Havanna Travel

Asset allocation is a critical component of investing success. Both research and academic studies show asset allocation to be single most significant factor in determining your financial goals. Allocation influences both the total long-term return and risk of your investment portfolio. Other factors such as security selection and market timing account for a very small percentage of your investment returns. Unfortunately, the most important decision to achieving financial success is also the least understood.

What is asset allocation? Most people confuse asset allocation with diversification. They believe it has something to do with making multiple investments among groups of similar assets. Ask investors to list the assets in which they would consider investing. Typical answers include “growth stocks”, “bonds”, “large caps”, and sometimes “international stocks.” But their diversification is limited to selection within one asset. For example, someone choosing to purchase technology stocks may invest in five or six companies - but all within the technology industry. This reduces risk if one of the companies should fail, but is useless when the technology industry (or entire stock market) slumps.

Asset allocation goes beyond diversification to reduce risk across all type of financial assets (cash, stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and even venture capital or hedge funds). Investments and risk can be divided further into subcategories of stocks including large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, value vs. growth, and international vs. domestic. Similarly, bonds can be divided into subcategories of short-term, and long-term, tax-free, high yield, convertible, emerging markets, floating rate, and international vs. domestic. Multiple combinations allow investors to allocate their portfolios into a number of asset classes and categories.

Adding high risk asset classes and investments to a portfolio may seem risky. But combining assets that behave differently, or even opposite to each other, both increases the return and lowers the risk of an entire portfolio. For example, international stocks are considered “riskier” than domestic stocks. Yet, we often see the prices of U.S. stocks go up on the same day prices of international stocks go down — and vice versa. We call this negative correlation. Profits from one asset balance the losses from another. Combining international and U.S. stocks actually lowers investment risk by reducing daily price swings of our entire portfolio.

History demonstrates many markets exhibit similar negative price correlation. In a slumping economy, bonds vastly outperform stocks as interest rates drop. In an overheating economy, inflation helps generate stellar returns in the commodities market. But timing such events is unpredictable, and the variability of returns represents risk to any investor. Choosing to purchase only stocks, only bonds, or any single asset class increases the risk of losing money if that market underperforms.

The power of asset allocation comes from reducing risk while increasing returns. Reducing risk by combining multiple asset classes, however, is not a simple process. While each asset has its own unique measure of risk, many assets share similar price behavior (their prices go up and down together in any market). Combining such complimentary investments increase the risk of wild changes in price. Trade-offs between asset risk and expected return must also be considered. High yield assets typically experience high volatility, or large changes in price. These assets must be balanced by investments with lower rates of return to protect against large declines in value.

Successful asset allocation requires finding the proper mix of assets to balance reward with an acceptable level of risk. Proper allocation planning requires asset research and investment analysis. Fortunately, tools are available to assist the independent investor. Popular financial websites offers independent investors help with educational links and software to build portfolio allocations based on a survey of financial questions. For advanced investors, many books have been written to painstakingly explain the theory and practice of asset allocation - also called MPT (Modern Portfolio Theory). Casual investors can purchase mutual funds specifically designed to automate asset allocation based on an expected retirement date. Pragmatic investors can explore the many financial planners and advisory services that offer asset allocation portfolios specific to their needs.

Consider your options carefully. Each solution offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Pick a style that closely reflects your own. Just how important is asset allocation? It’s the single largest determinant of your long-term financial success.

Tim Olson

TheAssetAdvisor.com
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Mr. Olson is the editor of The Asset Advisor, a financial investment service providing proven strategies for no-load mutual fund investors. He brings 26 years of education and experience from Stanford University, Ernst & Young, personal wealth management, and venture capital investing.

It felt like I had been run over by a freight train. I was stunned. I was in shock. I was crying hysterically. But it was really just a phone call. My dad called and said he had to talk to my husband Jerry. I knew it was bad because Jerry hates to talk on the phone so no one ever asks for Jerry unless something bad is going on. I knew some elderly family members and friends were sick, so I thought one had died. I was right someone had died. But it was not an elderly person or even a sick person. It was my sister April. She was 33, a college graduate, a non drinker, non smoker, no drugs - nothing - just a little over weight. She had been getting ready for a Sunday School party and simply dropped dead. It was probably a heart attack. And that was when the shadow of death passed over my life like a freight train. Suddenly, from the middle of bright sun shiny Good Friday, I was in the valley of Baca. At some time or another I had heard a sermon based on a verse from Psalms 84:6 on the subject of “when passing through the valley of Baca (sorrow) dig a well. I had suddenly become a “well digger”.

The well I dug was really just “digging into God’s word” and learning to believe His promises. I learned that God was with me because somehow He gave me the strength to read His word. Somehow He gave me strength to get up every morning and go through the day. He gave me strength to live each day. He gave me strength to begin to look toward the future.

The first thing He showed me when I was looking toward the future was our eternal future. I “saw” heaven. I saw a very real place filled with very real people doing very real and wonderful things. I saw peace and joy. I saw love and excitement. I saw beauty without ugliness, pure love without any animosity. It was wonderful.

Then from that vantage point I began to consider the immediate future and try to live each day as it came. Gradually it became more normal. There will always be an empty place in my life here on this earth because my sister’s existence here is missed. Nothing could fill her place. But I know she is in heaven doing just fine. The Bible tells us. 1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” April is in a place that is just too wonderful for us to even imagine. Knowing where she is does not fill the empty place she left here, but it does give great comfort that she really is ok.

So - I miss her - but I am not without hope. On the firm foundation of God’s promise - I will see her again and there will be no parting anymore. All this I learned from digging through the wonderful written message God gave us. The Bible became more real to me than ever before. It is a well of comfort and joy beyond anything we can imagine. Really the well is already dug. It is the Bible. We just have to dig through the verses to find what we need at the moment.

My father in law recently died of cancer. He was the earthly patriarch of my husband’s family. He was (and still is) loved deeply. His illness was hurtful to everyone because we didn’t want to see him suffer and grow weaker. We didn’t want him to leave this earth. We wanted all of us to abide in good health until the return of the Lord. But in leaving us here - we KNOW he went to the same place in which my sister now resides. I think they are laughing about the time April fell of my daughter’s horse and rolled right up to my father in law’s front door - and dented the screen door. The Bible says “we shall know as we are known” (I Cor. 13:12). We know the apostles knew Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration - even though they had never met them before. We will not only know our friends and loved ones - but others also!

Before my father in law’s death I had already come to terms with how wonderful heaven will be. My real sorrow is for the family who was left without him. Without his corny jokes and his onery way. Without his steady faithfulness in the daily things of life. For his wife of 64 years who was left alone and lost without him. But I have hope for the future. That future is more real than the here and now.

The very thought of the reunion in heaven becomes more and more precious with the passing of each loved one. It also becomes more real each time. Sometimes I begin to wonder how thin the veil between heaven and earth really is.

I don’t know what you personally may be facing right now. No one knows what he or she may have to face in the future. But I do know the One who will be there to face it with you. I know He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Of course there are many sorrows in life that don’t involve a death but are still very painful. The way through any sorrow or trial is still the same. First you look to Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Second you focus on the promises he has given you in the book he has provided for us. The Bible is chocked full of promises. I don’t know what promise you will find the most helpful. That is why you must study the Word for yourself. There will be a verse that jumps from the page into your mind and brings you comfort as though it had been directly spoken to you and written thousands of years before just for you to read today. Third, you keep at it. Keep reading. Keep studying. Keep praying. Second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, keep going.

I like to end an article by mentioning an old hymn that seems relevant to the subject if the article. I usually have a hard time deciding on the hymn because there are so many wonderful hymns. But this time it was easy. The hymn for the day is “Whispering Hope”. “Whispering Hope - Oh how welcome thy voice.” That relates so well to the still small voice that speaks - but it can be heard more easily than thunder by the child of God who is listening.

God Bless YOU!! - Love Barbara

WHISPERING HOPE WORDS

Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word:
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done,
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.
Refrain
Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.
If, in the dusk of the twilight,
Dim be the region afar,
Will not the deepening darkness
Brighten the glimmering star?
Then when the night is upon us,
Why should the heart sink away?
When the dark midnight is over,
Watch for the breaking of day.
Refrain
Hope, as an anchor so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil for the soul,
Whither the Master has entered,
Robbing the grave of its goal.
Come then, O come, glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary heart;
Come, O Thou blest hope of glory,
Never, O never depart.
Refrain

http://ingeb.org/spiritua/whisperi.html

Words & Music: Septimus Winner, 1868 (MIDI, score). Hymnals often list the author as Alice Hawthorne, one of Winner’s several pseudonyms.

Barbara Henderson
Christian writer, wife, mother, grandmother, artist

Opt-in lists for events are similar to the signing up for a newsletter. You ask people if they want to be notified when a special event or sale is happening. Although some may look at this as a permission to send junk mail, you can let them know that you are not selling your list to anyone and you will use it only for the stated purpose. Then do not abuse the privilege of having them sign up. Do not overwhelm them with sales and event noticesmake sure that you schedule the notices and let them know when to expect them. As with a newsletter, you can tell them whether it will be daily, weekly, monthly, or otherwise. You should also inform them of the day to expect it.

I know that you do not commonly see much scheduling happening on the Web in general, but you will find that your clients appreciate your scheduling. It gives them a heads up when to expect the information so they are more likely to read it. You want them to read it and take action from what you send. In order to make this happen, schedule your mailings and make them exciting and enticing.

If people opt in, they will also want to have the option of opting out. Let them know at any time they can do so and give them a link so they can follow through. I have opted out of some lists with ease and others only with great difficulty. As you can imagine, I feel respect for the companies that make it easy and lose all patience for those that do not. Consider, too, that people change addresses, and they must have an easy way to opt out of the old address and opt in with the new one!

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprints for Success - Networking: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprints for Success Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2006. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

And we think we are the only one facing this predicament… the act of male masturbation. we fail to realize that even the best of human beings who reached the highest brackets of their life indulged in such activities like male masturbation which are very normal for an average human being.

What wrong has one done… has your indulgence in masturbation caused hurt to anyone… none probably! We feel guilty of masturbation because we keep on losing the vital ingredient of life… the precious semen which is required to be stored if we desire to achieve higher goals in life.

Read the Autobiography of Bertrand Russell - he was an expert in the act of Masturbation. He admitted all this in his autobiography… he was one of the famous psychologists of his time. He never felt guilty of what he had done. Yet, he overcame this fallacy of his life (male masturbation) by adapting a creative attitude towards life. He made himself world-famous.

You are an intelligent human being! What are you waiting for… just stop masturbating from now onwards and that is possible only when you recite some Mantra. And what is that mantra?

For a small moment of time imagine that if all the ladies in the world were your mother, sister or daughter… then also would it be possible for you to imagine yourself in sexual fantasies! Never… and if these sexual fantasies ceased to exist then the need to masturbate would not arise. We only masturbate to gratify and satisfy our sexual urges. And these sexual urges are related to the world of sexual fantasy we have built around us.

Think meeting Ladies on the way in everyday life… and irrespective of the age if you respect that Lady as your mother, sister or daughter… then your sexual urges would gradually decline. And the day would come when they would altogether cease to exist. And that day shall be the golden day of your life. You would have regained all your lost energies.

Don’t forget, these sexual urges which spur male masturbation occur once in a month. And why is that so? Even if one does not indulge in sexual fantasies then also we shall feel the urge to masturbate very strongly at least once in a month. This is the moment wherein we have to maintain absolute control and make sure that no wrong thought related to ladies is permitted to enter our mind. This much exercise you have to do. God has blessed all with mother and sisters… think of their blessings and hard-working nature whenever you feel the urge. I promise it shall always go away…

The monthly dose of energy which God provides to every human being… be it a man or a Lady… is irrespective of whether we conserve it or waste it (by male masturbation). We get the monthly dose no matter what. The prime reason for the monthly dose is that God does not want the human being to feel that the grace of God is not available to mankind. However having given the dose God does not desire of all human beings to complete their cosmic journey early… had it been so there was no reason why God would have created a cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations altogether (a total earthly journey of 96.4 million years).

God gives us this energy for us to preserve it… and the ignorant enjoy masturbating and doing away with this most powerful energy of the Cosmos. If we are able to retain it since our childhood then it is possible that in a short period of time this particular child would develop so much energy that one would become a Buddha or a Mahavira in ones lifetime. Is it only practicing celibacy that the spiritual masters of the era were able to reach their goal? Yes, celibacy plays a very vital role in the field of spirituality.

You would have read of the instance of Sage Vishwamitra who fell from grace on seeing the sight of a beautiful Lady taking bath in most sensual circumstances in a forlorn place. And what was that… was it not God testing Sage Vishwamitra whether he would be able to preserve this energy or not… and he failed!

What happened with Acharya Rajneesh (nee Osho)… he experienced a moment in his lifetime that not even a single country in the whole of the world was willing to take him for he was being considered as a rot for the society… his practice of mixing sex with yoga was beyond acceptance… in the domain of pure spirituality… sex has no place whatsoever. Acharya Rajneesh… his doctrine became a failure in the end… he got lost and fell from grace.

If people of the stature of Sage Vishwamitra and Acharya Rajneesh can fall from grace… for a common man to practice masturbation and lose this vital energy is not uncommon. Those who learn this bitter lesson early in life… they achieve the goals in their life early. There is no point thinking of ladies all the time. When comes the time… we shall all get a suitable partner and the need to masturbate would end for ever.

Repeat the above mantra within you as you tend to go wrong… you shall always revert to the right path and refrain from male masturbation. Keep on reciting this mantra as many times as you can. You do not need to sit down in the Lotus posture to recite the mantra. It can be recited even while standing in the corner of the street or while at work… for reciting any kind of mantra no special requirements are ever there. God always desired that everything in the domain of God be available to every human being, rather every Jiva (living being) all the time… there are no special privileges in the kingdom of God. The King and the laborer all stand in the same queue in the kingdom of God.

May God bless us all!

Vijay Kumar… The Man who Realized God in 1993 discusses the concept of male masturbation. Excessive indulgence - how could it be avoided. For more tips on spirituality and life visit - male masturbation

Vijay Kumar… brings you closer to your real inner self. Subscribe free Newsletter “Spiritual Secrets Unveiled” - Explore hidden cosmic truths - Read Glossary of Words in Hinduism

The sale of a settlement can take place in cases of structured settlements. Such settlements are arrangements for periodic payment of a plaintiff’s claims made by financial or insurance entities. This facility of graded payments was first made available in the United States and Canada in the 70’s, and it has its benefits.A plaintiff who has been awarded a structured settlement, but requires a large sum of money immediately, can sell the settlement to a financial institution that provides such services.

There are many circumstances that may lead the recipient of a structured settlement to sell it for a lump sum. For instance, there may be insupportable medical or legal bills to pay. Or the recipient may need to make a purchase requiring substantial funds (such as a new house or other kinds of real estate). Selling a pre-existing structured settlement is a convenient recourse in cases when a person is not eligible for housing loans or further mortgages.

If a recipient of a structured settlement is too old to derive maximum benefits from periodic handouts, a one-time payment is possible. In other cases, the recipient of a structured settlement may wish to make a potentially lucrative stock market investment. If there is a chance that the returns on the investment will considerably exceed the total value of the structured settlement, its sale to a willing buyer makes a lot of financial sense.

On the downside, the payment received in exchange for a structured settlement will always be less than the total value. Also, selling a structured settlement for a lump sum is not advisable for people who have a history of inefficient financial management. This is especially true for people given to gambling or other vices. And, it is most certainly contraindicated in cases where the recipient’s only means of livelihood are the monthly payments generated by a structured settlement.

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