Tagged Questions
7
votes
0answers
108 views
Yield of a municipal bond with a sinking fund?
How do I calculate my expected return if I buy a municipal bond at a premium with a sinking fund feature?
For example, I'm looking at a bond with a coupon of 5.5%, maturing July 2015, with the ...
1
vote
2answers
109 views
Are the guaranteed returns of regulated utilities really what they sound like?
In the last few days I've stumbled upon two-year-old editorials like this one and this one stating "as a regulated utility, publicly traded [PG&E] shareholders benefit from a guaranteed 11.35 ...
11
votes
3answers
365 views
How can I determine if my rate of return is “good” for the market I am in?
I am considering a small investment to get started with. What percent rate of return is considered to be good return on investments made in a stock market?
I read somewhere that 25-30% is considered ...
0
votes
6answers
427 views
Help me understand the oddity of percentage gains and losses?
If you start with $100K, and you get a 50% gain, it's $150K. Then, you get a 50% loss: now it's $75K. Reverse the order (i.e. lose 50%, gain 50%), it's the same thing (a 25% loss). So, 50% up then ...
8
votes
2answers
98 views
How do I account for newly added money when computing my rate of return?
I have a simple spreadsheet where I track the balance in my investment account. What should I do to handle new deposits in the account?
For example:
End of Day 1: balance = $100
End of Day 2: ...
1
vote
2answers
95 views
Is it possible to estimate individual rate of inflation for a person as against the avg inflation rate for that country?
Even though normally we all use a specified inflation rate per country for financial calculations (i.e real returns, salary increases, etc..) isn't it possible for the inflation rate to have different ...
2
votes
3answers
131 views
Is it always sane to follow inaction if the only alternative investment carries a risk of higher than 50% to end up with loss?
Or is there a theory that proposes inaction is worse?
3
votes
1answer
360 views
How to quantify differences in return with low expense ratio vs high expense ratio mutual funds?
One often repeated piece of financial advice is to work to minimize your expense ratios in your mutual funds in order to maximize your returns.
While it is often straightforward to determine the ...
4
votes
1answer
178 views
How to determine desired/required value with “value averaging”?
As opposed to dollar cost averaging (DCA), value averaging (as described in this eHow article) is a technique where the investor determines the value the investment should have after a given time ...
3
votes
3answers
376 views
What is a decent rate of return for investing in the markets?
This article indicates that the average rate of return for stocks is 4% after inflation, fees, and taxes (called "net-net-net" in the article).
In the article several investment professionals are ...
3
votes
3answers
553 views
How to calculate the rate of return on selling a stock?
How to calculate the rate of return on selling a stock?
