Investing For Me: The science of investing.

Welcome to our information series on preferred shares.

This is the first in our video series discussing preferred shares an an investment option for Canadians. Where do preferre shares originate? Where do they fit when compared to common shares and bonds? Session #1 will help you to better understand where preferred shares fit within a corporation's capital structure.

Each preferred share has it's own unique set of features and characteristics. Investors need to know and understand these before they can select the right preferred share for their investment portfolio. Learn about preferred shares starting with the very basic features and the features that are important to the issuing corporation.

Learning the basics, the Sweeteners, of preferred shares. This session discusses preferred share features and characteristics that benefit the individual investors.

Part 3 discusses a number of additional features that will be of interest to investors - Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs), Sinking Funds, etc. In addition, we discuss how the preferred share features are to be analyzed when making your investment decision.

What are the factors that affect the shares market price? What happens when interest rates move higher? How important is a share's Liquidity or daily trading volume? What is an Ex-dividend date? Investors should know the answers to these questions before they buy.

Things you should know before you buy. Where do you start when hunting for a good preferred share? In this session, we discuss the items affecting an investor's decision to buy and sell.

Finding up to date information on preferred shares can often be difficult. To find specific details about a preferred share, you can search the issuer's website for a copy of the issuing prospectus or you can search certain websites.

Bonds can be a great addition to your portfolio. They can provide greater diversification, lower volatility and higher rates of returns, on a risk-adjusted basis.

By issuing bonds, corporations and governments are able to borrow money from investors. Investors get a more stable income stream and the return of their savings upon the bond's maturity date.

Just like any investment, bonds have a language all of their own. The vocabulary and terms are not difficult to learn and understand, but they are important to know.

Now you can build on your basic bond vocabulary by learning the terms associated with the buying and selling of bonds.

You should never confuse a bond's Coupon Rate with its Yield. When buying and selling, the bond's Yield is the more important of the two.

Is the bond you want to buy a Fixed/Floater, Convertible or maybe it is a Real-Return Bond? Not too sure? Then, maybe you should watch this session.

Buy a bond and holding it until it matures is great. But what if you have to sell it sooner? Or what about when you are buying, what might impact the bond's market price?

When interest rates go up, bond prices go down. Understanding the relationship between bond prices, interest rate changes and the bond's current yield is important for investors.

The share's Price To Earnings Ratio is a mathematical calculation that provides a tool to use when assessing a common share's current and future stock market value.

Often investment reports will present an estimate of where they think a share's stock price will be at some future date. This is often called the share's 'Target Price".  One method used to establish the Target Price is with the use of the share's historical Price-To-Earnings Ratio.

If you read investment research and analysts' report, then you have no doubt come across a share's 'Target Price'. The Target Price can be calculated using Price To Earnings Ratio Analysis.

On days when the stock market moves higher, commentators will often credit the rise by simply saying, 'Investors are selling bonds and buying stocks'. Even though this is an impossible cause.

Can we use the same investment approach when we diet? If we can, then dieting would know no failures - only successs.

Investment analysts' and investors rely more on the comparison of a company's earnings to the street's expectations than they do on the actual earnings from prior periods. 

Investors are told to watch and track a company's Adjusted Earnings, not the Reported Earnings. Unfortunately, one company's Adjusted Earnings cannot be compared with those of another company (their competitors). So, for example, you cannot compare the Adjusted Earnings calculated by one Canadian bank to the Adjusted Earnings calculated by another. In addition, you cannot reliably compare a company's Adjusted Earnings from the most recent period with those of prior periods. Why? Because the company's management team decides, each quarter, what expenses and revenue they will take out and leave when the Adjusted Earnings are calculated and the formula can change each and every quarter.

This overview discusses a few of the sections of our website that will be of interest to experienced investors. For example, do you currently invest in preferred shares? Where do you obtain the details for each preferred share's features and characteristics? How do you know if the preferred you just bought is going to be redeemed next year at a price that is 10% below your cost?

Premium members are able to follow our two sample investment portfolio - Sample Balanced Portfolio and Sample Income Portfolio. The portfolios are updated at the end of each calendar quarter and each is supported by eight reports and summaries.

My Portfolio makes it easy for you to track your investments. Whether you like to track your investments by the account type (RRSP, TFSA, RRIF) or as a single, overall, portfolio, My Portfolio makes it easy for you. You can create up to 20 individual portfolios, each holding up to 52 individual investments.

Have you ever wanted to create a "fantasy" portfolio and track's it's performance? have you ever wonder which investment approach was better - active or passive? Are you sure dividend stocks outperform non-dividend stock? Why not create a couple of "fantasy" portfolios and track their gains or losses before you commit your savings? My Portfolio gives you the ability to test new investment approaches without risking your savings.

Gone are the days when all an investor had to do was follow individual Canadian investments without regard to international events. Globalization has engulfed the world's financial markets to such an extent that mortgage foreclosures in Florida now cause financial problems for investors in Europe and sovereign debt half way around the world now causes waves of worry for investors in Canada. We follow and post commentaries from three respected and successful investment managers - Dr. Edward Yardeni, Dr. John P. Hussman and Dr. Lacy Hunt. All three have a successful track record when it comes to observing macroeconomic events and managing investments.

Within the Data Room, Premium Members have access to stock market data, economic news, economic and investment commentaries, the market data and individual details for over 78 individual preferred shares and over 800 bonds.

This is a brief overview of our website availavble to all visitors. It eviews the Financial Planning & Budgeting, Classroom and My Folder sections of the website.

In the classroom, we have organized the background information that Canadian investors need to know or, at least, have accessible. Everything from designing and managing an investment portfolio to the specific costs associated with individual investments.

InvestingForMe provides tremendous financial calculators and tools. Have you ever wondered in contributing to an RRSP is still the best option for your hard-earned Savings? Check out the InvestingForMe Tools section and see.

Within the InvestingForMe Tools section, we provide you with a number of financial calculators and tools to help with the development of your financial plan. Once you have completed these can be saved to "My Folder". Once saved, these documents can be retrieved, reviewed and updated as circumstances demand. A financial plan is a reference tool that reveals it's greatest value over time. By saving your information in "My Folder" you can track your financial progress over a four year period. This will enable you to identify and manage improving and deteriorating income and expense trends before they become a problem.

One good way to approach the quest for financial security is to view your personal finances the same way as corporations and organizations do. When it comes to running a successful business two of the most important elements are the budget and financial plan.