Alternative Investments

How Have Commodities Compared in 2008?-
We have all heard the headline reports about energy prices skyrocketing in 2008, but what have the other commodities been doing in terms of percentage returns? Let’s take a quick look at Agriculture, Metals, Energy, Livestock, and the CRB Index for their standing now that half of the year has passed.

Commodity Percentage returns so far in 2008:

Line Graph showing monthly progression for 2008:

It’s no surprise that energy prices are up over 50% for the year, and that broader commodities are up as well.
Four Darn Good Reasons for Offshore Banking and Investing- Placing you savings, investments, assets or businesses outside your home country within one of the many tax havens is sure way to protect and retain more of your hard earned money. A tax haven is a country that has favorable tax advantages. Going offshore in one of these countries means that your savings, [...]
Adding Wood To Your Portfolio - No Kidding- Are you interested in generating returns that consistently on-average beat the S&P 500, have a low correlation with other assets, and have low volatility of returns? Looking to get into the commodity markets, but worried that crude oil, natural gas, coal, and the soft food commodities have gotten ahead of themselves? No need to worry. We have the prefect investment for you - wood. No kidding, wood. And when I say investment, I mean investment. Waiting around for trees to grow is not for active day traders.
Tramita Funds Average Above 50% Since Inception-

Contrary to what your government and misguided media would like you to believe, investing offshore is not illegal as long as you are following the rules and pay your taxes. They would like for you to believe that offshore investing is not safe and that you are tax evading. This is far from the truth and subscribing to this myth will cost you great profit potential.

If you have never considered investing offshore here is one good reason why you might want to reassess your strategy. Examine the three offshore funds offered by the Tramita Financial Group and ask yourself if being invested in the major U.S. indexes paid off in the past 5 years.
Where to Invest While the US Economy Crumbles-
Sentiment deteriorated further during the past week as oil prices rebounded, more bad news in the financial sector surfaced, economic woes mounted and inflationary pressures intensified, compounding already-jittery investors’ anxiety.
Status Quo’s lyrics “Down down deeper and down” came to mind as global stock markets took a battering. The Dow Jones Industrial Index, for example, plunged by 3.8% over the week to below 12,000 – its lowest level since March. Commensurate with extreme bearishness, short interest on the New York Stock Exchange jumped to an all-time high during the week.
Help Fight Poverty in Africa, Go Green and Invest in Trees- Investors with a long term savings outlook now have an opportunity to do both social good and make a profit while at it with the help of Better Globe Ltd. Headquartered in Norway, Better Globe’s vision is to help eradicate poverty in Africa through tree planting, agriculture and education. “We do not believe [...]
Tradedfund.com too Good to be True?- A new investment program just launched on June 6 called Tradedfund.com and supposedly it is not like the other “HYIP” scams online. These are only our observations; we do not endorse or recommend any “hyip” programs. The final decision and risk taking is up to the investor. “What we will provide you with is [...]
Got What It Takes to Be An Angel Investor?- If you have a big pile of capital sitting around and years of business experience under your belt, consider being an Angel Investor and invest in startups or early-stage businesses. This type of investing can be both financially and socially rewarding. Imagine being one of the first investors to help an unknown business [...]

The spot uranium price has decreased slightly over the past few weeks. It remains at $89/lb, where it has been since December 31,2007.
Chart courtesy of TradeTech, www.uranium.info

Start Investing Now or Retire in Poverty-
Researchers at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College recently measured that more than 40% of households may be at risk for seeing their standard of living decline in retirement. They also found that people born after 1955 have an increasing risk of living in poverty.

It is a depressing statistic that should scare you. Four out of ten “retirees” will probably not be enjoying their golden years and may have to continue working just to get by. If you have not thought about or prepared for your later years, there is no better time than the present to start saving and investing.

Since I am not a professional financial advisor or money manager, I cannot give personal investment advice; however, I can give you a starting point on saving and investing so you do not end up being a statistic.

There are many common sense “sayings” about investing and here are some favorites:
Scammers - 3, Investors – 0: The Fall of Legisi, SNGInvest and Capital Preservation Society- We are not going to rub it in or said we told you so. Really, we are not laughing at the duped “investors”, but feeling a bit saddened. How many times should one lose their money with some pie in the sky promises before one realizes that an online investment is too good [...]
Income Plus Asset Management Inc. – Positive First Quarter Results on Five of Six Managed Systems- Results look promising for 5 of the 6 IPAM Managed Systems offered by IPAM Inc. at Powerforex.com. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, they have six different managed Forex trading systems that are available for investors to choose from. The systems are split between two brokers, FXCM and IFX. “Income Plus Asset Management, Inc. was founded [...]
Global Pensions Insurance Trust Assets Seized by Postal Inspector-
Sooner or later it was bound to happen with these so called “Reverse Pension” plans. Millions of dollars of investors’ money is taken in, but apparently none has ever been paid out. You can read all about it in this news release.

“Federal agents seized more than $1.1 million from a self-proclaimed pastor in Norfolk who is under investigation in an international investment fraud scheme, according to court filings unsealed this week.” The Virginia Pilot

We have not mentioned GPIT by name before, because there are way too many of these reverse pensions sprouting up all over the place. While we did not write about them, we were aware that there was a connection to Global Pension Plan. According to Benjamin Seigler, the man behind GPIT, this was where the investors’ money was supposedly going to.
Triple Digit Gains with FX Innovations’ IPAM Master Account- FX Innovations is a privately held company based in Miami Beach, Florida USA that advertises a number of forex related services and products. Besides forex education, tools and an independent sales affiliate program, FX Innovations offers a managed account service. They have two different managed account types; one called the IPAM Master and the other, [...]
Hollywood Espresso Launches Franchising Plans- Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq:SBUX) may currently be the largest coffee house chain in the world, but it lacks in “star” power. A new player has arrived. Hollywood Espresso, founded by film industry veterans Roberta Pacino and her husband, Mark Oliver Richman. The couple aims to inject a little “Hollywood” into your daily coffee [...]
PickLogic, a Profitable Sports Investing Alternative-

At OWI, we love alternative investments and today, we introduce you to an investing concept that is beating the S&P hands down. The reason that we like them is that the results are verifiable. Since its inception in Q4 of 2005, the cumulative returns totaled nearly 70% and in 2007 a performance of 34.7% for the year.

The company is called PickLogic.com and before you discard them as another sports gambling service, we suggest you take a closer look. They have a system in which unlike a standard sports picking site, does not provide a hit or miss immediate return that a thrill seeking gambler wants. It is for the serious investor looking for consistent results over a period of time and while managing losses.
M-Commerce, the Next Big Investment Idea?-
A secret of making big returns on an investment is being aware of the latest trends and getting involved in companies that are first movers with hot new products or services. M-Commerce is a fairly unknown sector that deserves some attention. Investing in the companies that are first to market and involved in M-Commerce has the potential of huge gains.

“As technology has advanced so have customer expectations and networks, and these factors are setting the stage for expanded micro payments growth across the mobile, Internet and physical channels,” – Edward Kountz, TowerGroup Analyst

What exactly is M-Commerce? It is the buying and selling of products and services via mobile phones. Basically, it is e-commerce transactions online or at a point of sales where buyers use their mobile phones as the payment gateway. This market is enormous.
HugeROI, A Private Investment Club for Alternative Investing-

HugeROI.com is not the typical investment club as defined by the SEC therefore not required to be registered. While they do have several membership levels, the fees are just club access fees. No funds are collected, used or invested for the members in securities or investments. So what do the members get for joining? Here is what their website has to offer.

“Since 1999, HugeROI has been fulfilling dreams for more than 15,000 members. Our proven investment opportunities have earned some members up to a 2,500% return on their investment. We are a registered company in Tennessee (Registration# 0536953).”
Master Options Investing with the Star Trading System-

Interested in short term stock options trading? Learn how to trade options from a professional trader with the Star Trading System at mastersoequity.com. Founded by Jason Ng in 2004, he is the President of Masters ‘O’ Equity Asset Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Chief Option Strategist of Masters Capital Inc (Seychelles).

The system is one of the least expensive training you can obtain for the price and having access to Jason Ng as your mentor. There are not very many training programs where you can learn from a seasoned hedge fund manager. The performance results from this system can be verified by a third party, pro-options-profits.com.
TREX & The Skinny on Fossil Trading-
Pay Less Taxes in 2009- Invest in Oil and Gas Drilling This Year-
Our U.S. economy for the past seven years can be summed up in two words, “It Sucks”. Hard earned money is being sucked from the American consumers because of higher costs for goods and services. There is only one thing that should be on an investor’s mind and that is capital preservation.

Many so called experts and analysts did not think gold would be where it’s at today, or oil reaching $100 a barrel or how weak the U.S. dollar would become. Today, smart investors are laughing all the way to the bank because they were dismissed as fools a few years ago.
“The Currency Sandwich” – A Multi Currency Strategy Geared for High Returns-
If you have never heard of this strategy before, you are probably not alone, but believe me it does exist. Investors in the know have been using this “distortion” in the world’s currency market to make some high returns for decades. A word of caution: this strategy is not for the faint of heart, but for those that can risk big losses for its substantial rewards.
Income Investing with Publicly Traded Partnerships-
Investing in a Direct Participating Program (DPP) like oil/gas drilling is out of reach for most small investors based on the accredited investor requirements. The rules and regulations imposed by the government may appear to favor wealthy investors over the less funded investors. Fortunately, there is a way for individuals to invest in partnerships similar to a DPP, but without having to be an accredited investor.
RCF 50 Index, Investing in Franchise Stocks vs S&P 500-
It is a known fact that franchise owners usually have a better chance of success as a business operator than an independent start up owner. The likelihood of success can be attributed to a proven and tested business model, existing market brand, support and training from the franchisor. The question is, are there advantages to investing in the public stocks of franchises?
Investing with Credit Card Loans-
Occasionally, a hot investment opportunity or situation appears when you are not very liquid in capital to take advantage of it. If you only had the funds, you would get in this sure thing, but where can you get a short term loan to do so? A personal loan from your bank is definitely out of the question because of the high interest charges. Here is one way, albeit a bit gutsy.

First of all, as a fair warning, do not attempt this strategy unless you fully understand the risks, can afford to take a financial hit should your investment opportunity goes south and that you are able to make a minimum monthly debt repayment from current income.

If you are fortunate enough to have low debts, good credit ratings and have credit cards with a generous credit line, you probably have received more than one offer in the mail from these credit card companies with blank checks attached. The offers range from 0% interest for 12 to 18 months or 3.99 - 4.99% for the life of the loan.
The Best Stock Picks are Profitable and Free-
If you subscribe to many investment websites, your mailbox probably gets inundated with stock spam and investment “teasers”. The spam can go straight to the trash bin; however, the teasers are more of a curiosity. These stock teasers are usually from some “guru” or “expert” trying to sell a subscription or membership to their newsletter or stock picking service.

Most of these teasers are nothing more than sales letters. They do not name the stock outright, but give out little hints about this next “big” winner. If you want to know more about this un-named stock and other picks, you’ll have to shell out some money for the info. Prices usually ranges from $99 to over $1000 for a few months or up to a year for this service.
Bid for Higher CD Yields with Zionsdirect.com Online Auction-
If you are cash heavy and sitting on the sidelines because of the current stock market volatility, you might as well put some of that money to work in some safe certificates of deposits. To get yields that are better than the national average, you may want to bid on it through an online auction at zionsdirect.com.

Investors with winning bids for various maturities are getting some yields that are worth mentioning. Some examples are 3.26% for three-month CDs and 3.40% for six-month CDs. There are also one-month and one-year CDs up for bids as well. Currently, there are some one-month CDs priced to yield between 3.1 - 3.60%.

If one-month certificates are offered every month, it does not take a whole lot of math to figure out that if one is successful in winning a bid for them each month, one can make double digit yields over the course of 12 months.
Solving the Start-up & VC malaise-
After several years of contraction, the venture capital industry is now publicly admitting that the sector is less than healthy. But what can governments do other than bring some smart techies together and invent a magic wand to make the problem go away? Here are five ideas to stimulate their thinking. I welcome others, and promise to pass them along to the CVCA.

1. Encourage risk-taking
Divine Intervention Needed for Faith Based Investing-
Socially responsible investors select investments based on a company’s contributions for the social good. Businesses that are involved in things like alcohol, tobacco, and weapons manufacturing are often avoided for companies that are good to the environment, practicing workplace diversity and increasing product quality and safety.
Colored Diamonds Can Be a Man’s Best Friend-

Diamonds may be a woman’s best friend, but treat them as lucrative investments and they can become your best friend as well –no matter what gender you are. Specifically, we are talking about colored diamonds. While colorless diamonds are rare gemstones, only 1 in 10,000 diamonds are colored and come in different shades like yellow, pink, blue or red.
Gold and Silver Bullion CDs, a Risk Free Investment- If you are looking for a way to participate in the rising silver and gold markets without risking your hard earned money, there is a solution. Everbank has a product called MarketSafe Certificate of Deposit. There is no risk and you literally have nothing to lose. “-market-driven returns combined with the financial security [...]
When the Dollar Crashes, All That Glitters May Be Gold-

It is not a matter of “if” the demise of the U.S. dollar is going to happen, but a matter of “when”. We have seen signs of its weakening in the last couple of years and it does not look like it will recover any time soon. The actions of a number of other countries are adding fuel to the fire and can only confirm that the best U.S. dollar hedge investment is gold.
Death and Taxes, What Ben Franklin Didn’t Know About Viaticals- Benjamin Franklin once said that “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”, but if he were to be alive today, I think he might have said, “death, taxes and capitalism.” I must admit that this seems to be a bit of a morbid subject, but the fact that money is made [...]
X-Rated Investments, Spicing Up You Portfolio with Sex and Porn- Kids, cover your eyes and ears because this is only for mature adults 18 and over. Well, at least for grown-ups that are accredited with a high net worth. It was bound to happen sooner or later in this 57 billion dollar industry. Adultvest.com is a website that caters to investors interested [...]
Lending Club: Earning Double Digit Returns in Private P2P Loans to Borrowers- Do you have some extra cash sitting around doing nothing or just earning minimal interests in you bank account? Why not lend it out to borrowers and earn some decent interest rates? LendingClub.com appears to be a new company that is modeling after Prosper.com’s P2P loan business. The average lender is averaging 12.23% per annum, [...]
FOREX Broker Not Needed: Trading Foreign Currencies the Simple Way- Learning to trade in the Forex currency market can be a daunting task for investors wanting to diversify their stock portfolio to hedge against the weak US dollar. The Forex exchange may appear a bit too “foreign” to stock investors who are only familiar with trading on the stock markets. There is a better option [...]
Autotrading Forex with Zulutrade’s Free Signal Services- Are you having a difficult time finding a Forex signal provider to automate your currency trading? Maybe the ones you have found are a little bit too expensive for the service. Fret no more, because Zulutrade gives you a choice from numerous signal providers at no cost. “Zulutrade receives rebates from the [...]
Making Money with Alternative Investments, Direct Participation Programs-
What is an alternative investment? First, let us define what an “alternative investment” is. When the average investor is asked about his investments, you are surely to hear the most common answers. Usually, it is with a company’s 401K, an IRA, bonds, stocks and maybe even options. If he is a bit more diversified, it may include real estate or annuities.
Philatelic Investing: A Safe Alternative Investment in Rare Stamps-
Rising Oil Prices, How to Hedge High Fuel Costs with a Bio-Fuel Investment-

Alternative Investments

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