Economy

Investments : Your Money Working Hard For You

MICHIGAN CHRONICLE — Saving money is certainly better than spending it frivolously.

Published

6 years ago

February 23, 2019

By Jordan Woods

Saving money is certainly better than spending it frivolously. But being responsible also means spending so that our money works for us even when we’re sleeping. Investing, particularly in the stock market, can be scary or intimidating, especially when you’re just starting. However, it should be an important aspect of your long-term goals (remember, we’re working to build generational wealth). This installment will give you the framework to become a savvy investor by exploring some examples investment vehicles in terms of risk and potential return, and providing you with resources to plan your investment strategy.

Investment Vehicles

1. Low Risk:

Certificates of Deposit (also known as “CDs”) give your money to the bank for a specific period of time, giving them extra cash on hand. In turn, you receive a more predictable return ( typically 0.5-3%) at a rate that is often higher than that of savings accounts. CDs are also covered by the same FDIC insurance that your bank is, further protecting your investment.
Treasury Bonds are fixed-interest U.S. Savings Bonds issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. They are fully backed by the United States government and are considered to be among the safest investments one can make, but do not reach their maturity date for 10+ years after being bought.

Medium Risk:

The most talked about investment vehicle is the stock market. You can buy stakes of ownership yourself, or you can put your money in the hands of an group of finance professionals who focus their time on finding the best mixed of investments for a consistent, positive return (typically around 5-10%).
A Mutual Fund is a company that pools money together from investors and then invests that money in stocks, bonds, short-term securities, etc. They help to mitigate some of the risk through diversification, but also can include som riskier investments as part of their portfolios, meaning that they can reap some of the rewards of high-risk investments without exclusively relying on those investments.
An Index Fund (or ETF) is a type of mutual fund that is designed to invest in, and thus replicate, the performance of one particular type of investment. For example, an S&P 500 ETF would invest money across all of the S&P 500 companies, so that the fund’s performance matched that of the S&P 500.

High Risk:

Junk Bonds are bonds that promise higher interest payments than regular bonds, primarily because they come with a higher risk of default, because the entity issuing them is in poor financial shape. These bonds are typically issued by companies looking to raise capital quickly.
Cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin) are digital assets that serve as mediums of exchange, using cryptography to ensure more secure financial transactions. Many types of cryptocurrencies experience large swings of positive and negative returns that are unpredictable, but if caught at the right time can potentially increase your positive return tenfold– or more. Many, if not most cryptocurrencies have no official backing, further exposing your investment.

These are just some of the many ways that exist for you to invest your money. No matter how you choose to invest, one essential guideline is to spread out your portfolio across a few different investment vehicles. This practice, known as diversification, is a prudent response to the fact that some investment types, and individual investments within each type, are more volatile than others. ROI is the percentage of your original investment that you have gained or lost since you decided to invest. An acceptable ROI from following sound investment principles is typically around 7-8% over the long term. This is including outlier investment scenarios where people made and kept large sums of money in a short period of time. Keep this in mind when deciding where to invest and when analyzing your portfolio’s performance. Two things we all can and should do are to start small, and then remain patient with our investments. Often lower average positive returns over time also come with less risk, and vice versa. First Independence Bank’s Asset Allocation calculator can help you create a balanced portfolio and their Investment Returns calculator can help you track and meet your long-term investment goals.

Keep an open mind when easing your way into investing. Whether you’re saving for college, looking to start a business, or looking towards retirement, keep in mind the typical timeline for returns for the things you choose to invest in and how that aligns to the timeline for your reason(s) for investing. Working with an investment professional and doing your own research will help you create and stick to a dynamic investment strategy that is based solely on your personal financial goals instead of those of other people.

This article originally appeared in the Michigan Chronicle.

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Activism

Bank of America Grants $200,000 to Richmond Housing Nonprofit

RNHS has provided housing services to Richmond residents since 1981. The organization develops, acquires, and/or rehabilitates single-family homes and housing developments in blighted or vacant lots in order to make them available as affordable homes for rent or purchase to low-income families.

Published

1 week ago

November 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo by RDNE Stock via Pexels. Courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. (RNHS) was one of two Bay Area nonprofits awarded a $200,000 grant over two years from Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program.

The nonprofit also serves residents through education programs involving financial literacy programs, home loans, foreclosure prevention, and affordable rental counseling.

RNHS plans to use the $200,000 Bank of America grant to hire leadership staff, and to expand its Emerging Developers Program and Restoring Neighborhoods Program.

Through this grant program, RNHS will also benefit from comprehensive leadership training for its executive director and an emerging leader.

Since the Neighborhood Builders program’s inception in 2004, 59 nonprofits have been selected in San Francisco and the East Bay, with the bank investing nearly $12 million in philanthropic capital into these local organizations.

Along with RNHS, San Francisco-based mental health nonprofit RAMS also won a $200,000 grant this year.

“We’re proud to include RAMS and RNHS as the 2024 Neighborhood Builders,” said Gioia McCarthy, president of Bank of America San Francisco-East Bay. “Countless individuals, families and neighborhoods have felt the profound impact that these 59 Neighborhood Builder nonprofits have had in our area over the past two decades.”

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Activism

LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST

Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST

Published

3 weeks ago

November 12, 2024

Oakland Post

Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?

Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.

STREAMED LIVE!
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/PostNewsGroup
YOUTUBE: youtube.com/blackpressusatv
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Business

With Immigration Reform on the Table, Advocates Put Human Face on Calif’s Migrant Farmworkers

About 99% of the commercially grown crops consumed by people across the United States come from California, according to data compiled by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Between half and one-third of the farmworkers who help to grow, tend, harvest and package these crops live in the Golden State. That’s about 500,000 to 800,000 workers. Astonishingly, 75% of them are undocumented.

Published

4 weeks ago

November 6, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Edward Henderson

California Black Media

About 99% of the commercially grown crops consumed by people across the United States come from California, according to data compiled by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

Between half and one-third of the farmworkers who help to grow, tend, harvest and package these crops live in the Golden State. That’s about 500,000 to 800,000 workers.

Astonishingly, 75% of them are undocumented.

“People are very afraid,” said Manuel Ortiz Escámez, a sociologist, audio-visual journalist, and co-founder of Peninsula 360, a news organization based in Redwood City.

“I hold interviews with people who later call and say, ‘Please do not publish anything, because I’m afraid of what could happen,’” he added.

Escámez spoke last month during a news briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services (EMS) that addressed the plight of migrant workers in California, particularly those who live in the United States without legal status.

During an election year when immigration is a polarizing issue with strong opinions on all sides, Escámez says the lives and critical contributions of farmworkers have been reduced to soundbites or barbs in Left vs. Right talking points.

The fervent anti-immigration rhetoric these debates generate can brew hate and motivate hate crimes and hate incidents against migrants, creating an atmosphere of fear and danger among California’s farmworkers, advocates warn.

In these situations, the debate shifts from the virtues of legal vs. illegal immigration to politicians scoring political points by finding a group to blame for the country’s problems.

“Power in politics needs to invent a physically and morally repugnant enemy who wants to take what’s yours because the feeling of emergency creates unity and the need of a savior,” said Escámez. “That’s why migrants have always been the ideal enemy of some U.S. political campaigns … and the data shows that it works.”

No matter where Californians stand on immigration, the contributions migrant farmworkers make to California’s economy and the country’s food supply are undeniable.

In February 2024, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated that immigration will generate a $7 trillion boost to gross domestic product over the next decade. A vast majority of these contributions come from immigrants like California’s farmworkers who perform jobs and endure conditions many Americans choose not to.

“I’m undocumented with a sliver of privilege. I’m still in a precarious position, but millions of people would love to be in my shoes,” said Gustavo Gasca Gomez, immigration outreach specialist and a Stop the Hate coordinator at the Fresno-based Education and Leadership Foundation.

“I can work, and I have social security. But I can’t vote or leave the country and return without express permission. And before I was a DACA recipient in 2012 I was a farmworker right out of high school,” said Gomez. “The work is difficult. It’s hot, dirty and tedious. It makes your mind numb in many ways. But it’s a job that the entire country depends on.”

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate. 