The Best Investment Portfolio for 2014 and Beyond

If you have an investment portfolio (like in a 401k plan) take a good look at it, because it might not really be the best investment portfolio for 2014 and beyond. If you are a new investor, don’t start investing money until you are familiar with the best funds to include in your portfolio in 2014.Your investment portfolio is simply a list showing where your money is, and for most average investors consists primarily of mutual funds: stock funds, bond funds and money market funds. Here we discuss the best funds and asset allocation to achieve the best investment portfolio in the event that 2014 and beyond becomes a tough environment for investors. You may need to make changes in your existing portfolio; and you should also be aware of the following as a new investor before you start investing money.As an investor you should receive statements periodically which show you where your money is. The problem is that many investors do not give these statements, which clearly show you your asset allocation and your investment portfolio, the attention they deserve. That can be a problem. For example, if you had 50% of your portfolio allocated to stock funds in early 2009, you could have two-thirds of your money in these funds now. If the stock market takes a big hit, you stand to take a big loss. Let’s take a look at stock funds and the best funds for investing money there first.The stock market and many diversified stock funds have gone UP in value about 150% in less than 5 years, and numerous financial analysts expect a correction (stock prices to go DOWN) in 2014. If your investment portfolio shows that more than half of your assets are invested in stock funds consider cutting back to 50% or less. If you are a new investor ready to start investing, allocate no more than 50% to diversified stock funds. The best funds: those that invest in high quality, dividend paying stocks vs. growth funds that pay little in the form of dividends. This is your first step in putting together the best investment portfolio for 2014, because it cuts your potential losses.The best investment portfolio also includes bond funds, which have been good solid investments for over 30 years. Why? Interest rates have been falling, which sends bond prices and bond fund values higher. Problem: interest rates have hit all-time lows and appear to be heading higher. Higher interest rates create losses for bond fund investors. Many investors have an investment portfolio loaded with bond funds and are totally unaware of the risk involved if rates go up. If you are getting ready to start investing money you need to know this as well. When interest rates go UP, bonds and bond fund values go DOWN. That’s about the only iron-clad rule in the investment world.Allocate no more than 25% to 30% of your total investment portfolio to bond funds to cut your risk. The best bond funds are categorized as intermediate-term funds, where the investment portfolio of the fund invests in bonds that mature (on average) in 5 to 10 years. These are the best funds now because they pay a respectable dividend with only moderate risk. The worst funds to hold now: long-term funds that hold bonds maturing (on average) in 15, 20 years or more. When you review your investment portfolio, get rid of these because they will be big losers if (when) interest rates shoot upward. New investors who want to start investing money: avoid them and allocate about 25% of your money to intermediate-term bond funds to avoid heavy risk.Sometimes the best investment portfolio is loaded with aggressive stock funds and includes longer-term bond funds. Now, looking at 2014 and beyond, is probably not one of those times. For many years now losses in stock funds have been offset by gains in bond funds. Today the problem for investors is that even the best funds of both varieties could get hit if the economy falters and interest rates rise significantly. That makes investing money today a real challenge… one that few investors are prepared for.So, let’s say that you start investing money with less than 50% going to the best funds in the stock department and about 25% allocated to the best funds in the bond universe… or you adjust your existing investment portfolio to these levels… where do you invest the rest of it? Even though interest rates are still historically low, you bite the bullet and invest it for safety to earn interest. In a 401k plan your best safe investment is likely the stable account, if your plan has one. Otherwise, the best fund for safety is a money market fund (even though they presently pay almost no interest). When rates go up, they should pay more. Or you can shop the banks for the best rates on short-term CDs, or savings accounts.I expect that 2014 and beyond will be a challenging time to start investing money or to manage an existing investment portfolio. On the other hand, now you should have a handle on the best funds to consider when putting together the best investment portfolio possible. Remember, you must stay in the game in order to get ahead over the long term; but sometimes moderation is your best course of action.

4 Important Tips for Finding the Best Beat Software

If you like music, you are an aspiring DJ or music producer, chances are that one time in your life, you have thought about making beats. If you are interested in making beats, it is important to be able to choose the right software for making beats. There are very many software’s in the internet that claim to make new, unique and funky beats however most of these software’s are pretty useless. Getting the right software is important because it determines the quality of the sound you produce and how great the songs will be.Making beats isn’t as hard as people may think especially if you have a great beat making software. Decent beat software’s are also not that expensive contrary to many people’s beliefs. You can get a good beat maker online for as little as a few dollars but to stand out from the rest, you have to spend a bit more than that for the perfect beat making applications available online today.A good way of looking for good beat software is checking numerous customer reviews online that can help you choose good, popular software. It is always advisable to ignore hyped and highly priced beat software’s because most of the time they do not live up to their expectations. Instead, online reviews can help you get actual facts about certain beat software from people who have actually used it.4 Important Tips for Finding the Best Beat Software
Below are some important tips that should help you choose the exact kind of beat making software that suits you style and taste of music.1. Availability of free trials or money back guarantees: You should always go for beat making software that offers free trial software for a limited period of time or money back guarantees. With free trials, you get to test if the software meets your expectations i.e. works the way you want it to work. Free trials can save you a lot of money that you would have otherwise spent on substandard software thus they are important.2. Usability: The usability of program is also important because it will dictate the time you spend making beats and also the quality of beats that you make. You should use free trial beat software to test on the usability. A good beat making software should have a user friendly interface that is straight forward to use. If you notice that the interface of certain beat software’s is hard to understand or cluttered, then do not buy because it will be very hard to make beats with such software. Common features of beat software should be easy to identify and use i.e. tone/ pitch altering features among other dynamic features should be within reach.3. Formats: The formats that are used or compatible with certain beat software’s are also important when looking for a good beat making software. For instance, cheap beat software only allows certain applications i.e. exporting your beats/music in MP3 format only. You should however go for software that caters for numerous formats i.e. FLAC and WAV because this way you will be able to integrate your beat software with many other applications to produce complete beats that can play in any application/device.4. User guides, tutorials and online: You should also go for beat making software that offers a lot of resources and information on operating the software and also making perfect beats. Tutorials are very important especially exhaustive ones because will help you to familiarize yourself with all the tools necessary for making good beats. Never buy a program that offers no assistance to get you started to the process of making good beats. You should also look for software that comes with online support because at one time you might be required to trouble shoot the software or you might simply need assistance with features and controls. A program that doesn’t come with online assistance, tutorials and guides will more often than not cause you problems in your beat making experience.Conclusion
In conclusion, it is possible to get the best beat maker software for you by following the above tips. It is advisable to concentrate on what a certain beat software has to offer first before you consider the price. This way you will make sure that you get value for your money.

Entertaining News and Satellite TV

Let’s face it: the actual news can get downright depressing, even when there isn’t some sort of economic or political crisis going on. And with more and more channels of cable news on television, a single news story can get chewed up and fed to viewers hour after hour without any sort of interesting or insightful commentary. In fact, it seems as though for actual reliable news on television these days, you are more likely to find a daily digest in the most unlikely of places: on the various news shows that are supposed to be satire or comedy, but that actually manage to wrap up the day’s events and present them in a way that is also informative.For those who are interested in a more hilarious look at their daily news on satellite tv, there are now more options than ever before, thanks to the growing popularity of these types of programs and the fact that high ratings for classics like “The Daily Show” leading to more and more networks desperately wanting their own piece of the pie. As far as classic programming goes, nothing comes close to “The Daily Show,” where long-suffering Jon Stewart, who before was just an actor in various comedies and dramas, somehow managed to transform himself into the voice of a generation known more for their sarcasm but who somehow manage to be on point as well. The format of “The Daily Show” is the gold standard for “fake news” shows on satellite tv. You have a somewhat official-looking set that brings to mind the various official news outlets, only you have an entirely different and often hilarious look at daily events.The real appeal of something like “The Daily Show” and the reason that it manages to stay on the air season after season is that there is nothing funnier–or more upsetting–than the current state of things. With biting wit, the writers behind “The Daily Show” prove that you don’t have to make things up to be hilarious: you just have to point out what’s happening in the world. Because of the success of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, the network launched its own spin-off, right in time with the growing surge in programs with angry personalities who are supposed to be delivering news on other satellite tv channels, but who often just spend their time yelling and spouting off their own ideas.”The Colbert Report” gave the chance to writer and on-air personality Stephen Colbert to expand beyond simply delivering occasional news stories. Colbert morphs into an enraged television show host, only he is simply parodying those who are actually funny to watch, if they weren’t so scary. But shows like “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” have actually fallen behind with hipster viewing audiences, and most tech-savvy 20-somethings are now more interested in the offerings that Current is bringing to satellite tv.By far the best program on Current TV that deals with the news in a hilarious way is “InfoMania,” which brings everything from pop culture to current events in a nicely packaged weekly bundle, complete with weekly segments that have managed to gain a whole lot of views online, as well as on television. The host is somewhat reminiscent of the smarmy men in charge of “Talk Soup,” but the real highlights are the various segments that everyone from “The Daily Show” to “Saturday Night Live” have ripped off. Whether it is a female comedian addressing the latest way that advertising tries to belittle women–but in a hilarious way–to the incredible look at what is going on in our culture via our latest YouTube sensations, “Target: Women” and “Viral Video School” have become their own cult hits, with people tuning in online and on satellite tv to get their latest fill.So if the regular news has you feeling a bit upset at the state of the world, what better way to digest the latest information than with a heavy and delicious dose of knowing sarcasm and commentary. After all, if you’re going to subject yourself to being well-informed, you might as well be getting your news from people who are just as bemused with the current state of affairs as you are. And considering that so many people are using these “fake news” sources as their main source of information, it has become obvious that something about these various shows, from “The Daily Show” to “InfoMania,” are getting something right and special on satellite tv in a way that no one else quite seems to manage.