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Do you know what the Child Trust Fund is? a small amount appear to know about the fact that all infants get a free £250 voucher from the government to place in a Child Trust Fund. The voucher may be invested in any one of three sorts of CTF account, Stakeholder - a shares-based account thatchanges into cash, a savings account or a shares account. It is a superb chance to invest for the future requirements of a youngster

Scottish Friendly is an accredited provider of the Child Trust Fund The State is eager for people to have access to Stakeholder accounts and this is the form of account that we are offering. This means that:

Investments are saved into our Managed Growth Fund, which aims to provide good growth potential

An investment is made partly in shares to make the most of potentially higher returns over 18 years,compared to a cash deposit account (although the value of shares can
decrease as well as increase whereas capital would be protected in a deposit account)

It comes with a low ‘Stakeholder’ funds charge of just 1.5 percent perannum

When reaching 18 the young person will get a lump sum, wholly free of Capital Gains and Income Tax under present law

It is affordable - extra payments can be put in the account from as little as £10

A major attraction of the Child Trust Fund is that anyone - parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends - can contribute to the Fund to a top limit of £1,200 per year to help boost the child’s Fund (once added, this money is not allowed to be withdrawn).

All this means our Stakeholder account offers a good balance between possible high returns and a lower level of risk. There is also the extra assurance that our account complies with the Government’s stakeholder criteria. Nonetheless this doesn’t mean that returns are guaranteed or that Stakeholder accounts are appropriate for everyone. Bear in mind that the value of shares in the Managed Growth Fund (where your Child Trust Fund money is placed) can fall as well as rise and would not be guaranteed.

Only infants born on or after 1st September 2002 are qualified to open a Child Trust Fund. If you have older children born before the above-mentioned date who are not entitled you could consider saving for them with a Child Bond - it’s a tax-free savings plan which was created for long-term growth.

The fact is that saving for your daughter is a sound means of preparing for the future.

One of the major reasons living benefits have grown in popularity is because they reduce investor risk. The popularity is a direct result of poor market performance. Living benefits evolved because of this market decline and have made investing easier.

As the market had its steady and severe decline in the early 2000’s, insurance companies came up with a novel idea: why not guarantee investors a rate of return, regardless of market performance. The GMIB is the grand daddy of the living benefits.

Other living benefits have been introduced since the first GMIB was released over 6 years ago. Now we have guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits also known as GMB’s, guaranteed account values known as GAV, and life-time benefits. Each one of these benefits may not be available at all insurance carriers and can go by different names. All these benefits deflect the risk of investing in the stock market and puts the risk on the insurance company. Of course, the insurance companies may make a profit from the fees you pay on these benefits. Lets take a look at the different benefits.

GMIB:
The terms of the guarantees seem pretty simple, you invest in the company’s variable annuity for a specified number of years, typically 10 years. If the market does not perform well, the company guarantees you a minimum income stream for life, even if your account is at zero. The insurance company gives you a minimum interest rate for that 10 year period of time, usually 5 or 6%, which accumulates and is considered the “base benefit” amount. This base benefit amount is what is used to calculate the minimum stream of income that is guaranteed for the rest of your life. This benefit does require you to annuitize the contract. That means you turn in your contract for a stream of income, this option is irrevocable. The term used for this benefit is GMIB which stands for guaranteed minimum income benefit. Different companies use different terms for this benefit.

GWB:
The guaranteed withdrawal benefit was the second living benefit that hit the insurance market about 5 years ago. This benefit allows the owner of the contract to take withdrawals for a guaranteed minimum period of time. This type of benefit guarantees you your money back in the form of withdrawals. A withdrawal benefit usually allows you to take withdrawals in the amount of 6 to 12%. Typically, the benefits allow 7% on average and guarantees you that 7% for a minimum of 14.2 years, which equals 100% of your principal back. These benefits usually allow for step-ups every 3 to 5 years, and when you step-up the account value, assuming positive investment results, it restarts the 14.2 year time frame all over again. This benefit allows you to increase your income if your investments go up and guarantee your money back if you lose money in the market. Keep in mind you only get your money back in the form of withdrawals, it is not a lump sum benefit.

GAV:
These types of benefits guarantee your money back in a lump sum form. You invest your money with a company that has this benefit and after a specified number of years the benefit will mature and you receive, at a minimum, your money back. Depending on the company, you will have to hold the contract anywhere from 5 to 10 years in order to get your money back. There are many different variations to this benefit. It can either require you to invest into asset allocation funds or you give the company the authority to move money back and forth between the sub-accounts and the company’s fixed account. After the required time period, if your account value is lower than your initial investment or the last stepped-up amount, if the company allows you to step-up the benefit, you will get back your money in a lump sum.

For-Life Benefits:
These are the newest living benefits. This type of benefit allows you to receive a percentage, usually 4 to 6%, of your original investment for as long as you live. These benefits also allow your income to increase if you experience positive investment performance, usually every 3 or 5 years. These benefits are usually age based, so depending on your age you may be charged more if you are younger and less if you are older. You may also be able to take out a greater percentage of your original investment if you are older. These benefits are pretty straight forward as long as you live the company will pay you. So if you invested $100,000 you are able to take out $5,000 per year for the rest of your life. There are many variations on this type of benefit and every company has a different name for it. Again this is an income benefit not a lump sum benefit.

Living benefits can be a wonderful thing, but they are extremely confusing. Just by reading the descriptions above, do not assume you understand them. What I had written above is a very simplified version of the benefits. Each benefit has pros and cons and even many of the agents or brokers selling them do not fully understand them. You have to know what you are buying and if there is a better one on the market for your needs. This is where I come in to help you. I have done the research, I have read all the materials and I have ripped them apart and rated each benefit from the top selling annuity companies. No other source out there has done what I have done and given you straight unbiased facts behind, not just living benefits, but annuities themselves.
Please remember that even if an annuity ranks low it does not mean it is a bad product or benefit. It is meant to compare each contract against its peer group. Each state may have a different variation of the products presented here. Please check with each company to insure that the benefits are available in your state.

Scott DeMonte is a widely respected expert in variable annuities. Scott has worked as both a financial advisor and as an executive for 2 of the best selling variable annuity contracts sold in America.

With over 12 years experience in the financial services industry, Scott decide to start his own company, http://www.annuityiq.com. Through his expertise he evaluates and rates variable annuity contracts.

By educating both brokers and consumers, Scott’s goal is clear: Get the right information, the first time.

Here’s an interesting concept that we noticed while researching income-producing options: If you’re a senior in good health, you can maximize the money you receive from an annuity by waiting to buy it until you are past age 75.

This applies to immediate-fixed annuities in which you usually give money to an insurance company and receive a monthly check for a specific amount for the rest of your life. They lost some of their popularity when interest rates nose dived in recent years, but that hasn’t dented their reputation for safety or the allure of a steady income.

Even with interest rates near historic lows, you can still maximize your return from an immediate-fixed annuity if you don’t invest until you turn 75. The key is life expectancy.

At advanced ages, the payout is determined less by prevailing rates than by something called “mortality credits.” Simply put, the insurance company expects that someone age 75 or 80 will not live as long as someone 65 or 70. They can afford to pay the older person more each month because the odds are that they won’t have to pay too long.

Figures from one insurance company showed that $100,000 invested in an immediate-fixed annuity would provide $7,740 per year for a 65-year-old male and $10,068 for a 75-year-old. At age 85, the annual payout is $14,688.

If you delay until 75 or later and stay in good health, you’ll take in much more money over time. But if you die soon after purchasing the annuity, the opportunity will leave with you. That’s the primary risk, and only you can decide if it is a worthwhile risk.

The other risk is interest rates. They are still low but are beginning to creep up as the economy improves. After all the pump-priming by the Fed during the past three years, there is a lot of cash sloshing around the economy. If that cash starts chasing goods and services in a roaring economy, there is an increasing chance for inflation and ever-higher rates. So buying an immediate-fixed annuity now could look like a poor move in a year or two when the interest return might be significantly better.

A way to get around these uncertainties is to buy an immediate annuity that guarantees payments for a predetermined period, maybe five or 10 years. If you pass away, your heirs will still receive the monthly income. If you live, you can reevaluate the interest-rate environment in five or 10 years, take advantage of your mortality credits, and perhaps lock in a much-better monthly payout.

Of course, this sort of investment is not for every senior. You should consult your financial advisor first and get facts and figures from several insurance agents before making a decision.

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Money is one of the greatest motivations in the world. Most of us work not only to earn money, but also to become wealthy. Wealth brings many comforts with it. One can have all the luxuries in the world and also get the aura of power. Wealth is power.

If a quick survey is conducted to find out if people want to become rich, most of the responses will e in yes. Add one more question - Do you think that you can become the richest person in the world, and you will be surprised with the answers. Most of the answers will be in no. Very few of us believe that we have it in us to become the richest person. We are afraid of the thought and believe that we don’t have the capacity to be the richest person. Why? Because we don’t believe in our capabilities and also have created mental block that says - How can you, such an ordinary person dream of becoming the richest in the world?

This is our mental block that stops us from thinking creatively. Once we decide in our mind that we can become the richest person and deserve to become, we will find ways to do it. The first need is to break the mental block, the second to find ways to do it. As soon as you decide in your mind that you want to reach that goal and determine that you will reach that goal, find a business plan that will help you reach that goal. This will be tough, but once our mind is asked to find solutions, it gets them.

Test your attitude towards yourself. Test if you have any blocks in your mind. If there are any remove them and repeat to yourself that you deserve to reach the place you have decided. Work towards it and you will reach it one day. Please remember that no rich man /woman ever imagined that they would become so wealthy. Like you they all suffered self-doubts and over came them.

CD Mohatta writes for personality tests and quizzes, business and career tests and quizzes and love and dating quizzes

You remember (they show it on TV every year)
the running of the wild bulls in Pamplona,
Spain. Some of the nuttier people get out their
capes and stand in their path as they come
roaring down the street.

Our would-be matadors wave their home made
cloaks at the bulls hoping the bulls will charge
at it and not at them. The list of casualties at
the end of the day is sometimes quite large,
but, fortunately, not too many are killed.

These two participants, the bull and the
make-believe matador remind me of the those
same participants in the stock market. The bull
is Mr. Market and the matador is the
make-believe investor.

Why do I call him a “make-believe investor”.
Because as a former 17-year exchange member,
floor trader and brokerage company owner I
have had many clients who thought they were
“investors”. As a professional I would watch
many of the dumb things (like standing in front
of a charging bull with a rag in their hand)
that clients would do with their money. Many
times I could talk them out of it, but others
they would insist on being gored.

The professional trader learns very quickly
that you cannot stand in front of a charging
bull who happens to have the shape of a stock
market that is going full speed either up or
down. Investors love those upward moves, but
a few will say I have a nice profit now so I’ll
cash in and take the money only to see their
stock, mutual fund or ETF (Exchange Traded
Fund) continue its skyward journey.

The problem was they were guessing that their
price was at or near the top of the move. Is
there any way to know what is the highest price?
Actually ‘NO’, but there is a way to catch a
very large percentage of the price advance and
have Mr. Market tell you when to sell. How? Let
me show you the time-honored secret of the
long-term professional traders.

Stocks do not make an orderly procession to a
top and then turn down in an orderly fashion.
They move in stair steps up sometime 2 steps up
and one step back or 3 steps up and one step
back. Many times they will rest for long periods
and consolidate. What you can do is place a stop
loss order that should be moved up as your
equity advances.

Suppose you bought AT&T at $50 several years
ago and had followed it up with a 10% or 15%
stop loss order. It went over $100 and then
started down to below $15. If you had been
following with your stop you would have sold out
about $85 or $95. The charging bull when it
changed direction would not have gored you.

There is nothing to fear as long as you are
protecting your investment with stop loss
orders. The bull is your friend as long as you
have protection when his direction changes.

Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t
Buy It!” has helped thousands of people make
money and keep their profits with his simple
2-step method. Read the first chapter at
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why
he’s the man that Wall Street does
not want you to know. Copyright 2005.

Suppose your position has made a big move and you moved your stop to your purchase price as recommended. Then let’s say your stock continues to make a big move and now we’re asking again the questions we asked back in the first paragraph. The first profit taking technique you can use is a trailing stop. If you moved your stop to your purchase price, then you’ve already used a trailing stop. Now you can continue to move your stop up as the price rises until the market “stops” you out of the position. So in essence, what you’re doing is letting the market decide when to take profits.

Bear in mind that you don’t have to use the same price gap that was used when you first set your stop. That initial move was done to protect your account - once you’ve taken the threat of a losing trade away from your account, you can do most anything with your stop after that. One approach that some traders use is to place their stop at the half way point between their purchase price and the present price. This approach is giving half of your profits back to the markets, but it’ll keep you in the market longer giving the stock plenty of room to move. A variation of this approach is to move up your stop to the 75% profit level after a period of time has elapsed.

Another profit taking technique for traders is to use a reward/risk ratio. This is a sound approach that is used more often in short term trading. The way it works is that you determine what amount you are going to risk on a given trade and then set a profit objective expressed a multiple of that risk amount. For instance, suppose you’ve bought 100 shares of IBM at $50 per share and you’ve determined that your stop will be placed at $47.50. This position has a total risk level of $250 to your account. If you’ve set your reward/risk ratio at 4:1, then this means that when the price reaches $60 and your profit is $1000 (4 x $250), you will take profits. Note that using this approach with a 4:1 ratio would only require you to hit one trade in five to break even - a 20% winning percentage.

One last profit taking approach you may want to consider is taking partial profits on that first strong move. In other words, when you get that first move in your favor and you move your stop up to your purchase price, you may want to sell half of your position and take some profits early. You then let the remaining position run using trailing stops until the market stops you out. This approach is used by many swing traders and will result in more winners, but the profits will be smaller. But remember, smaller profits mean that you need more winners.

Chuck Cox is a Technical Writer and Industrial Scientist by professional with a background in statistics. He has used mathematical and statistical methods to invest and trade in the stock, futures, and options markets. Chuck has owned various businesses and presently operates several websites. To learn more about trading the markets, visit his website, http://www.earncashathometoday.com/trading-stocks.htm