Search This Blog

Custom Search

Feb 23, 2012

My Top Copper Age Comics To Invest In!

Whether you consider copper age comic books as part of the modern age or not, there are some, although very few, wise key issues to invest in. These are a tad more affordable than bronze or silver age books, but they are well worth owning to bring more value to your collection.
There are quite a few copies floating around at high grades, especially in the 9.8 area. Unlike many high demand silver age books, in which mid to low grades are still investment worthy, these copper age selections on my list are best to invest in at high grades. I'm advising no lower than low NM or 9.2 according to CGC universal standards.
So, without further a due, here are just a few of my top copper age comics to invest in:
  1. G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #21 (1st Storm Shadow/Silent issue).
  2. G.I Joe A Real American Hero #26 & 27 ( Snake Eyes origin, 2 part story).
  3. G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #150 through #155 (Low Print run. Issue 155 is last issue).
  4. Amazing Spider-Man #299 (1st brief appearance of Venom. Todd McFarlane art.)
  5. Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1st full appearance of Venom. Todd McFarlane art.)
  6. Marvel, The Transformers, 1984 #1 (1st Transformers comic based off Hasbro Toys.)
  7. New Mutants Vol 1 #98 (1st appearance of Deadpool).
  8. Uncanny X-Men #221 (1st appearance of Cable as baby Nathan.)
  9. Uncanny X-Men #244 (1st appearance of Jubilee.)
  10. Uncanny X-Men #248 (1st Jim Lee artwork on X-Men.)
Of course there are more from the copper age that are well-worth investing in. These are just my first-round picks, as you could say. The great thing about many of these issues is that they are still well under a hundred dollars for many copies that are over 9.4 NM (near mint).
All the issues here are in demand, and ones like the last five issues of G.I. Joe A Real American Hero by Marvel Comics have low print runs. That means that they're pretty scarce and some hunting for those issues at a high grade may be needed. Be sure to see the links below for even more fantastic invest in comics advice and picks from all comic book ages.

Investing In Times Of Uncertainty And Volatility Part 3 - Investing When The Market Is Bad

Am I wasting my money investing when the market is so bad?
This is a common concern you hear from people that have been salary sacrificing (investing) into superannuation in a declining share market. They see contributions being taken from their salary each week but their superannuation balance (investment) is stagnant or even going down. Should they stop investing or put it in cash?
Dollar cost averaging.
The advantage of ongoing salary sacrifice is that you are "dollar cost averaging" into the share market. By this we mean that you are investing the same amount into the share market on a periodic basis however if the share market is declining you are actual getting more for your money, more units or shares, which will recover in value if they are quality assets.
Dollar cost averaging does require a disciplined approach. You must invest the same amount at the same time of the month regardless of whether the share market has gone up or down. If the share market has gone up you were able to have purchased some assets at a lower price but the if the share market goes down you are now able to get more quality assets at an even better price!
Buy when shares are on sale.
A good example is if you are shopping for a new suit or dress. You can go to your favourite store before Christmas and pay full price or wait until the Boxing Day sales and get the same suit or dress for half price. It is the identical article of clothing but it is now on sale.
This is the same as buying quality assets when investing during times of uncertainty and volatility. You are getting blue chip shares on sale. Values do return to quality assets.
The share market can move quickly!
One final point about being out of the share market at the wrong time. The market can move a large amount in a single day. Missing out on just a handful of these significant trading days can have a large impact on investment returns. Some of the biggest trading days in the Australian share market are listed below:
6.71% - 2 Jan 2000, 6.10% - 29 Oct 1997, 5.76% - 13 Nov 1987, 5.5% - 25 Nov 2008
There is no bell that rings at the bottom of the market. Missing the biggest half dozen "up days" in a year makes a significant impact on your investment return for that year.

Invest in Your Business or Retirement?

Whether To Invest in Your Business or Retirement. It's Not an Either-Or.
I get this question all the time from business owners about where to invest.
Should you invest in your business or should you invest in an IRA for retirement?
My simple shpiel? You have to do both.
Then I hear this from other clients: Justin, I feel like I have no control over what happens to the stock market! I'd rather just put my money back into my business.
I get it. I feel your sense of having more control in your business but...
You still need to diversify. You can't put all of your eggs in one basket and only invest in your business — even if you think your biz will be worth tons down the road.
Here's why. Let's say you regularly invest in your business for many years. So the value of your business is the only thing you have set aside for retirement. But what happens if you can't sell your biz for the amount you want? Or even worse, what if it is worth zero by the time you try to sell it? You will be kaput. We don't want that.
But what if you could develop an investment plan that wasn't just tied to the stock market! Woohoo! Now we are talking. Wondering how to do that? Email me.
So how do you do both? Try reinvesting 5-10% of your revenue back into your business. Try saving 5-10% of your revenue for retirement.
To save, you need to set up a system and it needs to be automated. Not the willy nilly stuff where you do manual transfers from your business account to your savings account every month or two. We need to take things to DefCon 4. (Who saw War Games?) Take more control and automate your savings.
One of the first types of accounts you may want to set up for retirement is a Roth IRA. You fund it with after tax dollars. It grows tax deferred and as long as you keep it in till you are 59 1/2 the money you take out is tax free. Saweeet!
If you are single and your earned income is under $110,000, you should be able to contribute to a Roth. If you are married and your earned income is under $173,000, you should be able to contribute to a Roth. Please double check with your accountant.

How To Successfully Invest In Mutual Funds Online

When it comes to investing in mutual funds online, you're going to want to have the fastest Internet connection you can get your hands on. Several accounts and brokers offer information about trading in within milliseconds of it becoming important. Having a slow connection or suffering from frequent delays will only throw off the timing of your account and hurt your chances of success. The faster your Internet connection, the better.
Deciding On An Account
Before selecting a broker, go over the requirements of enlisting with each one you are considering. What is the initial deposit? Some brokers may require quite a large amount of money, while others will suffice for a simple hundred dollars. You should consider all the information you can gather about each broker before deciding. The same goes for picking an investment - make sure you know exactly what you are getting into before you proceed. Many investors new to the trade market make the mistake of choosing the fund that has done the best in the recent past, forgetting that there are other extremely important factors to examine. Sometimes the fund that is best for you may be one that only has mediocre results in recent reports, but that comes along with great benefits.
Keeping Those Fees Down
If you are investing online in mutual funds, you are going to want to go after the fund with the lowest possible fees. Brokers charge differently depending on who they are, and two brokers might charge totally different prices for the same investment. Look for the account that will charge the least per trade. The higher your fees and expenses, the lower the return will be on your precious investment, and these charges will only snowball on you. Also be sure to thoroughly examine the fine print, as you never know what extra charges may be included inside those clauses that so many people merely glance over. Know the tax consequences of any mutual fund you are considering. Tax liabilities can be affected in different ways.
No-Load Funds And Load Funds
You have two main choices when it comes to selecting your mutual fund: you can go with a load fund, or you can choose a no-load fund. Load funds essentially come with a mandatory commission that you must pay to your broker for leading you to your fund. Financial experts are still unsure of whether load funds are any better than load funds. But professional investment advice comes in quite handy if you find yourself in a situation where you aren't confidence in the decision you want to make. If you are using past performance as a way to judge a fund, don't think you can simply look at the past year and make your choice that way. A mutual fund's performance must be analyzed back at least ten years in order for the research to truly be of any use. Investigating the thorough way will help you to decide whether or not the mutual fund is right for you.

The Top Commodities to Invest In

The top commodities to invest in, this is the most important question if you are thinking about investing in commodities. The two top most commodities that you must seriously consider investing in are gold and silver also known as the yellow metal and the white metal. Both these commodities are experiencing unprecedented boom for the last many years.
In 2011, gold prices made huge gains. The debasing of paper currencies is going on unabated. FED has lowered the interest rates on USD to the lowest level and plans to keep this low level for 2012. When interest rates fall, inflation rises in the economy. Inflation is considered to be the destroyer of wealth. Wealthy people in times of inflation always seek a safe haven for their wealth.
Gold has always been considered to a store of wealth in human history. It still holds this position in human mind. Gold prices historically have been observed to rise when the inflation in the global economy rises. This is precisely what has been happening in the past few years.
Gold prices started as low as $800 few years back. Last year, gold prices hit the historical high of $1,920 per troy ounce in September 2011. During 2011, this market saw unprecedented price hike. After reaching $1,920 per troy ounce, the price made a retracement and is now hovering around $1,700 per ounce.
It is being predicted by many market analyst that gold prices can reach $2,200 per ounce in 2012. This is in fact a conservative prediction. There are some market analyst who are bullish and say that gold prices can reach as high as $3,000 per ounce in 2012. Now, this can be a bold prediction. But most including Morgan Stanley is putting their reputation on the line by predicting that the gold price will hit $2,200 per ounce in 2012.
Keeping in view what happened in 2011, this is very much possible. Now consider the fact that the prices right now are hovering around $1,700 ounce. If the price does hit $2,200 per ounce in 2012, it means a capital gain of $500 on each ounce that you invested in.
Suppose, you had bought 10 ounces of gold costing you $17K. If the price does hit $2,200 per ounce, your investment will grow to $22K giving you a gain of 29%. Now, you can amplify this gain by using leverage. If you just use leverage of 5:1, you can turn this $17K into $110K in 2012. But always keep this in mind that prices can go up as well as go down. So, always use leverage with caution.