When was the last time you used the yellow pages or any kind of phone book? We all have them and there are times when it can come handy if you know exactly what you are looking for. Hopefully you will even find a few listings worth contacting. But the ease of internet search means that fewer people are using printed books when searching for products and services. So why would you continue putting your efforts and marketing dollars into advertising offline? Will it cost tens of thousands of dollars... 

Now officially in recession, many small business owners are naturally worried about revenue. To continue to close sales during this economic storm, entrepreneurs might find it necessary to modify their selling techniques as follows. Extend payment terms. Concerns about cash flow might stop your business customers from buying from you. Make it easy for them to do business with you by offering extended credit terms, such as 60 or 90 days payable instead of the usual 30. However, be sure to keep an... 

Starting to buy Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) sounds scary but its not.  Anyone interested in this lucrative market who knows how to buy stocks can just as easily purchases ETFs. First rule is to make buying ETFs as inexpensive as possible by using firms that give you access to a wide range of ETFs for,  well, free.  Yes, free.  Thanks to all the competition of ETFs, you can now buy them without having to pay commission.  The major advantage of ETFs appears to be the fact that you are not buying... 

ETFs generally provide easy diversification with low expense ratios.  They also have the tax efficiency of index funds , while still maintaining all the features of regular stock.   ETFs can be acquired economically, held and then disposed so some investors invest in ETF shares as a long-term investment, or a way to implement market timing strategies. ETFs Advantages: Generally have lower marketing, accounting expenses & other fees Flexible in purchasing times (ie. any time of day) Tax... 

The growing importance of ETFs stems from the fact that they offer investors one of the most efficient, cost-effective and convenient ways to access returns both from emerging markets and an increasingly wide range of other investment opportunities around the world. The Biggest advantage of ETFs is that they are a convenient and cost-efficient alternative to purchasing all of the underlying securities of a particular index. Structured as a single security, traded on an exchange just like a stock,... 

The ETF industry in the early days had a vast majority of funds tracked well-known equity benchmarks, such as the S&P 500, Russell 1000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. As the benefits of ETFs have become more widely known and understood, the number of issuers and ETFs has increased significantly, and so has the scope of asset class exposure available through ETFs. Some misconceptions about ETFs is that they are best suited for “plain vanilla” investor portfolios: those holding (approximately)... 

Bonus Tool ETF Database recently launched ETFdb Pro, a line of premium content including all-ETF portfolios, ETFdb Category research reports, a monthly ETF newsletter, and monthly mailbag session with ETF experts. Quantitative Analysis For investors looking to do more in-depth research into potential ETF investments, expense calculations, asset correlations, investment outlooks, and fund ratings may be of particular interest. There are several free resources that allow investors to quantify the impact... 

ETFs are popular among institutional investors to make rapid and large bets on sectors such as oil, gold, waste-management and semiconductors. They also use ETFs to hedge their bets on stocks, bonds, commodities and other securities. In 2007, managers introduced ETFs for use in retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans, as well as life- cycle ETFs, which invest more conservatively as investors near retirement. For individual investors, ETFs offer a wider selection of indexes than mutual funds. ETFs... 

DIAMONDS Trust (DIA:AMEX) This popular ETF Tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a benchmark of 30 blue chip stocks selected by The Wall Street Journal. The index is highly subjective and rather antiquated in its formula but serves as a good barometer for very large old-line US companies. iShares S & P 500 (IVV:AMEX) Barclays’ slightly less expensive version of the SPDR tracks the S&P 500 index, which is widely regarded as the standard for measuring large-capitalization U.S. stock... 

I believe the choice of which type of investment to pursue — if only one is to be chosen — is more a question of passive versus active management style, and it is not mutually exclusive. Certain investors might choose to own both ETFs and mutual funds to round out their portfolios. Simply put, an examination of the advantages and disadvantages of both ETFs and mutual funds alone will not help you decide whether a particular investment strategy is best for you. To decide whether it is...