Article contributed by Arthur Adams. Arthur is from California and he is associated with several good finance community sites as guest author and forum member. He writes articles on different genres of finance. Opinions expressed are solely his own and his strategies may not be suitable or applicable for Malaysians or Asians.  You may visit Arthur’s website here.

If you are searching for options to invest in the stock market then you can consider best life insurance companies. Insurance companies make quite a lot of money. The way they do it is simple. They collect premiums from people who have bought an insurance policy. These premiums are then invested while they wait for anyone who has to file a claim. Usually the claims are less than the investment value which leads to the company making a profit. This industry is heavily dependent on actuaries. Experts are hired to compute premium rates that are based on probabilities by using statistical data and taking into consideration other adjoining factors such as risks and returns. Thus insurance companies are quite a safe bet to invest in the stock market. Here are explained step by step measures you should take to invest in insurance companies.

The first step to investing in stock is opening up an online brokerage account. Choose a reliable company to open a brokerage account. The conditions that you can check for are that whether the company has been in business for a substantial amount of time, they are a member of the financial industry regulatory authority (FINRA) and the security investor protection corporation (SIPC). The work of these organizations is to regulate the activities of a brokerage firm and keep it accountable.

The next step would be to find the correct insurance company to invest in. If you are a beginner, it is always better to choose a large company which has been consistently making profits for quite some time. Some of the largest companies in the market are AXA which is a French company, ING which is a Dutch company, Aviva (AV) which is a UK company, and Aetna (AET) which is an American company.

After this you should determine the market trend. A rule of thumb is when the S&P 500 is above the 200 day moving average the condition of the stock market is going at an uptrend. It is then that you would want to purchase these stocks. If you see that the market is below 200 day moving average, then you should wait until the uptrend is resumed.

You should determine the trend of the stock. Do not purchase anything that is below 200 day moving average.

Lastly you should use fundamental analysis while determining stock trends. There are many reliable websites and magazines that give detailed updates about some particular types of stock. Some of the magazines may cost you a little but most are relatively inexpensive. The websites that you can view only with Internet connection are costless.

You should remember that it is extremely important for you to measure risks and returns before you invest in any insurance company in the stock market. In this way you can earn profits by investing correctly.

Article contributed by Arthur Adams. Arthur is from California and he is associated with several good finance community sites as guest author and forum member. He writes articles on different genres of finance. Opinions expressed are solely his own and his strategies may not be suitable or applicable for Malaysians or Asians.

Do You consider life insurance policies to be an investment ? Just think again!

Each and every person who is the sole bread earner of his family must have a life insurance policy. It is quite obvious for us to get busy with our life’s daily chores which makes us oblivious to the fact that, what would be the outcome if the sole earning member dies a sudden untimely death. Therefore, it is wise that you keep a life insurance policy for the earning member of the household.

You should be aware that a life insurance policy is a symbiotic relationship between you and the insurance company because of which it is aptly considered a legal contract rather than an investment. This mutually agreed policy vows to provide you with a gamut of financial risk coverage during your hard times.

So, here I have discussed a few quick and easy points for your better understanding of life insurance policies. Check out yourself whether or not a life insurance policy should be referred to as an investment :

First, a life insurance policy gives you a smooth ride during any of your financial misfortunes or inflation by financing your expenses without you having to earn for it.

Second, life insurance policy has a fixed return on investment, as it was promised to you by your insurance company whereas normal investments has got a lot of risks involved.

Third, life insurance policy is independent of the stock markets. Your policy keeps you in safe haven during stock market downturn or when the real-estate sector goes kaput.

Fourth, life insurance policy are tax-free. It has an advantage that the wealth you enmass during its tenure is also taken to be free from tax. Thus, it keeps your hard-earned money safe with you and with your beneficiaries or legal heirs.

Fifth, life insurance policies guarantees you a hassle-free life, even if you are under bad-debt. You are safe from the unscrupulous collecting agents or menacing phone calls. Moreover, no one can put a legal claim over your assets. But for this issue, you need to consult a government appointed attorney since the laws vary from state to state.

Sixth, you can use your policy money in cases of emergency. This provides immense relief when you need a huge lump-sum amount of money all at once.

In today’s market, while investing we search for security and the amount of return promised. Pondering into the life insurance policies of our times, it definitely serves both the purposes. Now, not a single investment agency can assure you of a guaranteed profit, they just show us half-baked stories and figures and slyly boast of big return on investment. But, at the end of it, even they surrender to the dictates of the bourses.

Hence, considering the cosmos of our financial market, life insurance policy has got a complete fiscal package to offer us, whilst investments though at times gives us fairly higher return than insurance policies but they are totally unpredictable. Ultimately, this settles the debate that life insurance policy in true terms cannot be an investment.

Thank You!

This newsletter is specially written for all my friends (from the Internet as well as the Outernet) and readers of my books, Money Secrets, Big Money Big Trouble, Money Lessons and Stock Market Secrets and friends who have attended my seminars and workshops. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude for sharing my journey of financial intelligence and for appreciating the hard work that I put into research on the subject. From the bottom of my heart, Thank You, Terima Kasih, Xie Xie, Ohayo Gozaimaz (sorry, wrong translation), Tomo Arigato, Grazie! Merci!

Thanks to your strong support, Money Secrets has since become bestseller at many bookstores, including Popular Bookfest 2009 where it was the only bestseller written by a local author in the category of Personal Finance. This year, Money Secrets was selected by our National Library to be placed under their Dana Penulis Programme. It will be read at all their library outlets nationwide. Also, this year saw the publication of two of my latest books, Money Lessons and Stock Market Secrets. I was told Stock Market Secrets has since performed even better than Money Secrets. My upcoming book is titled Born to Speak. (You may be surprised that it is not about making money.) The script is completed but I’m not sure when my publishers would place it on the shelves for you. I have plans to write one new book in 2012; hopefully I can start working on it soon.

The Year 2011

2011 is coming to an end and I’m sure most of you would look back at an eventful year.

If you have read Money Secrets, you would know the meaning of financial intelligence which I defined as the study of how to create, accumulate and protect residual streams of income. (If you have not read it yet, you may get a quick intro here at The Biggest Money Secret.) With this new information, I am sure you are better equipped in your journey towards wealth and financial freedom.

Some of you may still be studying whereby your parents would be financing you. You are eager to start building residual streams of income once you graduate. Be patient, you will graduate soon enough and be on your way to financial freedom.

Some of you may be working hard at a day job, trying to pay bills and put food on the table. I was in that position, too. If you are wondering where to get the money to invest and build passive income, the answers are in Money Secrets (and also Stock Market Secrets). Read them again, slowly this time.

If you are in business and struggling with competition and a soft market, be strong. I have gone through those days that many businessmen have gone through – our days of Maggi mee and heartaches. You will make it.

If you have gone through ups and downs, peaks and troughs in your business and investment life, I’m sure you have better direction now that you understand financial intelligence.

If you are broke currently, take heart, you will make a lot of money yet, and the next time around you will be able to build strong streams of residual income. (If we are honest, there are times when we are broke, down and out. Let’s keep faith in ourselves and strive to do better.)

2011 has been a year of excitement and fear for many people. Over in the US, the Dow Jones saw a very dangerous triple-top formation at 12,800 points (May and twice in July) which, true to prediction, fell to 10,600 in August. This was due to the US government nearly going bankrupt before their Congress decided to raise the debt ceiling.

In Malaysia, except for what happened in August mentioned above, our KLCI stayed mostly above 1,500 points which was the previous historical high achieved in the super boom year of 2008, just before the Subprime Crash. (Didn’t we say that crashes are always preceded by booms?)

Right now, towards the end of 2011, we are at a time of great uncertainty, where the fate of the EU hangs on a balance The great Soros, when interviewed recently, offered his suggestions on how the problems in Europe could be solved. However, towards the end of the interview, he was asked the proverbial million-dollar question. What would he, as a trader, do right now? His answer was that he would do nothing because there is so much uncertainty. His reason for uncertainty stems from the fact that he is not sure whether his suggestions would be adopted. He is sure that if those measures that he proposed were not adopted, the EU would be torn apart by the current sovereign debt crisis, starting with Greece (owing US$380 billion), and right now Italy (owing US$1 trillion) and soon Spain (also owing US$1 trillion and with an unemployment rate of 21.5% currently). Of course, with the other weaker nations there, such as Portugal, quickly following suit.

2012 – The end of the world?

I think most of us have watched the interesting horror movie 2012, where the ancient Mayans predicted that our lovely Planet Earth would die in the year 2012. Every now and then there would be extreme religious groups predicting that the world would end on such and such a date and time but it never happened. I’m sure most of us, including myself, don’t really believe the world is going to end any time soon. The closest enemy we believe is global warming which is expected to kill all of us some years from now, but not in a year or two.

But the Mayans may be right in another way. 2012 may witness the end of our world economic system as we know it. This is because of the explosive nature of debts (for accumulation, think Ah Long) that the US and Europe are carrying. If you have read Big Money Big Trouble you would remember that these two big guys constitute 25% each of the world’s GDP, making it half of the world economy jointly. If the explosion does not kill all of us, it may kill the US dollar or the Euro, or both. The consequences are horrifying, although it may not physically kill us.

Now, I don’t have a crystal ball. Neither do I have any fengshui prediction skills. I cannot tell you what will happen in 2012, but I can tell you what might happen. Remember, financial intelligence also means protecting our streams of residual income. What would happen to our residual income if our country’s economy actually slumps due to external events such as a global financial meltdown? I will leave you to ponder that. I am sure if you have created and accumulated residual income, you would also have the wisdom to protect it.

The best advice for 2012

Let me share with you now the best advice for the coming year. 2011 saw the passing of a genius and a legend in the world of business, Steve Jobs. Steve was voted CEO of the Year on more than one occasion on Time and Fortune magazines. (In case you didn’t know, Fortune is owned by Time.)  His company, Apple Computer, rose to the top of the charts as the biggest company in the world, beating big and regular names like Exxon Mobil and Shell.  Of course, the most regular guy, General Motors, has fallen a couple of years ago.

His life story was out very soon after his death and around the world, the book was selling like hot cakes. Everybody wants to learn something from the life of a great man. Videos of his lectures were uploaded on Youtube and a lot of people learned from his wit and wisdom.

Among his last words were, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”. I feel it would be good to adopt these four words as the best advice for 2012.

Stay Hungry

All great achievements start with a dream. You may dream of a big house on the hilltop, or a booming Lamborghini, or completing your studies with an honours degree. You may dream of winning a golf championship, or marrying the prettiest girl in town. Whatever your dream is, I advise you to put it into a picture and frame it up. If you can draw, by all means use your imagination and make the best visual you can. If you can’t draw, look for the closest Google image and print it out. Frame it and paste it where you can see it before you go to sleep at night, and where you can see it the first thing you wake up in the morning.

“If you think you can, you can.” – Money Lessons.

Whenever you look at your dream and believe you can achieve it, ask yourself whether you are hungry enough.

(If you look at your dream and you don’t believe you can achieve it, don’t struggle. You may end up in an asylum trying to believe something you don’t. Throw it away and replace it with a smaller dream; something you can believe that you will achieve. I have tried this a few times but ended up believing, because I couldn’t find any valid reason why I cannot achieve my dream. After all, who needs a “smaller” dream?)

You will achieve your dream if you want it badly enough.

Stay Foolish

Now, this is silly, don’t you think? Is it cool trying to be foolish? I’m sure that was not what Steve meant. Alright, let us look at some fools…

Wright Brothers, “Now, let us try to make this damn thing take off and fly in the sky.”
Smart Guys,”Don’t be foolish. Humans are not birds. We can’t fly.”
(Air Asia is a result of two foolish brothers trying to fly.)

Scientists, “Let’s take a ride to the moon.
“Smart Guys, “Don’t be silly, do you know what gravity is? It pulls everything back to the Earth. You can’t achieve escape velocity.”
(We did manage to achieve escape velocity, but I’m not sure we have escaped stupidity.)

Christopher Columbus, “It would be fun to find another way around the world.
“Smart Guys, “Don’t be a fool, there is no OTHER way. If there is someone else would have found it.”
(That foolish guy accidently found America while doing that.)

Akio Morita, “Let’s call this gadget a Walkman.”
Smart Guys, “Walk what? Don’t be a fool. What kind of name is that?”
(The Walkman was a runaway success right after its launch and that foolish idiot became the boss of Sony Corporation, the company that produced the… er, Walkman.)

Depending on which horror-scope you subscribe to, you may get advice ranging from marital bliss to business success and health risks. Regardless what advice you get, I’m sure in 2012 you will get a lot of this advice, “Don’t be a fool, you can’t do this.”

“Don’t be a fool; business is risky. You are bound to fail.”

“Don’t be a fool. You can’t make it; your product is inferior.”

“Don’t be silly; the government sector is not interested in your product.”

“Don’t waste time; that customer will not use your product, he has his own product.”

“Don’t be a fool; nobody has ever succeeded in direct-selling.”

My dear friends, remember Steve Jobs’ advice, “Stay foolish.” Ignore this type of kind but deadly advice from your friends. Do your own research to find out whether your customers actually want your product. Find out whether people have actually succeeded in doing a project, and how they did it.

The world is full of smart asses who can predict things that cannot be done, but are clueless when you ask them what CAN be done.

Be brave, and let us remember the best advice from a true friend and legend.

STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH.

I wish you a great year ahead, and may all your dreams come true in 2012. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! Above all, I wish you good health and peace always. God bless you!

Andrew Chia
Kuala Lumpur
November 2011

The is the story of a fengshui master with a difference, one who leverages on the knowledge of financial intelligence to multiply his wealth, besides making use of his knowledge of how to tap into the forces of the nature to improve his luck.

Asiri Wanigaratne is a leading fengshui master in Sri Lanka, a country with a population of 20 million which has recently emerged from a long war with rebel group Tamil Tigers and is in the process of nation-building. Asiri takes it upon himself to help improve the welfare of his fellow countrymen and would try his best to make use of his knowledge and wisdom to do just that.

Asiri’s search for financial intelligence has taken him to many countries both in the East as far as China, as well as in the West to the US and Europe.  The following is his account in his own words.

I was delivering a talk at a fengshui seminar recently and I told my fellow Sri Lankans this, “You guys purchase all these fengshui items and place them in your house in order to improve your luck and to create more wealth. You then fold your arms and place your trust fully on these auspicious items to bring you prosperity. I say to you, this is not very clever. A man can only become rich by having and doing three things, that is, (1) luck, (2) working hard and (3) having a “money brain”. You can’t become rich just by fengshui.”

I have tried very hard for years to learn and master the art of fengshui by learning from a few leading masters. I visit the country of Malaysia two or three times a year to learn from my masters there. Ms Lillian Too, Mr Joey Yap and Master Yap Cheng Hai are my masters in Malaysia. Each time I visit them I learn something new and improve on my skills of fengshui.

Besides fengshui, I also try very hard to lay my hands on books that teach us how to make money. I visit libraries and bookstores in many countries to find books that will increase my countrymen’s knowledge about our money world. I have a dream to build the biggest bookstore selling the best financial books in Sri Lanka at the lowest price so that the poor citizens in my country can enjoy and learn from them. I currently have only about ten carefully-selected titles that I have translated into the Singhalese language so that my countrymen can understand them. They include stories about Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, as well as the financial classic The Richest Man in Babylon and other titles published by renowned American publisher John Wiley & Sons.

In one of my visits to Malaysia two years ago, I was fascinated by a book titled Money Secrets which I saw on the shelves of a leading bookstore there. Upon flipping through I was impressed with the contents which I felt would be very enlightening for my countrymen. Without hesitation I contacted the author to secure the rights to translate and publish the book in Sri Lanka. Upon meeting up with him, I found that he was a friendly gentlemen who was happy that I appreciated his book. He freely gave me the permission to publish it.

Money Secrets in Singhalese

Two years on now, I have received numerous “thumbs-up” from my fellow Sri Lankans who tell me that I made a very good decision choosing Money Secrets as a text to teach them about financial intelligence. They have benefitted greatly from that education about money. One particular lady made use of the knowledge she gathered from the book and told me that she is receiving passive income from renting out her shop to good tenants. Furthermore, the book even taught her to increase her property income by splitting up and renting her shop to two tenants instead of one. Her improved rental income of US$300 a month (up from US$250 earlier) is well able to support her family.

I would like to give you my personal testimony here on how Money Secrets has helped me. You see, I am quite a well-known figure in Sri Lanka, appearing regularly on Sri Lankan national television every Sunday discussing the topic of fengshui which is very popular among Sri Lankans. I run my own business selling fengshui items and paraphernalia under the name Fengshui Collection which currently has 30 branches in Sri Lanka. As far as I know, my master Lillian Too from Malaysia has the largest fengshui chain in the world, with 40 shops in different countries. I hope that I, too, would be able to set up 40 shops by the end of next year. All my shops are located in Sri Lanka itself and by that time, there would be no more locations left in Sri Lanka for me to open more shops.

Having many shops is good but I am even happier because I have gained financial freedom as a result of learning from the lessons found in Money Secrets. Otherwise I would have been a man with a lot of money but no time. All my 30 branches are operating independently by my selected operators. They are in turn managed by 3 managers who are relatives from my wife’s immediate family, leaving me all the time in the world to travel, learn and enjoy life. Only once in a while I have meetings with my 3 managers to get updates and to discuss on how to improve sales for the business.

Financial freedom comes not only with knowledge of financial intelligence but with the discipline that comes with that intelligence. When I was having 20 branches, I still lived in a rented house with my wife. I moved around in an old car and we made do with our old bulky television set. My wife was puzzled as to why I had to live like that. After all, I am already a famous fengshui master in the country earning a decent income from my business. I explained to her that this is financial intelligence; to practice delayed gratification. I ploughed back all my profits from the business into opening more branches and when I had 25 branches and a stable passive income I planned on building my own house. Since I am a well-known fengshui master I had to have a bigger and more impressive house of my own. My wife was very understanding and she waited patiently for my business to grow. Today I have my own big house and I use a new car and have flat-screen TVs in my house. My passive income from my business allows me to enjoy these luxuries which I was not able to earlier.

There are many of my fellow countrymen who are fengshui masters who are still living a middle-class life. They have not joined the ranks of the rich yet, and the main reason is that they have not grasped the concept of financial intelligence.

I am so happy to receive passive income from the many shops which sell my products. At each of these shops, my favourite book Money Secrets, is also sold. I now have so many shop outlets that I sometimes lose count.  At times I even forget the location of some of my outlets! Even though the book has since gained much popularity among Sri Lankans, I cannot sell it at the leading bookstore chains because I have set the price at the lowest. This would not allow me to give discounts to these bookstores, so Money Secrets is currently only sold at all my shop outlets in Sri Lanka.

With the time I have in my hands right now, I am now contemplating starting a new business which would generate a lot of profits for me. That business would be property development. As a fengshui master I would be able to identify “lucky” land and I would also be able to build “lucky” houses that are fenghsui-optimized for my customers. I believe I would be able to make a lot of money and I plan to give part of that income towards charity.

All this have been made possible partly because I once came across a book called Money Secrets.

Thank you, Asiri, I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I wish you good success in your future business venture. As mentioned in Money Secrets, if you look within yourself and find the real passion to do the project you would definitely succeed.

Asiri’s business in Sri Lanka is Fengshui Collection with main office at No. 29A SDS Jayasinghe Mawatha Kalubowilla, Sri Lanka. He has 30 branches and are currently the biggest chain selling fengshui items in Sri Lanka.

CANNOT!

Yes, you may not believe it. Or, you may think that positive words like Love, Belief, or Action could be the most powerful words on earth, but no, there is nothing more powerful and destructive as the word Cannot. This is the word that can kill instantaneously. You would feel as if you are hit with a giant hammer and rendered powerless immediately.

How it is used…

1. “Do you think you can become rich one day?” “Cannot!” I’m not highly educated/I’m not well connected/I don’t have the capital, blah blah blah

2. “Do you think you can invest in property and make money?” “Cannot!” Property investment is very risky/All my friends lost money in properties/My best friend couldn’t collect rental from his tenant/My second best friend’s house was demolished by his tenant/I don’t have the capital to invest, blah blah blah

3. “Do you think you can invest in stocks and make money?” “Cannot!”  I don’t gamble/I have worked for twenty years in the stockbroking industry and I have not seen one customer make money/I don’t have the best tips from reliable sources/I cannot understand stock investment concepts; they are too difficult for me/I don’t have enough time to study stock investing; I prefer putting in FD/I don’t have the capital, blah blah blah

4. “Do you think you can invest in anything that makes money?” “Cannot” Investment is a dangerous game/I am not qualified to be an investor/I don’t have the capital, blah blah blah

You see, in each of the above examples, the mind stops working immediately and of course, there is nothing else you would like to do after that. Your dreams of wealth and financial freedom or early retirement are destroyed immediately and you are condemned to your day job or loss-making business until the day you are forced to retire.

My buddy’s favourite quote – We are all born to party, but forced to work. I can’t imagine a day-job worker waking up early in the morning and shouting, “Yippee! I can’t wait to reach the office and start working.” The guy must be either insane or possessed, or both.

Why do we “do it to ourselves”? I mean, why do people condemn themselves to financial hardship instead of trying to figure out a way to early retirement. Countless people have attained financial freedom through property and stock investment, just to mention the two most common ways to wealth and freedom. You don’t even need to think of Li Ka-shing (property) or Warren Buffett (richest man in the world, stocks). Why is it such a great mystery that people not only do not believe in investing, but they do not believe in themselves at all, as we can see right at the first example on how to use the word Cannot?

The answer lies in one word – Opinions. I have a special chapter titled “Opinions Kill” dedicated to explaining this word in my bestselling book Money Secrets (international version here). For most people, their financial lives are governed by opinions, especially other people’s opinions. Soon, without realising, those opinions become their own and they are enslaved by them.

The key to freedom and success is to get the facts right, and also to get the right opinions from the right people.

As I mentioned in Money Secrets, there are three categories of people who can teach us anything. The first category is people who have not done it before. They can advise you because they have seen other people doing it. Or, they have heard of how it is done. Or, they may have read about it. But they have never done it themselves. Thus, the advice they give may or may not be useful.

The second category is people who have done it before, but failed. You may be quick to recall many friends from the insurance or direct-selling industry who fall into this category, but they actually exist in every other industry as well. The advice they give is usually poisonous, even though it may sometimes be mixed with genuine care and concern.

The third category is people who have done it and have succeeded in doing it. These are the people you should seek opinion and advice from. They will not only tell you it can be done, they can actually show you how it is done.

So, dear friends, if you are among those that have given up hope of wealth and financial freedom, give yourself a second chance today. Give it another shot. Life is short, give it your best shot. Get someone who has been there to help you on the way to freedom. Tie a hot-air balloon on the word Cannot and let it fly far away from you, never to come back. You deserve better!