Tips For Selecting the Best Investment Company

 In terms of making the best investment, most individuals do not know exactly where to start. Bear in mind that investing is a fierce industry. Those who are not fully aware of what they are doing might end up losing their hard-earned money. And it is for this reason that most investors would want to get help from a reputable investment company.

3 Important Factors

If you start looking for an investment company, you must determine the 3 essential factors. First, you need to clearly identify your goals. These experts cannot actually help you if you do not have a clear goal. Second, new investment must perform some research regarding the background as well as the reputation of the company they want to work with. You have to make sure that it has an excellent track record and has received optimistic reviews from other investors. And third, you need to know that kind of relationships you want with the investment firm. Determining these factors will greatly help you in boosting your chances for success.

Choosing Your Goals - Your goals will have a huge impact as to what investment firm to work with. Most people today invest with 3 goals in their minds - to increase their wealth using minimal start-up funds possible, to reduce their chances for risk or loss, and to hire experts who can capitalize on all of the great opportunities accessible to them. It is actually okay for you to have different goals; however, those goals must be clearly laid out in a list prior to choosing an expert to work with.

Perform Research - Due to the fact that most people do not invest, they do not actually know how to perform research in an investment company. Well, there are also 3 things to consider - marketing materials, public trading records, and financial statements. All of these elements will yield a larger picture of how well an investment company is doing. It is important for you to look into how the company was performing in the past 5 years. Also, observe how the group performed while the market was both down and up. These pieces of information will help you properly evaluate your options.

Consider The Brokers - Few brokers are well-known in most markets. New investors like you must familiarize yourself with the career paths of the top performing brokers. Be reminded that it is normal for brokers to change companies from time to time. You must know how the companies were performing when such brokers worked with them. Moreover, you must also be aware of how the companies performed after they have left.

Alternative Investment Opportunities Available In The Market

 Traditional ways of investing would be going to shares, bonds, mainstream property, cash, and other traditional asset classes. But there are more unusual, yet highly rewarding opportunities called Alternative investment, usually embarked on by smart investors because of the risks involved in it.

Here are alternative investment ideas ranked from safest to riskiest, that are available in market:

1. Structured products

This is basically a contract with a financial institution to pay you a defined return at a defined time depending on the performance of the stock market. It's the safest of all the other alternative investments. The only way you could lose money is when the stock market is performing catastrophically badly.

2. Bridging finance

These are short-term loans used by property buyers who are expecting to get a mortgage from the bank but cannot wait for the approval. For private investors, you can invest in funds that pool bridging loans, in order to spread the risk across several borrowers. The loan is secured against the property.

3. Peer-to-peer lending

Investors meet with individuals or businesses who want to borrow money. Borrowers can get lower rates than they would be charged by a bank, while lenders can earn more money on their savings than they could from a cash account. It can be quite risky for the investors because the individual or the small business might default or become bankrupt.

4. Forestry

Returns from investing in woodland come from any increase in the value of the land and the trees on it, and any income produced by felling trees for timber. But increase in the value of the land is only good if you can also sell the forest. There are some excellent tax breaks in the market, with no income or capital gains tax to pay and exemption from inheritance tax if you hold your investment for two years.

5. Buy-to-let property

The property will form a large part of your overall wealth. You need to have at least 25% of the value of the property to use as a deposit, plus extra to cover any refurbishments and legal fees. Investors will likely face competition from professional landlords and may have to deal with rogue tenants and maintenance issues.

6. Stamps

Rare stamps will have value as long as there are stamp collectors. The most valuable can fetch six- or even seven-figure sums. Stamp values can keep on going higher, and you can search for offers for private investors.

7. Coins

Rare coins are best bought through a reputable auction house, which will provide a money-back guarantee should the coin turn out to be a forgery. As with stamps, the value is underpinned by the popularity of coin collecting as a hobby.

8. Winery

The traditional way to invest is through established wine merchants. You must have knowledge on fine wine and their exact records. More recently, wine funds have been launched which offer an alternative way to access the market. Some of these qualify for the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

9. Business Angels

When you become an angel, you invest in smaller companies that are not quoted on the stock market. Typically, you won't see any return until the business is sold or floats on the stock market. It could take years, and you could either lose all your invested money, or reap triple returns.

10. Equity crowdfunding

This is very similar to business angels, but managed wholly online. Investors can either deal directly with the company and get your name on the shares, or let the crowdfunding website deal on behalf of hundreds or thousands of investors. However, if the business you invested in does well, a bigger investor may buy it.

11. Diamonds

Gemstone-grade diamonds have increased nearly tenfold in value since the 1960s. The diamond price is much less volatile than the price of gold. But it may be difficult to access for investors because diamonds are valued subjectively by experts.

12. Carbon credits

A carbon credit is essentially a permit to release one tonne of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Companies that exceed their allowances are supposed to buy more credits, according to global cooperation. Private investors have been targeted by firms trying to sell them carbon credits. This is a highly specialist market and best left to professional traders.

13. Land banking

Land banking companies take a piece of land, parcel it up and sell it off to investors; hoping that once the land is earmarked for development, it will soar in value. However, there is often no development and investors are left holding a useless piece of land either in the market or overseas.