Today's Pick : Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC)

Wells Fargo has been hit pretty hard with the recent scandal related to Opening of New Accounts. Whether they were following a Industry Wide practise or not, time will tell. The stock, though, has certainly been impacted big time and is trading at it's 2 year low, at $45 a share.

Given the history of Wells Fargo and a strong backing from none other than Mr. Warren Buffet which has a huge stake in the bank, this should certainly turn out to be an underdog in years to come. The price targets and market consensus are all pointing higher to about $53+ a share.

This would certainly be a good 'Buy' in a market where there are very little buying opportunities.

Don't hold your breath, Go For It!

Retirement's 4% Conundrum

At some point or the other we have all read about the 4% rule comes to haunt all of us. Often quoted by Financial advisers, this is the percentage that your adviser suggests to begin withdrawing from your nest egg as soon as you enter your golden years and sayonara you 'nine' to 'five' gig. 

Personally, i have never favored a 'One Size Fits All' Strategy and have had second thoughts on the rationalization of this off quoted rule. It seems reasonable, however lets get more granular.

With interest rates as low as they are today, there is a very simple rule that can give you a number on your monthly income from your lifelong earning, which is as follows :

Rule of Thumb for Monthly Retirement Income

Interest Rate	Amount Saved	Monthly Income
1.2%	$100,000	$100
1.2%	$200,000	$200
2.4%	$100,000	$200

Feel free to do the Maths to arrive at the numbers above. Extrapolating the table, with an interest rate of  3.6%, expect to make a monthly income of of '$300' for every '$100,000' saved. With 4%, a little bit more!

The figure now to keep in mind is the 'Interest rate' or the 'Rate of Return'. If you want your Savings to live past your retirement, benefit your kids and grandkids, keep an eye on how hard you can make your money work for you.

If you can only make it work as hard as to return 1.2% (looks like a CD account?) you can withdrawn $100 for every $100,000 saved without shaving off any dough from your nest egg. If   you are a better manager, may be you can make it work to return you 3.6% a year. Well, you can now triple your income without touching your boodle.

Today's Pick : USO, OIL

Oil is on the tear again today and Energy Prices going down. Even with alternative sources of energy being explored actively, the world has enough oil reserves for 53.3 years. USA today reported these numbers back in 2014 (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/06/28/the-world-was-533-years-of-oil-left/11528999/).

Oil reserves are  ticking time bomb but world's dependency on Oil is expected to continue. Forbes, in an article about a year ago outlined '3 Main' reasons why Oil will continue to be the Market Leader for Energy in years to come (http://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/2015/04/19/three-reasons-oil-will-continue-to-run-the-world/2/#1873b86f71cb).

The alternative sources of energy are in fledgling state. If you are a non-believer in OIL, may be this is not for you, but for someone wanting to ride this low yield market for next 8 years, you probably will not see OIL trade at such a low price.

The picks today are USO and OIL both of which track Prices of Crude Oil. They haven't been trading at such a low price for over a decade and hence it is the pick of the day.

If you have a regular brokerage account, you may run into challenges in trading USO and OIL e.g. Merill Lynch would not allow you to buy USO marking it as a toxic security (Nonertheless, they would not explain what qualifies a security as toxic).

One of the best place to trade USO for free is the Mobile App 'Robinhood'. The app offers free unlimited trades on Apple and Android Mobile devices.

Happy reading and jolly money-making with those who believe in OIL!!

Todays Pick : Tax Exempt Municipal Bond Funds : Nuveen Funds : NKG, NEA, NMZ and more...

I am moving away from Stock Picks today and focus on some reprieve from Uncle Sam with my investment. He already takes a big byte out of my paycheck (which is no where near BIG) - I hate to give him anything more!

Nuveen Funds are amongst the most often invested funds and yield good returns that are either not taxed or taxed partially..

I will tell the readers a little secret about myself today. I live in the state of 'Georgia' and i have been invested a little in Nuveen Georgia Municipal Bond Fund for over 6 years and hence have tasted the secret sauce behind this tax or partially taxed investment. 'NKG' is the ticker that has been returning me nearly 5% tax-free income for all these years - good deal, ain't it?

I felt more comfortable about my 'NKG' investment when i read sometime back that our House Speak Paul Ryan is heavlily invested in 'Nuveen Funds' as well. I did not care which funds he was invested in, the mention of  Name was good enough for me to get into the Game..

A list of tax-exempt funds from Nuveen, sorted by State, is available for reference at http://www.nuveen.com/CEF/DailyPricingTaxExempt.aspx. Feel free to pick and choose the fund for your state and fly by uncle Sam's toll booth with a free ride.

The link again for the list of funds is : http://www.nuveen.com/CEF/DailyPricingTaxExempt.aspx

This is by the the best way that i have come across to generate tax-free pre-retirement income. Please comment if you find any others...

Happy Savings!!!

Today's Pick : IFLY (FactorShares Trust PureFunds Drone Economy Strategy ETF)

Yesterday, Aug. 29 2016,  was a big day for the drone industry. FAA gave approvals for the drone industry to start flying. It also became flexible with licensing requirements for Drone Operators - you no longer need a pilot's license to operate drone. Fantastic - Ain't it.

Us investors, this presents an opportunity. The drone ETF should be a wise investment. This is where 'IFLY' ETF steps in. The ETF has not been on the tear yet and could be on the CUSP of making it to the list of 'Favorites'. I haven't seen a lot of naysayers (any for that matter until now) to the drone industry. Amazon, Walmart are vying for their share in the drone industry.  The ETF is only about 6 months old (as far as i can see), but is on the rise and has made it to my personal investment portfolio. If you have Cash flying around and are thinking of investing in DOW, S&P or NASDAQ, take a look at IFLY again - you might be able to beat the market with a little bit of research over the news.

The ETF currently covers '41' drone companies and is a safe bet to invest in, safer then investing in individual companies like GoPro or struggle with investing in companies that aren't even public yet. Try the ETF, i am quite sure you would not be disappointed.  

Today's Pick : ANH [Anworth Mortgage]

Bulls have no leash again today and a pricey stock market continues to get pricier. I hear more and more investors are strapped with Cash and looking for areas to see the double digit growth that historically came with Index Funds.

Not Surprise. I am still working around this market since it doesn't want to work with me.

Hunting for Cheap stocks, that do not manifest volatility and yield a decent return, one usually lands up in an REIT (Real Estate Investment Trusts).  I got ANH by word of mouth when buying our little Home Sweet Home. This was years ago and the REIT has stood the test of time. With an yield of 12% today, the stock doubles you put in in about 6 years.

[Let me share a hidden rule to quickly calculate how long it takes to double your money. Divide 72 by the yield and you should roughly get the number of years it will take to double your money. WIth ~12% yield on ANH, you are set to recoup all of your investment in 6 years and start reaping a new harvest with the 7th].

In days to come, i will begin posting a graph for return on my recommendation on 'Bo Derek'.

For those who are just landing at this place, 'Bo Derek' is the adjacent text page that has additional analysis on my recommendations.

Today's Pick : FXB [CurrencyShares British Pound Ster ETF] 

As we progress, i continue to see more questions being prompted on the keywords i use in the blog - 'Bo Derek' being the next one. I will talk about it in future posts but a quick google also brings back quite a few answers.

Newsmakers in Corporate world have been complaining a lot about declining sales, attributing it to Strong dollar in the recent past. We all know this will not last for ever and is a rare buy opportunity for international currencies like GBP. By a long shot, If you happen to pass by Heathrow, surcharge free ATM's could allow you to hoard some British Cash. If you plan to stay local, the ETF 'FXB', CurrencyShares British Pount Ster ETF is a good play to get in the game. I am sure Ms May will not leave any stone unturned to get GBP on track. 

Brexit effect is hear to last, but not forever.

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