STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

More Business

• Merchants pulling out all the stops to encourage Islanders to shop local
• Electronics tops Marco wish lists, but it’s not all
• LIVE BLOG: From more than a dozen grandkids to really early shoppers ... Black Friday swirls

Share and Enjoy [?]

Are your funds working for you as hard as you worked for them? Unhappy with your rate of return? Read on! You are about to be delighted… whether you are still active in the business world or retired.

The typical successful business owner is busy. Are you typical? So busy running your business, you don’t have the time — or the inclination — to properly manage and/or trade your excess funds, your personal funds, funds in your qualified plans (for example, IRA, 401(k) and profit-sharing) or other funds that are your responsibility?

During my 50-plus years of practicing as a CPA/lawyer (mostly with readers of this column who become consulting clients) many of them pour their heart out to me allowing me to get to know their problems — business, as well as personal — their goals, visions and frustrations. Can you guess the biggest frustration of most successful business owners (even after they’ve retired)? Hint: It’s not about their business.

They vent variations of this question: “Irv, how do you increase the rate of return (without putting my capital in jeopardy) on my available assets?” Frustration abounds.

Like anyone else, we (me and my network of professionals who help readers of this column) don’t know everything. Sure, we have great expertise in beating up the IRS — legally — when it comes to the gift and estate tax and, to a lesser degree, the income tax. But what to do with those extra assets. We too — just like you — have been frustrated through the years. Why? Because we did not have an answer to the above long-standing and frustrating question.

Until now.

Throughout the years with the advancement of computer technology and high-speed computers we have all heard about that fancy term “program trading” but thought that only the very high-net worth-investment banking houses could take advantage of such programs. In essence, program trading is nothing more than highly sophisticated computer model software, which has been computerized and applied to various markets to do quick and real-time trading, which is beyond any human capability. As computers have revolutionized our lives and many industries, they now have (as we all expected would someday happen) revolutionized the trading/money management arena.

Following (in the order mentioned by most readers when asked) are the six most important criteria that would be essential in program-trading/money management technique software:

1. Total liquidity. Like your own private bank account, the ability to add or take money out of your account at any time.

Note: This Private Bank concept is extremely important to businesses that accumulate excess cash from time to time, but must suffer paltry rates of return until the cash is needed again for business operations.

2. Total control. You — only you — can take money out of your account.

3. Good annual rate of return. Clearly means different rates to different groups: Most people are satisfied with 6 percent to 9 percent, the next group wants 10 percent to 14 percent and a small group wants 15 percent or more to be satisfied.

4. Trades automatically. Means the account holder would not have to spend time managing the account. The software would generate/trigger/manage all trades automatically.

5. Cost for use (or lease) of software. No money up front. Pay only if it performs.

6. Minimize risk. One sad fact is undisputed: markets — whether stock or commodity — are a constant roller coaster ride. The software must minimize this effect and/or take prudent advantage of it.

Ready? A drum roll please. We have discovered a proprietary software that manages your money in such a way as to accomplish ALL six of the above criteria. The software is called (based on our suggestion) “Your Private Bank Trading Software.” Starting in March 2002, the software has been managing accounts on a monthly rental basis (rent is paid monthly as a percentage of profits. There are no other costs or fees.) On the date this article was written, the software trades/manages hundreds of accounts. To date, none of the accounts has ever had a losing month. On average, accounts earn, net after monthly software rental costs, in the range of 4 percent per month. So far the lowest monthly earnings (after rental costs) were 2.8 percent; the highest 7.6 percent. Remember, past results do not in any way predict future results.

Note: Volatility is the software’s best friend. The higher the volatility, the more likely the accounts will enjoy a higher rate of return.

Of course, you are saying to yourself, “Sounds too good to be true.” That was exactly my thought when I first heard about the software. But admittedly, I was intrigued. Not only for my readers, but for myself. So, I opened my own account, which uses the software. My goal was to verify the percentage results shown above. Yes, it’s true, the rates of return in my account are right in line with the above percentages. I’m a happy camper.

My suggestion: send for more information. Like I did. Then judge for yourself.