Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are closed-end investments purchased on an Exchange. They are passively managed funds which mirror the performance of specific indices by tracking the performance of the individual stocks that comprise each index. The major advantages of ETFs are (1) low cost structure, (2) tax efficiency and (3) ability to be traded throughout the day. Yet, an even greater advantage is the ability to buy and sell options on many ETFs, which offers investors the flexibility to execute more sophisticated trading strategies that transcend simple ownership of the ETFs.??

Investors, who expect a market rally in an underlying index, buy call options on a corresponding ETF, and acquire the right to buy shares of the ETF at a specific strike price. Call holders are not forced to exercise the options, but if they do, the call writers are obligated to sell shares at the strike price. If the option is not exercised due to the index moving in the opposite direction than the buyer?s expectations, the call holder loses only the premium paid to enter the contract, while the call writer of the option contract gains the premium either way.??

Example

We assume that today an investor instructs a broker to buy on December a call option contract on Coca Cola Co. (KO) with a strike price of $51.70. The broker relays these instructions to a trader at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). This trader then finds another trader, who wants to sell on December a call contract on Coca Cola Co. (KO) with a strike price of $51.70, and the strike price for an option to buy one share is assumed to be agreed at $5.20. One stock option contract is a contract to buy or sell 100 shares, according to the law in the United States. Therefore, the investor must arrange for $520 to be remitted to the exchange through the broker. The exchange then arranges for this amount to be passed on to the party on the other side of the transaction.?

In above example the investor has obtained at a cost of $520 the right to bur 100 Coca Cola Co. (KO) shares for $51.70 each. The party on the other side of the transaction has received $520 and has agreed to sell 100 Coca Cola Co. (KO) shares for $51.70 per share if the investor chooses to exercise the option. If the price of Coca Cola Co. (KO) does not rise above $51.70 before December, the option is not exercised and the investor loses $520. Instead, if the Coca Cola Co. (KO) share price rises to $80 and the option is exercised, the investor buys 100 shares at $51.70 per share when they actually worth $80 per share, thus realizing a gain of $2,830 ($8,000 ? 5,170).?

By and large, ETFs are profitable if an investor has a long-term horizon because the more the ETF is held, the lower are the costs incurred for the investors since it is not traded on a constant basis. In general, when buying ETFs, investors should set a clear investment horizon and be aware of the cost involved.

Ten Features Of The Payment Stream Financial Program

This program has several consumer oriented features created to qualify more prospective customers and thereby generate enhanced sales capabilities for our clients.

1. No credit checks are necessary in order to qualify the consumer.
2. No formal contracts are required, provided the consumer has authorized payments on their credit card.
3. The receivables will be purchased after the product has been shipped and typically after the 30-day money back guarantee has expired. The intent is that the returned accounts be eliminated prior to the consumer receivables being sold.
4. There is no interest charged to our client?s customers.
5. There is no recourse to our clients.
6. This program works well with credit card payments.
7. This program is great for infomercials.
8. This program works well for our clients who have high mark-ups.
9. The funding source absorbs the credit card fees.
10. The program is based on an automatic debit.

The Payment Stream Financial Program: ?? An Example

Let us say, for example, that you offer a five payment credit card transaction, and receive the initial payment with the first order. You then receive the second payment thirty days later. You may then sell the receivable immediately after having received the second payment and the funding source would purchase the remaining three payments.
However, if you only charge shipping and handling up front and receive the initial payment thirty days later, then the funding source would purchase the remaining four payments.

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If ever there was an argument for the advertising ban on Hedge Funds to be lifted it is this one. Over three years a brazen group of New York scam artists raised about $30 million from unsuspecting investors by posing as principals of a successful hedge fund and then fled with the loot.

Investments from $5,000 to $500,000 were obtained from college professors and educated professionals. It took the group a little more than three years, from early 2003 September 2006 to raise the $30 million.

A grand jury empaneled by Michael J. Garcia, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, is said to have handed up a sealed indictment in the case, according to a lawyer hired by 10 of the victims, who said that the FBI was investigating the matter.

The criminals are clearly to blame here, however, this is a problem that, in our opinion, is caused in part, by the regulators themselves.

There is a scam out there that is based on “Prime Bank Guarantees” or “Medium Term Notes” that has taken billions from investors with promises of astronomical returns. The SEC web site says:

“Lured by the promise of astronomical profits and the chance to be part of an exclusive, international investing program, investors are once again falling prey to bogus “prime bank” scams. These fraudulent schemes involve the purported issuance, trading, or use of so-called “prime” bank, “prime” European bank or “prime” world bank financial instruments, or other “high yield investment programs” (“HYIP”s). The fraud artists who promote these schemes often use the word “prime” ? or a synonymous phrase, such as “top fifty world banks” ? to cloak their programs with an air of legitimacy.”

The thing that allows the bogus ‘brokers’ and ‘investment managers’ of this fraud to operate is that they have created a veil of secrecy over the whole operation. The SEC says:

“Promoters claim that transactions must be kept strictly confidential by all parties, making client references unavailable. They may characterize the transactions as the best-kept secret in the banking industry, and assert that, if asked, bank and regulatory officials would deny knowledge of such instruments. Investors may be asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.”

This ‘secrecy’ is what perpetuates the fraud. Simply put, the peddlers of this scheme will tell you that when you do your research that you will find everyone denying the existence of the scheme. They will say that those not in the industry don’t know about it because there would be outrage that rich people could make so much money and those in the industry will deny it because they either aren’t high enough up or are trying to keep it a total secret. They will also tell you that a minimum investment of $10mn is the norm, but they have split up that $10mn to allow their investors in.

This secrecy is the perfect cover, and I speak from personal experience, 15 years ago as an investment pup, to my eternal shame, I got caught in a the same scam.

So we have an ‘investment’ that is supposed to be super secret, has a minimum investment and is not advertised anywhere. Do elements of this ring any bells?

Simply put, the regulators are perpetuating the ‘secrecy’ of hedge funds by not allowing advertisement of the funds. Their rules about only being able to invest a certain amount of money did not protect the people in this case who invested $5000, did it? Something tells me the scammers did not check to see what the net worth of the investors was either.

How would advertising funds have helped? As with everything, the fact that advertising is allowed generates an awareness of a particular industry. How many of you knew how to play poker before the online casinos plastered the web with advertising? My limit was ‘Snap’, now I am a stone cold poker shark.

By the very nature of advertising and, therefore, informative web sites, brochures etc etc, this kind of fraud would be more difficult to perpetrate because the veil of secrecy would be lifted for all to see.

Of course, there will always be criminal elements who will attempt to subvert whatever rules are out there but the regulators throughout the world don’t need to make it easy by perpetuating a secrecy myth that can be exploited by the criminal element.

Before we can answer the question ?should you invest in individual bonds or bond mutual

funds?, we have to first understand the purpose of owning bonds in your portfolio. Novice

investors use bonds as an income generator, relying on yields to supplement living expenses

during retirement. Institutional investors and competent advisors, on the other hand, view

bonds as a tool to reduce portfolio volatility. Total return, not just bond yield, is what counts. If the purpose of holding bonds is to control portfolio risk, then owning bond funds, not individual bonds, is the appropriate choice.

Individual bond shares are not cheap. A single corporate bond can cost you $10,000 or more.

So, if a retiree with a million dollars decides to allocate 40% of his portfolio to bonds

($400,000), he would likely have to purchase at least forty different issues to achieve a

somewhat diversified bond portfolio. The higher costs associated with acquiring individual

bond issues may prevent many investors from sufficiently diversifying among different issues.

In contrast, an initial investment in a bond fund might cost only $1,000 to $3,000 depending on

if you purchase it in a retirement account or not. As a bond fund holder you can own stakes in

dozens, perhaps hundreds, of bonds with one purchase. Let?s take for example the Vanguard

Short Term Bond Index (VBISX). If you own an IRA, you can hold 642 distinct bond positions

with a $1,000 investment in the fund?a far cry from the 40 issues we purchased in the

previous example.

Costs

While individual bonds do not incur the ongoing management and operating expenses of bond

funds, they do have associated expenses including brokerage commissions/fees and bid-ask spreads) that all investors should consider. Furthermore, retail investors (as most of us are)get less favorable pricing (commissions AND bid/ask spreads) than institutional investors. The

costs of trading individual bonds are very hard to accurately pin down and commissions are

never fully disclosed. If ever there was an area for institutional traders to make obscene profits

in the markets, it?s the bond market.

When you purchase a bond fund, you know what the cost will be: a transaction fee and the expense ratio. There are a handful of low priced bond funds available, including the Vanguard

Bond index we discussed above whose annual expense is only 0.20%.

Safety

Many investors are under the impression that owning bonds is a risk-less transaction. That is a myth that results in a false sense of security. The fact is that bonds, whether corporate or treasury respond to daily changes in interest rates as well as credit conditions. Individual bond investors might take comfort in knowing that at the end of the maturity period, their principal will be returned. However, throughout the maturity period, their principal will fluctuate. As interest rates rise, bond principal will go down (since the bonds become less attractive to new investors). If the owner of the individual bond feels compelled to sell their position before the maturity date, they may likely take a loss during a period of rising interest rates.

Bond funds are much more liquid. Granted, bond funds do not have a fixed maturity (meaning

principal nor income is guaranteed). But, fund managers are constantly buying and selling

bonds within the portfolio in order to maximize interest income and capital gains.

Additionally, if you only own forty bond issues in your portfolio, having one or two of them

default can put a serious damper in your day. In contrast, because a bond fund holds

hundreds of bond issues, if a handful of them default the impact might be nonexistent.

The Benefits of Indexing

By now I hope I?ve convinced you that bond funds are more attractive than individual bond

issues. But, what type of bond fund should you buy?

There is a strong argument in favor of owning bond index funds instead of actively managed

bond funds. In general, bond index funds offer you broad bond market exposure for a fraction

of the cost of an active fund. All other things equal lower expense ratios result in higher returns for you. Furthermore, with actively managed funds, investors assume an additional level of risk: manager risk.

In conclusion, there are distinct benefits to owning bond funds in lieu of individual bonds.

Despite their ongoing expense, bond funds provide a better alternative in terms of diversification, liquidity, and the availability of reinvesting dividends. A low cost low cost bond index fund will help you achieve the portfolio risk control you need. Remember, just as with equity investments, the more broadly you diversify, the better results you will attain.

Millions of Americans buy mutual funds by simply choosing them as an investment option in their 401k plan.? How do people go about investing in mutual funds outside of their retirement plan at work?

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There are at least three popular ways average people buy mutual funds, each with its advantages and disadvantages.? Where to invest depends to a large extent on how involved you are willing to get in the process.? Some people want to learn how to invest, and others want to rely on someone else to handle their investments.

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Let?s look at three popular ways to buy mutual funds, starting with how to invest if you want to rely on someone else.

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If you want to buy mutual funds with a minimum of time and effort on your part, contact an investment professional.? Even though these folks usually call and solicit you, you can call them.? Look in the phone book under financial planners, stock brokers, or investment services.? Some life insurance agents sell mutual funds as well.? Perhaps your local bank or credit union has a representative on board who sells mutual funds.

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The advantage of this approach is that someone helps you make financial decisions, and deals with the details, including the paper work.? The disadvantage is that you will pay sales charges (loads) and/or other fees that you can otherwise avoid.? Rather than choosing a professional at random, I suggest you ask investors you know who they deal with, and how they feel about them.? Needless to say, some professionals in the investing business are better than others at their job.?

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A second popular way to buy mutual funds is the ?supermarket? approach.? For example, by opening a brokerage account with a major discount broker, you should have access to hundreds of funds to buy.? To get started, go to your computer and search for ?discount brokers?.? Once you have an account with money in it, to buy mutual funds you just click to buy.

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The advantage here is the wide selection of funds available from several different fund families.? You should be able to buy funds without sales charges, but there will be transaction fees, which are often quite reasonable.? On the other hand, this is basically a self-serve supermarket.? If you want advice on how to invest or where to invest your money, service is limited.

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The third approach is to go with a no-load fund family like Vanguard, Fidelity, or T. Rowe Price.? Search ?no-load funds? on your computer to find a list of them.? These investor-friendly investment companies have toll-free numbers you can call for assistance in opening up a mutual fund account.

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There are numerous advantages to this third approach to investing in mutual funds.? You deal directly with the mutual fund company, there are no middlemen.? You can talk to their representatives toll-free and ask questions without sales pressure.? They are used to talking to average folks who are not rich, and who don?t speak the language of Wall Street.

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The major no-load fund families offer a broad variety of mutual funds that have no sales charges, and often have some of the lowest yearly expenses in the industry.? This makes their no-load funds a low-cost way to buy and hold mutual funds.? Plus, these mutual fund companies offer investor assistance and services that are free of extra charges and fees.

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When you invest with a no-load fund family, you can buy or sell mutual funds on your computer or toll-free on the telephone without paying any sales charges or transaction fees.?

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The disadvantage here is that you make your own investment decisions.? You decide how to invest and where to invest your money in the various mutual funds they offer.? Plus, you may be required to fill out your own forms, like the application required to open an account.

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You can save thousands by buying no-load funds directly from a no-load fund company.? This is the best way to go IF you are up to speed on how to invest and investment basics.? If you are still clueless, there are plenty of articles available to help you learn about investing and mutual funds.

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Investing in mutual funds is a relatively safe way of growing your net worth, but such investments are not entirely free of risks. Before you pick on any particular mutual fund for investment you should watch out for a few things.

Performance

The first thing you should look for is whether the mutual fund you are planning to invest in is outperforming or under-performing with respect to the market. Good and safe mutual funds are those that consistently outperform the market. Changes in the net asset values (NAVs) of such mutual funds are consistently one step ahead of the market. For example, if the index that measures market movements goes up, the NAV of most good and safe mutual funds will also move up at least as much as the market or even more than the market. On the other hand, when the market moves southwards, the NAV of most good and safe mutual funds will move down but such depreciation will be less than or at the most equal to the market’s downward movement. Unsafe or risky mutual funds are those where the opposite occurs – when the market moves up, the NAV of risky or unsafe mutual funds may move up less than the market and may even move down despite a bull run in the market. Such under-performing mutual funds should always be eschewed when taking an investment decision.

Churn and earn

The next thing to watch out for is whether the mutual fund is undergoing too much “churn and earn”. This means you have to check whether too many transactions by the mutual fund are resulting in higher fees or costs to the investor. In this context, the worst offenders are those mutual funds that have a lot of spurious churn. Every time a mutual fund buys or sells stocks, the broker or brokers it employs make a neat pile from the commissions. So, these brokers try to encourage a lot of churn or buying and selling of stocks by giving a kickback to the mutual fund manager. Although direct bribery is illegal, payment of soft money through a sponsored trip to Hawaii or letting the mutual fund manager have a swanky Wall Street office for $1 a month is not. The only loser in all this spurious churn is the investor, especially in cases where the small print says that the investor will have to pay the brokers’ fees as well.

Lack of clarity

Mutual Funds that have prospectus, annual reports or statements of additional information written in such a way that they are difficult to understand should also be avoided. The lack of clarity in their documents is almost a sure sign of lack of honesty in their dealings or a lack of competency in managing funds – both of which are strong reasons for avoiding them for investment purposes.

Risky and unsafe mutual funds are also characterised by having too many restrictions on how and when investors can sell or redeem their mutual fund shares. Mutual funds that have too long lock-in periods or those which slap a hefty exit load at the time of redemption should be eyed with suspicion and are likely to prove to be unsafe and risky.

Beware of scams

Finally, there are mutual funds that are outright scams. There have been reports of fund mangers selling stocks at prices other than what has been reported to the investor. For example, the fund manager may have sold stock at prices that prevailed before closing of the day’s trade although the investor is told that the transaction took place at closing prices which were lower. The manager then pockets the difference and with most such transactions involving large volumes, even a fractional price difference can lead to substantial gains for the manger. Again the only loser in all this is the investor who gets short-changed by the mutual fund operator!

Regardless of business size or stage of development, every commercial enterprise is dependent on sufficient and adequate cash flow in order to grow and prosper and purchase order funding can be a part of the solution. Whether maintaining existing operations or attempting to expand, it can’t happen without sufficient cash flow, either internally generated or supplied externally.

Purchase order funding provides a readily available source for internal financing – immediate access to capital from existing invoices or purchase orders. This financing provides your firm with the money in order for you to perform an invoice or contract requirement before it becomes a receivable.

Purchase order financing typically provides 100% funding based on qualified pre-shipment documents, purchase orders, invoices, and contracts. This is true even for international or export/import transactions. The quality of the transaction and its support documentation becomes the determining factor in the deal, not the balance sheet or income statement of your company.

Early stage, mature and start up companies use PO funding. In each case, the company has successfully marketed its goods or services, and has a bona fide sale lined up with the buyer. The only missing link is the financing needed to complete the order.

Commercial banks are not prepared to fund these types of high-risk endeavors. Since there is as yet no receivable, factoring is not a financing alternative. Supplier financing, absent a track record of sales of sufficient magnitude or frequency, will either not be present and inadequate. In fact, the need for immediate financing help often arises because the supplier has reduced or changed the terms of supplier financing. The unfortunate result is that the company has a solid contract or sales opportunity and no way to perform due to lack of financing. In a distribution situation, the lack of financing can kill the business.

With transaction or purchase order financing, the level of funding is primarily geared to the quality of the underlying sale, not the overall financial position of the borrower. The quality of the sale and the creditworthiness of the buyer are the prime factors of risk to be considered in giving the firm 100% financing including related shipment costs. If delivery and acceptance of the goods or products depend on fabrication, assembly, or some other additions by the firm, then the track record of your company in successfully attaining delivery, acceptance, and payment must also be considered.

Typically, transaction financing provides 60-90 days short-term funding (usually at some cap per transaction), often up to 100% payment to the supplier of the products. This in turn allows the company to complete and satisfy the contract with immediate delivery and performance to the client.

Fees or costs to the financing source for this funding may be in the form of an initial charge and/or monthly discount from the proceeds of the sale. The cost rate for that discount may vary by transaction based on how long within the 60-90 day period it takes to get full payment from your client and the perceived risks as to payment for the financing.

From the owner’s or CEO’s perspective, access to purchase order funding (used either singularly or in conjunction with other sources) can literally be the key to real and sustained business success. It can result in larger sales opportunities, faster growth potential, stable cash flow, and increased profits. Most importantly, it builds a solid track record of sales and profitability – both key ingredients for banking and supplier confidence.

It is almost like a dream come true. After working very hard at your business, you get a huge purchase order from one of your best customers. You can almost feel the sweet taste of success. Soon, however, reality sets in. If you are like most small to mid size businesses, you realize that you don’t have enough money to buy supplies because your suppliers are demanding advance payment. You now risk losing the order unless you find a way to finance it.

If your company has been in business for many years, is reasonably big and has a great track record, you will probable be able to get a business line of credit or a similar type of bank financing. If that is the case, you’ll be able to borrow money to pay your suppliers and fulfill the order. But what options do you have if you are a new business owner or if you run a small business that has no bank credit?

There is a little known and seldom used financing product that could help you in this situation. As a matter of fact, it could help you almost any time you have a big sale to a good credit worthy customer. It is called purchase order financing (also known as purchase order funding or PO funding).

Purchase order funding can provide you with the financing you need to fulfill orders from your large and best credit worthy clients. As opposed to most financial products, the only collateral that purchase order financing requires is the actual purchase order (and associated payments) from your client. The financing company will provide you with the necessary capital to fulfill and deliver the order. They get paid when the client pays for the order. This makes it an ideal product for small and mid size businesses who are growing quickly and need capital to deliver orders to their ever growing client list.

Who qualifies for purchase order funding?

Purchase order funding is ideal for companies that re-sell a finished product at a profit. For example, import-export companies, wholesalers and distributors can certainly use this type of financing. However, if your company buys a product and modifies it before re-selling it, most probably it will not qualify for this type of financing (there are exceptions).

Although purchase order financing can be affordable if your profit margins are right, unfortunately it does not come cheap. This is because most financing companies consider the transaction to be high risk. The total cost of the transaction, from start to finish, can be anywhere between 5% and 15% of the sales price. Because of this, purchase order financing works best with businesses that have profit margins of 25% or more.

Lastly, purchase order funding only works for commercial sales in which the purchasing company has a good commercial credit score (as most large businesses tend to have).

How does the purchase order funding transaction work?

The transaction itself is actually fairly simple. Once you have the purchase order in hand you contact the purchase order funding company to begin the process. The first thing they will do is verify the credit worthiness of your customer. If the credit review is good, the transaction proceeds as follows:

1. The financing company issues a letter of credit in favor of your supplier. The letter of credit states that payment is guaranteed, provided the supplier delivers the product according to the buyer’s specifications. Almost all suppliers accept letters of credit as payment.

2. The supplier manufactures the product and ships it to you, or drop ships to the buyer.

3. The buyer receives the product and accepts it. Your supplier gets paid by cashing the letter of credit.

4. Your customer pays for the order, usually 30 days or so after receipt. The financing company is paid back for its services and all remaining funds are yours.

One of the remarkable features of purchase order funding is that in most cases, the client has few out of pocket expenses. It’s truly a transaction where you can use other people’s money to grow your business.

Lastly, purchase order financing transactions are frequently integrated with invoice factoring financing. This is a widely used trick that can help reduce the cost of financing the transaction, thereby increasing your profits.

Copyright (c) 2006 Commercial Capital LLC. All rights reserved. Article may be reprinted if not modified.

Pre and post settlement funding are taken in consideration during and after legal activities or litigations. Most of the time these litigations are health related or based on lawsuits for similar purposes. Just like these two terms imply Pre-Settlement transactions are effective before a decision is reached as far as the verdict concerns, while Post-Settlement transactions are processed after a verdict has been reached.

Having in mind the basic requirements each procedure involves we can infer that post-settlement transactions are much easier to execute due to the fact that the final verdict has been reached. These transactions are made to fund a litigation process providing the means for lawyers and clients to financially survive during a legal procedure.

Institutions tend to charge different fees or rates for each type of funding due to the fact that pre settlement transactions represent an increased risk factor because the results of the litigation are not yet known. Having this condition in mind we can also establish that pre settlement funding entails higher fees due to risk factors. If an injured person is not successful during the litigation the pre-settlement funding doesn’t have to be repaid in full, instead the client only has to pay the amount of the share of the settlement if it is smaller than anticipated.

Another key difference between pre and post settlement procedures is that post settlement funding does not affect special incentives established during litigation. This also represents one of the advantages of one type of funding over the other. Also, pre-settlement funding is somewhat restricted compared to post settlement funding where the money can be utilized “at will” by the plaintiff.

Post settlement funding transactions are legal throughout all states while pre settlement funding is not legal in some states. Post settlement procedures are convenient to both attorneys and clients because it provides the means to solve legal and financial issues and also allows clients to pay medical bills diminishing the effect of such debts.

The truth of the matter is that a considerable amount of resources are needed during legal procedures which take months or even years to reach a conclusion. Not having the financial means to cover attorney and client expenses will definitively truncate the possibilities to reach a favorable decision. Insurance companies and institutions can take on case and reach an unfavorable settlement (to the client) because fighting a case for months at a time is out of the question for most people who don’t know the options available to deal with such instances.

Make sure to go through the details of each transaction with your attorney and company which is going to fund the legal procedure to avoid unexpected situations.

Private funds and finding people who are able to provide private funding can have a dramatic impact upon your ability to succeed at building lasting wealth.? Many people find that without some assistance, taking the first step towards long term financial security can be difficult. Achieving your investment goals can be a complicated process and traditional lenders may shy away from individuals who have a poor or little credit rating. Many individuals find that securing the necessary funds to make a solid start to building can made easier when they approach private individuals for funding.

What are Private Funds

Private funds are those financial resources that are made available through the private sector or private individuals. For those who are interested in building a business, seeking venture capital or investing in real estate, there are a number of private funding opportunities available. Using private funds provides you with the advantage of lower costs, but more importantly, private funds are generally more flexible than other loans.

With daily living expenses, mortgages, credit cards, car loans and other loans eating into your income, using private funds can be one means of securing the money you need to start getting ahead financially.? If you use the private funding to begin building long term wealth, and you manage to create a solid profit margin through real estate investment, then private funds can really help you start to get ahead.? Private funds will let you stay in control of your finances and provide opportunities for achieving your goals when you may not be able to receive the loan through a regular financial institution.

Securing private funds from private individuals generally means that you borrow the money from these lenders who in turn want a return on their investment. Borrowing in this way is a lot more flexible than borrowing from lending institutions. This gives you the advantage of tailoring a loan to fit your unique investment goals and lending requirements.

Securing Private Funding

Getting private funding for your investment goals could be easier than you imagine.? You might find that you can secure funds through a family member, business associate or friend. One way to secure the funds is through simply letting people know that you are interested in borrowing the money.? If someone is familiar with the process it will be easier. If you need to look further afield to find the money you need, you might still find that this is simpler than you had thought.

One option for securing private funding is to seek out lenders through networking via investment clubs, real estate clubs and via contacts you make in these places. Many investors who are seeking private funding will recommend that you ‘prospect’ for investors willing to put up the cash for your planned investment. By regularly networking and building your contact base, you’ll find that you have a wider circle of people you can approach when seeking private funds. Once you have a solid group of contacts, you’ll also find this can help you learn of new opportunities for real estate investment and you’ll have a group of lenders who genuinely understand the investments you are making.

Another opportunity for finding potential lenders to provide private funding is via internet ads.? These can help you gain more information about how to secure private funds, as well as a wealth of additional information through educational opportunities and reports. It’s not advisable to advertise for prospective lenders online yourself. Instead, it is recommended that you attend networking events or investment workshops and similar to meet others who have an understanding of private funding and an interest in lending funds for profitable opportunities. The general rate of interest on private funds is fairly consistent with personal loans, sitting at about 9-15%. This makes the use of private funds a mutually beneficial activity for both the investor and the lender.

If you are seeking an opportunity to begin investing, then private funding for real estate investment is a chance to get started on the road to financial security and long term wealth. By using private funds, you can access the money necessary to carry out investment deals for mutual benefit. In securing funds where you may not have been able to if you had to go through traditional channels, you’ll achieve your goals for real estate investment faster.