Income Finance

Archive for November, 2011

What is financial planner?

 

A financial planner is a professional who helps a person deal with his/her financial issues. A financial planner helps a person in areas such as personal financial planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance as also his/her cash flow management.

About the financial planner

A personal financial Planner is entrusted with the job of evaluating the performance of companies or that of a portfolio of securities and providing valuable guidance to individuals regarding the suitability of investments. In other words, a financial Planner is responsible for asset management and financial planning. Analysis and forecasting as well as budget and grant preparation and accounting. The incumbent will prepare periodic budget vs. actual analyses, will monitor and analyze research grant spending and plans for future spending, and will prepare financial reports for funding agencies

Financial Planner Career Overview:

 

A Financial Planner advises individuals on setting personal financial goals and strategies.

Many work independently or in small firms, though larger financial services firms either are adding Financial Planners to their staffs or are insisting that their Financial Advisors (or Financial Consultants) also become certified as Financial Planners

 

Education:

 

A Bachelor’s Degree is expected for a Financial Planner. Coursework in finance, accounting and/or economics is helpful, though not required. Strong quantitative and analytic skills are essential. An MBA may be valuable in the hiring process, depending on the firm.

 

Certification:

 

Requirements to function as a Financial Planner vary by state.

Even in jurisdictions where it is not mandated by law, passing the exam to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is highly advisable. The CFP designation increases credibility and marketability, both to employers and to clients.

 

Generally SalaryRange:

 

As per the Princeton Review, average salaries for Financial Planners can range from $ 20,000 starting to $ 40,000 for those with 5 years’ experience, to $ 90,000 for those with 10-15 years’ experience

 

Responsibilities & Duties of a professional Financial Planner:

Under the direction of the Chief Technology Officer, this position provides planning, guidance, and oversight of the IT department’s budget development, license and asset management, legal and contractual adherence, performance monitoring and improvement, operational and financial reporting, and internal financial controls. The position serves as a high-level advisor on a broad range of financial and management matters for the department. The position directly supervises clerical staff, and provides indirect guidance to staff department-wide. This is a “hands-on” supervisory position in a diverse and fast-paced environment. What are the duties of a financial planner? Duties and responsibilities of a financial planner are as follows

 

A Financial Planner helps clients create personal budgets, control expenditures, set goals for saving and implement strategies for accumulating wealth. He or she may have working relationships with Financial Advisors, Investment Managers and/or Mutual Fund Companies, utilizing these specialists for the actual investment of their clients’ funds. The job requires keeping current about developments in financial products, tax laws and strategies for personal financial management, particularly with respect to retirement plans and estates. Success also requires sales ability, both in the acquisition of new clients and in the development of new ideas to improve the financial situation of existing clients.

 

 

A financial planner studies the different aspects of the financial picture of his/her client and provides a suitable financial solution. Some financial planners deal with the various facets of personal finance, while others specialize in fields like risk management or retirement planning.

 

The job of a financial planner can be described by means of a 6-step process given by the ISO.

 

• The first step is of setting financial goals with the client.

• The second step includes the gathering of relevant financial information from the client. The •Third step is of analyzing the gathered information, which is followed by the creation of a financial plan.

•The last two steps include tasks such as implementing the plan’s strategies and monitoring the implementation of the plan.

Financial planning is one of the most speedily growing industries as it deals with the management of the most important means of living, which is money

 

In Details:

The primary responsibilities of this role are to provide the financial information and associated analysis necessary to manage and optimize company manufacturing performance. This is a global role and reports to the Commercial Finance Director of the company with dotted lines to two other senior corporate officers. The selected candidate must be willing to proactively engage with senior managers to constructively challenge them in the development of their plans and to assist them in managing performance to deliver these plans. Specific responsibilities include

 

A. Budgeting, Forecasting and Planning

1. Coordinate the production of a zero-based, bottom-up Annual Budget and long range company plan for the various manufacturing locations

2. co-ordinate three in-year re-forecasts to the same level of detail as the annual budget

3. Ensure all manufacturing locations update monthly full year forecasts

4. Ensure that the numbers produced by the Global FP&A team are recognized throughout the organization as the ultimate reference point

 

B. Performance Management

1. Work with global functional leaders of Commercial Finance, Operations, Supply Chain and IT/MIS to identify.

2. Continuously monitor and improve the quality of the Period Management Accounts (PMA) report in order to ensure that relevant, actionable information is headlined.

3. Coordinate the monthly PMA review process, ensuring insightful commentary and analysis is delivered in standardized form, from all manufacturing locations

4. Provide monthly analysis and commentary on the company’s operations consolidated financial and commercial performance, for distribution to senior management, in the form of a monthly performance pack

 

C. Decision Support

 

1. Driving appropriate financial disciplines, developing financial capabilities and

Providing training, coaching and mentoring of finance skills to non-finance management

2. Contributing to the development of appropriate management information systems and reporting

 

The FP&A manager must establish a collaborative working relation with his/her peers and other members of the Global Finance Team, comprising other members of the Commercial Finance team, Group Financial Control; regulatory, legal, fiscal and socio-economic developments.

At a glance:

01. Approves payments, purchase authorizations and other financial transactions to ensure compliance with staff rules, financial rules and implementing instruments/authority.

02. Supervises the preparation of the end of month accounts before forwarding them to

Headquarters;

03. In close coordination with Field/Sub Offices/Programmed Section, maintains a system to monitor and forecast cash requirements to meet administrative and project expenditures. Establishes monthly cash requirements for the office and requests timely replenishments from Headquarters.

04. Constantly reviews banking arrangements to ensure timely transfer of funds and minimize exchange loses and bank charges;

05. advises the head of office on all budgetary and financial matters;

06. Briefs new staff members or staff assigned to the Field on finance matters;

07. In close coordination with Field Offices, coordinate replies to finance related audit comments

08. Normally supervises and coordinates the work of GL staff;

09. Undertakes other duties as required.

10. Performs other duties/projects as assigned/required

 

 

 

Conclusion: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Previous experience accounting for grants and contracts (Government, Foundations and Private) is required. Must be self motivated with the ability to work independently and to deal with complex accounting issues with little supervision Familiarity with government grant guidelines

 

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There are quite a lot of people today because of having a history of a bad rating of credit they are unable to obtain a loan when they are in need of some money. However, there is some good news as there are 3000 bad credit loan that is available for those who have a bad record towards their credit and need some fast cash.

Whenever you are starting to shop for loans while having a bad history towards your credit score it is a good idea to look at just what choices that are available. You will want to find loan products that are within your needs. Also while shopping around try to find the products that can meet all of your needs and help to you to become qualified with less loan applications. You can begin by going online where you will find a large selection to choose from before making your final choice.

If you are trying to get a loan to pay off some debts, payoff your bills or just need some cash, then you may be qualified for loans that can be up to an amount of 3000 dollars.

There are many lenders that will offer you this kind of loan as this amount of money is a low risk to them.

Many times these are considered to be payday loans. This is where the lenders will use the money you earn from your employment and take the payment directly from your next pay check. There are no credit checks with this type of loan so if ever that was the problem this may be your best option for a loan.

If you are really looking to improve your credit rating besides paying off your debts then this kind of loan can be beneficial to you. The bad history of credit does not need to last a life time for you.

After receiving this loan you should then consider working to correct your credit history. By keeping your credit as clean as possible will certainly save you plenty of money in the long run. The 3000 bad credit loans are always there for those who need money and need it fast, all that you will need to remember is how to present yourself to the lenders in a way that will help to qualify you for the loan.

 

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For small businesses to compete in the market these days, small business loansbecame necessary tools to succeed. Most small businesses do not have the financial backups to long term support their business, or to help them extend the business and grow to become a bigger business. And this is when small business loans are needed, sometimes people are really desperate to make their business to grow, it is often a very slow process, if business owners purely rely on their profit, and when they earned enough profit, it might not be enough to catch up with the inflation rate that is also happening. Therefore it might mean the business will never be able to grow to a bigger business, and if things remain the same over the years, and not improving gradually, it might means being eliminated by the market itself.

To avoid being eliminated by the market, small business loans are needed for changes to be made, and as mentioned earlier, growing your business can often take a long time, and can be affected by inflation or the economic environment.

Therefore, if there is a good chance of growing your business, you should speed up the process by going for small business loans, this allows you to have instant money for you to grow your business, without having to wait for the money you save up from the profits, this can be very time efficient, and also is beneficial for the future, because the bigger your business has become, the more profit you will earn. This can lead to a bigger step in your business career, it is not just good for yourself, and it is also good for your family and the next generation. It is always a great gift for the next generation if you have a stable business running smoothly for your next generation. And all these can be done by having small business loans.

Small business loans does not only allow you to grow your business, it also keeps your business competitive in the market, because as everyone can tell, businesses with more cash flows tend to be more successful than businesses with very minimal cash flows, more cash flows means the business make more rooms of freedom, which means there can be areas where a business can improve or do even better in. So if your business is in the position where you have very few of minimal cash flows, and it is stopping you from what you want to do to your business, you should get small business loans to get your business back on track and become one of the competitors in the big market.

The reason for people to have small business loans varies these days, but in such a competitive world, businesses with small business loans definitely have high advantage than businesses that do not have small business loans, also having small business loans often means less stress and troubles for the business owner to deal with.

 

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Investment Strategy

I recieved this email from a fellow business owner (Mike Dillard) and thought I would share it with you, it’s very informative.

Hey Dennis, I hope you had a fantastic New Year

I just had a meeting with a friend of Paul Haarman’s named Anthony this morning.

As I mentioned last week in Part 1 of this update for Janaury, one of my priorities is to make sure my credit score is as high as possible, allowing me to secure as much new debt as possible.

When it comes to periods of inflation, fixed-rate debt is actually your friend. The more inflation that takes place, the more the government pays for your debt as long as you have commodities in place to retain the value of your cash.

For example, let’s say you have an out-standing home loan of $ 150,000, and 1,000 ounces of silver which is currently valued at $ 30/ounce or $ 30,000 if you purchased it today.

Inflation kicks in, the Dollar drops in value, and it now takes $ 150 to purchase 1 ounce of silver, yet your loan amount remains in place at $ 150,000.

Your $ 30,000 investment in silver is now worth $ 150,000, which means you’ve basically paid of your $ 150,000 mortgage for $ 30,000.

So I’m actively looking to get into debt right now by purchasing a home or land.

Me, debt at times can be your friend if you use it properly, this means making money from debt or using credit to your advantage.
BUT…

The credit market is EXTREMELY TIGHT at the moment.

It’s very difficult to get a loan, so you need to have your best foot forward.

Currently I have an “Excellent” credit score above 740, but that’s still not good enough in today’s market.

Fortunately, EVG Instructor Paul Haarman introduced me to a very good friend of his named Anthony right here in Austin. In an industry filled with scams, Anthony’s one of the rare “reputable” credit repair specialists who works with clients one-on-one.

Basically, Anthony’s been teaching me how the credit score game which will allow me to get it above 800 within just a few months. What I’ve learned already is shocking…

This is one of those tiny critical steps most people will no think about, but that needs to be done immediately if you’re going to take full opportunity of this wealth transfer.

I have quite a lot of information on my sites about what’s really happening today with banks and gold and silver. You are welcome to visit, I hope you learn something from my labors, thank you.

We are in some very serious times right now economically the time to take action is now, I firmly believe that a year from now it will be to late.

My Gold and silver partner.

http://4gold.goldfromkb.com

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Loans have become a lot easier to obtain since lenders expectations have dropped and finally people with bad credit ratings have a chance at rebuilding their credit albeit with strings attached, for instance the lender is not going to take a risk without adding a higher interest rate, after all they have to make it worth their while.

Lenders are taking a huge risk lending to people with a bad credit history. While it is an opportunity for lenders to make more profit, they still need to take caution when doing so. Individuals that have a bad credit rating are more likely to get higher interest rates, this doesn’t effect their decision because they are desperate to obtain the money.

It is vital to take note of predatory lending. Predatory lenders will look at the borrowers who need money urgently and take full advantage of them by hiding unfair terms and loopholes in the contractual agreement.

Predatory lending is far more common among people with bad credit. This is because lenders know that these people are desperate to get money which means they are more likely to get away with it. To help avoid this happening to you it would be prudent to get advice from a professional or someone with a lot of knowledge on the topic of loans.

It would be in the borrower’s interest to look at a company who might be willing to give them a break from the penalties they are enduring. It is possible for the consumer to find this help with a home owner loan, a home owner loan is secured against collateral like a property for instance. This type of loan is a brilliant way for borrowers to prove to the lender that they will have more motivation to pay back the loan, because of the huge risk they are taking, the lender is more likely to give them better interest rates and terms of agreement.

What the borrowers must take into consideration is that if they cannot pay back the loan, there is a good chance that they could lose their home.

You wouldn’t be crazy to think that if people didn’t need a bad credit loan then they wouldn’t get one, this however isn’t always the case. In some cases we see bad credit loans being used for things like vehicles holidays or even to buy christmas presents. It is vital for people to know that doing this is a really bad decision and that cannot be stressed enough, the exception of course is, if the consumer already has the money to pay back the loan and is just using the loan to boost his credit rating with a new loan.

Closing Comment

There is a lot to consider when taking on a bad credit loan. It would be advisable for the borrower to not take out a loan unless it was really necessary. Doing this would save people getting into so much debt in the future.

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After the dramatic drop in the stock market over the past year many investors are looking for ways to invest that are less risky than being 100% long the market. The market has proven to be “too volatile” for many investors recently. If only we could find ways to be invested and get much of the upside in the market but have some kind of “hedge” against declines in the value of our investments and portfolios. Investors have looked to indexed annuities, hedge funds, market neutral funds, and broker sponsored “structured products” to try to get this ideal position of benefitting from the upside in the market but somehow limiting their downside risk.

Unfortunately with investing “there is no such thing as a free lunch”. You have to sacrifice something in order to get that downside protection. What are you willing to give up to reduce the risk of your portfolio? Are you willing to give up 1) the upside of a rising market in general? 2) liquidity? 3) low expenses? 4) simple investments that you can understand and track? or 5) upside above a certain amount (like 5%-10%) in the case of a sharp market rally? If you chose #5 then the buy/write or “covered call” strategy may be one for you to consider.

What is the buy/write investment strategy?

This is probably the most commonly used, simple, and most conservative investment strategies that involve options.

Most people think of options as being risky and adding to the risk of your portfolio. This strategy uses options to actually reduce the risk in your portfolio. It is a “defensive” option strategy. It involves buying/holding a stock and “selling” a call option on the position your already own. You can do this with individual stocks or exchange traded funds (ETF’s).

By selling an option on the stock/ETF you already own you collect the option premium and you are taking in money.

If the price of the stock/ETF goes down, or stays flat, or only goes up a little bit during the time of the option (often 30-60 days) you get to keep the option premium and you are better off than if you had not used the option strategy. If you keep doing this every 30-60 days over the course of a year you will keep collecting options premiums and it can add significantly to your annual returns.

When should I use the buy/write strategy?

The downside of this strategy is if the market (or your stock/ETF) takes off and zooms quickly and significantly upward. In that case you will still make money but your gains will be limited or capped at a medium amount in the short term. If you are very bullish and 100% confident on the market or on your investment positions you would not want to use the buy/write strategy because it will limit your gains on any sudden significant increase in prices. If you are not 100% confident in the market and think we may have a flat, down, or gradually increasing market (at best) then you could be better off using the buy/write strategy than being 100% invested in the market.

The buy/write strategy will usually produce better performance than a fully invested long portfolio in declining markets, flat markets, or gradually increasing markets. This strategy will have lower risk/volatility as well. Increased market volatility (like we have seen over the past year) actually increases the attractiveness of the buy/write strategy because higher volatility leads to higher premiums/prices for the calls we are selling.

Who should use this buy/write strategy?

Even though this is a relatively simple and safe strategy involving options it should still only be used by experienced and/or active investors. Other investors may be able to get comfortable with it after doing some research and homework. It will require some careful monitoring of your increased number of positions and some active trading on a regular basis to execute this strategy.

Is there an easier way to use this buy/write strategy?

Yes. There is an ETF called the Powershares SP500 Buy/Write Portfolio (symbol PBP) that invests in the SP500 index and uses the buy/write strategy. The fund writes calls on the SP500 index each month 1-month forward and takes in the option premium into the fund each month. Anyone can easily use the buy/write strategy with this PBP exchange traded fund. This fund does all the buying and call writing/selling for you.

Performance of this Buy/Write Strategy and the PBP Fund?

How has this Buy/Write fund (PBP) performed relative to the overall market as defined by the SP500 index? The Buy/Write fund clearly has outperformed in down markets. In 2008 it declined about 20% less than the overall stock market (it went down 80% as much). How about in recent flat markets? This fund also tends to outperform in flat markets. What about in booming markets? This Buy/Write fund provides you with gains, but lags the market when the market is moving quickly and significantly upwards. That is what you are giving up with this fund.

How risky is the Buy/Write Fund relative to the overall stock market? The risk of the PBP as measured by standard deviation (volatility) of returns over the past 17 months has been 23% less than the US stock market (SP500). The fund declined about 80% as much (20% less) than the market in 2008. The fund is about 20% less risky/volatile than the overall US equity market. This buy/write fund has reduced volatility relative to the overall equity market.

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There are a number of several types of investments, and there are various factors in figuring out the place you need to make investments your funds.

In fact, figuring out the place you’ll invest begins with researching the various accessible forms of investments, determining your risk tolerance, and figuring out your investment fashion – along together with your financial goals.

If you were going to buy a new automotive, you would do fairly a bit of research earlier than making a final resolution and a purchase. You’ll never take into account purchasing a automotive that you simply had not absolutely seemed over and taken for a take a look at drive. Investing works a lot the same way.

You will of course learn as a lot about the investment as possible, and you would want to see how past investors have finished as well. Its widespread sense!

Learning about the stock market and investments takes loads of time but it is time nicely spent. There are numerous books and websites on the subject, and you can even take college stage programs on the subject – which is what stock brokers do. With entry to the Web, you can really play the stock market – with pretend money – to get a feel for how it works.

You can make fake investments, and see how they do. Do a search with any search engine for Stock Market Games or Stock Market Simulations. It is a great method to start studying about investing within the stock market.

Different forms of investments – outdoors of the stock market – would not have simulators. You should learn about those kinds of investments the arduous approach – by reading.

As a possible investor, you need to learn something you will get your palms on about investingbut start with the start investment books and web sites first. In any other case, you’ll shortly find that you are lost.

Finally, communicate with a financial planner. Tell them your goals, and ask them for his or her solutions – that is what they do! A very good financial planner can simply make it easier to determine where to speculate your funds, and enable you to arrange a plan to achieve your whole financial goals. Many will even educate you about investing alongside the way in which – be sure to pay attention to what they’re telling you!

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There are several advantages to applying for an unsecured small business loan rather than a secured business loan when purchasing a business. What exactly is an unsecured business loan?

An unsecured business loan is an advance of funds that does not require that the borrower put up any collateral (their own property or assets) in order to assure that the loan will be repaid. Instead the small business loan is based mainly on the credit history of the applicant. Sometimes these loans are also known as ‘signature loans’ because the bank has nothing but your credit history and signature. Plus your personal assets cannot be repossessed, a great advantage to this kind of loan.

No Collateral

Unsecured small business loans are an ideal way to finance the purchase of a business for new entrepreneurs who do not have collateral to put up.

Although interest rates may be slightly higher since there is more risk to the lender, the process is typically simple as long as your credit is decent and you can convince the lender that you have the stability to re-pay the loan.

Borrowing Criteria

How much money can you borrow and what does it cost to apply? Typically these loans range between $ 10,000 and $ 100,000, depending on various factors including such items as such as credit history, income, residence status, and previous unsecured credit limits. If you come across a small business loan opportunity that is asking for upfront application fees, steer away. Reputable firms typically do not charge upfront fees.

Simple and Quick Process

Applying and obtaining an unsecured business loan is usually a simple and quick process. For example, say you find a business that you would like to purchase you can usually fill out an online form or call a toll free number to go through a pre-qualification process. Typically within a few hours on a regular business day you can find out if you meet the pre-qualification criteria. If you do, the process continues until you are approved for your loan, usually taking anywhere between a few hours and a week depending on if a wire transfer is made or a check is mailed.

Interest Rates

Interest rates vary depending on your particular credit history and circumstances. And repayment terms typically range between 12 and 84 months.

Conclusion

Overall unsecured small business loans are a great option for those purchasing a business. If you are looking for a fast small business loan this is your best choice.

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My husband and I have been meeting resistance from our financial planner these days. We (okay, I) had wanted to purchase a summer house in beautiful Tagaytay Highlands, which had with it free golf membership.  He said no.  I wanted to buy a foreclosed house for which I would pay a pittance for.  He said no.

It could be quite frustrating to be told that you cannot buy something that you really, really want.  But that is the function of a financial planner – he will tell you if you can, when you can, how you can.  He is my personal financial brakes, someone to tell me that I am going overboard, or that I am just being silly.

I found (won) my financial planner through a newspaper reality financial planning contest – a blessing, really. I would not have survived the search for him – of checking his credentials, his experience, specialization, his fee, his certifications, work history, his fee, education, affiliation, the fee arrangement (hourly, flat or commission)…

No, I would have given up or chickened out or got scared because of “the fee” factor.

But how does one find his financial planner under normal circumstances?  Well, there is no short cut except conduct those interviews.  I suggest that you try a financial planner for at least a month (kind of a trial period if he is willing) before the fee arrangement is inked and money passes hands.  Find out if he is someone who will:

Protect your interest (not suffer from conflict of interest, i.e., promoting investment vehicles because he will get a percentage from it unless this is your arrangement).
Listen.
Create the best financial frame of mind for you  (after all, wealth starts in the mind).
Time for you.
Gutsy and brave enough to say yes or no to you what you perceive are your dreams and life goals (really a sensitive topic).
Respect you.
Willing to share part of the blame for wrong decisions you made because of his advice.
Enough experience to keep from giving you bad advice.

A financial planner, like you, is in it for the money. But the crucial element, which I hope you will see in the trial period, is that he should make money for both of you, or appear to do so.

This is also not a one way street.  Having the perfect financial planner will not ensure that wealth or financial freedom will come.  You should be willing to listen, and weigh, and get involved.  You should question and analyze and sometimes go against what your financial planner advises.  Remember that with all his financial knowledge, he is also weighed down by his biases for and against money.  Sometimes, your gut or your instinct may be more right.

A year ago, our business was flailing because of loss of orders from the United States.  Our financial planner advised us to cut our losses and pack up.  If we had done what he advised and did not stick around long enough to experience the upturn of the business, we would have gone back to square one.

A financial planner is one of the most important vehicles to financial freedom.  Choose wisely.  And enjoy the ride.

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People with a very poor credit rating find it hard to get the loans from the lenders. The lenders are not ready to take risks and give the loans to you as you have a bad history. This is why I always suggest all my friends to have a good credit history but they never listen to me. They have a lot of unpaid debts and this severely affects their credits. This will further affect the chances of getting loans from the lenders.

So if you are one of them then you can try out other solutions so as to get quick loans. Before I tell you the solutions, I suggest that it is always better to raise the credit score and then try again for getting the loan. This is because once you pay some unpaid debts your score will increase and thus you can get loans from regular lenders at a much lower rate of interest. But there are many people who feel that they will not be able to raise the credit score by spending money.

For such people no credit check personal loans are the best solution.

The problem with many people is that they are always in a hurry to get loans from lenders. This is a major problem and thus you should make sure you are patient during the entire process. Get help from other people to find a loan with a lower rate of interest. By getting a loan with lower rate of interest you can save a lot of money.

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