The Complete Guide to Investing in Annuities How to Earn High Rates of Return—Safely

Annuity investment has become an increasingly popular option for many investors each year with the market topping more than $100 billion in sales in recent years. Due to the dual nature of annuities, they can often be misunderstood and many investors looking for high return rates steer clear of them, hoping for the quick return rates that they often associate with higher risk investments. Though, as this book will show you, annuity investment done properly can be an incredibly powerful tool in helping you reach your full financial potential without taking substantial risks.

In this book, you will learn exactly what annuities are and how they work. You will be shown all of the common misconceptions about annuities and how you can get past those and decide if annuity investment is right for you. You will learn the primary purpose of an annuity and how they can help diversify your retirement options. You also will learn which risks are immediately associated with annuities in regards to your retirement, including longevity, investment, and planning risks.

The specific elements of an annuity are laid out in striking detail, showing you how it works, what the differences are between each major type, and what you can expect from deferring annuities and immediate annuities. The pros and cons of each type and comparisons to other investment options such as CDs, mutual funds and retirement accounts will help you decide how an annuity fits into your portfolio.

Interviews with dozens of financial experts have helped us compile a comprehensive guide on everything you can imagine related to annuities. You will learn how a fixed annuity operates and what you can expect from multiyear agreements as opposed to singleyear agreements or market value adjusted annuities. Index, variable, and income annuities are also described in full detail in their own chapters along with when they are the best choice and how they ideally fit into your investment strategies. You will learn how to properly structure an annuity and how to optimize your variable investments. You will be shown how to access, get out of, or convert your annuities when things change in your life and what you can expect to pay in taxes on your annuities. Finally, you will be walked through the annuity sales process, including what you should expect from your salesman and ten essential questions you must ask before you sign any paperwork. If you are considering or preparing to purchase an annuity in anticipation of your retirement, this book is a vital tool that you cannot overlook. Item#9781601382917  $24.95

The Complete Guide to Investing in Bonds and Bond Funds How to Earn High Rates of Return—Safely

Bonds have long been a stalwart of investment. More than $100 billion was invested in municipal bonds alone in 2006. Now, with the economy a little less certain than it has been in recent decades, the demand for a secure place to invest money has lead to resurgence in interest in the use of bonds for many investors. Because there are many peculiarities in bond investment, you must have a basic understanding of the market, the bond issuer, how to measure rates of return and how to maximize those rates. This book provides anyone who has never invested in bonds before the ideal handbook to start investing in and earning massive returns from bonds.

You will learn everything the savvy investor needs to effectively turn a high risk portfolio into a constantly growing, steadily developing source of wealth. You will learn how bonds operate on a very basic level, including the numerous different kinds of bonds and how bond funds can be a highly lucrative option. You will learn the fundamental differences between government, municipal, and corporate bonds and how much of a return you can expect from each.

You will learn the basic methods of valuation and yield that bonds are measured by and how you can evaluate bonds with three basic steps. You will be guided through determining the face value, coupon rate, and sale price of a bond, as well as the ratings, insurance, maturity, callability, and taxes that might be associated with it. The importance of interest rates, inflation, and supply and demand in affecting the yield of your bonds will be detailed as well to ensure you make a careful investment.

In addition to a comprehensive guide on the many options and methods of investing in bonds, dozens of interviews with financial gurus from around the nation have been conducted to provide critical, real world advice on how to successfully invest your money into bonds. You will be shown the risk free methods by which to invest in bonds, making low interest returns on U.S. government bonds, as well as the higher risk methods that will allow you to make great returns by investing in industrial and corporate bonds. You will learn how to look overseas for even more lucrative options and how to measure the risk of your bonds based on the debt in which you are investing and the callability of any one bond issuer. You will be shown how to effectively balance your portfolio to include bonds without ignoring the necessity and place for other investments. For any investor who has been agonizing over how to safely invest money for a high return, this book is for you, guiding you through the complex, but rewarding, world of bond investments.  Item#9781601382931 $24.95

The Complete Guide to Investing in Derivatives How to Earn High Rates of Return—Safely

As one of the more complex but higher yielding financial opportunities available, derivative investing has become a multitrillion dollar industry. According to the Bank for International Settlements' 2007 Second Quarter Reports, there are more than $6 trillion in contracts outstanding in 2007 - more than $800 billion of that held by nonfinancial customers around the world. The physical number of contracts broke the 300 trillion mark and the numbers continue to rise annually around the globe. The combination of lower risks and potential skyrocketing gains that a derivative offers has made many people stop and take notice, yet the seemingly complex nature of such an investment is cause for pause. With this complete guide to understanding derivative investment though, you will not only understand how they work, you can also start making incredibly high returns on a regular basis, all while minimizing your risk.

You will start by learning exactly what derivatives are and how the various different forms, including forward contracts, futures contracts, swaps, and options, allow you to make trades on less tangible things outside of the various different trading opportunities you normally have. You will learn why it is important to know everything about derivatives before you start to trade and the vital use of risk analysis and management to maintain the economic stability of your portfolio.

You will learn how to use post data and other variables to manage your risk and what the market uses to determine the futures and forward contract prices. In addition, the prices of commodities, exchanges rates, and interest rates as they apply to derivatives will be discussed, including how they are established. You will learn what a contract provides, how the futures markets operate, what taxes and commissions you can expect in futures trading, and what people are currently working on in the futures market. In addition, you will learn the various forms of futures, such as stock index futures, Treasury bond and Treasury note futures, and also Treasury bill and Eurodollar futures.

You will learn directly from the experts, thanks to dozens of hours of interviews with the nation's top derivatives trading experts. You will learn how to trade and add swaps to your portfolio, manage the risk associated with them, and how they are priced and valued. You will learn what options allow you to do and how you can utilize call and put options. You will learn the various different option pricing models and trading strategies, and also how the continuous time option pricing model operates in different markets. For anyone who wants to take advantage of the derivative market but does not yet have the necessary knowledge to do so, this book will provide you with a comprehensive outlook on every detail involved in trading within these complex, more advanced markets. Item#9781601382955  $24.95

The Complete Guide to Investing in Exchange Traded Funds How to Earn High Rates of Return—Safely

The growth of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in recent years alongside an unprecedented access to investment resources by any individual with a computer has led to a major boost in the market for many of these funds. According to recently released numbers for the 2007 fiscal year, as reported in the Chicago Tribune, there are currently more than $608 billion in assets within ETFs, with almost $400 billion of that in domestically traded assets - an increase of almost 40 percent in one year. This book will provide for you a complete guide to both understanding how to invest in Exchange Traded Funds and to earn the highest possible rates of return without risking your financial future.

You will learn why the ETF has become the next major addition to essentially every casual trader's portfolio, offering a viable alternative to highfee mutual funds and Wall Street infused stock trading. You will discover the multiple ways in which you can build the stock equity side of your portfolio, through large and small growth, sector investing, international investing, and with specialized stock ETFs.

In addition to standard forms of ETFs, you will learn the various forms of Bond ETFs, Real Estate Investment Trading ETFs, and Commodity ETFs for gold, silver, and other precious metals. Also, you will discover why you should include a mixture of nonETF investments in your portfolio to remain diversified at all times. A special section detailing a sample ETF portfolio and how yours should be organized will help you understand the format and building structure for ETF investments. The keys to buying and holding successfully, a stark change from normal investment strategies, will help you learn what ETFs do differently, while the listing of rule exceptions make it easy to recognize when you will have even more options than you originally expected.

Through countless hours of interviews with financial professionals and newly independent traders like yourself, you will learn exactly how ETFs are being used today to revolutionize the world of personal finance, including retirement funding, education savings, and portfolio diversification. A list of commonly asked questions will ensure that every possible question you currently have is taken care of and the top ten mistakes that every new investor makes when starting with ETFs will help keep you from increasing your risk. You will be shown the entire corral of trading options at your disposal, both online and offline, and how Internet trading can help to increase your returns even further. The vital task of risk management is touched on repeatedly within each chapter, while trading profiles help you understand which investments have been most successful in recent years. For anyone getting ready to start trading in the highly lucrative ETF market, this book is a must have tool. Item#9781601382900 $24.95

The Complete Guide to Investing in Gold and Precious Metals How to Earn High Rates of Return—Safely

Gold has been an almost universal measure of wealth since it was discovered in the early eras of human civilization. Its value is determined by a number of factors - the volume of gold held by prosperous countries, the rarity of gold as it is refined, and current market trends. Inflation has a major effect as well. In 1910, gold was worth $20 an ounce. In 2007, the value of gold holds steady at almost $800 an ounce. The price does not remain constant though. A quick look at the value of gold in 1990 and then in 2000 will show that it had risen as high as $640 an ounce and then dropped to as little as $250 an ounce. So, it is understandable that you become easily confused by the financial properties of the world's most famous precious metal. This book was written to provide the savvy investor with the essential guide to not only understanding how gold and precious metal investments work, but how to make the most possible money from your investment.

You will be given a complete history of the most popular and traded precious metals on the market, where their value first originated and how it has evolved over the course of human history. You will learn how practical uses of precious metals have directly affected their value over time and how metals like gold and silver are direct indicators of the current state of the economy.

You will learn why precious metals, despite their fluctuation in price, are immune to the effects of inflation when utilized within you portfolio properly and why they immediately rise in price during times of recession and financial hardship. The physical and financial risks of each precious metal is outlined to show you how such an incredible drop could occur in the value of a physical item and what effects supply and demand have on certain metals that they do not have on others.

Most importantly, you will learn to recognize market trends that pinpoint the risk of inflation and the exodus from stock to precious metals that will often occur as a result. You will learn what role the central banks play in setting gold and precious metal values and how you can use mutual funds and futures to diversify your portfolio with precious metals without spreading yourself too thin or risking too much. With the assistance of dozens of financial experts and commodities traders who have worked with gold and precious metals for decades, you will learn all of the ins and outs of precious metals and how you can maximize your returns and minimize your risk. For anyone looking to diversify their portfolio and protect their investments with precious metals, this book provides you with a complete investing guide. Item#9781601382924  $24.95

The Complete Guide to Using Candlestick Charting How to Earn High Rates of Return—Safely

The investment world is full of different methods for understanding how to best grow your rates of return and minimize risk. The Candlestick Charting method, first developed by Japanese rice traders in the middle of the 19th century, has become one of the favorite modern methods of analyzing and understanding the market through careful plotting and analysis of the data provided. This book will guide you through the seemingly complex, but revolutionarily, useful method of candlestick charting to gain the highest possible rates of return while ensuring your risks are as minimal as possible.

Candlestick charting is a complex language all in itself and for that reason, this book will guide you through the entire process of understanding the language, starting with the very origins of the technique. You will learn how it was developed and why it is still used today, including what changes have been made to the methods by Western investors. You will learn how the candlestick charts are prepared and what the different line constructions signify. Additionally, you will be shown how to read and differentiate between the different bodies, including the short and long white and black bodies, to measure high and low price levels, support, and resistance.

You will be shown the various additional forms such as spinning tops, shadows, and doji. Next, the various different candle lines are outlined in full detail, showing you dozens of different formations including the single candle lines of "the hammer", "the hanging man", and "the shooting star", the dual candle lines of "dark cloud over", "the piercing pattern", "the engulfing pattern", "last engulfing pattern", and "harami". You will also learn the window candle lines, as well as the formations of three or more candle lines. Analysis of candle lines and the technical aspects, including how to discern stops, the risk/reward in each line, trends, the use of computers, and how to place and offset trades will supply you with the necessary information you need to read the candle lines.

By interviewing dozens of experts in the reading and analysis of candle charts, this book is able to provide a comprehensive perspective of candle charts and how you can start using moving averages, analyzing three line break charts, renko charts, and kagi charts. You will be provided with practice charts for all three major types and additional resources to help you learn how to read and analyze each type. For anyone interested in the centuries old Japanese style of market analysis that is candlestick charting, this book provides a comprehensive overview from the very origins to the most modern of interpretations.  Item#9781601382948  $24.95