There are many was to gain exposure to alternative investments in your portfolio. There are mutual funds, futures, and high yield bonds. However, there are not many vehicles better then exchange traded funds, or ETF’s. ETFs, especially commodity ETFs, allow your portfolio to gain from rising inflation and supply and demand imbalances. These vehicles trade like individual stocks, so they be purchased through out the trading day.

Many countries, including the United States, are buried under mountains of debt that they cannot pay off. The only way for these countries to get out of this debt is to default on their debt or to run the printing presses and devalue their currency.If they do devalue their currency you can bet that all commodities will rise drastically in price. But you, my dear friend, you can invest in a commodity etf to ensure your portfolio.

Below are a few commodity ETFs from the precious metal sector.

iPath Dow Jones-AIG Precious Metals Total Return Sub-Index ETN (JJP). With assets approaching $100 million, this ETF is based on futures contracts. The investment seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the Dow Jones-UBS Precious Metals Total Return Sub-Index. The index is intended to reflect the returns that are potentially available through an unleveraged investment in gold and silver futures contracts as well as the rate of interest that could be earned on cash collateral invested in specified Treasury Bills.

PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (DBP). This reasonably priced ($60 per share) commodities etf holds over $500 billion in assets. Unlike the above funds, DBP holds futures contracts on a variety of precious metals. They are currently holding live positions of both gold and silver.

UBS E-TRACS CMCI Gold Total Return ETN (UBG). Issued by UBS, this smaller commodities ETF with $9 million in assets is a futures based fund.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. You can find tons of commodity etfs to invest in by doing a little research on-line.

Stock options have been around since the 1970s. Since then they have enjoyed a compound growth rate of 25% each year. At one point they were mostly used by professional investors but these days many private investors are using them to profit, too. They offer leverage (because 1 option controls 100 shares of stock) and can lead to quick profits (and quick losses). There are two types: calls and puts. We’re going to focus on call options.

A call option is the right, but not the obligation, to buy stock at a certain price by a certain date. If you buy a call option then you pay money today in exchange the for the right to ‘exercise’ your option at any point between today and its expiration date (which could be a few days, a few months, or a few years away; but the more time it has the more expensive it will be). For example, if you buy a “June 14 BAC call” then that gives you the right to buy one hundred shares of BAC (Bank of America) for $14/share at any time between today and the 3rd Friday in June (options expire on the 3rd Friday).

When investing in options there is a basic choice to be made: Do you want to be a seller or a buyer? Given that options are wasting assets (they lose value as time passes) and that the majority of options held until expiration will expire out of the money, most professionals are sellers of options instead of buyers (and most retail investors are buyers of options instead of sellers). The risk when selling call options is that the underlying stock could rise dramatically before expiration, forcing the seller to go into the open market to buy shares at the current market price so that he can fulfill his obligation to deliver shares if the buyer exercises his right to buy them. Because of this, most people who sell options will also buy the underlying stock at he same time, creating what is called a “covered call” investment.

Let’s look at an example covered call. Let’s say you own 100 shares of Ford that you paid $17.50 for. You could sell a call option that expires in three months for a strike price of $18 for $0.90. You will receive $90 today but you take on the obligation to sell your Ford at any time in the next 3 months for $18/share (if the holder of your option so chooses). If Ford is above $18 on expiration day then you will receive $18/share for your stock. But consider that you received 90 cents at the beginning, so it’s really like you sold your stock for $18.90 (sum of the strike price plus the option premium). So you still made money, but if Ford goes up to $21 you didn’t make as much as you could have.

Implementing a covered call strategy is not hard. Ideally you will own 100 shares or more of several companies so that you can get some diversification (never invest a large percent of your net worth into a single investment). Because there are over 150K combinations of stock, strike price, and expiration date, it helps to have a covered call scanner to sort through the choices. There are many sites on the Internet that will help you learn about covered calls. Many professionals feel that if you own ETFs or stocks and you’re not doing covered calls each month then you’re just leaving money on the table.

Options For Silver Investment In India

Silver investment in India isn’t as straightforward as it is in many developed nations. Recently 2011, there aren’t any Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or hedge funds available in India that invest in silver. However there are tons of other alternatives available for silver investment in India for people living in India.

While silver ETFs aren’t currently available for silver investment in India, Indian speculators who’ve brokerage accounts with access to US issued ETFs and hedge funds can sell and buy US based silver ETFs and mutual funds. There are currency hazards associated with buying and selling silver ETFs and hedge funds denominated in US Dollars since any devaluation of the Indian rupee versus the U. S. Dollar will diminish any silver investment gains; therefore , making an investment in silver through this route isn’t the most ideal way for silver investment in India.

During 2011, India’s National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), which is an Indian commodities exchange, began offering a product called E-Silver. Each unit of E-Silver represents 100 grams of silver, and is brought and sold at real-time costs on the NSEL that track world silver prices. E-Silver is a comparatively simple silver investment in India. E-Silver can either be held in an electronic account or physically sent to the buyer.

Silver investment in India can also include more standard techniques of silver investment, such as purchasing silver bullion bars and placing them in safe storage or buying products or jewelry made out of silver. But for many Indians storing silver bullion bars or jewelry safely and economically is not possible.

While not a direct Silver Investment, 2 in India may also be done thru the Indian futures market. Silver futures can be bought and sold in India, which generally track the price changes in the world futures markets. See Purchasing and Selling Futures for detailed information about futures trading.

How Increased Silver Investment In India May Affect Silver Prices

Supply and demand basics for silver are bullish going into 1220. Supply of silver is limited due to silver mining constraints. Demand for silver from commercial processes, commercial outfits that make jewelry and silver products, and silver investors has been inflating in recent times, and is likely to continue to increase during 1212.

With over a Billion people, India is the second most populated country in the world. While many of us in India live in poverty, the growing Indian middle and higher classes demand products made of silver and are increasingly turning to silver as an investing vehicle. With tight silver supplies and inflating silver use and investment in India, India clients and speculators could have a bullish result on silver prices going forward.

Once upon a time financial advisors all agreed on 1 matter: invest in standard mutual funds. These days, nonetheless, you don’t hear much about those anymore but you do hear a whole lot about exchange-traded funds or funds in the ETF list . While mutual funds continue being common, they cannot match the rise in rise in popularity of ETFs. What’s the distinction between the two and why pick one over the other?

Exchange-traded funds are like managed funds in that they combine investment sources and normally distribute them out over many different investments. Exchange-traded funds, having said that, are developed to be traded like stocks. ETF list could be traded anytime the market is open and their prices will alter throughout that time. Collective investment schemes are priced only at the end of the day and which is the only time they could be traded. ETFs may be sold short and bought on margin; mutual funds cannot. ETFs have no administration costs and commonly have lower bills too.

There are many kinds of ET-Funds that track lots of distinctive markets. There are Exchange Traded Funds that track the Dow- Industrial Av. plus the NASDAQ. Some track distinct sectors, like technologies. Other people track the markets of foreign countries. Plus some even track commodities, like gold or gas. So in relation to variety, exchange-traded funds can match mutual funds. It’s secure to say that an ET-fund is often a greater selection over a mutual fund following the same marketplace.

Yet another reason you may choose a normal fund over an ET-fund is when generating long-term investments in a commodity. Since commodity-tracking ETF list ought to put money into futures agreements, you will discover loads of expenses associated with turning those upcoming contracts over. This can trigger a ET-fund to underperform the index it truly is following. So for long-term investments, it might be much better to locate an asset which tracks goods surrounding enterprise market, as opposed to and ET-fund which invests inside the commodity itself.

Nonetheless, normally speaking, if funds in the ETF list are accessible, they are the far better selection. And in the event you intend to trade in the shorter-term, there isn’t any contest. Just the capability to enter stop-loss orders to sell ET-Funds within the middle of a market day can also add to your peace of mind. Numerous huge mid-day crashes have occurred within the past numerous years, and it really is not hassle-free watching the market go lower realizing that you are going to not have the ability to get rid of your investment before day’s end, when who knows how far it is going to have fallen.

What the ETF list does is definitely uncomplicated. The ETF list does what it says on the tin. For example, the Footsie exchange-traded fund would increase and decrease specifically in line with the Footsie index. .It truly is generally spot on. And you may get standard dividend payments just as with a typical tracker fund. You could save revenue also. Derivatives don’t attract United kingdom authorities stamp duty, that can half a % up-front from your other shares investment income. Or else, costs are similar to those charged at the lower end of the unit-trust trackers’ price range.

You are able to use derivatives for all forms of complicated strategies. The simplest is shorting, meaning that you are able to sell the ETF for those who believe the index is as a result of fall and then acquire it back in the future at a reduced price. The difference between the 2 is your income (or loss).

ETFs are large players within the U.S. and increasingly in Europe also. Once they get much better known, they’ll be massive within the UK also. At present it is possible to get into the Footsie, the Eurostoxx and the S&P 500 ,via UK-quoted exchange-traded funds. But things don’t stop there. If you ever want you may find an ET-fund to invest in global pharmaceutical firms, the,price of wheat or even one that finds shares in agricultural machinery companies. This means that you’ll be able to access a assortment of shares in an area or country that might otherwise be difficult to invest in. Where a desire exists either actual or foreseen, some investment bank or another produces an ET-fund.

So even though once Exchange Traded Funds restricted themselves to the large Japanese or Uk stock markets, now you can get literally get a huge selection of them.Some can be really clever. Take the ETF list that invests in businesses making agriculture accessories, for instance. It’s an awesome, affordable solution to obtain into farming cost boom because producers change their trucks when they see they’re getting more for their plants.

Desire the fortunes of gold-mining organizations but haven’t got any idea which stocks to acquire? Do not worry, there’s ETF list for you personally. And another that just tracks the gold price. In a similar fashion, drug companies, petrol firms - in fact almost anything you may feel of.

Investment banks create ETFs. Banks can go broke. The risk often exists although little, that the financial institution may not be able to meet its liabilities. Check on the fund’s costs before purchasing - anything over 0.5 percent per year should make you worried.

The tail-end of 2008 left most investors frustrated. One of the few beacons of hope appeared to be U.S. Treasury bonds. Retirement-oriented investors still wonder where to go next for better returns.

Many investors are wondering if Treasuries will be the best choice for 2009. Not likely, according to Pimco Chief Investment Officer Mohamed El-Erian, who advises against owning those types of bonds since they have become too expensive. Andrew Bary punctuated that same sentiment in a Barron’s article, (January 5, 2009: http://online.barrons.com/article/ ) entitled, Get Out Now.

If Treasury products are no longer optimal, what other choices are appealing for the weary investor in 2009? Many advisors and experts are now pointing to four classes of assets that deserve your attention. This article focuses on the first three; the fourth one is discussed on a separate link listed below.

* Mortgage Backed Securities * Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities-TIPS * Municipal Bonds * Investment Grade Corporate Bonds

1. Yields on mortgage-backed securities have been declining ever since the Federal government November 2008 announcement that it would purchase up to $500 billion of Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae home mortgage-related bonds. But with the purchases just beginning in January, current yields of this battered asset class still look attractive relative to historical levels. Also, with the Fed’s intervention, mortgage-backed securities now offer effectively the same Federal guarantee as U.S. Treasuries, but with higher yields. Consider iShares Barclays MBS Bond Fund (MBB), iShares Barclays Agency Bond Fund (AGZ) and SPDR Barclays Capital Mortgage Backed Bond ETF (MBG).

2. At the moment, TIPS prices are headed lower with fears of deflation. However, if the Federal stimulus packages prompt inflation, as many believe, TIPS will correspondingly produce better results. You will likely read many other articles on TIPS, so pay close attention to these two products; (TIP) iShares Barclays TIPS Bond Fund and (IPE) SPDR Barclays Capital TIPS, both on the NYSE.

3. Tax-free Municipal Bonds are approaching attractive levels compared to US Treasuries. For example, investment grade munis with their current 4-5% tax-free rates, are comparable to taxable yields on certificates of deposit that pay 6-7%. Among the worthy products to consider are the following: (PZA) PowerShares Insured National Municipal Bond Index Fund, (TFI) SPDR Lehman Municipal Bond ETF and (MUB) iShares S&P National Municipal Bond Index Fund.

Investors also may look to regional choices. California is arguably one of the prominent arenas for political and economic opportunity. With the advent of stimulus packages earmarked for infrastructure, one could anticipate more Federal assistance for California. One offering to investigate is Barclays (CMF) iShares S&P California Municipal Bond Fund.

What about safety of principal? For investors wanting more assurance, (PRB) Market Vectors Pre-Refunded Municipal Index ETF may be the hot item. This ground-breaking ETF invests only in pre-refunded municipal bonds. The collateral for these bonds are U.S. Treasury securities which means they are the only municipal bonds fully backed by the U.S. Government.

4. Investment Grade Corporate Bonds offer great value at current prices. Many investment fund managers are buying up corporate bonds on the assumption that bailout and stimulus programs will lead to fewer corporate defaults. For a more complete picture, read The 15 Best Asset Classes in 2009 for High Yielding, Secure Retirement Income in the strategy section of http://www.AboutETFs.info.

In future articles, we may examine two additional income-producing asset classes: senior loans and preferred stocks. But for now, your best bets for principal safety and steady income seem to be mortgage-backed securities, Treasury inflation protected securities (TIPS), municipal bonds and high-grade corporate bonds.

As always, results are not guaranteed and these strategies may not be suitable for your personal investment objectives. You should consult with a professional before buying or selling any securities. This article is not intended to be investment advice for the purchase or sale of any mentioned securities.

For many years, investors have attempted to diversify their overall portfolios by trying to pick stocks across a diverse set of asset classes. Which is all well and good, but the problem it generally runs into is you should also be diversified within any given asset class, lest something adverse happen to the company you happened to bet on. Yet as soon as your diversifying both within, and between asset classes, now your running a portfolio of potentially 40+ equities, and even the active investor rarely has time to do due diligence on the hundreds of companies required to find 40 excellent investments.

ETF. The latest all important acronym to add to your vocabulary. ETF stands for exchange traded fund; a relatively recent innovation that allows investors to directly target sectors for investment, instead of picking individual stocks, and praying those stocks wont underperform their sector. ETFs are similar to mutual funds, with a couple important differences. They can be bought and sold like a stock, no minimum investment or redemption fees, and you can short them.

The purpose of an ETF is to allow an investor to purchase a single equity that represents an investment in a sector. So if an investor is interested in buying financial stocks, they could buy XLF. If they want some small cap goodies, they can choose to buy IWM. For some exposure to the Chinese stock market, they could invest in FXI. Finally, if they simply want to emulate the returns of the S&P 500 index, the SPY has them covered.

But why shun the mutual fund? Why take the new guy over the established king? Lets start with the tax advantage. When mutual funds endure large sell offs, they have to liquidate many positions, some of which are currently at a gain. They then have to pay capital gains on those positions, and this negatively impacts their return. It would be an understatement to say that Mutual funds generally have higher expense ratios in general compared to ETFs. It can sometimes cost as little as 8 dollars to get into an ETF whereas a mutual fund of 20,000 that grows to 60,000 over a 20 year period may have conservatively lost as much as 18,000 to its competent managers.

Of course, the vast convenience ETFs have over mutual funds shouldn’t be underestimated. ETFs can be traded just like a stock, giving active traders the ability to buy and sell intraday. The ability to short was impossible with a mutual fund, but now it can be done. During any bear market, the ability to benefit from the fall of sectors as well as their rise is a valuable one to have.

Another important consideration is that most of the more liquid ETFs are optionable. This means that option-savvy investors can harness the power of stock options to change the risk-reward profile of their positions, and risk-conscious investors can use stratagems such as the covered call and protective put to protect their investment.

There are some disadvantages to ETFs as well. Some ETFs have complex structures that can lead them to deviate from what they are supposed to be tracking. A similar instrument, ETNs, can also easily be mistaken for an ETF, leading to some general confusion about what exactly you are investing in. Yet for those willing to put in the work to learn, ETFs can be a highly profitable venture for the modern day portfolio.

ETFs are a diverse tool that allows one to remove risk from ones portfolio by investing in sectors instead of individual companies. They allow investors to benefit from downturns in markets as well as the uptrends. And they allow the investor to take advantage of options on sectors, which options-savvy investors can use to supercharge returns. Given their great variety of uses, ETFs should be a valued part of any investors portfolio, to be ignored at the investors peril.