Ideally an investment loan will also include a capitalizing line of credit so that you can have a buffer during high interest rate times or when there are unexpected vacancies or costs relating to your investment property. By including a capitalising line of credit within your investment loan you are also in a position where if you wished or need to you could capitalise the shortfall between the rental income you receive and the outgoings you incur (including the interest on your investment loan). This shortfall is added on to the investment loan instead of being met from your personal income. By not having to subsidise the shortfall in interest on your investment loan you have freed up your cash flow. The most efficient way to use this freed up cash flow is to apply it to an additional repayment on your home loan. You may not realise but if you were to capitalise a monthly shortfall of interest on your investment loan of say $350 (rather than pay from your salary) and instead applied that $350 to the repayment of your home loan of $150,000 (@ 9.25% over 30 years) then you would repay that home loan out in less than half the term (in 14 years and 2 months to be precise) and by doing so save your self almost $175,000 in interest repayments to the bank.

Many investors when looking for an investment loan do not properly research the market and accept whatever is offered to them by their bank. This approach can be costly in the long run. Check out the other investment loan options in the market and look to a lender who understands your investment needs and can provide you with an investment loan that gives you a lot of flexibility, is priced competitively and defintiel includes a capitalising interest feature.

It is also helpful if your lender is able to issue separate statements for each investment loan you have and your home loan. Some mortgage managers also give you the ability to name each account e.g. 16 William St making for easy identification of each investment laon for you, and your accountant at tax time.

Be an astute investor and look for an investment loan that offers these sort of features as it will help you reach your wealth building goals much quicker.

Cabal Capital Management, LLC announces the launch of the Special Opportunity Fund which provides alternative investment opportunities into extremely low risk, very high financial return Advanced High Income Generation Projects through direct investments.

Our fund is unlike all others that exist today by offering investments that are focused on both strategic and tactical investment opportunities into Highly Advanced Income Generating Project(s) producing vital, very high demand product(s) that are being sold directly into the largest “Major” Universal Demand Markets in the world.  These investments allow risk adverse accredited investors the ability to participate in the revenues generated from these projects which allows for and achieves capital growth while providing the investor a low risk opportunity with the benefit of dependable and sustainable alpha generation and the long term growth from these projects.  These fully integrated projects have been designed to last 40 to 50 years or longer for their life cycles regardless of the global financial and credit markets.

Our fund is well positioned to effectively tap into these markets to the benefits of our investors.  The growth dynamics of the United States and Western Europe is based upon local, regional and domestic consumption of all the products these projects produce.  This fund is targeting routine and consistent annual double digit returns (15 – 21%) to investors un-correlated to all securities, commodities, currencies and the credit markets themselves since there will not be any exposure to these markets.  All project investments within this special investment vehicle have been specifically developed and designed to perform across various business cycles regardless of global economic conditions.

The current global credit crisis, current stock market contractions and wild swings in the commodities markets does not and will not impact our ability to produce consistent annual double digit returns now or in the future for our investors since we will never have, need or rely on the credit markets to establish margin accounts or leveraged positions which most all hedge fund type investment vehicles require to operate.  We do not require nor will we ever utilize prime services which the large investment banks provide (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, etc.). We do not rely on the stock, commodity or currency exchanges to generate income since we can not control any of the events occurring in those exchanges for our investors, thus we are totally un-correlated to all securities, commodities, currencies and credit markets. 

In the case of Deflationary and or Inflationary Markets, they will have no real effect on these projects and the products they produce.  Coincidentally inflation will only increase the value of the products coming out of the projects, and deflationary markets will have very minimal impact as well since the products produced will always be in very high demand through out the world. 

Risk issues are always addressed through risk management and the review procedures for each and every investment made.  Unlike most projects which have been developed, planned and master planned, every assumption for each project has been tested, validated, verified and proven or it’s not incorporated into these project(s).  Each and every project is also backed up by a detailed Input / Output Financial Cash Model which is a detailed Program / Project Financial Blueprint that shows the quarterly inter-relationships of investments, operational production revenues, operational expenses at all levels, taxes, imposts and fees, special circumstances events, and financial obligations during the life of the Program / Project.

Since energy production and consumption is the key element to any industrialized country, and with energy consumption increasing globally at an annual rate of 5 – 6 %, energy is and always will be vital to both the U.S. and Western European Economies. Allocating to Energy and Bio-Fuels production are two major key areas of involvement and investments within our seven pronged program investment strategies approach, which consists of the following options available to us:  Energy:  Oil & Gas (Example Project to follow), Bio Fuels:  Algae Based Bio-Diesel and Jatropha Curcas {plant} direct fuel source.  Algae Based Bio-Diesel is a direct fuel source currently available and ready for full scale production and delivery {This is not a blend for gasoline!} Algae Based Bio-Diesel Fuel production utilizes proprietary photo enhanced, micro nutrient enhanced, continuous flow, automated, sensor quality controlled, bio-chemical industrial processes and then are pressed, centrifuged, oils separated from water, water treated, cooked, cracked and treated all within a 12 hour cycle (Start to Finish) to complete one batch made ready for use in any diesel engine.  Initially 270 Million Gallons per quarter to several Billion Gallons of bio-diesel per quarter will be produced depending upon the initial size of a project program.  This Algae Based Bio-Diesel Fuel source has a Cetane Rating of 105 -117 compared to 80 – 85 Cetane Rating for #1 diesel fuel currently produced by all the major oil companies, which provides more power, better millage and performance while emitting 60 – 70% less emissions across the board vs. normal standard crude oil based diesel fuels. Algae Based Bio-Diesel emits no sulfur and or nitrogen into the atmosphere, Alternative Energy:  Solar / Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Production, Wind and Electric Fuel Cell Systems, Natural Resources:  Gold, Platinum, Other Precious Metals Groups and Diamond Mining: Refining, Assaying, Separation using advanced physical technologies and Bullion production of Gold and Platinum as well as Processing, Cutting, Valuation Appraisals of Diamonds and other Precious Stones, Water:  Proprietary Water Science / Technology to Produce Fresh Drinking Water to meet Agricultural, Industrial and Human Public Health needs in critically water short areas through Water production, bottling facilities and distribution.  This can be accomplished with any available water supply {in ground water tables, above and below ground reservoirs with a high saline content normally not recommended for human consumption}, Sea Waters & Brackish Waters anywhere Globally, Hydroponics:  Food Production: Fish Shrimp, Prawns, Fruits Vegetables utilizing USDA inspectors to garner Grade A Choice Status to include direct marketing into Major U.S.A. and International Consumer Demand Markets, and Special Opportunities: Aviation Fuels: JP-1 to JP-12 for Commercial and Military Applications from Algae Based Direct Fuel Sources as well as Advanced Hyper-Speed Information Technologies and other Advanced High Income Generation Project Opportunities as they become available.

It should be noted that traditional large project investments consist normally of only one income generation production element and typically requires three years at the earliest before the investors see any type of modest return on their investment.  Our projects produce immediate results in the first year.  These Exclusive World Class Projects which are available to us for investments have no less than 2, but normally include 5 or more Major Integrated Income Production Elements within each project.  It should also be noted that each income producing element within these projects are so strong that they could stand on their own and support the entire project, which is why many of these elements are developed together to form an Advanced Integrated Income Generation Project depending upon the requirements and location of the program.

All of the projects that this special opportunity fund invests in involve Proprietary Advanced Technologies and Advanced Physical Science / Processes (not known to the great majority of Asset Manager Companies Staffs).   Other types of investment pool managers, hedge funds, etc. do not know or even have access to these world class development engineering people and the technologies assets and projects that they develop, implement and manage.  Currently we have in excess of $10 Billion Dollars worth of Advanced High Income Generation Projects available to us for investments.

Another Special Note of consideration is that each investment will bring with it potential tax advantages not typically found in other types of investments.  Depending on where the project(s) are located and how the project are legally structured and set up (Development Corporations, Development Authority, etc.) could result in tremendous tax advantages, which each investors tax advisor will need to qualify and determine the best approach for each investors own tax liabilities depending upon their current tax status, situation and strategies.

These projects are conducted by Highly Reliable, Senior Internationally Experienced Technical Managers, Senior Science Managers and Senior Logistics / Project Security Management Staffs, which have planned, developed, evaluated and trouble-shot economic development projects and strong income generation projects in over 65 countries during the past 40 years.

There are in excess of 300 Top Level Executive Technical Managers with over 30 years of Experience in each of their perspective Development Sectors available for all projects that our fund invests in.  These projects are designed to insure extreme depth of expertise and experience management which is available to any project at any and every stage of the project program, regardless of location of the project anywhere globally.

** Fully Integrated Oil & Gas / Real Example Project:

This Oil & Gas production program is headed up by a Top Level Senior International Consultant which is an Oil and Gas Industry Executive who has been involved in the Oil & Gas Industry over the past 50 years.  This Oil & Gas Executive is the Systems Developer, Scientist, Equipment Designer and Engineer who is recognized as an expert in his field by the U.S. Department of Energy who also has called him upon him frequently in the past to trouble shoot particular Oil and Gas fields as a technical advisor and as a trouble shooter to rectify any and all problems associated with troubled oil and gas production fields.

This Top Senior International Consultant has a proprietary and proven 12 step methodology for siting, drilling, completing and production techniques for all wells.  He has a historical commercial success rate of 92% for bringing in all of his wells sited, drilled, completed and producing which also has a normal life span of 15 to 20 plus year’s worth of production.

This Advanced High Income Generation Oil and Gas project is comprised of the following: 

A Top Down Electric Air Hammer System which is highly sensorized with Professional Engineers and Scientists managing all operational positions.  These auto sensor rigs provide detailed information by satellite to a centralized operations and training center where all decisions are made by people with 45 – 50 years of successful completion and production experience.

Each oil and gas well completed will be drilled in both soft and hard rock beds and will vary in depths from 3,000 feet to over 13,000 feet.  All wells in this program will be completed initially in the state of Texas, in the United States of America.

Typical production wells will produce 60 barrels of oil per day to 500 – 600 barrels of oil per day and the gas wells will produce in a typical range of 2 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to in excess of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The total net operating investment will be returned within 4 months of production for each well.

Multiple producing formations will be completed and isolated with proprietary tools and instruments which will be operated simultaneously through out the life of the wells.  The typical life of these well are 15 – 20 years because of the 12 different proprietary methods used for siting, drilling, completion and production techniques, tools, proprietary materials and instruments used on each and every well which prevents formation damage and increases the life cycle of each well to maximize the highest production obtainable.

This program consists of hundreds of oil and gas wells sited, drilled, completed and in production within a 1 – 2 year period.  These wells will be sited, drilled and completed in historically very well known and documented oil and gas producing formations within the state of Texas, in the United States of America.

Investors will receive an estimated 15 – 21% annual return per year on their investment, with payments coming at the end of each year from this program.  The threshold investment will be an aggregate amount of $400 hundred million dollars which is what the minimum program investment calls for.

Estimated program revenues are based on $60 dollars a barrel and $6.5 dollars per thousand cubic foot of natural gas.  Over the last year crude oil (West Texas Intermediate) has sold as low as $50 dollars a barrel up to as much as $147 dollars a barrel.  Over the past year natural gas has sold from $5.5 dollars a thousand cubic foot to $11.3 dollars per thousand cubic foot.

Example Oil & Gas Well Profile:  One well; properly sited, drilled, completed and producing will conservatively produce 100 barrels of oil per day and 4 million cubic foot of natural gas per day.  This provides the overall program (100 barrels x $60 per barrel = $6,000) $6,000 dollars per day of revenue.  Each 4,000 cubic foot of natural gas (4,000 x $6.5 per thousand cubic foot = $26,000) $26,000 dollars per day of revenue.  Total revenue for this example is estimated at $32,000 dollars per day of program revenue for this example. 

** All wells in this program will not produce the same **

Each month this represents a program return of (30 days x $32,000 = $960,000) $960,000 dollars of revenue coming from this one (1) example well.  The investment program we are offering involve several hundreds of program wells being sited, drilled, completed and operating within a 1 to 2 year period.

Remember, this is only two elements of a fully integrated Advanced High Income Generation Project which will involve in most cases several other elements to generate very substantial amounts of revenues over the course of the project life.  With the combination of several other Advanced High Income Generation Elements within one project, this will enhance the financial returns and revenues of the program itself, and thus will also greatly reduce any associated risk due to the diversification of the different Major Income Generation elements within each project.

Once again, the result of this Special Investment Vehicle fund are highly advantageous investment opportunities that by far exceed the majority of investment opportunities from a financial return and an extremely low risk standpoint by investing in Outstanding Advanced High Income Generation Projects.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Cabal Capital Management, L.L.C. is managed by Kent Sullivan: www.cabalcapitalmanagement.com

The recent downturn in the housing market has proved to everyone that there is risk involved in real estate investing. In the past, real estate was looked at as a guaranteed investment. People were buying property only to sell it a year later for double the purchase price. Today, investments aren’t as predictable. There is more risk involved, but people are still making money by investing in real estate. How do they do it? Can you do it? Should you invest in real estate? To find out the answers to these questions, you will need to take a hard look at yourself.

What to Consider Before You Invest In Real Estate

There are several things that you should consider before you invest in real estate. First and foremost: not all investments are guaranteed, and there is some risk involved. Consider the following points to see if you are ready to invest in real estate:

? Large Investment – As far as investments go, real estate is perhaps the largest investment that you can make. You will have tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands tied up in your investment. Can you spare it? The first rule of any type of investing is to never invest more than you can afford to lose. You should be certain that you can cover the costs of the property if it doesn’t sell or if your investment strategy does not go according to plan. Be prepared to hold onto the property. Never purchase a property that could render you bankrupt if it doesn’t sell quickly.

? Unforeseen Problems – Plan for repairs and problems along the way. There is no guarantee when you buy real estate. You could get halfway through a remodel and find another problem that needs to be fixed. Plan ahead and budget extra funds for unforeseen problems.

? Change in the Market – We have all witnessed first hand how volatile the housing market can be. Plan for changes in the market and leave some room in your investment plan for change. You may have to sell for less than planned or you may have to hold onto your property for longer than expected. Make sure that you are prepared for anything that can happen.

? No Steady Paycheck – While you’re waiting for an investment to sell, you will not be receiving a paycheck. Make sure that you put plenty of money in reserves if you plan to invest full time and quit your day job.

There is a huge commitment involved in real estate investing. You can’t expect to be successful without putting in a lot of time and effort. Real estate investing is hard work; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There is a great deal of stress involved. If you can’t handle stress and change, real estate is probably not for you. If you enjoy a challenge, on the other hand, you may have what it takes.

Contrary to popular belief, real estate investing does not guarantee an easy lifestyle and a large income. There is money to be made in real estate investing, and there are some who make a lot of money. But there are also those who make very little at it. And, of course, there are all of those in between. Sometimes, luck plays a role. Most of the time, however, it is hard work, sweat and dedication that brings home the pay at the end of the day.

If it is your fist attempt to earn monetary benefits from investments in real estate, here are few reasons why you should approach one of the real estate investment firms.

Evaluation Of Various Investment Plans

The market of real estate investing is flooded with a number of plans like commercial real estate investments and equity real state investment plans. However, you should have the talent to choose most rewarding plan out of these. A real estate investment firm can help you to evaluate various investment plans in this category, so that you can witness your money growing at a dependable rate. These real estate investment firms have huge networks of real estate professionals and investment experts and thus, they can provide you with profit-bearing investment products.

Saving Your Time And Efforts

Real estate investing certainly requires an individual to spend time and efforts to achieve desirable success as an investor in this market. If you are in a regular job or an active social being, it might be difficult for you to reserve time in this direction. But, you can always take advantage of real estate investment firms to devote time and efforts on your behalf.

An Array of Beneficial Services

The real estate investment firms offer a wide spectrum of services to its clients. For instance, portfolio diversification, debt analysis, tax related issues and due diligence are some of the issues handled proficiently by these firms. You can seek advice from these firms on any aspect of real estate investing at any point of time.

Thus, you can begin your journey towards successful real estate investing with the help of these dedicated investment cradles.

While searching for a good investment firm, you might come across a number of options. However, a search under the lens can help you to figure out, which option is better for you. Concrete Equities is a good suggestion, as the firm is positively reviewed by its clients and market spectators.

Another similarity between the two is that both of them are for long term investment purposes. Mutual funds usually takes one year for the investments to mature, at the end of which, the profits will be declared and each individual investor will decide on what to do with his own share, whether to re-invest it back, withdraw only the profit or to withdraw totally from the investments. In the case of investment clubs, they have a longer life span before their investment could mature. Usually, it is between three to five years. This is because, they are few in number thereby leaving them with less financial muscle, which now means allowing their investments to stay longer and increase their profit margin. These two investment windows are not get rich quick program, rather they are solid investment programs that needs time to mature.

The third similarity between the two is that the funds are not under the total control of one man, as regards to investing. It involves a lot of brainstorming by the analysts of the company. One man cannot just wake up and say that this is where I want to invest this funds, it must be in agreement with the members of the executive, and because a lot of brain storming is involved, the nitty gritty of every company they want to invest will be trashed out and in the end, they will settle for the best which they have agreed. It is a popular saying that two heads are better than one, and this is one of the reasons for their excellent performances. What would have been omitted by one person will be noted by the second and everything will be critically evaluated.

There are many other similarities between these two investment vehicles, but I want to stop here. Let me hear your own views on this issue.

If you’ve set your hopes on a carefree retirement without having to worry about money, the growth of IRA investments needs to be good. If you live in the north like I do, one of your dreams may be going south for the winter. That can be a costly dream, so you may want to get your ducks in a row early on in your investment strategy so you will have enough money to get away from the harsh north winters.

When looking at the question are IRA good investments, you need to know the benefits of investing in an IRA. A traditional IRA is tax deferred, which means you don’t pay income taxes on the amount you invest in the year you invest it. Instead you pay income tax on the entire amount you withdraw it.

Another type of IRA is a Roth IRA. With a Roth IRA you invest after tax dollars, which means it is not tax deferred like a traditional IRA, but you don’t pay any taxes when you withdraw your money. So the growth of IRA investments in this scenario can be very advantageous, because you will be withdrawing both principle and interest tax free, which means your growth is tax free.

Both scenarios should answer the question are IRA good investments with a resounding yes. For one thing you are putting aside some money for retirement, which is the first thing you need to do to insure those winters down south. You certainly won’t be getting away from the cold harsh winters if you are living just on Social Security income.

And second with both scenarios, you are realizing a tax savings; either at time of investment or at time of withdrawal. Tax savings mean more money in your pocket to go south for the winter. Both scenarios are good.

One thing you can do with your IRA accounts is to put that money in a self directed IRA. With a self directed IRA you can invest your hard earned money where you want to direct it, not where some stock broker or banker wants you to invest it. Many times the advise of a stockbroker or banker makes money for them, but not necessarily for you.

When you are the one directing your IRA you can be confident that you have it where you want it. One of the places that many investors overlook when looking for growth of IRA investments is real estate. You can have your self directed IRA invested in real estate and earn great returns.

So when asking yourself are IRA good investments, look at real estate. When investing in real estate you can see the growth of IRA investments doing some positive good for communities by providing housing for people. There is a company that offers turnkey investments for a self directed IRA that provides you with everything you need to know about investing for the betterment of communities with Socially-Conscious Investing To Empower Urban Communities.

Now that you’ve heard about it, check it out and see your retirement dreams come true when you see the power of the growth of IRA investments with real estate. You can earn money for retirement as you help others obtain affordable housing they need.

Alternative Investments are a financial solution to this problem. So, what is an Alternative Investment? One example is a Real Estate IRA retirement plan. This type of Alternative Investment is where an investment company places your money in a Real Estate property along with other investor’s money and as the property makes money, you get a monthly dividend which can be direct deposited into your bank account. This Real Estate IRA Alternative Investment is a much safer way to invest your money than the normal investment avenues such as the stock market.

With an Alternative Investments Real Estate IRA retirement plan, you remove worry and anxiety from your investment experience and allow yourself to enjoy the simple act of investing your money and collecting the profits. It’s a very smart and logical way to invest. Why have an investment that causes you much grief on a daily basis when an Alternative Investment such as a Real Estate IRA can make investing a more pleasant and financially rewarding process. By removing the danger of worrying about your investment during your day to day routine, you now can focus on your life and feel good about making money which is the point anyway. Alternative Investments and Real Estate IRA plans are a good idea and the future is now for this type of investing.

The best advice is to find an investment firm that offers Alternative Investments. I did a search and found EQlibrium Investments at http://www.eqlibrium.com/ . They did have my example of a Real Estate IRA at http://www.eqlibrium.com/products/real-estate-ira-401k.asp and Alternative Investments at http://www.eqlibrium.com/products/alternative-investments.asp ..

Individuals looking to purchase a home for personal use or as an investment. As well, looking into conventional wisdom’s statement that buying a house is one of the best investments someone can make.

Summary Points to Take Away

Why a House is good investment: (1) Forced Savings Plan (2) Leverage (3) Inflation Resistant (4) Tax Free Capital Gain (5) Control over Asset. Points against a House as an investment: (1) Lack of Diversification (2) Maintenance Costs (3) Historically lower returns than equities (4) Unavailable to take advantage of other opportunities (5) Limited Scope. Additional points to consider if planning on purchasing property for personal use: (1) Doesn’t provide any cash flow (2) No tax shelter from interest expense (3) Can get personal joy out of investment.

Analysis

Conventional wisdom states that buying a house is one of the smartest and best investments an individual can make. This article is geared towards challenging this conclusion to see whether this statement rears any truth to it.

Why a House is a Good Investment?

Forced Savings Plan

Most individuals claim that the purchase of their personal home was the best investment they’ve ever made, which is true in most cases because it is the only investment they’ve ever made. The general public struggles with saving for retirement; thus, purchasing a house assists in that problem as it forces individuals to continuously pay down the mortgage (or lose the house in a foreclosure to the bank); therefore, allows the storing of equity for the owners. This built up equity (i.e. market value of home minus remaining mortgage) can be borrowed against during their retirement years or they can downgrad into a less expensive house in order to provide some retirement funds to the owner. If individuals take a disciplined approach to saving, then the benefit of being forced to save in order to pay for a house diminishes

Leverage

Typical real estate purchase require only a 5% deposit, while the remaining amount can be borrowed through bank debt. Few alternative investments outside of real estate can the acquirer obtain such significant leverage, which can enhance investment returns.

Example, suppose that you purchased a home for $200k, for which you made a 5% deposit down ($10k). During the next few years the house appreciates in value and you sell it for $220k (10% higher than the level you purchased it). Though the return on the house is only 10%, the return to the investor based on invested funds sunk into the home ($10k) is 200% ($20k earned over $10k investment) –  that is the power of leverage. On the negative side, more debt means higher fixed monthly mortgage payments; thus, higher risk of being able to make the monthly mortgage payments. As long as cash flow is not a concern and the mortgage payments can be met – investments should be leveraged to maximize returns to the investor. Could you imagine walking into a bank and asking for $100k to invest in equities while only putting 5% down – likely to never happen, this is a major benefit of real estate ownership.

Inflation Resistant

Real estate holds its value during inflationary periods; thus, acts as a hedge against the investors other assets that aren’t protective against inflation (ex. Currency). The asset will continue to hold its buying power (store of value), which is difficult to get outside of investing in precious metals. The reason real estate holds its value is there is the same number of houses that the increased monetary supply of dollars are chasing; thus, it’ll take more dollars to purchase the houses as the supply of houses stays stagnate while the demand rises (due to the increase in the number of dollars in everyone’s hands). This can become critical given the current economic times and numerous expansions of monetary supply across many nations, which will have the aftermath affect of higher inflation.

Capital Gain is Tax Free

In Canada, every home owner is provided with a capital gain exemption on amounts earned in excess of cost for their principal residence. Only one piece of real estate can be claimed as the principal residence per individual. For example, if you owned a home and a cottage, only one of those houses upon selling could take advantage of the principal residence exemption. No other asset class has such advantageous tax reduction characteristics. Unfortunately this is a onetime event; thus, those holding numerous pieces of real estate can only apply it to one property.

Allows for Control over the Asset

Real estate is typically an investment an individual has control over (assuming you’re the majority owner – which is typically the case) by the means of the owner has the ability to increase the value of the asset, which may not be the case in most other investment opportunities. When purchasing real estate, owners can make capital improvements to the home (ex. Finished basement, new porch, etc.), which will increase the value of the property (capital appreciation) as compared to purchasing stocks or mutual funds as assets where the owner can’t take action to increase the value of those assets (unless they’re a significant owner, greater than 20% – which is typically unlikely). The ability to control an asset adds value to the owner through what is known as a control premium, as a real estate asset may be more valuable in the hands of some individuals over others.

Why a House is a Bad Investment

Lack of Diversification

Average individual thinks the stock market is very risky while investing in real estate is more of a certainty. Purchasing equities allows the owner to conveniently hedge their risk amongst various companies in numerous industries, countries, etc. The purchase of real estate doesn’t provide the ability to diversify risk away as easily unless an investor plans on owning numerous pieces of different types of properties (ex. residential, commercial, resorts, etc) across various markets (North America, Europe, etc) – which is probably very unlikely for the average investor. Purchasing real estate prevents the diversification of risk because it’s dependent on the economic, migration, and regulation trends of the local area.

For example, assume you purchased a home in Oshawa, Ontario – which is a town extremely reliant on the large manufacturing facility of General Motors (GM). Should GM cut back on production or move their facility housing prices would fall sharply as it is the biggest employer in the area; thus, demand from individuals will decline as unemployment rises and real incomes fall. With a decline in demand and supply staying stagnate (as you typically can’t “un-build” a house once it’s constructed) the price will have to shift towards in order to align demand with supply.

Real estate doesn’t allow the investor to diversify away the specific risks in the local area as compared to purchasing equities, which allows the investor to spread risk amongst investments that perform differently during different points along the business cycle. Most individuals when purchasing real estate have all their eggs in one basket.

Maintenance Costs

Transaction and maintenance costs are significantly higher for real estate investments than stocks, mutual funds, etc. When purchasing stocks costs are typically broker commissions ($20 per transaction if using an online discount broker), while when purchasing a home it is typically 2% commission on the transaction value, significantly higher than purchasing equities.

Once you purchase shares, no further cash is required from the investor unlike real estate, which requires constant annual expenditures that continue to increase the investors cash committed towards the property, such as property taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance and repairs of the asset, etc. These are costs that real estate investors or home purchasers don’t factor into their expected return, but play a significant role as the payment of property taxes (etc.) doesn’t contribute to the value of the property for eventual sale in the hopes of capital appreciation.

Historical Lower Returns Compared to Equities

During any 20 year period throughout history, no other asset class has outperformed equities, which includes real estate. This is from the perspective of asset vs. asset without consideration of leverage and how that may enhance returns (as discussed earlier). While it is true that over the long run real estate prices go up in value, this is typically due to inflation incurred. Recent spikes in housing prices seen in the past 10 to 15 years has been due to changing demographics, specifically the baby boomer generation (who makes up largest segment of the population in North America) go through life stages at the same time (same goes for starting a family and purchasing a home and real estate investment property). The result was a large influx in demand without a corresponding increase in supply as construction requires lead time; thus, leading to rising real estate prices.

Will this high demand continue? That’s where the argument lies. Likely there will be softness felt in overall real estate demand as baby boomers already have their homes and they’re likely to either stay put, move to retirement homes or downgrade into a smaller place in order to obtain some retirement income. Immigration will continue into North America that will prop up demand, but likely not the extent to fulfill the whole in demand left by the baby boomer generation; therefore, the future appreciation in real estate properties is likely to flatten out.

Can’t Take Advantage of Available Opportunities

The purchase of a home or real estate property requires the individual to tie up a significant portion of their net worth into the property (in a lot of cases, all of it). Having all your net worth in real estate is a risky strategy as you’ll be severely impacted by movements in real estate prices as compared to having your cash tied up into several asset classes; thus, less vulnerable to swings in any one asset class. Similar to the discussion had under the “diversification” section of this article.

With the majority of an investors net worth tied up in a real estate property, there isn’t available cash to take advantage of other opportunities that come along; thus, significant opportunity costs are involved in venturing into real estate. This should be considered before purchasing an expensive personal home or making a real estate investment.

Limited Scope

Real estate is a local good, unlike gold for example – which can be bought and sold throughout the year for the same market price. An individual looking to buy a personal home or make a real estate investment doesn’t have access to all available properties as there are physical limitations to contend with. It comes down to wanting to live where you grew up or currently work or not wanting to buy a rental property far from your home in order to reduce logistical issues. For example, if you live in Toronto, Ontario and are looking to make an investment in a rental property, you’re unlikely to consider properties in Paris, France though the opportunities may be better than those surrounding Toronto due to language and logistic issues. Equities (and etc.) are globally traded and available; thus, users can take advantage of opportunities around the world; thus, their scope is not limited to the local area of their current surroundings like real estate is.

Additional Points to consider if you’re purchasing a Home for Personal Use.

Doesn’t Provide Any Cash Flow

An asset typically provides you with cash flow, i.e. puts cash in your pocket. When purchasing a home, cash only flows out (property taxes, repairs, etc.); some would argue that if it appreciates in value then it is an asset. In this instance it is only an asset when converted into cash and if that is the case, where will you live? Likely end up buying a new house, which has also gone up in value similar to your house.  This makes it difficult to realize the value of your personal home appreciation, which acts more like a liability than an asset since it takes cash out of your pocket instead of putting some in there.

Tax Deductibility of Interest

Interest expense paid due to bank loans taken to finance investment properties is deductable against income because the investor is pursuing income and tax legislation allows deduction of any expenses incurred in the pursuit of income. This is not the case for a mortgage taken out to purchase a house for personal use as the individual is not in the pursuit of income; thus, interest expense is paid with after tax dollars, with no tax shelter provided. If those funds had been borrowed to invest in equities or mutual funds, the interest would be deductable because again that would count towards the theme of pursuing income.

Can Get Personal Joy Out of It

Unlike equities and other alternative investments, the investor can’t personally use or get joy out of it as compared to purchasing a home, which the individual can live in and enjoy during the investment process. An investor who purchases shares in General Motors (GM) can’t exactly borrow and test drive cars whenever they please simply because they’re a part owner. This is a qualitative benefit that is difficult to quantify, but should be considered.

Where to go from here?

The main reason to purchase a house is to have somewhere to live and enjoy their life, don’t think of it as an investment. Buying a home isn’t a bad decision; it is the investor’s perception that may be tainted because it is important to realize that there are many arguments against a home as an investment to be considered. Don’t buy real estate property with the mindset that an individual can’t lose and that there is no better investment opportunity than to purchase a home, etc. Beware of conventional wisdom that states there is no better investment than purchasing a house.

THANKS,

SIMON GIANNAKIS

Cabal Capital Management, LLC announces the launch of the Legacy Fund, a Special Opportunity Fund which provides special alternative investment opportunities into extremely low risk, and very high financial return Advanced High Income Generation Projects through direct investments.

This fund which is not a private equity fund and is Sharia-Compliant, is unlike all other investment pool funds, hedge funds, etc. that exist today by offering investments that are focused on both strategic and tactical investment opportunities into Highly Advanced Income Generating Project(s) producing crucial and vital, very high demand commercially valued product(s) that are being sold directly into the largest “Major” Consumer, Industrial and Governmental Universal Demand Markets in the world.  These investments allow risk adverse accredited investors the ability to participate in the revenues generated from these projects which allows for and achieves both capital growth and preservation, while providing the investor an extremely low risk opportunity with the benefit of dependable and sustainable alpha generation and the long term growth from these projects.  These fully integrated projects have been designed to last 40 to 50 years or longer (similar to their predecessors) for their life cycles regardless of the global financial and credit markets.

This fund is well positioned to effectively tap into these markets to the benefits of its investors.  The growth dynamics of the United States and Western Europe is based upon local, regional and domestic consumption of all the products these projects produce.  This fund is targeting routine and consistent annual double digit returns (15 – 21%) to investors un-correlated to all securities, commodities, currencies and the credit markets themselves since there will not be any exposure to these markets.  All project investments within this special investment vehicle have been specifically developed and designed to perform across various business cycles regardless of global economic conditions to include recessionary and depressionary environments as well.

Any tightening regulatory environment, the current global credit crisis, current stock market contractions and wild swings in the commodities markets does not and will not impact our ability to produce consistent annual double digit returns now or in the future for our investors since we will never have, need or rely on the credit markets to establish margin accounts or leveraged positions which most all hedge fund type investment vehicles require to operate.  We do not require nor will we ever utilize prime services which the large investment banks provide (Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, etc.). We do not rely on the stock, commodity or currency exchanges to generate income since we can not control any of the events occurring in those exchanges for our investors, thus we are totally un-correlated to all securities, commodities, currencies and credit markets. 

In the case of Deflationary and Inflationary Markets, they will have no real effect on these projects and the products they produce.  Coincidentally inflation will only increase the value of the products coming out of the projects. Deflationary markets will have very minimal impact on the products produced within these projects since these products are and always will be vital for any country to maintain a stable economy, thus they will always be in very high demand through out the world regardless of the global economic conditions. 

Risk issues are always addressed through risk management and the review procedures for each and every investment made.  Unlike most projects which have been developed, planned and master planned, every assumption for each project invested in has been tested, validated, verified and proven or it’s not incorporated into these project(s).  Each and every project is also backed up by a detailed Input / Output Financial Cash Model which is a detailed Program / Project Financial Blueprint that shows the quarterly inter-relationships of investments, operational production revenues, operational expenses at all levels, taxes, imposts and fees, special circumstances events, and financial obligations during the life of the Program / Project.

Since energy production and consumption is the key element to any industrialized country, and with energy consumption increasing globally at an annual rate of 5 – 6 %, energy is and always will be vital to both the U.S. and Western European Economies. Allocating to Energy and Bio-Fuels production are two major key areas of involvement and investments within our seven pronged program investment strategies approach, which consists of the following options available to us:  Energy:  Oil & Gas (Example Project to follow), Bio Fuels:  Algae Based Bio-Diesel and Jatropha Curcas {plant} direct fuel source.  Algae Based Bio-Diesel is a direct fuel source currently available and ready for full scale production and delivery {This is Direct Fuel Source and is not a blend for gasoline or other fuel sources!} Algae Based Bio-Diesel Fuel production utilizes proprietary photo enhanced, micro nutrient enhanced, continuous flow, automated, sensor quality controlled, bio-chemical industrial processes and then are pressed, centrifuged, oils separated from water, water treated, cooked, cracked and treated all within a 12 hour cycle (Start to Finish) to complete one batch made ready for use in any diesel engine.  Initially 270 Million Gallons per quarter to several Billion Gallons of bio-diesel per quarter will be produced depending upon the initial size of a project program.  This Algae Based Bio-Diesel Fuel source has a Cetane Rating of 105 -117 compared to 80 – 85 Cetane Rating for #1 diesel fuel currently produced by all the major oil companies, which provides more power, better millage and performance while emitting 60 – 70% less emissions across the board vs. normal standard crude oil based diesel fuels. This Algae Based Bio-Diesel product emits no sulfur and or nitrogen into the atmosphere, Alternative Energy:  Solar / Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Production, Wind and Electric Fuel Cell Systems, Natural Resources:  Gold, Platinum and other Precious Metals Groups and Diamond Mining: Refining, Assaying, Separation using advanced physical technologies and Bullion production of Gold and Platinum as well as Processing, Cutting, Valuation Appraisals of Diamonds and other Precious Stones, Water:  Proprietary Water Science / Technology to Produce Fresh Drinking Water to meet Agricultural, Industrial and Human Public Health needs in critically water short areas through Water production, bottling facilities and distribution.  This can be accomplished with any available water supply {in ground water tables, above and below ground reservoirs with a high saline content normally not recommended for human consumption}, Sea Waters & Brackish Waters anywhere Globally, Hydroponics:  Food Production: Fish Shrimp, Prawns, Fruits Vegetables utilizing USDA inspectors to garner Grade A Choice Status to include direct marketing into Major U.S.A. and International Consumer Demand Markets, and Special Opportunities: Aviation Fuels: JP-1 to JP-12 for Commercial and Military Applications from Algae Based Direct Fuel Sources as well as Advanced Hyper-Speed Information Technologies and other Advanced High Income Generation Project Opportunities as they become available.

It should be noted that traditional large project investments consist normally of only one income generation production element and typically requires three years at the earliest before the investors see any type of modest return on their investment.  Our projects produce immediate results in the first year due to their very nature and global demand.  These Exclusive World Class Projects which are available to us for investments have no less than 2, but normally include 5 or more Major Integrated Income Production Elements within each project.  It should also be noted that each income producing element within these projects are so strong that they could stand on their own and support the entire project, which is why many of these elements are developed together to form an Advanced Integrated Income Generation Project depending upon the requirements and location of the program.

All of the projects that this special opportunity fund invests in involve Proprietary Advanced Technologies and Advanced Physical Science / Processes (not known to the great majority of Asset Manager Companies Staffs).   Other types of investment pool managers, hedge funds, etc. do not know or even have access to these world class development engineering people and the technologies assets and projects that they develop, implement and manage.  Currently we have in excess of $10 Billion Dollars worth of Advanced High Income Generation Projects available to us for investments.

These projects are developed, implemented and managed by Highly Reliable, Senior Internationally Experienced Technical Managers, Senior Science Managers and Senior Logistics / Project Security Management Staff.  There are in excess of 300 Top Level Executive Technical Managers with over 30 years of Experience in each of their perspective Development Sectors available for all projects that our fund invests in.  These projects are designed to insure extreme depth of expertise and experience management which is available to any project at any and every stage of the project program, regardless of location of the project anywhere globally.

This fund understands that most  Investors, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Major International Banks, Hedge Funds, Fund of Funds, Private Equity Funds and others do not have the technical resources, capability, background and or understanding to evaluate, determine and differentiate between good and bad Large Advanced High Income Generation Projects, Project Developers, Project Implementation Capability and Management of Highly Integrated Multiple Income Steam Revenue Generation Projects. 

This is the strength of the Asset Manager and where he excels; during the past several years  he has been mentored, tutored and trained by some of the oldest and most highly respected, responsible, highly sought after and experienced Development Engineers who have planned, master planned, developed, managed, evaluated and trouble shot Economic Development Projects, Strong Multiple Stream Income Generation Projects, conducted Nation Building and Humanitarian Projects in over 65 countries during the past 40 years.  The training he has received allows him to thoroughly review, comprehend and evaluate Project Development, Project Implementation, Logistics, Security and Management of these projects as well as the risk management associated with each potential investment.  This process has provided him with the understanding, knowledge and insights of Project Development, Implementation, Logistics Operations and Infrastructure development of large income generation projects to determine unequivocally, which Highly Advanced Income Production Projects are viable and which ones are questionable investments at best.

A Special Note of consideration is that each investment will bring with it potential tax advantages not typically found with other types of investments.  Depending on where the project(s) are located and how the project are legally structured and set up (Development Corporations, Development Authorities, etc. which are authorized by local, state or federal governments) could result in tremendous tax advantages, which each investors tax advisor will need to qualify and determine the best approach for each investors own tax liabilities depending upon their current tax status, situation and strategies.

The results of this Special Investment Vehicle fund are highly advantageous investment opportunities that by far exceed the majority of investment opportunities available to investors from a financial return as well as extremely low risk standpoint by investing in Outstanding Advanced High Income Generation Projects carried out by highly reliable and responsible individuals and organizations.

Face to face meetings are welcomed and encouraged in order to qualify, verify and validate these investment opportunities which stem from the Americana way of project development and implementation with the application of Science, Engineering, Logistics, Security and Management which dates back to over 200 Years during the American Expansion of the United States of America.  Never before in the history of mankind has the shear number and sizes of these Consumer Universal Demand Markets been in place and more importantly, primed and ready to handle and accept these vital, crucial and very high demand, commercially valued products coming from these projects.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Cabal Capital Management, L.L.C. is managed by Kent Sullivan:  www.cabalcapitalmanagement.com

A good definition of financial independence, by the way, is the control of an income stream sufficient to support your current standard of living.

You do not just fall into financial independence. More than anything else, the secret to real wealth is the mindset of wealth.

So you see, my dare is not really as outrageous as it might sound at first. By accepting the challenge, you are taking the first step to acquiring the mindset of wealth. You must be resolved to the fact that with wealth building, there must be dedication. And I guarantee that the opportunity to become financially independent is waiting for you, but you have to make the decision to go for it.

It’s up to you to take that step across the threshold of opportunity facing you now. It’s a decision you should have no hesitancy for. And when you do, you’re on your way to financial independence.

There are four major hurdles you must jump to become financially independent. I could go into a deep explanation of each step but I will save that for another time, I really want to discuss a powerful investment strategy. But I will briefly outline the four steps to financial independence.

So to get started, lets begin with the first of our skills of wealth building and that is earning. You must understand the two basic components controlling your earning power.

The first of these is our ability to perform our chosen line of work, that is, how well do we do what we do. The second and probably the most important factor controlling our earning power, is the demand in the marketplace for whatever it is we’ve chosen to do.

Second, you must build a financial protection account to cover all your expenses in case of an emergency, such as the loss of your income source. Saving is really the second important skill for acquiring wealth. You must have the discipline to build a protection account that will cover all your living expenses for your family, for a period of a year or two.

The third step in becoming financially independent is to begin an investment program. You want to achieve the highest returns on the money that you have designated for your investment program. Your objective now is to accumulate a mass of capital that will generate sufficient income to support your lifestyle without your having to work.

The fourth step to financial independence is too develop enough investment prowess to earn the extra income that allows you to fill your wants and desires. You have your needs met, but now you want to create the extra income that allows you to become financially free, this is where you can basically satisfy most of all your wants.

There, now that we have the four basic steps to financial freedom. I would like to carry on with the main focus of this article.

But I must make it clear that I had set up multiple Avenues of Income first, to put me in the financial situation that affords me the ability to test the waters of many different financial opportunities.

So, now I would like to discuss a powerful investment strategy. This is an investment strategy that has worked well for me in all types of market conditions. And by no means is this a strategy that I designed. In fact, it’s one that has been used successfully from a time long before the modern market and the stock exchange even existed. It’s called value investing.

Value investing is the best long term strategy for creating wealth that’s ever been devised. The theory behind it all is remarkably simple. You can become a value investor by investing your money only in under-valued assets. You can find under-valued assets in stocks and bonds, real estate or a wide variety of other investment opportunities. But whatever the investment asset may be, value investing boils down to the equivalent of buying dollar bills for pennies.

Now, I am sure you are saying “If it’s really that easy, everyone would be doing it.” I want to assure you easy as it actually is, everyone is not doing it. As with all great ideas in the world, only a few recognize them for what they are, and fewer still then decide to act on them.

Under-valued assets exist for reasons that range from fluctuations in the economy to fluctuations in human emotions.

It’s important to understand, however, that you can always find undervalued assets if you are willing to look for them. And, you don’t have to do this all by yourself. Look for investment professionals who operate investment funds and companies using this strategy. Through study and practice you will learn to accurately assess values as a basis for profitable investment.

Another key mindset of wealth is thinking and acting like a business person as well as an investor. Remember the better business person you are, the better investor you’ll be. And the better investor you become, the better business person you’ll be.

Please also keep in mind that value investing may offer important opportunities to take an active role in creating value in your investments. For example, you might turn an unwanted piece of real estate into an income producing asset, or turn a failing business into a thriving business, or create a new product or service based on a need or want you see in the marketplace.

Another form of value investing is investing in yourself and your abilities. There are many ways of increasing the cash flow into your families finances.

Setting up avenues of income that could hold the possibility of creating a passive and/or residual stream of income. If you take the opportunity to set up another stream of income, you would really be increasing your ability to grow anyone of your other investments. And, there are many ways of creating an extra souse of income that doesn’t consume every spare minute that you have. To the contrary, making such a move in your life would possibly result in you’re having even more free time to do the things you love.

The options are endless. The possibilities of a whole knew future are there for the taking.