M ONEY W ORKS FOR W OMEN A T C URTIS M EMORIAL L IBRARY S TARTING O UT IN I NVESTING

W HAT IS INVESTING ? The purchase of a financial product or other item of value with an expectation of favorable future returns. In plain English, it is the use of money in the hope of making more money.

FEAR OF INVESTING? Fear keeps many people from investing Some are afraid of investing, equating it to a form of gambling, believing that if you invest, you will more than likely end up losing your money. Others feel they should invest for the long-run, but dont know where to begin. They may be afraid as a result of their lack of knowledge, and may leave their financial decisions up to professionals.

U NDERSTAND YOURSELF AS AN INVESTOR Age range – the more time you have the more risk you can afford to take. Goals – why are you investing Time frames for goals Risk tolerance – attitude towards risk

W HAT CAN WE INVEST IN ? Bank products Government securities Stocks, bonds and funds Real estate Commodities: Diamonds, silver, gold, oil, etc.

RISK VS RETURN As risk increases, so does potential reward

B ANK PRODUCTS Deposit accounts – savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs Very low yield, but very safe (insured up to $250,000) Typically liquid – most are immediately accessible; CDs have varying terms during which you will lose $ if you access them and IRAs have tax implications for early withdrawals

T HE M AGIC OF COMPOUNDING Albert Einstein referred to compound interest as "magic" and called it "The most powerful force in the universe…". You earn interest not only on your principal, but also on the interest that accumulates.

H ANDY TOOL : R ULE OF 72 Way to figure out how many years it will take for compounding to double your money at a given rate: Divide the rate youre getting (or expecting) into 72 Example: you have $1000 and will earn 6% 72 / 6 = 12 (years to double your money)

G OVERNMENT SECURITIES Considered one of the most secure investments because the general belief is that the issuing government (in our case the US) will continue to have a prosperous economy way into the future therefore having virtually no risk of defaulting on payments. Collectively known as treasuries: Bills - securities maturing in less than one year. Notes - securities maturing in one to 10 years. Bonds - securities maturing in more than 10 years. Find out all you need to know here:

S TOCKS When you invest in (buy) a share of stock, you become an OWNER of the company that issued the stock. The shareholders own the factory, the equipment, the income and the expenses. Stocks are also referred to as equity

W HY B UY S TOCKS ? Potential for higher yields than other investments – average 10% OVER TIME Hope is that stock price will rise over time And that the company will be profitable and choose to distribute profits to shareholders - dividends 2 general approaches to investing in stock: Trade Buy-and-hold

I F YOU TRADE …. You will need to stay on top of the following info: Are the companys products in demand and considered high quality? Is the industry as a whole doing well? How has company performed in the past? Do they have good management? Sudden changes? Are operating costs too high or too low? Is the company in heavy debt? What are obstacles/challenges the company/industry faces? Is the stock worth the current price? Are there factors that will cause rapid price changes? Its a lot of work!!!

W HAT AFFECTS STOCK VALUE ? What affects stock value? Companys performance Economic conditions – if interest rates are high, people might sell stock and buy bonds instead Political uncertainty, domestic and global Types of stock Common – buy equity, maybe get dividends, price changes all the time, stockholders vote Preferred – usually a guaranteed fixed dividend; price doesnt move as much as common stock; first to get paid back if company fails; usually not allowed voting rights

B ONDS – FIXED INCOME SECURITIES If you invest in a bond issued by a company or govt, you have essentially made a loan to that organization. Higher interest than bank products and guaranteed income (coupons) Generally safer than stocks so investors use them to balance other investments Par or face value – the amount of the bond that you expect to be paid back Term – length of time to maturity Interest – the rate you will be paid for the use of your money over the term

B ONDS – FIXED INCOME SECURITIES Corporate bonds are to help finance new projects and operations; can stay privately owned; will not dilute value of existing stock by issuing new shares Municipal bonds (munis) issued by state, county or city govts to either supplement tax revenue or pay for public projects such as hospitals, roads, bridges, schools, etc. Interest pd by munis is usually free from fed inc tax, and sometimes local inc taxes as well Treasuries – issued to finance the govt, schools, roads, buildings: bills (short-term), notes (mid-term), bonds (long-term)

M ORE ABOUT BONDS Inflation-tracking treasuries: TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) and I-bonds – use CPI % change to derive rate ( ) Table of comparisons:

M UTUAL FUNDS Investment company that pools money from many investors and invests it jointly based on specific investment goals. Stock funds Bond funds Money market funds Balanced fund Equity investments like stocks – you become part owner of the fund. Details about a fund – investment strategy, risk profile, performance history, fees etc. – are described in prospectus.

Mutual Fund Prospectus Learn to read it here: ow-to-read-a-mutual-fund-prospectus/ ow-to-read-a-mutual-fund-prospectus/

M UTUAL FUNDS Example of balanced fund:

M UTUAL FUNDS Active or passive management – index funds example of passive management All mutual funds charge fees – management fees; 12b-1 fees (fees for marketing the fund, services, and sometimes employee bonuses – capped at 1% of assets); account maintenance fees; other fees based on actions you take. Look for field labeled expense ratio. Check and compare fund fees at (does not include transaction fees)

I NDEX FUNDS Type of mutual fund Tracks performance of a specific index and buys portfolio that includes all of the stocks in that index in the same proportion. Common indexes: S&P 100, 500; DJIA, NASDAQ 100 (and others); Russell 1000, 2000, etc. Since they are passively rather than actively managed, the fees are usually lower than other mutual funds

E XCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (ETF S ) Type of an investment company whose objective is to achieve the same return as a particular market index. Pooled investments that combine aspects of MFs with those of individual stocks Each fund owns a group of investments (called basket) which reflects the composition of the index that the ETF tracks Many ETFs that track broad and narrow segments of market, so you can add assets to your portfolio that you might not be able to otherwise

E XCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (ETF S ) Bought through brokerage account like stocks Have fees similar to MFs but often lower than MF fees (closer to index funds), plus the per-trade commission Can have higher return than MFs as they dont need to include cash equivalents If making regular deposits into a fund, better to use index funds than ETSs because of transaction fees

DIVERSIFICATION Spreading your money among different investments to reduce risk. By picking the right group of investments, you may be able to limit your losses and reduce the fluctuations of investment returns without sacrificing too much potential gain.

H OW TO BUY Usually need to have an account at a brokerage firm, where stockbrokers execute the orders on your behalf Fees and commissions vary – most charge a fee per trade, some charge commission on top of that, some charge fees to maintain an account – read carefully!! Full-service brokerage firms will also offer investment advice, financial planning, customized portfolio management, banking services and others. Check invest/broker/index.aspx?ref=60index for sample comparisonhttp:// invest/broker/index.aspx?ref=60index

H OW TO BUY, CONT. A few ways to buy w/o broker: Some companies offer Direct Purchase Plans (DPPs) Some companies offer Dividend Reinvestment Programs (DRIPs) – need to have at least ONE share already, then dividends and partial payments can be added to shares ( ) These are usually administered by a third party who typically charge substantially less than brokers