Investment Advice Tips

Investment Strategies - Head Start on Intelligent Investment

2008-12-20T22:38:00.002-08:00

Apart from the theoretical knowledge that an investor gains before investing in stocks, the practical changes and lessons get well off while going through the actual process. Each investor always seeks for making profits but 90% of people end up losing to the stock market, however, very few of all the investors realize the "the risk break" technique. There are various investment strategies that contribute highly to the making of loaded returns.

First strategy points towards well-constructed portfolio that takes into account its integrated investments and diversification. The combined asset classes along with properties and equities get a well-refined structure. It always gets a volatile portfolio that has strength to recover fast even if the market is breaking down.

Another principle strategy includes the investment accompanied by the margin of safety. The margin of safety refers to the discount availed while purchasing any share at its intrinsic value. It not only raises the profit share but also depreciates the level of risk at its downside. It is to be noticed that the shares purchased at under-valued rates tend to have more chances to have a price hike, at least to meet its fair price. Also, they generally prove to be a source for stable earning because of their liquid cash value.

All investment strategies are planned keeping in mind the volatility of a particular market. Hence, next investment strategy includes your expectations for volatility and earning profits from it. No other market, than stock market is more volatile, hence any investor must use the chances of volatile market and device the breaking down for the profits. Most of the investors stop investing in drowning markets, which is not the criteria to be followed. Rather short selling and buying of shares that are expected to rise in future must be invested in. Also, the two ways to diminish the negative effects of market volatility are:

Dollar-cost averaging: buying equal dollar amounts of investments is the right way to achieve the dollar-cost averaging.
Investing in stocks and bonds: for an investor to invest properly in stocks, it is important for him to first save on the money and then try to grow it. Hence, it is important for him to invest in bonds to save the money and then invest in stocks to make sheer profits. Also, investing in bonds get a preserving tool for the hard earned money.

The other investment strategy includes knowing the type of your investments. What kind of investor you are and which objective you are investing in stocks are important to know? Though the investor type could be many but in technical terms the investor can be of two types, on the basis of frequency of investments.

Investors who are investing once in a while, does not posses much of the inclination towards stock market are the passive investors. If you are a passive investor then it is no point being investing in short term investments. However, for serious and inclined investors stock trading is a serious business and a mix for many investments including day trading may be tried.

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Investment Marketing Techniques Zero Investment Review

2008-12-20T22:38:00.001-08:00

How important is Zero Investment Marketing Techniques to you?

No online business can thrive without regular traffic being directed to its website. Contrary to popular myth however, you do not have to spend a great deal of money in order to market your internet business; in fact, you can do it free. Free web marketing is not only possible, but once you know how to do it, it is relatively easy. All you require to be successful is to know what Zero Investment Marketing Techniques, free web marketing tools and opportunities are available on the internet and the willingness to take advantage of them consistently.

Increase internet traffic to your website using Zero Investment Marketing Techniques. By submitting articles relating to your online business to various article directories you can effectively drive traffic to your website. While these articles are free for anyone to copy, if the content is interesting enough, people will click on the link provided to your business. Most significant step you can take towards the success of your online business is to customize your site content for search engines. To do this, not only will you have to educate yourself as to what are the most effective keywords, you will also need to update your site content regularly. Your should be clear, concise and interesting, and use relevant search terms in order to attract hits from search engines.

Take advantage of free peer networking sites and personal blogs as an opportunity for zero investment marketing techniques. Posting small, interesting articles and comments in popular discussion threads can be very effective so long as it is done right. Be careful that what you post in social networks does not sound like advertising, but a topic of discussion and use your web address as a signature for people to follow. You can also create your own blog in which you can effectively advertise, promote and discuss your business with the online community using, Zero Investment Marketing Techniques.

Free web marketing for your online business is simple and effective once you know how to approach it. Once you get into a habit of using these easy tools to market your business you will find many more effective opportunities and develop more skills. If you apply these zero investment marketing techniques, you will be amazed at the results.

Before we get started we should probably give you a little background of exactly who we are and why you should listen to us. We began our journey online over 4 years ago as struggling students in college. With barely enough money to pay for our tuition, we decided that we would try this Internet thing out and see if we could make a few bucks online.

http://internet-products-review.com/Who_Loves_Money.html

The Safest Investment You Can Make

2008-12-20T22:35:00.000-08:00

I've long advised my clients to look for a secret investment that most people aren't thinking of. While there are plenty of highly publicized investments out there, you'll be investing with a large group of people. The key to life long riches is to get in on an investment on the ground floor. This will allow you to put the least amount of money in and get the maximum amount out.

One of the safest investments out there that people still aren't quite jumping on board with is alternative energy. I think everyone understands that while there is oil to be found in places, the vast majority of it is drying up. The dwindling supply will absolutely require new technology to take the place of oil.

Another reason alternative energy investments will take off is because people are becoming increasingly concerned with the environment. They want to reduce the effect that each one of us has on the world around us. Taking advantage of alternative energies will be a way for people to get done what they need to get done but also have a smaller negative impact on the world.

I believe this secret investment will be one that will pay off big in the long run. There are also several ways to get involved on a more short term basis. For example, you could compile information about all the different energy programs out there, their pros and cons as well as relative costs. You could then sell these informational booklets to potential investors. The bottom line is that there are many ways to investment in alternative energy that will yield big returns for you.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next 10 minutes, try what I did. I now am making more money than in my old business and you can too. If you want to learn how to invest a few hundred dollars in the next 10 minutes and double it before you go to bed tonight, click now to read a "Rags to riches" story by Martin Thomas that is remarkable - he did it, I did it and you can do it too! Free! Quickest-way-to-make-money-on-earth.com

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Choice Between Direct Investment in Stocks and Investment in Mutual Funds

2008-12-20T22:34:00.000-08:00

Basics

Mutual Funds (MFs) are primarily engaged in investing in stocks. Then why should not one invest in stocks directly and what is the need for these funds? This question is answered below:
As investors, our priority always will be to focus higher profits in the shortest time. With this goal in mind, we look upon the avenues open for investment.

Time management

To directly invest in shares, one should require expertise to analyse and compare financial statements of the companies where we invest. By investing in mutual funds, one is essentially hiring a professional manager at an especially inexpensive price. It would be stupid to think that one knows more than these managers who have been around the industry for a long time and who have proper academic credentials. This not only saves our precious time but also provides the expertise.

Risk focus

With shares, one worry is that the company invested may go bankrupt. With mutual funds, that chance is next to nil. Since they typically hold anywhere from 25-5000 companies, all of the companies that it holds would have to go bankrupt.

By pooling a lot of shares (in a stock fund) or bonds (in a bond fund), MFs reduce the risk of investing. If one company in that sector has a bad manager, or a losing strategy, it is balanced by other companies that are performing better. This lowers the risk, thanks to diversifications.

Scope & schemes

Mutual funds operate variety of schemes-say Equity market, Bond Market, Debt market and so on. Once an investor invests in MF, he has the option of '' SWITCH'' which means that he can change his risk perception periodically depending on the Economic Scenario which is not possible if one invests directly in Share Market. Secondly, most of them have the scheme of "SIP" that is Systematic Investment Plan whereby one can invest a fixed amount over a period of time and reap the benefits of price changes of shares over the period.

Liquidity

Investment in MF is as liquid as investment in stocks or better than that as some scrips can be sold only in market lots. That is no so in the case of investment in MF. Stocks can be much more difficult depending on what kinds you have invested in. CD's offer no liquidity (not without a hefty fee) and bonds can be difficult, too. Some mutual funds also carry check writing privileges.

To know about investing in mutual funds visit Investing in Mutual Funds and to get an idea as to how mutual funds work visit Mutual Funds

Of Interest to Home Buyers and Real Estate Investors

2005-04-22T02:47:00.010-07:00

Learn How to Save Thousands through Lease to Purchase Strategies. / Real Estate Investing (with how-to Articles) /US Mortgage News / Compare Mortgage Rates / Yahoo, Mortgage Rates / How They Steal Your Home /Canadian Mortgage Rates / Home Buying Lessons / Escrow and Real Estate Closing Articles

Market Forecasts, News, Tips, Advice, Resources, Finance Reports

2005-04-22T02:47:00.009-07:00

CBS MarketWatch, Market Snapshot / CBS MarketWatch Business News / Markets, USA Today / Economic Cycle Research Institute /CNN Financial Network / MSN Money Canada / MSN Money USA / Cyclesman's Market News & Views / FinanceWise Special Reports / Financial Forecast Center /
Financial Web / Fund Advice / The Best of Archives /Market Commentaries / Day Trading The Markets /Investing/Speculating Hotlink / CNBC Business Index / Mutual Fund Newsletter / Mutual Funds Interactive USA / Money Daily News / Kiplinger Forecast and Advice / Wall Street Guru / Top Analysts Research Index / Smart Consumer Information
for the Financially Cautious / Safe Haven (Preservation of Capital) / Sound free tips for those who want to invest in the Stock Market or in Mutual Funds by:
Buttonwood Financial Resources / Harry Schultz Letter / Martin Weiss' Safe Money Report / Richard McClendon Report / Brainstorm from Tocqueville Asset Management / Turamali Inc. Market Updates / Traders Talk /Canada's Business Report, live audio & audio archive also here / Canadian Business Links /
24 hr Business News Canada/USA / Bloomberg Top Financial News / Business Week Online / Daily Yahoo Business Summary / Reuters Latest Financial News / Business Wire / Business Day /Prudent Bear Commentaries / Financial Sense / Business and Technology Portal / Money Tips with Frank (Canadian) / Money Talks (Canada) / Finance Canada / Investor Canada / Money Sense (Canadian) / ROB TV (Canadian) /The Economist Magazine / Family Income Trend USA / Fortune Magazine / Export America Magazine (US Government Site) / Money.com
Financial Strategies, Online Magazine / Financial Times News /Kiplinger's Finance Magazine / Kiplinger's News Of The Day / Charles Schwab,
Smart Investor / Worth Online,
Financial Intelligence / Investor's Business Daily / Invest List / The Daily Reckoning / Richard Maybury's U.S. & World Early Warning Report / Socialist World Economy Analysis /Economic Policy Institute / Dr. Ed Yardeni's Economics Network / Reuter's MoneyNet / Free Market Freedom News / Grandfather Economic Report / Austin Business Journal / Bizjournals /Researchville Business News / New York Post Business News /Globe $ Mail Breaking Business News (Canada) /
HoweStreet Market Commentaries (Canadian) /Tax Tip of the Day for Canadians /
Canadian Industry Focus, Company Information / Money Sense, Personal Financial Site for Canadians who want more! / The Better Business Bureau, USA and Canada / Trade Data Online / Tips to Help Small Businesses Avoid Lawsuits /

Mutual Funds

2005-04-22T02:47:00.008-07:00

Daily Canadian Mutual Fund Listings / Mutual Funds Online USA / CBS Market Watch, Mutual Funds /Multex Investor, Mutual Funds Section /Mutual Funds Magazine / Mutual Fund Top Performers / Canadian Mutual Fund Ratings /

Currencies, Savings Rates & Related

2005-04-22T02:47:00.007-07:00

Bank Rates (US) / Money-rates (US) / Prime Rates for Canada, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Britain /Current T-Bill Rates (US) / Forex Markets News / IMF Instant Exchange Rates for Currencies / Latest Exchange Rates / Pacific Exchange Rate (Canada) / Currency Converter / Economic Watch, Canada / Economic Watch, USA / Canadian Statistics / Interest on Savings Accounts for Canadians / U.S.Treasury Bills, Notes & Bonds /

Precious Metals....Gold,Silver etc etc

2005-04-22T02:47:00.006-07:00

Gold & Silver Prices in US & Can Dollars / Gold, Silver, Platinum Current Prices / The Bullion Desk /USA Gold (with insider reports), (USA Gold Commentary Section) / Gold Discussion Group / USA Gold Forum / Kaplan's Investor Gold Mining Outlook / Key Gold Indexes and Companies / Gold Funds / Share Lynx Gold / Gold, How to Make a Profit From It! / Miningweb / Daily Gold Market Report /Gold-Eagle (also carries Editorials and Hot Reports) / The Pitfalls of Buying Gold and Silver Bullion Coins /

Stocks:

2005-04-22T02:47:00.005-07:00

Stockcharts Chart School / Choosing the Right Stock / Ace's Stock Picks / FallStreet /Lycos Quote / Multex Investor / Today's Stock Picks / Garp Investor Stock Reports & Investment Analysis /
Pristine Day Trader, daily recommendations /
The Daily Reckoning /Zack's Investment Advice, Portfolio Tracking, Equity Research Center / Latest Nasdaq Reports / Daily Stocks / Stock Market Update /
Stocks Information / Stockchallenge / Penny Stock Investing / Profit Central Penny Stock Picks / Stocks America /Top Ranking Stock Pickers / Types of Preferred Shares /Active Investment Research / Trade Data Online (for The USA and Canada) / Wall Street City /
The Street - The Street Radio with archives (with Jim Cramer) /Ticker Symbols Lookup / Free Realtime Stock Quotes and News / Stock Quotes / Sptrading.com, daily advisory service for investors trading the S&P 500 index. / INO Market Voice /Street Notes / Stockmaster - Red Herring, you will find a lot of things you need to know here.Stockgroup's Smallcapcenter /World's Stock Exchanges /Stock Screeners: Yahoo Stock Screener / USA Today / MSN / CBS / Lycos / Strong /Business Week Quick Stock Search /
//// Canadian Market Watch / The Toronto Stock Exchange / InvestorsFriend.com - Canadian Stock Picks and Stock Research, Articles /

Futures, Commodities

2005-04-22T02:47:00.004-07:00

Futures Trading For Beginners /Grain's Newsletter (forecasts commodity futures prices) / Futures World News / INO US Forecasts / Market Timing / U.S. Commodity Market Reports, Agricultural Reports /
Mining reports: INFO-MINE / Miningweb /

Broker Ratings

2005-04-22T02:47:00.003-07:00

Broker Ratings

General Information and Investment Tutorials:

2005-04-22T02:47:00.002-07:00

General Information and Investment Tutorials:
Consumer Information Center (offers several free online money publications) / Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions about Online Investing /
Informal Money Talk About Investing /Educational Investment Information ( Mirror Site) / Investments, FAQ (recommended reading) /
Novice Investment Tutorial / Relative Strength Trading (in stocks and mutual funds) / Stock Trading Advice You can learn how to make your money work hard for you through trading stock! Free Online Introduction to Options Course / Investment Primer / Invest Smart / Investopedia, Investment Education for Everyone / The Investment FAQ, Article Index /The Motley Fool, a teaching site for investors and more, won a Cool Site of the Year Award /Financial Library for Canadians / Canadian Investor Learning, FAQ /Financial Pipeline - financial education for higher understanding / Financial Planning / Reuters Datalink / The Online Investor Knowledge Center /A Financial News Site that watches out for Investor Scams, Fraud Bureau / Sneaky Credit Card Tricks /
Fortress Switzerland /
System Detective!Is somebody watching you when you are online? Find out before it's too late! System Detective detects all known spyware that may be MONITORING your EVERY MOVE. Protect your Family, your Privacy, your Job, and your Freedom!
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Investment Advice

2005-04-22T02:47:00.001-07:00

Investment AdviceWhether you are trying to find ways to be financially secure in retirement, pay for your child's education, or just accumulate wealth, planning is key. Since most of us aren't experts on where to invest our money, an investment advisor can assist us with this process. You can receive advice on stocks and bonds, mutual funds,
life insurance companies, and more.Click Here For Our Recommendation For Roth IRAs, Retirement Planning, & Investment AdviceInvestment RisksYour financial advisor will help you choose your investments based on your personal situation and preferences. An essential of successful investing is picking a strategy that fits with your investment goals and risk tolerances. Most financial advisors can offer risk management programs and asset allocation.Invest in Mutual FundsThere are more than 9,000 mutual funds available so the advice of a financial advisor is key to helping you narrow down your choices. He or she will help you design an investment portfolio tailored to your goals. Most financial advisors can offer mutual funds for socially conscious investors who wish their investments to parallel their principles.AnnuitiesAn annuity investment allows you to protect your money so more of it works for you. Annuity investment profits are not taxed until withdrawn so your current federal income tax bill is reduced, resulting in increased money growth. Since earnings are tax-deferred, annuities offer higher investment return potential.

Investment Advice Links

2005-04-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

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Investment Advice

2005-04-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategyby Paul A. MerrimanPublisher and EditorI founded Merriman Capital Management in 1983. We had just finished an almost 20 year period that had led to huge market losses for most investors. In fact from 1966 to 1982, the S&P 500 had actually returned less than inflation. As we were not trying to be all things to all people we initially offered only market timing strategies to give investors an opportunity to participate in the equity market, but without the high risk of buying and holding.In 1992, as our firm decided to manage more of our clients’ money, we decided to seek a Buy-and-Hold strategy worth recommending to our clients. We found a strategy that is so good we decided to call it “The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy”. In this article I’ll explain why I think what we found is worthy of that name.We don’t use the word “ultimate” lightly. We would apply it only to something that’s the best we know. We think the term fits here. There’s no question that this strategy has worked very well. I think almost every buy-and-hold investor can use it either to increase returns or reduce risk – or both.The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is suitable for do-it-yourself investors as well as those who want to hire professional money managers. It will work with small portfolios as well as large ones. It’s easy to understand and easy to apply using low-cost, tax-efficient no-load index funds.By the way, I want to make it clear that we did not invent this strategy. It evolved from the work of many people over a long period, including some winners and nominees of the Nobel Prize in economics.A “perfect” investment strategy would be cheap, easy to implement, would have no risk and would make you fabulously rich in about a week. Tax-free, of course. We haven’t found that combination, and we don’t expect to. But the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy comes as close as we have yet found.The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy produces higher returns than the investments most people make. It does so at lower risk, with minimal transaction costs. It’s mechanical, so it does not depend on finding the right guru to make the right predictions about an individual company, the market or the economy. You will never again have to rely on “The 10 Funds You Should Buy Now” articles in the popular financial publications.Even though this strategy is based on the finest academic research available, it’s simple enough that investors can understand it if they can grasp a handful of simple concepts.THIS STRATEGY IN A NUTSHELLIf I had to sum up this strategy in one sentence, I’d do it this way:The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy uses no-load index funds to create a sophisticated asset allocation model with worldwide diversification and the addition of value stocks and small-cap stocks to a traditional large-cap growth stock portfolio.If you think you already know what that means and you’re tempted to skip the rest of this article, I hope you’ll think twice. The evidence I’m about to show you is compelling, and I hope you’ll let me present it.If there is a “catch” to this strategy, it’s availability. You can’t buy it in a single mutual fund. You can put it together approximately using Vanguard’s low-cost index funds. But the “ultimate” way to implement the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is to hire a money manager (including but certainly not limited to Merriman Capital Management) who has access to the institutional funds offered by Dimensional Fund Advisors. (More about those funds later.)WHAT REALLY MATTERSThis strategy is based on more than 50 years of research into the question: What really makes a difference to investment results? (Some of the answers may surprise you.) The people behind this research include Merton H. Miller, a 1990 Nobel laureate; Rex A. Sinquefield, who started the very first index mutual fund; Roger G. Ibbotson, a Yale finance professor whose market charts going back to 1926 are a fixture in the offices of most money managers; Kenneth R. French, a professor of finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management; and Eugene Fama, a professor of finance at the University of Chicago.Their expertise has been pooled in a company Rex Sinquefield started in 1981, Dimensional Fund Advisors, to give institutional investors a practical way to take advantage of their research. Today Dimensional Fund Advisors, or Dimensional, manages $50 billion of investments for major pension funds and large corporations as well as its mutual funds, available to individual investors through a select group of investment advisors.NOT FOR EVERYBODYBefore I get into the meat of this strategy, I want to issue a few warnings. The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is not suitable for every investing need. It has had good returns on a long-term basis, but it won’t necessarily shine in any single week, month, quarter or year.Like most worthwhile ways to invest money, this strategy requires investors to make a commitment. If you are the kind of investor who dabbles in a strategy to check it out for a quarter or two, don’t even bother with the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy. You would simply be relying on luck for such short-term results.Often investors ask me questions like: “How did this do last year? How is it doing so far this year?” Or they tell me they think they (or I) should be in some particular type of asset over the next few months or the next year. These people aren’t likely to succeed with the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy because their focus is on the short term, not the long term.I want to make this crystal clear: The Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is not based on anything that happened last year or last quarter. It’s not based on anything that is expected to happen next quarter or next year. It makes absolutely no attempt to predict what investments will be “hot” in the near future. If that is what you want, you won’t find it here.But if you want superior long-term performance from a buy-and-hold approach, the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is the best way I know of to get it.The most important building block of the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is also the most startling to some investors: Your choice of asset classes has far more impact on your results than any other investment decision you can make. Let me say this another way, because it flies in the face of a lot of conventional wisdom. Your choice of the right kind of assets is far more important than exactly when you buy and sell those assets. And it’s much more important than security selection, your ability to pick the very “best” stocks, bonds or mutual funds.Here is the heart of the matter: An academic study of 91 large pension plans over 10 years found that it was possible to account for 94 percent of a plan’s returns just by knowing how the plan allocated its assets. Basic allocations are among bonds, stocks and cash. Within each one of those big classifications are various types of bonds, stocks and cash-like investment vehicles.The researchers found that security selection accounted for 4 percent of a pension fund’s results and that the timing of investments accounted for only 2 percent. Ironically, most investors seem to spend at least 90 percent of their time concentrating on security selection and timing, the things that together make only 6 percent of the difference.BASIC BUILDING BLOCKSSo how does an investor choose the right asset classes? I’m going to show you exactly how to do that, illustrating it in a series of pie charts. We’ll start with Portfolio 1, a very basic portfolio. Assume that the whole pie represents all the money you have invested. This one has only two slices, one for bonds (labeled the Lehman Govt./Corp. Index) and one for equities (labeled the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index).This portfolio’s 60/40 split between equities and bonds is the way pension funds, insurance companies and other large institutional investors traditionally allocate their assets. The equities provide growth while the bonds provide stability and income.We don’t believe 60 percent equity and 40 percent bonds is the right balance for all investors. Many young investors don’t need bonds at all in their portfolios. On the other hand, many older investors may want 70 percent of their portfolios in bonds. But the 60/40 ratio of Portfolio 1 is the industry standard, and that’s what we will use as a benchmark in this article.For 31 years, from January 1973 through December 2003, this portfolio produced a compound annual return of 10.5 percent. That’s not bad at all, especially considering this period included major bear markets. I believe many investors could achieve their long-term goals with that return.Therefore, a long-term return of 10.5 percent becomes the benchmark against which we will measure the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy. We’ll unveil this strategy in more pie charts, splitting the pie into thinner and thinner slices. Each slice will represent an important asset class that I believe you should own.Another measure we will use for comparison is standard deviation. This is a statistical way to measure risk; to understand the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy, you need to know that a lower standard deviation is better, indicating a portfolio that is more predictable and less volatile. (For a more detailed discussion of standard deviation, see Appendix 3) The standard deviation of Portfolio 1 was 12.3, so we’ll use that as the benchmark.Hundreds of thousands of investors would be better off with Portfolio 1 than they are with their current investments, which offer too little diversification and too much risk. If they did nothing more than adopt this simple mix of assets, which is easily duplicated using no-load index funds, these investors would be more likely to achieve their long-term investment goals than they are now.So it’s important to realize that we are starting from a relatively high standard. At this point we can say that to achieve anything worthy of being called the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy, we must find a way to improve on two figures: We want a portfolio that can be expected to produce a return higher than 10.5 percent, with a standard deviation lower than 12.3.You can jump ahead in this article to the section where we lay out exactly how to implement this strategy. But that’s a shortcut that might be counterproductive. Whether you are a do-it-yourself investor or a client of a money manager, you are much more likely to be successful with this strategy if you have a solid understanding of why each piece of it is important.Most of the Ultimate Buy-and-Hold Strategy is concerned with allocating the equity piece of the pie. That’s where most of our focus is in this article. But this is a good place to say a few things about bonds.Most people include bonds in a portfolio to provide stability, which can be measured by standard deviation, and to produce current income, which of course is part of a portfolio’s total return. The more bonds you include in a portfolio, the less growth you are likely to have – and the more stability you are likely to have.