Farrukh Kazmi asset management expert offers tips regarding how to make extra money 2020? It’s difficult to imagine that you can go wrong by embracing simplicity in your financial life. Even if the investments in your accounts were to hit a rough patch, you’d still save time, money, and energy, freeing your mind so you can focus your attention elsewhere. A minimalist perspective can make for a more efficient — and elegant — investing and financial planning experience, and it’s an approach I hope people will embrace in 2021 and beyond.
The market rotation away from technology-heavy growth stocks toward more cyclical value stocks, which we discussed in our previous quarterly report, is underway. The MSCI World Value Index has gained over 10% since the beginning of 2021 while the technology-heavy MSCI World Growth Index is unchanged. One reason has been the rise in U.S. Treasury yields. Technology stocks are regarded as long duration as they are expected to grow their earnings over the longer term. The rise in bond yields this year has made the present value of their future earnings less valuable. Higher bond yields have had the opposite effect on value stocks. Financial stocks are the largest sector in the value index, and these have benefitted from the increased spread between short- and long-term interest rates, which boosts the profitability of banks.
Whether it is the tensions in the Middle East, Africa or elsewhere, it is becoming increasingly obvious that political and economic uncertainty is another reality of our modern economic environment. For this reason, investors typically look at gold as a safe haven during times of political and economic uncertainty. Why is this? Well, history is full of collapsing empires, political coups, and the collapse of currencies. During such times, investors who held gold were able to successfully protect their wealth and, in some cases, even use the commodity to escape from all of the turmoil. Consequently, whenever there are news events that hint at some type of global economic uncertainty, investors will often buy gold as a safe haven.
We offer a wide range of financial services to individuals and business owners. We believe you will be better able to identify your goals and make sound decisions to help reach them by A&S providing our financial information. Please call us if you have any questions about our firm or the range of Investment services we provide. Our firm has a relationship with a variety of financial services companies, so if we don’t have a product or service, we know a group that does. One of the many benefits of working with A&S Asset Management is our ability to provide clear, easily understood explanations of financial markets, financial ideas, and where you fit within them. The personalized program that we can provide is a road map to working toward a more secure financial future. Farrukh Kazmi is the founder of A&S Asset Management, I am committed to helping people achieve financial freedom by bringing Wall Street experience to the local investor.
Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments of online transactions that are denominated in terms of a virtual “token,” representing ledger entries internal to the system itself. “Crypto” refers to the fact that various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions, are employed. The first cryptocurrency to capture the public imagination was Bitcoin, which was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known under the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. As of February 2019, there were over 17.53 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $63 billion (although the market price of bitcoin can fluctuate quite a bit). Bitcoin’s success has spawned a number of competing cryptocurrencies, known as “altcoins” such as Litecoin, Name coin and Peercoin, as well as Ethereum, EOS, and Cardano. Today, there are literally thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence, with an aggregate market value of over $120 billion (Bitcoin currently represents more than 50% of the total value).
Many students work part-time or during the summer months, and others will be on placements or paid internships. More often than not, if you are a student working during the year, you will be overpaying income tax. Why? Simply because few students reach the personal tax-free income allowance each year but are put on an emergency basic tax-code by their employers meaning tax is being paid when it shouldn’t be.
Financial advisors may work in independent practices or part of a firm or financial institution. All advisors who work with the public must have a current Series 65 License. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a good place to start your search for help. A fee-based structure can be hourly, project, retainer or a flat ongoing amount that is derived from the percentage of assets being managed; usually, the greater the assets, the lower the percentage. Commission-based means the advisor charges a straight commission every time a transaction occurs or a financial product is purchased. All of our brokerage accounts are held and available for viewing at National Financial Services, a Fidelity Investments Company. Registered Representative of and securities offered through Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. (BFCFS). Member FINRA/SIPC. A&S Asset Management and BFCFS are independent entities. See even more information at Farrukh Kazmi.
Whether its student loans, credit card, or mortgage debt, being in debt often keeps us up at night and is incredibly stressful. But don’t worry a lot of people get out of debt every day and you can too. Also, all debt is not created equal. To learn more check out my post on good debt vs bad debt, but the basics are pretty simple. Managing debt is just a numbers game. Always pay down your debt with the highest interest rate first. In almost all cases, credit card debt carries the highest interest rates, followed by private loans, student loans, and mortgages. While there are many strategies for paying down your debt, like paying off your smallest balance first and then moving onto your next biggest debt (aka debt snowball) or paying down your biggest debt first (debt avalanche), these aren’t great debt repayment strategies because they don’t focus on saving you the most money.
Unlike paper currency, coins or other assets, gold has maintained its value throughout the ages. People see gold as a way to pass on and preserve their wealth from one generation to the next. Since ancient times, people have valued the unique properties of the precious metal. Gold doesn’t corrode and can be melted over a common flame, making it easy to work with and stamp as a coin. Moreover, gold has a unique and beautiful color, unlike other elements. The atoms in gold are heavier and the electrons move faster, creating absorption of some light; a process which took Einstein’s theory of relativity to figure out.