Financial Kudos Blog

We've moved to blog.financialkudos.com

Join us at our new blog address.  We've updated the features, look and feel of our blog.  

blog.financialkudos.com

5-4-3-2-1 Launch!

It seems like the first post on this blog was a lifetime ago. We launched this blog on 3/13/2009 with the idea that we wanted to get insight into features and needs for our future membership group.  We thank you for your inspiration and ideas.  We have added many great ideas to the site and are pleased to announce that beginning tomorrow morning 6/9/2009 you can request an invitation to join our private beta.

The site will be activated early in the morning.  SImply navigate to www.financialkudos.com and click the private beta sign yup button.  We will provide you instructions as we add beta users.  You might have noticed the 'feedback' button on the left of this page (and all of our web pages)for your use,  we really appreciate your feedback!

Please follow @financialkudos on Twitter to see new posts and use the FaceBook connect feature to add your posts to your FaceBook wall.

Enjoy the launch and we hope the next 90 days will be even more productive than the last.  We also hope that the market continues to behave!

Attention Investors: Your new community is here!

We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on the beta release of the Financial Kudos community and we would like to show it off to a few users for a short 'alpha release'.  

To thank you for your efforts, you will be sporting a limited edition Kudos T-Shirt and enjoy free membership for a year - a $179.00 value!  All we ask is that you to add some content and give us some input for improving the site.

Send and email to larry@financialkudos.com and we will get the first group started early next week.

Twitter - 3 options to avoid the extra noise

Last week I was reading Informaiton Week and saw an article by Art Wittman that mentioned the "signal to noise ratio" of Twitter.  Being an audio buff, this struck as the exact issue which can face Twitter users moving forward.  How do you filter the noise so that the posts your read are important to you?  I think there are a few really good alternatives out there.

1) TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com) does a good job at filtering the information stream.

2) Seesemic Desktop (www.desktop.seesmic.com) - my personal favorite filters the information flow and has added connectivity to FaceBook.

3) Twitter search has been added to the Twtitter home page - use it and find what you are looking for.

There are many others out there that I am sure are just as good.  The thought I wanted to convey is that while more is better and the real time Internet is amazing, you can loose focus and become terribly inefficient if you don't turn down the volume.

Short Note: Economy is tunring?

Today we would like to make a short note to investors and our readers:  the stock market is turning, the so called 'stress test' is going well (go figure), retail sales are on Target at TGT and WMT, initial jobs claims are ok and history shows that recessions last only so long.  It's time to think about growth and the future.  How we pay back all of the money is a story left for a more pessimistic day for now let's think positive and that the recovery is upon us.

Swine Flu: Viral Marketing Powered By Twitter

I just heard that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is on Twitter.  Pretty ironic that a viral tool like Twitter is being used to disseminate information about a virus.  I guess everything comes full circle.   

This is Social Networking at its core.  When the message must get out what better way then through the use of the latest social networking tools? Powerful stuff really.  The next question is now that the headline gets pushed around the globe in 140 characters or less, what is the best course of action to get people more in depth information about a topic? Where do the ‘tiny URLs’ go?  What are people reading (or for that matter with You-Tube, what are they watching) to gain more knowledge and receive accurate and in-depth information?

We believe the same thing is occurring with investment information.  Short 140 character quips are wonderful.  When we hear that someone with the screen name ‘Genius13’ just successfully traded gold for the 18^th time in a row within the last 3 hours is really of no moment.  It is only useful to hear why she traded gold and more over it is critical to hear it before she makes the trade.  

It comes down to ‘depth’ and sound bites.  We think you need both.

We want you! Beta users to receive free membership!

About a month ago we posted a blog which discussed the fact that we are looking for investors (not just any investors but talented investors) to participate and contribute to the new Financial Kudos website.  We anticipate our launch for beta users to take place in mid-may.  Would you like to join us? 

Following is our post from March 18, 2009.  Please send us your email information (or at least subscribe to this blog) so that we can offer you a spot in our beta group.  Our initial beta users will receive free membership for 3 years!

"Over the last few weeks our team has been actively searching for the talented investors on the Internet.  Not just the “traders” who pat each other on the back or give a short tweet about their latest trade, but investors who truly provide insight.   For sure, smart talent exists but where are you on the Internet and more importantly how can you monetize your insight and get rewarded for your efforts?

We seek to find folks who have decided that it is time to bring together a group of really smart and insightful traders and investors who wish to get paid for their efforts.   If you fit the mold, send us a note and become and early adopter for the next wave in investment information and research.  The subject should say:  It’s about time for me to get paid for my efforts! Send the email to info@financialkudos.com and please include your name, phone number and a sentence or two about how you feel about the current offerings on the Internet for investors.

We look forward to speaking with all of you and hope you join us on the ride towards the next wave!"

Does it take '60 Minutes' to diagnose the problem with mutual funds?

Last night the CBS program 60 Minutes spent some time speaking about mutual funds and 401ks in the wake of the market crash. Hidden costs, poor performance, they touched on everything.  While it is unfair to suggest that all mutual funds are at fault here (we must think about the rough markets as well), it makes sense to discuss the 'new' mutual funds: ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds).  In fact, we would go so far as saying that mutual funds are so yesterday.  ETFs have grown in popularity over thew last several years.  Even though you must watch the cost structure associated with ETFs, the management costs are reduced and there are NO sales charges. You need only pay your regularly low commissions rates to trade. 

If you want to match market performance why not select the market you want (sector, general,S&P, DOW etc.) buy an ETF and be the market?  When Wall Street rights itself after the recent debacles, we believe ETFs will play a significant role and displace mutual funds in 401ks and portfolios in general.  

PS: ETFs make great trading vehicles!

The Great Thaw?

Is it spring or is the economy beginning to thaw out?

The markets are up 20% off the bottom which generally suggests a 'bull market'.  We are not quite ready to say that everything is fixed.  Far form it.  But history tells us that the markets are generally a leading indicator suggesting that things are beginning to feel better.  The economy may very well be on the way to getting better.

At the very least it is the right time to shift gears and look around for opportunities to capitalize on a post recession economy. We believe questions abound about what the next great wave of prosperity might include.  We are pretty confident that a network of smart investors should be able to offer insight and figure it out.  It's not just about performance, it's about why a portfolio will perform better so we can learn from the markets and garner the Grey haired experience without getting the Grey hair. Join us in creating a network to get ahead of the curve and discuss concepts, ideas and opportunities, not just 'buy this because I did and I have a gold star next to my name'.

The Definition of Financial Independance

We came across the following blog post:  Financial Independence: The Final Stage of Money Management and were intrigued by a quote included from the James Stowers book Yes, You Can...Achieve Financial Independence.  

Stowers writes, "No person is free, in an economic sense, who does not have adequate investment income entirely unrelated to work." The blog post goes on to say "In other words, Financial Independence means that you earn enough from non-work income to fund your current lifestyle."

We like the concept and equate it to all of the social networks, blogs and financial investments information websites that are out there, in that investors are trying to earn enough so they can enjoy their day job and perhaps not have to work so hard.  If nothing else, perhaps financial independence can permit you to quit the job you hate and start working on something you enjoy.  How great would that be?

Well to begin with you need some solid advise.  You need information you can count on to be accurate and actionable.  Look for Financial Kudos to provide the platform to assist you.

Now, let's look at things from another perspective.  If you have actionable ideas and want to help others achieve financial independence we would like to recruit you.  This is not pro-bono work, rather it is an opportunity to participate in what you are good at, what you enjoy, and get paid at the same time.  We suggest you give a little and get paid! 

For more information send us an email to info@financialkudos.com.