The past year and a half has been rough for investors, although many investors have grown tired for the financial advisers and have become DIY investors, others who have lost money are too frightened to do it themselves and have turned to financial advisors.  Although nothing is wrong with having a good financial adviser, you have to understand that there is no magic to investing, the financial advisor doesn’t do anything you would be able to do yourself so why pay those hefty fees? A little while ago I provided some investing tips for successful investing, if you follow most of those tips you should be fine.

How to Become a Successful Investor?

There is no magic to investing, although the investment industry tries to confuse investors and make things look complicated, there is no reason to be worried.  First step to becoming a successful investor is to keep things simple! I am a big fan of simplifying finances and investing, there are too many investment options available and too many contradictory opinions, the best thing you can do is keep your investment portfolio simple, here is how.

How to Simplify Your Investment Portfolio?

1.  First find a good online discount broker, you can follow these tips to find the best discount broker for you. Discount brokers can save you a lot of transactions costs when it comes to investing.

2.  Establish your asset allocation and investment policy statement. Asset allocation will help you determine how to allocated your assets between different asset classes. When you have your written investment policy statement ensure that you stick to it, only this way can you keep your emotions out of your investment and simplify your investing. You can download a sample investment policy statement from our site.

3.  Purchase Index funds or ETFs, often investors purchase expensive mutual funds thinking active manager will perform better. The fact is that active managers lose to index funds, there is no point in paying hefty fees to mutual fund mangers when you can get better performs by investing in index funds and ETFs.

4. Ignore the Noise. Don’t pay attention to the media and so called experts, the media is known to exaggerate the reality and the so-called experts will only confuse you since most of them don’t agree with each other. Keep your focus on your long-term goal and ignore the noise.

5. Rebalance. Although I like passive investing, passive investing does not mean just leave things. Markets will fluctuate and your portfolio asset allocation will change you need to rebalance your portfolio along with market changes, this will ensure you are staying within your determined asset allocation.

Just following those five steps you will be able to dramatically simplify your investment portfolio, as I mentioned at the beginning there is no magic to investing, just keep things simple and follow some investing rules of thumb.

How do you feel about your investment portfolio? Do you find it confusing? Have you simplified your investment portfolio? Any tips you’d like to share?

The past 18 months have been difficult for most investors, the stock market has seen the biggest “correction” since the great depression, “blue chip” companies have cut dividends, had massive layoffs and even begged the fed to bail them up. Not to mention the investment frauds of Bernard Madoff and Ed Earl Jones costing investors their lifetime of savings. More and more investors have decided to become “Do it Yourself” (DIY) investors and often rightly so. There really is no magic to investing; anyone can do it as long as you follow simple rules. Previously we published 10 investing tips to become a successful investor to help DIY investors. Although there is no magic to investing if you are a new DIY investor you can easily fall into the common investing traps and ruin your portfolio – detailed below.

5 Fastest ways to destroy your investment portfolio

1. Short Term Trading

This is one of the best ways to destroy your investment portfolio. With online discount brokers it is very simple to just buy and sell securities with the click of a mouse, sit in front of your monitor and constantly watch your stock price. Of course when you see your stock take a little hit just click sell and it’s sold. Thank god you acted fast and only took a 2% loss; you do that a few times a month and got your self a 10% loss. We are not even talking about fees. Statistics show that short term trading fails over the long term in overwhelmingly majority of cases. Very few people can be profitable day traders. So if you want to destroy your investment portfolio, start with short term trading.

2. Buy the “HOT” stock – Get Rich Quick

A few weeks ago a friend of mine called and said a co-worker had given him a good tip on a stock and he should buy some, he was considering a $10,000 purchase. So I asked him some basic questions: “What does the company do”, “What do analysts say”, “What’s the management’s history?”… He did not know the answer to any of these, and decided to ask the person who tipped him…he had no clue either but was sure it’s a good investment his brother-in-law’s friend had said so. I advised him against the purchase and his colleague is now down 35% in 2 weeks …OUCH! There is almost no better way to demolish your portfolio than to follow the “hot” stock tips or the get rich quick stocks. Purchasing strong, stable companies is boring!

3. Buy Exotic Investments

The investment industry loves creating new investment products, every few months some new exotic investment is brought to the market. Investors jump at these investment vehicles without understanding the risks associated with them. A great way to destroy your investment portfolio: put a large chunk of your retirement fund into these exotic investments and watch them disappear.

4. Do not have an Asset Allocation

One of the first things any investor should do before investing is have an asset allocation and stick to it, well that is for anyone who wants to see their investment portfolio grow. Asset allocation ensures you are diversified among all asset classes (stocks, bonds, cash etc). Studies show that over 90% of your portfolios variability is due to your asset allocation – not sticking to your asset allocation is crucial to the destruction of your investment portfolio.

5. Ignore Diversification

Every investor knows or has at least heard of diversification, it’s the cornerstone of every good investment portfolio. Simple concept: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Diversifying your investment portfolio will ensure that your investments are spread out and you are not taking more risk than you need to. Just ignore this important concept and your investment portfolio will surely vanish.

You combine these five tips and you are guaranteed to lose more money in the stock market than you have ever dreamed of.

What tips do you have for those who want to demolish their investment portfolios? Any bad investment decisions you have made in the past?

Check out Tradeking, one of the top online brokers around.

I’ve posted a couple Lending Club reviews here before, along with the occasional progress report. The last thing I want to do is bombard you with updates on my Lending Club portfolio, but since an opportunity came along to help you earn $50 just for signing up, I thought I should mention it!

Between now and August 15th, those who sign up to invest with Lending Club and use the referral code “FrugalDad” will receive $50 to add to their portfolio. You must use the referral code to receive the $50 bonus.

My own small portfolio of loans is still moving along nicely, with a net annualized return of 11.21% (try beating that in this market!). In fact, as of August 7th, 2009, the average net annualized return for Lending Club lenders if 9.61%, so I guess that puts me a little above average.

I know from previous reviews of Lending Club that a number of you are interested in their service, but weren’t quite ready to take the leap to invest. I understand, as that’s how I felt for a long time. However, as my frustration with traditional banking and investing grew, the market volatility continued, and my overall desire to diversify investments increased, I became more and more attracted to a service like Lending Club.

Here’s a few advantages of investing with Lending Club:

• Since June 2007, Lending Club investors have earned an average net annualized return of over 9%.
• Lending Club approves only creditworthy borrowers as members.
• Simple investing process:  Open an account, deposit money, select loans, collect principle repayments and interest.

I invite you to check out the features at Lending Club. Take advantage of this limited-time $50 bonus offer by signing up before August 15th, 2009, and be sure to enter the referral code “FrugalDad” during registration.

Disclaimer:  My previous mentions of Lending Club have included affiliate links, but this one does not. If you do choose to invest, I won’t make anything from your sign up, and you’ll get $50. I will earn a referral if you decide to sign up as a borrower, and once you are a member, you will have the same opportunity to refer others.

If you are over 70 ½ you might consider converting your Traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA right now. If so, you’ve got plenty of good reasons to think about it.

First, the market has done a number on your IRA account value. Since you must pay ordinary income tax on any amount you convert, low values mean lower taxes.  A good thing.

As an added bonus, Congress passed a law in December of 2008 lifting the requirement to take distributions from your IRA (for 2009 only). So if you don’t take your RMD (required minimum distribution) you will have lower taxable income.  That means it’s easier to qualify for the conversion (your AGI must be less than $100,000 to convert). It also means the tax on the conversion might be lower.

So the stars are all aligned…but does that mean you should convert your Traditional IRA to a ROTH?

The answer to this question really depends on your unique situation.  It also depends on your ultimate goal. If your main goal is to accumulate wealth, this might indeed be the time to convert. I ran some numbers and concluded that (for the right person) it makes sense to convert.

Here is what I assumed:

1. You have $100,000 in an IRA and $35,000 in cash.

2. You are in the 35% tax bracket.

3. If you convert, you will use the cash to pay the tax due.

4. You can earn 5% on your money in the IRA.

5. You also earn 5% on the cash but since it’s in a taxable account, your net earnings are reduced to 3.25%. (I know you can’t earn 5% on cash right now.  I’m using 5% so we can compare apples to apples and also because this illustration is for 20 years plus. You never know where interests rates are going to be a year from now….do you?)

6. You are currently 70 ½ and you if you decide to keep the Traditional IRA as is, you will take out just the RMD amount and deposit that into your savings account.

Let’s consider the Roth Conversion first. It’s simple.  We use the $35,000 to pay the 35% tax on the conversion so it’s gone.  The Roth continues to grow at 5%.  At the end of 20 years, the value of this account is a cool $265k.  NICE.

Now consider the alternative.  Let’s say we don’t convert our Traditional IRA.  Look at the chart below.

Column B shows “IRA VALUE” growing at 5%. It’s reduced by the amount you withdraw to satisfy the RMD (column D).

Column C shows the RMD factor.  This is simply the number the government makes you use to determine the amount of your RMD.  For example, in year 1, the factor is 27.4.  You divide the balance – in this case $105,000 by 27.4 and arrive at an RMD of $3832.  This is the amount you must take out in the first year – unless it’s 2009 of course.

The cash is shown in column E.  You deposit your RMD (net of tax) into that account and this, plus the prior total grows by 3.25%.

After 20 years, the total is $266,191.  So you should definitely NOT convert….right?

Not so fast……

Remember that you’ve paid the tax on the ROTH conversion and you haven’t on the Traditional IRA. If you were to take all the money out of the Traditional IRA, you have to pay that tax.

Again, if you want to approach this question from the standpoint of capital accumulation, you have to look at how much money you’d have if you took all the money out of the Traditional IRA and paid your tax.

Now, truth be told, you don’t really know when you’ll pay that tax.  You could die & your grandchildren could inherit your traditional IRA and they could defer most of the tax for a very long time.

The only way to decide what to do is by making certain assumptions.

As you can see from the graph below, if you don’t need the money and don’t think you’ll ever need the money, the Roth is a good choice.  Again, this is only if you approach the question from a wealth accumulation point of view.  If you are looking at income, it’s a whole other ball game.

You can see, even if you don’t consider the latent tax liability, you’ll have more wealth in year 23 if you convert to the ROTH.

Bottom line?  This calculation assumes that you have money outside of your Traditional IRA and can use that to pay the tax on your conversion. If you find yourself in that situation and your main objective is to grow your wealth – rather than create retirement income – the conversion could be for you.

But I think there is a more important take-away. Never listen to anyone who makes a blanket statement about converting your IRA or not.  There are too many variables and assumptions. The right answer depends on what you want to do with your money.  It’s just stupid to think that one solution fits everyone. For example, if you told me that your main goal was to maximize retirement income, my answer might be completely different.

Have you converted your IRA into a Roth?  Are you considering doing so? Have I missed something that you think is critical in making the decision?

This was a guest post by Neal Frankle, CFP. Neal is an author and avid blogger. Subscribe to his blog at www.wealthpilgrim.com.

The following guest post is from Carlos Portocarrero, WeSeed Writer.

Quick question: how many of you out there want to learn more about the stock market but can’t make it through a single issue of The Economist before your eyes start to cross and you start nodding off?

Welcome to the club-but just because you don’t want to become a professional stock trader, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn the basics of investing in a fun, interesting way.

What is WeSeed?

WeSeed.com is a safe place where you can learn about investing without getting bored to death. Investing isn’t about formulas and ratios that keep everyday people like you and I from participating in the stock market. It’s about the things we buy and the companies behind them.

As we like to say, WeSeed is the stock market for the rest of us. Think of WeSeed as the stock market with massive training wheels attached.

There are all kinds of things you can do at WeSeed, like:

• Find stocks that relate to what you know and love
• Explore real companies and real stocks
• Buy and sell stocks in a totally safe environment
• Interact with other users and follow their portfolios
• Comment on stories or companies you like

Some Background

When I was in college, all my friends subscribed to The Wall Street Journal. They all wanted to make tons of money and the stock market was the place to do it. The problem was, they didn’t even know how to create a budget, start a high-yield savings account, or control their spending. They didn’t care about that stuff-they wanted to make millions in the stock market, and the Journal was the way to do it.

If you took a short walk around campus, you’d see Journals piled up on almost every door. They came every day and my friends (and lots of others) could never keep up-they didn’t have the time or the discipline to sit down and read them. So they piled up-these kids wanted to get rich but all they were doing was throwing their money away day after day.

It Starts with Personal Finance

Investing starts with personal finance-that’s why I’m at Frugal Dad, one of the best personal-finance sites out there. You start off by learning the basics: controlling your spending, creating a budget, eliminating your debt, etc. Those are the essentials of personal finance. Once you master them you move on to the next step: investing.

How WeSeed can Help

At WeSeed, our goal is to get people interested in the stock market. Why? Because it’s important stuff-it’ll make you smarter, more aware, and it’ll help you understand what the heck is going on the next time your job has a 401(k) meeting.

But not on Wall Street’s terms-on your terms.

It’s not only about learning, either. It’s about learning in a community of other people that want to teach and be taught. Because when we all band together, we have an advantage that Wall Street doesn’t have: The things we buy and products we use are what wind up driving stock prices-so if we share what we know about these products, we’ll know about the trends before Wall Street figures out what’s going on.

Learning Doesn’t Have to be Boring

WeSeed isn’t about getting rich or making tons of money. We’re about getting smart and opening up the world of stocks to everyone. Because if we’re the ones driving stock prices by setting trends and buying products, shouldn’t we come along for the ride?

WeSeed.com also has tons of other cool stuff like fun videos (for those that can’t stand reading) that highlight current events and how the stock market ties into almost everything you can think of.

The best part? We’re still making tons of changes, so if you have a great idea that makes it easier for you and everyone else to learn about stocks, then shoot it our way and odds are we’ll try to add it to the site.

Check us out at WeSeed.com and let us know what you think!

Note from Frugal Dad:  The WeSeed website has been up and down most of Friday morning. Talk about bad timing! I hope you’ll bookmark it, or check back here, and visit the site later when it is up and running.  It is worth the wait.

By now most of us are familiar with the benefits of diversification.  We’ve lived through the Enrons and the Worldcoms, the tech and real estate bubbles, and various forms of international monetary crisis. We’ve all seen a segment or two of Jim Cramer’s “Am I Diversified” on Mad Money.  But when a deep recession hits, little is safe from being affected regardless of how well you are diversified. That’s why it is more important than ever to diversify beyond market sectors or brokerages.

Think Bigger When Diversifying

It’s no longer enough to spread your money across a variety of stock funds, such as international, growth or value.  Think bigger.  How else can you broaden the diversification of your portfolio outside of traditional index mutual funds? Here a few places to consider.

P2P lending. I’m convinced peer-to-peer lending is the next generation financial product that will even the playing field between big banks and the average borrower (and lender). I like the idea of funding loans for causes I believe in, and at a level of risk acceptable to me personally, not a banker.

I recently signed up for a lending account at Lending Club and plan to dabble with a small investment to get to know the lay of P2P lending land.  Of course, I’ll put together a post when I do.

Cold, hard cash. Beyond having a solid emergency fund in place, there are good reasons for keeping a significant amount of cash on the sidelines.  First, it is an additional hedge against a catastrophic event such as death, job layoff, or serious illness.  Second, having some available cash on hand makes it easier to react to investment opportunities when and if they arise.

CD ladder.  With at least a portion of your cash it might be a good idea to create a CD ladder, which is a great way to average out changes in interest rates over a period of time.  Divide your money into four CDs at various terms (3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months).  When the three month CD matures roll the proceeds into a new 12 month CD.  When the 6 month CD matures roll it into a 12 month CD, and so on.

Real estate.  If you are fortunate enough to have a significant amount of cash on hand, this is a terrific time to hunt bargains in the real estate market.  Rates are low and sellers are motivated, which provides a golden opportunity to buyers with cash and good credit.  We are pretty well established in our own home and are not quite ready to take on any additional properties, but it is something I would consider down the road if we see a similar real estate environment.

Small business.  Do you have a side hustle you could convert to a full-fledged business?  Now is a great time to invest a little cash in an idea that could result in a stream of income earned outside of your full-time gig.  Try to avoid using debt to fund the operation, so if you have to back out down the road you won’t be left with a mountain of debt as a constant reminder of your failed attempt at entrepreneurship.

Stocks.  Yes, there is still a place for stocks in your overall portfolio.  I’m not sure the idea of being 100% in stocks at an early age is still valid, but I leave that up to the experts.  I personally plan to continue investing in stocks, particularly in retirement accounts, but for any additional investing I will spread money around the various investment options noted above.

Here lately I find myself often reflecting on the current status of our economy, and wondering when and how things will shake out.  My 401(k) has been demolished.  Family member’s 401(k)s have been demolished, even those in target retirement funds that should have been comprised of more conservative options based on their upcoming target retirement date.

The value of our home has decreased, as it has for our neighbors, and for most around the country.  After countless scandals and bailouts, banks are no longer the trusted institutions they once were.  Inflationary fears drive investors to the market in an effort to stay ahead of the curve, but are those fears oversold.  Can we beat inflation (which is really currency deflation) by refusing to inflate our lifestyles and living frugally?  And so I wonder, has everything we’ve been taught to believe about finances just a big lie?

Markets Always Go Up, Given Enough Time

My grandfather is a product of the Depression Era.  He lived the ultimate market meltdown, and to this day believes investing in the market is only marginally better than gambling.  After all, most of us pick stocks, or a basket of stocks, from companies we know little about.  We know nothing of their day-to-day operations, their leadership team, etc.  Warren Buffet has made a mint buying what he knows, but what about the rest of us.

Last week I received a revised and updated copy of my all-time favorite personal finance book, Your Money or Your Life.  The timing could not have been better.  While much of the information is the same, co-author Vicki Robin has gone to great lengths to provide updated statistics, relevant figures for today’s market conditions, and updated stories throughout the book.  I am thoroughly enjoying reading the book through again, with more of an open mind than I did the first couple times.

The first time I read through Your Money or Your Life, and hit the section on savings as working capital, I thought it was a preposterous idea to invest in things like U.S. Treasure Bonds and CDs. After all, I was young, and had been taught since I was old enough to spell “stock” that those were the path to building great wealth.  Maybe; maybe not.

When the authors of Your Money or Your Life “retired” the yield on 30-year U.S. Treasury Bonds were hovering around 6%. Today they hover around 3%, but are trending up.  Still, that is the difference in $1,250 per month and $2,500 per month in interest on a $500,000 portfolio of bonds.  That’s pretty significant, and proof that any investment has environmental risks.  If I had half a million dollars, and rates were back up to 6%, I could live on $2,500 a month assuming I had no debt (including a mortgage).  It’s getting that $500,000 saved that is the hard part.

So, by diligently socking away money in my 401(k) and Roth IRA, only to watch most of my contributions melt away in a matter of months, have I been going about this all wrong?  Instead, should we be simply putting money in high-yield savings accounts, bonds, and CDs, and prepare to live off the interest?

I suppose that answer depends on a variety of factors, including our risk tolerance, age, and other individual situations.  There are a lot of people sitting on some huge losses, and if we sold now we would realize them, and miss out on a market rebound.  I can’t help but wonder how many will get out when and if that rebound occurs and they are made whole again.  That type of selling will probably work to stymie a future bull market.

After watching these wild market swings I’m starting to wonder if I really have the stomach for it.  Maybe I’ll join those described in Your Money or Your Life, and my grandfather, and devise a very simple plan for financial independence.