Author: Brian Stevens

Looking to buy variable universal life insurance? Want to know how to get the best rate with a reliable company? Here's how ...

What is variable universal life insurance?

This is a type of policy that consists of two parts - life insurance and an investment known as cash value. When you pay your premium, part of that money goes to pay for life insurance and the rest goes into your cash value account.

The cash value is invested in a group of funds by your insurance company. These funds generally consist of mutual funds that contain stocks and bonds. You can choose what funds you want to invest in, and these funds grow tax deferred. You can borrow money from the cash value portion of your policy at any time.

With variable universal life you're essentially paying for pure life insurance and investing in a mutual fund that increases in value on a tax-deferred basis.
When you borrow against your cash value you get this money tax free. However if you borrow too much, or the funds in the cash value portion of your policy decline, you may be required to increase your premium to keep your policy in force.

How can I get a cheap rate?

The best way to get a cheap rate is to get quotes from different companies and compare them. You can do this quickly and easily by going to an insurance comparison website. In addition to getting rate quotes, the best comparison sites let you talk to insurance experts so you can get answers to your questions and get advice on how to get the best policy and the best rate for your situation. (See link below).

How do I know the company I choose is reliable?

Most comparison websites only affiliate with A-rated companies. But if you want to check out a particular company you can visit A.M. Best's website (ambest.com) to get their financial rating, and J.D. Power & Associate's website (jdpower.com) to get their consumer rating.

Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com/life-insurance.html or click on the following link to get variable universal life insurance quotes from top-rated companies and see how much you can save. You can get more tips and advice in their Articles section.

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Author: Randall Berry

If you are still in mutual funds, listen up. Because if you are a reasonable person, you will want to run to the login screen of your online brokerage and look for proof to what I am about to reveal to you. ETFs offer downside risk protection no mutual fund can match.

It is a difference that could cost you thousands in your investment or retirement portfolio.

Okay, maybe you do not HAVE thousands in your investment accounts. If you are just starting to invest your money, pay particular attention my friend. The following page should make your decision between an ETF (exchange traded fund) and a mutual fund clear enough to make an investment decision or take corrective action if necessary.

Here are some basics.

ETFs and mutual funds are similar in that they both hold baskets of securities. A balanced mutual fund can hold bonds, stocks, T-bills and some cash. An ETF is essentially derived from stocks but takes on many forms.

Before I tell you about the potential mistake that could cost you thousands, here are the important differences between ETFs and mutual funds:

* Mutual funds are actively managed by a person who gets paid by people like us usually from the money that WE give him to manage. ETFs are purchased by us and can be bought and sold all day long with few restrictions and almost no minimums.

* Mutual funds charge 2% or more between loading and maintenance, whereas ETFs typically charge between .5 and 1%. Mutual funds usually have no transaction fee. Brokerage commissions must be paid when purchasing an ETF.

* Mutual funds incur capital gains even though no distribution activity (money back to you) takes place. ETFs usually find a way to avoid these taxable events. This is a significant advantage for an ETF and worse, it is not always clear to the investor how and when it happens.

* Mutual funds mitigate risk by sometimes holding cash in anticipation of a down stock market. ETFs are not actively managed, therefore, YOU the investor and purchaser of the ETF must account for this risk when you decide to buy them. Position sizing is one important consideration with an ETF purchase to manage this particular risk.

Here we go now. The biggest mistake you can make in your decision to allocate to mutual funds or ETFs is to overlook one HUGE advantage an ETF holds over the mutual fund:

* STOP-LOSS order: This is a tool you can employ to nail-down a floor beneath which the price of your ETF cannot fall. You arrange this with your broker or click a button if you are investing with an online brokerage. NO SUCH PROTECTION IS AVAILABLE with a mutual fund. And do not expect your fund manager to point this out.

This tactic can stop the bleeding if things really go wrong with the stock market. Better yet, you can set the stop loss and put it on automatic.

This is proactive management of your money, not merely active.

Whether you are just starting your investment portfolio or are a qualified investor you will want to keep yourself informed about the risks and strategies inherent with each class of personal financial investments. It is now possible to acquire a comprehensive library of knowledge on personal finance in audio format if you know where to look.

Carefully consider the point of view of any financial adviser with whom you seek counsel: Is the person carefully considering your future plans for your job or business before advising you?

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/

Author: Josh Neumann

Many people want to know how to compare mutual funds to make the right decision. There are obviously many factors at work here. First of all, you need to determine if investing in this vehicle is right or you.

Generally speaking, a mutual fund is for people who aren't very financially educated, and really don't have any time to become so. They are generally for people who want to give their money to a fund manager and have them do the work for them.

If you aren't financially educated enough to read the financial statements of a company and determine it's overall financial health, then finding a best performing mutual fund is probably right for you. It is very risky to invest in a stock just based on whether it's stock price is going up or down.

These investments are divided into two groups based on the choice of how they are acquired. These groups are load and no load funds. No-load funds: The advantage of no-load funds is that 100% of your funds are fully invested from the beginning of the investment.

Loaded funds: The advantage of loaded funds is the addition of professional advice in which category to select for your goals. Important factors in considering if you should invest in a mutual fund should be:

• Operating cost of the fund

• The goal of the fund and if it matches your investment goal

Stock mutual funds are considered the most risky of all mutual funds. However, these funds are more likely to generate a higher return than the other types of mutual funds, especially over time.

Bond mutual funds deal with securities. Essentially, when you invest in bond mutual funds you are investing in the debt obligation of governments and corporations. Corporate bond investing are more risky than money market investments, and are often used to generate retirement income.

Since this type of investment is typically very diversified, they tend to reflect the trends of the market as a whole. When the market is doing well, generally the fund will do well, and when the market is going down, the fund will usually follow suit.

Of course, in times of a market crash, a mutual fund can literally wipe out your entire portfolio if you aren't careful. Therefore, don't ever buy into the myth that a fund isn't risky. It can be very dangerous, especially in times of a market crash. While these occurrences are rare, they can occur, and you certainly need to be wary of them.

The bottom line: it is always best to know what you are investing in before doing so. Your finances are one of the most important areas of your life. If you aren't financially educated, you can never achieve financial freedom.

It is never good to entrust your financial future to someone who really has no interest in it. When it comes to your finances, you need to take charge yourself. You can get by with outsourcing other areas of your life, but when it comes to your finances, you need to be the boss.

Remember this: you can always make more money making your own investment decisions than you can with a mutual fund. Yes, sometimes in a bull market it pays off, but is the risk really worth it?

Therefore, if you are set on investing in these vehicles, always compare mutual funds with their counterparts, and make sure it has a long history of profitability to find the best mutual funds. The top mutual funds are always those that have exhibited a long time of profitability so that you can be reasonably sure this trend will continue. While this step won't eliminate risk, it certainly can reduce it.

Tags: Best Mutual Funds, Compare Mutual Funds, Best Performing Mutual Funds, Corporate Bond Investing

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com