Investor Relations » Investments http://www.investorrelationsawards.com Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:40:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 USD Information And Accurate Currency Information For Investors – All Available At Allamericandollar http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/usd-information-and-accurate-currency-information-for-investors-%e2%80%93-all-available-at-allamericandollar http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/usd-information-and-accurate-currency-information-for-investors-%e2%80%93-all-available-at-allamericandollar#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:17:22 +0000 Admin http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/usd-information-and-accurate-currency-information-for-investors-%e2%80%93-all-available-at-allamericandollar As more and more information on investing becomes available online, a growing number of regular people are beginning to invest their own money and savings. Exactly what does it mean to invest? This means that you purchase financial instruments such as the stocks and bonds of various companies, or you choose to allow fund managers at banks and other investment organizations to purchase such instruments for you.   Financial investors, however, often need real-time access to up-to-date USD information and accurate currency information. USD information, for example, is extremely useful for anyone who owns stocks and bonds and is trying to work out their value. An investor in this situation would need information on how well the US dollar is doing and whether it would be worth it to buy or sell stocks and bonds that are traded in US dollars.   On the other hand, financial investors who have invested in financial instruments outside of the United States would find accurate currency information extremely useful, as their investments would not be traded in US dollars but in other currencies. They therefore need accurate and precise information on how much other currencies are worth in relation to the US dollar. The USD information and accurate currency information found on the Allamericandollar website is extremely useful for these investors.   A growing number of investors are also choosing to invest in the forex market. This deals in the buying and selling of foreign currencies on a global market. Most people know that the exchange rate determines exactly how much of another currency you can buy with a certain amount of US dollars, for example. The question, then, is what is the exchange rate at any given time? Investors need to have access to real-time updated USD information and accurate currency information so that they can make decisions on what to invest in.   Investors who make the mistake of not securing access to updated USD information and accurate currency information find themselves basing their investing decisions on numbers and information that is old and outdated, thus increasing the risk that they make the wrong choices and lose money on their investments. Every investor is out to make a profit, and it therefore pays to have a sure source of USD information and accurate currency information.   Another use that investors may have for the Allamericandollar website is as an indicator of how well the economy is doing. Generally, how well the American economy is doing is reflected in the strength of the American dollar. The better the state of the economy, the stronger the US dollar. And the stronger the US dollar, the more of foreign currencies you are able to buy with the same amount of US dollars. This means that investors can use the exchange rates as a good indicator of how well the economy is doing and whether they should buy or sell investments.

]]> http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/usd-information-and-accurate-currency-information-for-investors-%e2%80%93-all-available-at-allamericandollar/feed 0 How to Use Video in Your Investor Relations Strategy http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/how-to-use-video-in-your-investor-relations-strategy http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/how-to-use-video-in-your-investor-relations-strategy#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:20:13 +0000 Admin http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/?p=112

Raising Your Profile

In this economy of depressed markets and money-conscious investors, the cost of raising capital or your stock’s profile is not only getting higher but the ROI is practically non-existent. It seems like every company is working harder and spending more on investor relations and marketing campaigns but yielding far less results.

In raising your stock’s profile, nothing is more important than building solid relationships, creating opportunities to pitch investors and differentiating your company to attract new investors. Reaching new investors is the most expensive and time consuming part of an investor relations strategy, yet it is an often fruitless process – especially for small cap companies like those listed on the Canadian TSX Venture or the US’ OTCBB exchanges.

If your company is going to spend any money on an IR or marketing campaign to raise the profile of your company’s stock, you better make sure that you have put in place the right corporate branding that targets investors and not just your clients. If you don’t, you may lose thousands of dollars in investments from investors that would have otherwise been interested in your company’s stock but invested elsewhere because your lack of a corporate image.

Respect Your Investors

Investors need to know that you respect them. No one will invest in a company with a website they don’t understand or written in another language. These days, no one will invest in a company that spends little or no money on their corporate image. Luckily, changing the way you present to investors is simple. An easy first step is to incorporate professionally produced investor-geared videos into your program.

Tell a Story

Videos are a great first step but there are major pitfalls if you attempt to do it without first understanding what works. Let’s face it: Most corporate videos are boring.

Videos need to tell a story. It needs to be well-scripted and well-produced because this piece of material will be the first thing investors look at and may be the last thing they see before they make any investment decisions. But once you have one, it will become your most powerful selling tool – aside from yourself, of course.

Don’t believe me? Take a look and do some research. Find two comparable public companies, one with well-produced corporate videos and the other without. Then take a look at their average trading volume and share price performance. You’ll find the answer won’t be surprising (given similar comparables, of course.)

Impactful Selling

By now your company has engaged in marketing initiatives or have inquired about different marketing approaches. Have you noticed that video advertising reaches less people than their print counterparts but costs significantly more relative to the audience reach? That’s because videos are significantly more effective at selling.

Let’s take TV infomercials for example which often sell useless items. If they were to send a brochure or email advertising the same products they did on TV, how many people would actually react and buy something from a brochure they received? Probably not many. Yet people react and purchase useless things from infomercials every day.

Hopefully, your company’s shares are not useless. But the principles of marketing remain the same for your company’s stock as it does for those useless items on the infomercials. It’s a well-known statistic that people remember 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, but 70% of what they both hear and see. So give investors something they can remember.

Still don’t think video is right for your company?

Proof is in the Pudding

In recent studies of online video ad exposure, 52% took action after seeing a video ad, 45% elicited a response, 28% looked for more information, and an astounding 16% bought something. I highly doubt any print advertising can achieve those numbers.

The biggest myth regarding using video in your investor relations program is that it has to cost a lot. It doesn’t. There are a select group of IR firms that can handle every process involved anywhere in North America, do it with a very minimal budget, and present your video to a whole new network of investors. Just make sure to find a firm that not only understands the investment community but can help you script and produce a video geared towards investors.

Every client or every company we interviewed regarding the use of video in their IR campaigns all agree it’s the easiest and most effective promotional piece they have ever created. Perhaps now is the time for your company to take the leap.

]]> http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/how-to-use-video-in-your-investor-relations-strategy/feed 0 What Differentiates a Good Investor? http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/what-differentiates-a-good-investor http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/what-differentiates-a-good-investor#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:11:01 +0000 Admin http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/what-differentiates-a-good-investor Only a few of us are born with investing qualities. Even the greatest investor of all times, Warren Buffet, made a number of mistakes before getting on the right track. The difference between a successful investor and an unsuccessful one is the ability to learn and avoid the mistakes other people have made.

It’s no secret that many investors focus obsessively on one investment that’s losing money, even if the rest of their portfolio is in the black. This is one of the most famous mistakes, called loss aversion. Like this mistake, many investing mistakes are related to our physiological nature as human beings. Here are two more main behavioral mistakes that you should avoid.

Overconfidence – Overconfidence refers to our boundless ability to think that we’re smarter or more capable than we really are. Optimism isn’t a bad thing; however, overconfidence can harm you as an investor when you believe that you are more capable of spotting the next Microsoft than another investor. You have to recognize that you are probably not (nothing personal…).

Overconfident investors tend to trade more frequently because they think they know more than the person on the other side of the trade. The commission and tax drawbacks of trading too frequently are the number one factor for shrinking the portfolio of these traders.

To avoid overconfidence in your investing, document and review your investment record over time. It’s easy to remember your one stock that gained 50% in a short period, but records may reveal that most of your investments have overall negative returns for the year. Also, even if you’re an expert, remember that the investor on the other side of the trade is no less smart than you; always consider the odds that he can be right and you can be wrong.

Anchoring – Ask an American to estimate the population of Spain and they will anchor on the number they know, the population of the U.S., and adjust it down, but not enough. The opposite will also happen if you ask a Spaniard about the population of the U.S. This anchoring will happen to any one of us when trying to estimate things that are unknown.

The same thing happens to many investors. They buy a stock and anchor on the price they paid for it or on the financials of the company when they bought it. As a result, if the stock price went down, even if the company is not attractive any more, they continue holding on to the stock. They anchor on last year’s earnings and on the buy price, hoping that the stock will return at least to the point where they bought it. For the most part, it won’t happen and the deterioration of the business was translated into price reduction; thus, years could elapse before the stock returns to that point, if at all.

In order to avoid that, ask yourself a simple question: “Based on the current valuation of the company, would I buy this stock now?”. If the answer is yes, it is rational to keep it; otherwise, realize that you have lost some money, then sell it and move to other stock. Remember that the loss from this investment can be used to reduce tax payments on other investing gains.

It’s easy to recognize these mistakes but harder to avoid them in your investments. The best way to overcome these mistakes is simply by practicing in similar situations. Obviously, it isn’t wise to practice in your real investment account so you are encouraged to practice it in stock trading competitions. At the beginning, it is possible that you’ll make mistakes in many of the games that you’ll participate in. In time, you’ll become much more experienced and aware of these behavioral mistakes, and eventually learn to avoid them.




By: Yinon Arieli

]]> http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/what-differentiates-a-good-investor/feed 0 The Psychology & Habits of Successful Investors http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/the-psychology-habits-of-successful-investors http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/the-psychology-habits-of-successful-investors#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:25:49 +0000 Admin http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/the-psychology-habits-of-successful-investors What sets average and successful investors apart is their psychology or way of thinking. Although all master investors use very different strategies and investment tools that may even contradict each other, they all share the similar psychological makeup that makes them successful.

Here are seven of the most powerful success habits of successful investors.

1. Buy On Strict Rules & Not Emotions

All successful investors have developed a time-tested and proven system for selecting, buying and selling investments in a way that makes them money consistently. They always buy and sell securities based strictly on a set of clearly defined rules or investment criteria.

For example, Warren Buffett will only buy a company if it has shown consistent earnings growth over five years, has little debt, has a high return on equity, has a strong management team and is selling at a price that is way below the company’s intrinsic value. If a stock does not meet every single criterion, he does not buy!

Successful investors never allow their decisions to be swayed by their emotions or by the advice of other people. For example, many successful investors have a rule for selling their investments and cutting their losses once their investments fall 10%-20% below their purchase price. The moment this happens, they sell without thinking twice.

They never let fear, pride or ego get in the way. On the other hand, most average investors (who keep losing money) do not have a system for investing. They buy and sell based on the opinions and advice from their friends or relatives (who are usually broke too).

Their decisions are usually driven by the emotions of fear and greed, instead of a set of well-defined criteria.

2. Admit Your Mistakes Early.

Successful investors know that no matter how great their investment strategy is, it is never hundred percent accurate. They know that no matter how smart or experienced they are, they too make mistakes. The difference between successful investors and average investors is that the former admit their mistakes early.

Once successful investors know they have made a wrong investment decision (the stock price moves against them), they will sell and minimize their losses immediately. On the other hand, most average investors hate to admit that they made a bad decision. They will start giving excuses and hold on to their bad investments in dissent.

As a result, they make huge losses that wipe out any gains they may have made in the past. As quoted by legendary billionaire investor George Soros, master investors know that they may be wrong from time to time. However, if they minimize their losses by admitting their mistakes early, they will still make huge profits from the gains they make from their good investments.

3. Become An Expert and Don’t Rely on Experts

The third success habit of successful investors is that they only make investments in areas in which they have an expertise. Great investors make investment decisions with a high probability of success not because they are lucky or because they have a crystal ball.

Their successful track record comes from the fact that they have a tremendous depth of knowledge and expertise in their area of investments. All this comes from hours of research and study. Warren Buffett is so good at being able to pick companies that will increase in value simply because he has a very good understanding of how businesses work.

He will spend hours reading the company’s annual reports and dissect every price of information before making a decision. The reason why Warren Buffett makes very few bad decisions is because he only invests within his circle of competence. He only invests in businesses which he knows and understands inside out.

The reason why Buffett avoided investing in any Internet businesses during the dotcom boom of 1998-2000 is because he did not understand their business models. By so doing, he avoided one of the greatest market crashes in recent history.

4. When there is Nothing to Invest in, Don’t invest.

One of the main reasons why many professionally managed funds are not able to consistently beat the S&P 500 is because they are required to invest 80% of their funds into the market at any one time. If they were to hold more than 20% of their assets in cash, they will be criticized for not putting the money to work.

The problem is that it is not always a good time to invest and you will not always find investments that match the investment criteria of a successful investment. By constantly having to be invest in the market; they suffer as much losses from bad investments as they do enjoy the gains from good ones.

The trouble is many amateur investors make the same similar mistake and are quick to jump into the first investment that comes along. One thing I have noticed about all great investors and traders is that if they cannot find an investment that confidently meets all their criteria, they do not invest or trade.

Successful investors have the patience to wait indefinitely until they find an investment with a very high probability for success and a low risk of loss. Only then do they make the confident decision of taking a large position

5. Take 100% Responsibility for Your Results

As a successful investor, you must have the attitude of taking full responsibility for the results you have acquired, both success and failure. Lousy investors tend to give excuses and lay blames whenever they lose money. Their usual responses include: “my broker gave me the wrong advice”, “the market went against me” or it’s just bad luck.

As a result of not admitting that they made a wrong decision, the average investor does not learn from his mistakes to become a better investor. Successful investors are the first to admit that they made the wrong decisions and used the wrong strategy. They learn from their mistakes, become wiser and move on to their next investment.

6. Be Passionate About Investing

Passion is the most important ingredient for being successful in any field of endeavour. The world of investing is no different. If you do not enjoy looking at charts and studying financial data from annual reports, then you will never be a successful investor.

If you are purely investing with the motivation to make a quick buck then you will probably be like the majority of people who will lose money and give up. Tiger Woods did not chose to play golf because of the money; it was because he loves the game.

Why is passion so important to success? Remember that to be good in anything, you have to be an expert in it! The only way you can be an expert in something (i.e. investing) is to live, breathe, eat and sleep investing.

When an investment guru listens to the weather forecast, he thinks of how it will impact oil prices and energy stocks. When he shops at the supermarkets, he notices the best selling products and the companies (stocks) that sell it!

When he reads the news to find that interest rates are rising, he thinks about how it will affect bond prices and financial stocks. The only way you can be totally focused in something is if you truly have a passion for it.

7. Reduce Risks & Maximize Returns

The average investor believes that in order to make high returns from investing, he has to take big risks! The successful investor on the other hand is usually risk averse. He believes that returns are not related to risk.

Instead, risk comes from not being an expert at what you are doing. The master investor will only invest if he finds an investment with a very high probability of success, one with very high potential upside with limited downside. So, only invest when with minimal risks and very high returns.

With these 7 success habits in mind, you are well on your way to successful investing!




By: Adam Khoo

]]> http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/the-psychology-habits-of-successful-investors/feed 0 INVESTORS EDUCATIN AND PROTECTION FUND http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/investors-educatin-and-protection-fund http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/investors-educatin-and-protection-fund#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:32:50 +0000 Admin http://www.investorrelationsawards.com/investors-educatin-and-protection-fund INVESTORS EDUCATIN AND PROTECTION FUND

INTRODUCTION

Investor protection is the major responsibility of the SEBI. SEBI has taken various measures to protect the interest of investors. SEBI has given much importance to protect the interest of investors by instructing the exchange to take timely action for the redressal of their grievances. For this purpose, the SEBI issue ‘Investors guidance Services’ to guide and educate the investors about grievances and remedies available  apart from giving various investment  avenues, their merits, tax benefits available, illegal transactions etc.,

INVESTORS EDUCATION AND PROTECTION FUND

            Investors Education and protection fund (IEPF) has been established under sec 205c of the Companies Act, 1956 by way Companies (Amendment ) Act,1999 for promotion of investors awareness and protection of the interest of investors. Investors Education and Protection Fund (awareness and protection of investors) Rules, 2001 stipules the activities for which the financial sanction can be provided under IEPF.

Activities stipulated under Rules Education Programme through media. Organizing seminars and symposia.  Proposals for registration of voluntary Associations or Institutions or other organization engaged in Investor Education and protection activities. Proposals for projects for Investors education including research activities and proposals for financing such projects. Coordinating with institutions engaged in Investors Education awareness and protection activities.

 

Investors have been permitted to associations and register under the SEBI. These associations are expected to promote the interest of investors by increasing their awareness about various investments, dealings in stock exchange, illegal transactions etc, and also by taking timely action for the redressal of their grievances. Nearly 27 Investors Associations have been registered with the SEBI so far.

Guidelines for Investor Education and Protection Fund.

Any organization that has a viable project proposal on investor’s education and protection should be eligible for assistance from the fund. The associations or institutions or organizations already engaged in activities relating to investor awareness, education and protection and proposing to take up investor programme, organizing seminars, symposia etc. Associations or institutions or organizations, shall unless specific exemption has been made in this regard by the committee on IEPF, be in existence for a minimum period of 2 years prior to its date of application for registration.

There is a committee to administer the Investors Education and Protection Fund. The committee can appoint sub-committee to facilitate efficient and speedy discharge of its functions.

      Pursuant to sec205c(4) read with Rule 7 of the IEPF Rules 2001, the Central Government has constituted Department of Company affairs in Chairman of the Committee. The members are representatives of Reserve Bank of India, and experts from the Field of Investors Education and Protection.

Functions of the main Committee

      The committee shall recommend the following activities relating to investors education, awareness and protection

Þ    Education Programme through Media.

Þ    Organizing Seminar and symposia.

Þ    Proposals for registration of voluntary associations or Institutions or other organizations engaged in Investor Education and Protection activities.

Þ    Proposals for projects for Investors Education and Protection including research activities and proposals for financing such projects.

Þ    The committee may appoint one or more sub-committees whenever it consider necessary to facilitate efficient and speedy discharge of its functions.

Investors Education on Capital Market

      CUTS initiatives in Investors Education established in 1983, Consumer unity & Trust Society (CUTS) is a leading Consumer organization in India engaged in several areas of public interest, in the fields of consumer movement, health environment, investors’ education, economical and social reforms. CUTS are also a registered Investors Associations with SEBI. SEBI has sanctioned a grant for establishing two Investor Education & grievances cell at Jaipur and Calcutta, and also for organizing seminars on Investors Education on Capital market in various cities of Rajasthan and West Bengal. Recently, it conducted seminars in Jaipur & Calcutta on ‘Investors Education on Capital Markets’ on 12th Dec 2000. D.R.Metha, Chairman, SEBI, presided over the meeting and should his valuable experience about capital markets with the investors. In its full swing, the centre will be capable of carrying out the following responsibilities.

*        Maintaining the investor’s grievances cells at the Jaipur & Calcutta offices.Acquiring/ maintaining of literature on capital markets.

*        Publishing informative news letters and briefing papers.

*        By utilizing the latest communication Medias, creating a fast-track (quick) response system to minimize the grievances redressal time and development & maintains of data base on companies.

*        Organizing seminars and lectures to enable investors to learn the experience of experts from the financial sectors.

CONCLUSION

Investors Education and grievances aim is to create a stock market that is fairer, more free and above all, one that better serves the interest of investors. Educated & empowered investors always allow the market forces to play their role to shape a fairer and efficient competitive market. Therefore, it is the non-government organization to equip small investors with the necessary information and understanding about the intricacies of the functioning of the stock market so that they can ensure guaranteed and safe investment avenues.

 R.Yuvarani

D/o A.K.Ramachandran,

12/29 old bus stand street, Kondalampatty, Salem-10.




By: R.Yuvarani

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