise, Ameriprise Financial, Barron, Bellevue Washington, Coldstream, Financial Advisors, Financial Group, First Option, Kathleen Weber, Merrill Lynch, Michael Boone, Michael Matthews, Morgan Stanley, Pwm, Smith Barney, Stanley Smith, State Of Washington, Terry Cook, Ubs, Yelp

For investors living around Palm Beach, Florida. If you are searching for a financial advisor to manage your money or on how to invest you may consider having a look at the list of 100 financial advisors in the state of Florida.

The list was compiled by barrons online. The following financial advisors based in Palm Beach made it into the list.

1. Kevin McCluskey of Wells Fargo Advisors, he was ranked no. 15

2. Kurt Sylvia of UBS Financial Services was ranked at No. 18

3. James Mahoney of Merrill Lynch Palm Beach was ranked at No. 19

4. Gregory O’Hare of Merrill Lynch was ranked at No. 24

5. Michael Nickler of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranked No. 28

6. Christopher Andrews of Merrill Lynch was ranked no. 39

7. Thomas Smith of UBS Financial Services was ranked no. 43

8. Anthony Rizzo Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown was ranked no. 48

9. Karen McKinley of Merrill Lynch Palm Beach was ranked No. 67

Source Barron top 100 financial advisors

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: Barron, Barrons Online, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bank Alex Brown, Financial Advisors, James Mahoney, Kevin Mccluskey, Mckinley, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nickler, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Florida, Rizzo, Smith Barney, Stanley Smith, Thomas Smith, Top Financial Advisor, Ubs Financial Services, Wells Fargo

If you are searching for a financial advisor based in Aventura Florida, you may taking a look at the rankings of top financial advisors from the state of Florida.

The ranking of top financial advisors was by Barron online. The following financial advisors based in Aventura made it on to the top one hundred.

1. Allan D. Yarkin of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranked No. 4

2. Andrew Schultz of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranked no. 5

3. Stephen Bloch also of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranked no6

4. Leonard Suskind of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney was ranked no.42

5. Myron Stayman of Merrill Lynch was ranked no.52

All this high street financial advisors require a minimum of $1m to open an account.

Listing of Financial Advisory firms Aventura Florida

Apart from the high street financial advisors there are many financial advisors located in Aventura. Here is a list of some of this firms, more can be found online :-

Halpern Capital

Ameriprise Financial

Triangle financial services

Coramar Investment inc

Lifespring financials

Aruba Investments

America Capital Ventures

written by Constantine Njeru \\ tags: 1m, Ameriprise, Ameriprise Financial, Andrew Schultz, Aruba, Aventura Florida, Barron, Capital Ventures, Financial Advisors, Financial Advisory Firms, Halpern Capital, Lifespring, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Myron, Smith Barney, Stanley Smith, Stayman, Stephen Bloch, Suskind