When it comes to building a solid investment portfolio, diversification is key. When you own many different types of financial assets, you reduce your exposure to the risk and volatility that may befall a particular asset class. Dont take our word for it. Thats Modern Portfolio Theory 101. The only problem is that diversification is a relative term. For a long time, the only assets regular investors actually had access to were publicly traded stocks and bonds. If you really wanted to diversifysay by investing in the private real estate marketyou had to be a billion-dollar institution or a so-called high net worth individual. But luckily, thanks to technological innovations and subsequent changes to SEC regulations, this is finally starting to change. Today, innovative FinTech companies like Fundrise are providing everyday investors with Real Estate investment opportunities that were previously reserved for the wealthy and well connected.

Traditional portfolios are based on something called pooled fund investing. This is when money is collected from a large number of investors and used to create one massive investment portfolio, which is managed by professional money managers. The most common types of pooled funds are mutual funds, hedge funds, pension funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). All of these investment vehicles allow individual investors to achieve greater growth and stability than they would ever be able to achieve on their own. Thats a good thing. However, by law, these types of pooled funds can only invest in publicly traded securities like stocks and bonds. And because these assets are so closely related, they dont provide adequate diversification.

For a long time, institutional investors and high net worth individuals have solved this diversification problem by adding private market real estate investments to their portfolios. However, this option wasnt available to smaller investors. The technology required to break real estate investments up into smaller pieces did not exist, which meant you had to be able to write some pretty big checks to get in the game.

But now, things have changed. And companies like Fundrise are democratizing private real estate investing.

Fundrise is an online investing platform that lets you diversify your portfolio by investing in the private real estate market. When you invest with Fundrise, its a lot like investing in a traditional ETF, only instead of putting your money in a pool of public stocks and bonds, youre putting it into Real Estate Investment Trusts or eFunds, which are simply portfolios of private real estate assets. These portfolios of real estate assets are handpicked by Fundrises real estate experts for their ability to produce revenue, and they include everything from single family rental houses to multi-building apartment complexes.

In addition to diversifying your investments, a Fundrise portfolio also has the benefit of offering way better returns in exchange for reduced liquidity. When you invest in publicly traded securities, you can sell your assets at any time, but you can expect an annual average return of just 8.2 percent. When you invest in private market real estate with Fundrise, you have to commit to a 3 to 7 year investment horizon, but in exchange you can expect an annual average return of 12.3 percent.

The best thing about Fundrise, however, is that its open to just about anyone. You dont need a credit check. You dont need to meet any net wealth requirements. If you can afford the minimum $500 investment, youre in.

So whether youre just starting out, or youre looking to modernize your existing portfolio, you need to talk to your financial advisor about private market real estate and investing platforms like Fundrise. It could unlock a whole new world of financial possibilities.

Futurism fans: To create this content, a non-editorial team worked with an affiliate partner. We may collect a small commission on items purchased through this page. This post does not necessarily reflect the views or the endorsement of the Futurism.com editorial staff.

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Partnerships Thanks to This Innovative Fintech, Real Estate Investment Is Easier Than Ever - Futurism

Bradley Tusk has carved a unique path in the VC investment landscape: A longtime political and communications operative, he has built a track record for Tusk Ventures by going after highly regulated industries, rather than shying away from them.

Whether it is ride-hailing, sports betting, cannabis or myriad other regulated sectors, Tusk takes the approach that laws are ultimately malleable, and if a service is popular, its users can mobilize to effect change.

Given his unique perspective, it was great to have him join us this week in an Extra Crunch Live call our new initiative here at TechCrunch to bring tech-world thought leaders right to your screens.

In our conversation, Tusk talked about edtech, telemedicine, cannabis, mobile voting, biotech, pandemics and the future of regulated industries in this dastardly economic environment. Weve transcribed a handful of his answers to our and our readers questions and have embedded the entire video below the fold.

Weve edited his written answers for clarity and brevity.

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Bradley Tusk on starting a company and seed investing in the coronavirus era - TechCrunch

China is rapidly catching up to the United States with regard to blockchain-related investments, according to a recent report put together by New York-based research firm CB Insights.

The researchers found that the East Asian country accounted for 22% of blockchain investments in 2019, compared to 31% for the U.S. This represents a significant improvement for China when compared to 2015, when it had a meager 2% while the U.S. was getting 51% of total funding.

Headlined by the trade dispute of 2019, competition between the U.S. and China has intensified in recent years. Thats unsurprising considering theyre the two largest economies in the world. At best, however, the findings of this CB Insights report only suggest that U.S.China competition is intensifying in the blockchain space as well. It doesnt give a clear picture of which country is ahead in blockchain development.

In addition, given that there is a slew of conflicting blockchain investment reports out there, its difficult to say for sure just what proportion of global blockchain investment goes to either country. For instance, according to CB Insights, 2019 saw a global investment volume of about $2.8 billion, down from $4.2 billion in 2018.

Earlier in this year, Xinhua Chinas state-run financial media firm and financial data platform Rhino Datareported that Chinese investment deals came in at around $3.44 billion (24.4 billion Chinese yuan) across 245 deals in 2019. This represents a 40.8% drop in investment volume when compared to 2018, the report stated.

Experts say that the majority of the investment in China originates locally for now, but they expect more foreign funds in the near future. Kevin Shao of Bitrise Capital Partners told Cointelegraph that:

Currently, the main investors are mainly domestic venture capital institutions and individual investors as early stage investors. However, we believe that with the increasing internationalization of Blockchain technology, the percentage of foreign investment institutions will increase over time.

There arent any readily available reports focused solely on how much blockchain investment happened in the U.S. last year, but again, the figures from CB Insights mostly show that the blockchain scene in China is picking up. Instead of looking at the figures, it might be worth considering the actual events, including the governments stance, talent distribution and enterprise involvement to obtain a feel for how blockchain competition is shaping up between the two countries.

In October 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping publiclysupported blockchain technology by urging the country to take blockchain as an important breakthrough independent innovation of core technologies and to accelerate its development. According to blockchain accelerator Consensys, China has over 500 registered blockchain projects, with most of them led by the government.

As part of its support for blockchain, the People's Bank of China the countrys central bank is working to launch a digital yuan, which will be powered by a centralized blockchain. According to reports, the central bank has completed the essential development of the digital currency and is now in the process of drawing up legislation for its circulation.

The Chinese governments stance, led by President Xis speech, has had two effects on the blockchain development scene in the country. First, it has outlined the future path of the industry. Second, it has made mainstream the status of blockchain and promoted its orderly development, thereby opening more opportunities for new players to enter. Qi Qi, the CEO the of blockchain incubator B-Labs, told Cointelegraph:

On the capital side, domestic traditional funds are more willing to get involved, especially paying attention to the field of industrial blockchain, which is a big breakthrough for traditional funds and the blockchain industry itself.

Simon Li, a founding partner at Chain Capital, also told Cointelegraph that the Chinese government is actively embracing the blockchain and will use it in the government affairs system to create many application scenarios.

The U.S. government has a somewhat more cautious approach to blockchain. While a few government agencies mostly military are exploring the use of blockchain in the country, its still hard to say the government is particularly pro-blockchain, and this might limit the flow of blockchain investment in the country. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Sukhi Jutla, the co-founder of MarketOrders a blockchain platform for the jewelry industry said:

Although the U.S. is still a key leader when it comes to blockchain investments, it cannot compete with China. The US is hindered by regulations that are slow and dont keep pace with the innovations of technology. China is able to move with speed as their governments allow them the space to do what they need to do.

Jutla added, Many companies are bogged down by uncertainty and the threat of being sued as the regulations cannot keep pace with the fast-moving technology. Last year, Congress asked Facebook to stop advancing the cryptocurrency project Libra without proper supervision. The Securities Exchange Commission also continues to block Telegrams plans to launch its TON project. Still, the country has no clear plans for developing its own blockchain-based digital money.

The availability of talent is next to governmental influence as a determinant factor of investment flow, and experts believe the U.S. is ahead of China in the area of technical personnel. Kevin Ren, a founding partner at Consensus Lab, told Cointelegraph that despite the Chinese government being outwardly more supportive of blockchain, the U.S. has the edge thanks to the availability of talent:

Due to the shortage of technical personnel and infrastructure, China's current level of development in the area of blockchain still lags behind that of the United States. For example, the blockchain 3.0 project, such as Polkadot, Cosmos, etc., which currently leads the technological trend of blockchain, is mostly still a U.S. project.

Li also believes the U.S. has superior technical prowess. In a conversation with Cointelegraph, he said that there is still a certain gap between our technical level and that of the United States, but China sees great improvements in recent years, and the gap gets gradually narrowed.

China is famed as one of the countries where the adoption of new technology picks up the fastest. A 2018 report titled Me, My Life, My Wallet published by accounting giant KPMG found that consumers in China tend to be more receptive to new technologies, ahead of other top markets including the U.S., the United Kingdom and others.

This is evident in the area of mobile payment, where China leads the rest of the world in adoption. Ren believes that this readiness to pick up new technologies will give China the edge over the U.S. in the mid- to long-term, saying:

China's population base and netizen base, its ability to accept new things (Internet enterprises have completed user education through mobile payment and online shopping), and the constant supply of talents are the kinetic energy for China's blockchain to make great progress.

Brian Platz, the co-founder of Fluree an American company that builds blockchain-based databases told Cointelegraph that Chinas competitive advantage goes beyond its technology-receptive populace. According to Platz:

China may be leading in terms of adoption of digital and mobile payments, but that's only a piece of the blockchain pie. China is also heavily investing in enterprise blockchain infrastructure noting a clear thesis that blockchain technology can provide value across a variety of contexts. This is a powerful combination of adoption one that the U.S. should take seriously and accelerate plans to compete.

However, citing the opportunity for private enterprises to innovate more rapidly, Platz whose company is backed by Steve Cases venture capital firm Revolution believes that the U.S. can be the leader ahead of China in the blockchain scene, adding:

One clear advantage the US does have over China is the opportunity for private enterprise to freely innovate at a rapid pace. It's time to double down on enterprise blockchain efforts, garner support from the government, and build a competitive blockchain industry here in the US.

It has been widely reported in recent years that the majority of blockchain-related patents are held by Chinese entities. Technology news website The Next Web reported in March 2019 that Chinese entities had published 790 patents, while the U.S. had published 762. These figures represented the total, all-time patent publication by these countries.

However, the publication of patents in China appears to be dominated by a few entities, given that the number of U.S. enterprise players invested in blockchain is significantly more than that of China. The business publication Forbes recentlycompiled a list of the top 50 enterprises that have invested into blockchain, and the list is dominated by American firms across different sectors.

To be on the list, the company had to be generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue or have a valuation of at least $1 billion. American companies took up 58% of the list with 29 entries, while only four Chinese companies were featured.

The answer to who is ahead in blockchain development between China and the U.S. depends on who is asked and how they best see the application of blockchain in reality. The two economic giants are following different development paths, with blockchain advancement in China spearheaded by the government and development in the U.S. spearheaded by corporate enterprises.

According to Shao, blockchain development in the two countries is evolving in different directions, making it difficult to declare a clear leader. He stated:

Compared to the United States, China is taking a different path and we cannot compare which path is better or more advanced at the time. China's blockchain industry is focusing on governance, finance and civil fields. But in the financial-related fields, the Chinese government is more cautious and strict compared to the U.S. government.

James Wo, the CEO of U.S.-based Digital Finance Group, also believes that the two countries are approaching blockchain development differently. He said:

I think they have different directions. U.S. cares more about solving infrastructure-level problems including interoperability, scalability etc. While China cares more about the usage of blockchain.

On the other hand, the CEO of B-Labs believes that both China and the U.S. are at the forefront regarding blockchain technology, but the narrative should be that of cooperation:

All the issues that have happened recently make us realize the meaning of a community of shared future for mankind, and aware that global technological cooperation is an essential element for building such a community, in the way from R&D, patents, talent cultivation and beyond.

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Chinese Blockchain Investment on the Rise, but Comparison to US Is Apples to Oranges - Cointelegraph

In 2016, Steve Adcock quit his six-figure job and retired at 35. His wife, Courtney, left her 9-to-5 a year later and joined him in early retirement. They did it by saving up to 70% of their combined income, which ranged from $200,000 to $230,000 a year.

For the past few years, the couple have been living off their investment dividends and capital gains in the market. That is until recently, when the coronavirus pandemic sent the markets into a tailspin.

Now, they're living off of their emergency fund, which has enough money to last them three years, and reinvesting the dividends. Still, their net worth has plummeted: "We're down about $200,000 from our highs," Adcock tells CNBC Make It. Their portfolio was at a high of $1.2 million in February 2020.

The couple, who live in an 800-square-foot solar home in Arizona, isn't panicking. The pandemic hasn't yet affected their long-term plans, says Adcock: "Our goal has always been to maintain a lifestyle where we never run out of money in early retirement through living a sensible and low-cost lifestyle, and that definitely hasn't changed."

In the meantime, though, they've tweaked their budget and investing strategy as the coronavirus pandemic continues to create uncertainty.

Steve and Courtney Adcock retired in their 30s

Courtesy of Steve Adcock

For starters, they're spending a lot less money. "A big part of our budget is discretionary spending, like restaurants, alcohol, home improvement stuff," says Adcock, who estimates that half of their budget in retirement goes toward "fun expenses."

Since March, they've eliminated nearly all of their discretionary spending. "We don't go to restaurants, mainly because they are closed," Adcock says. "We buy less alcohol. We aren't ordering as much stuff on Amazon. We keep our expenses to what we need and save the rest for later, once things get back to normal."

While they would normally spend between $45,000 and $50,000 a year, "our current budget puts us more at $30,000 a year, or $2,500 a month. We anticipate this lower budget going forward until things change for the better."

They've also changed their investing strategy. "We are now automatically reinvesting all of our dividends into buying more stocks," says Adcock. "Before the pandemic, we took our dividends as a part of our living expenses, but not right now."

Because the market is down and stocks are "on sale" right now, he sees it as a good time to invest. Rather than living off the dividends, he's putting that money into the stock market and drawing down from his emergency fund for everyday expenses.

Adcock is optimistic that the market will rebound over the next few months, as are other money experts. If it does bounce back, "we're hoping to have enough stock in the market to enjoy a nice recovery," he says.

Don't miss:3 money moves one self-made millionaire is taking in response to the coronavirus pandemic

Check out:The best credit cards of 2020 could earn you over $1,000 in 5 years

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Early retiree's net worth dropped $200,000 due to the pandemichere's how he's changing his budget - CNBC

Stock in The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) first went on sale to the public back on Sept. 21, 2016. The IPO was priced at $18 per share, and the stock closed at $30.10 a share on the first day of trading, up 67% in just a single session. The Trade Desk stock went on to generate massive returns over the next few years and is trading at around $233.40 as of this writing. It had previously touched an all-time high of $323.78 a share before the wider market turmoil of the past few months bumped it down.

So how much would an investor have if they invested $1,000 just after its IPO? An investor could have purchased 33 shares for $993.30, and that position would now be worth $7,702, yielding seven times the original investment, easily outperforming the S&P 500 index. For investors who bought the stock at its IPO price, this gain stands at an even more impressive 1,196% return.

TTD data by YCharts

The Trade Desk is a programmatic advertising company and aims to empower digital ad buyers. Its cloud-based platform helps advertisers create, manage, and optimize data-driven ad campaigns across several channels, in multiple formats including audio, video, in-app, and a range of devices such as mobile, computers, and connected TV (CTV).

The Trade Desk has integrated its platform with large publishers and data partners to help ad buyers with decision-making capabilities. The platform launched in 2011 and targeted the display advertising space. It has now expanded into other ad formats, and in 2019 about "79% of gross spend" was from mobile, video, audio, and social channels.

The Trade Desk provides services primarily to ad agencies. It enters into master service agreements with clients and generates sales by charging them a platform fee, which is calculated as a percentage of their total ad spend. Its open platform also helps advertisers customize and build their own features on top of the company's platform.

In short, The Trade Desk provides advertisers with a robust platform to manage data-driven digital ad campaigns.

There are several industrywide trends that will help The Trade Desk drive revenue growth in the upcoming decade. Media is becoming digital and this change in consumer behavior will continue to shift ad budgets online. While global ad revenue growth was estimated at 5% in 2019, digital ad sales growth is estimated at 14%, according to Magna Advertising. Further, digital ad sales were forecast to touch $304 billion, or 51% of total ad sales in 2019.

While the digital ad spend is on an upward trend, so is the acceleration of audience fragmentation. Currently, target audiences use multiple media channels such as mobile apps, online streaming, and websites, which makes it difficult for advertisers to reach a large audience base. This provides an opportunity for The Trade Desk that can not only consolidate but also simplify media-buying options for clients.

Image source: Getty Images.

The convergence of TV and the internet is probably the largest driver of growth for The Trade Desk. There will be a massive shift in terms of online content consumption all around the world, and this cord-cutting phenomenon holds this company in good stead. The rollout of 5G technology will accelerate this transition, which will bring faster downloading speeds and enhance the user experience. The flexibility of the consumption in online content will increase ad budgets in the CTV segment.

The Trade Desk is banking on its expertise to leverage the power of data and automate the ad-buying process to a certain extent. Programmatic advertising helps clients get real-time feedback, which increases the value of ad impressions. The automation of ad processes will lead to better price discovery, which will also help optimize a client's ad budget.

Programmatic advertising represents a small portion of the total ad market. In the current uncertain environment, marketers need to do more with less. This means ad agencies and related players will have to optimize ad spend across digital channels. This should provide a near-term tailwind to players including The Trade Desk, and offset any weakness arising from a decline in overall ad spending due to a drop in consumer demand and a slowing global economy.

The Trade Desk has been a top growth stock ever since its IPO three-and-a-half years ago. The company has managed to increase sales from $113.83 million in 2015 to $661 million in 2019. The gross spend on The Trade Desk platform has risen from $552 million to $3.12 billion in this period.

As with most growth stocks, profitability is not a major concern for the company. The Trade Desk aims to reinvest retained earnings to improve its technology and expand customer base, which in turn will drive revenue growth. While revenue has grown at an annual rate of 55% in the last four years, technology and development expenses are up 74%, while platform expenses have risen 61.5%.

The Trade Desk has a market cap of $10.64 billion. It has a forward price-to-sales ratio of 13.5and a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 70.3.Yes, the company is trading at an expensive valuation, but growth stocks generally tend to do so. The Trade Desk's expanding addressable market, leadership position, and transparent platform make it one of the safest bets for long-term investors.

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If You Invested $1,000 in The Trade Desk IPO, Here's How Much You'd Have Today - Motley Fool

INVESTMENT diversification is used here to describe the manner in which we invest in different asset classes to make up an investment portfolio, although the phrase may also be used to describe the manner in which we spread our risk within each asset class.

. Property: our house, but also buy-to-let residential and commercial buildings;

. Bonds: debt instruments that, say, governments or companies issue to borrow our money and promise to pay it back later, usually at a specified date and with a periodic coupon* paid on the nominal amount we own;

. Equity: shares in a company that entitle holders to vote at meetings and to dividends*, if paid;

. Gold: shiny bars and coins;

. Cash: cash at our retail bank where we have a credit balance (that is to say that we are creditors of the bank and they owe us the money);

We can invest directly or through a fund* that has the required exposure.

Starting at the end

Investment is based on risk and reward, with our understanding that the more we take of the former, the more that we will, ultimately, expect to receive of the latter* and this is generally and fundamentally the case because of what I like to call, The Grim Reapers Batting Order; a hierarchy that determines which group of creditors* is paid first during an insolvent liquidation of a company.

Those owed money in this scenario are ranked as follows, and each class of creditor must be paid in full before any remaining company funds are allocated to the next:

. Secured creditors with a fixed charge;

. Preferential creditors;

. Secured creditors with a floating charge;

. Unsecured creditors; and

. Shareholders.

So back to the plot

Diversification of investment in bonds and equity therefore allows us to occupy more than one position on the list. Diversification into more than one company, sector or region* allows us to occupy more positions on more lists and that sounds sensible, right?

Concluding, and quickly

Of course, if we knew into which basket to put all our eggs, we would do it tomorrow. We dont and therefore should continue to employ asset allocation which suits our personal circumstances (age, stage, wage and objectives). Under what is known as modern portfolio theory, we can reduce the overall risk of our portfolio, and actually increase our overall returns, by investing in asset combinations that are not correlated: that is to say that they dont tend to move in the same way at the same time. And lets regard 2020, by most metrics, as an extraordinary time.

Investment in property, aside from our home, is normally made with a view that prices will rise and that tenants, if applicable, will pay their rents. This view may have changed, in the short-term, at least, depending on where the property is and who those tenants are.

Gold can provide us with one of the few counterparty-free assets. Investment rationale has always been the same: that the yellow metal tends to perform well in times of geopolitical unrest, during economic slowdown and when global interest rates and bond yields are low or negative and when supply is disrupted. Central banks, one of the major players in the gold market, have been net buyers of gold since 2008, with their greatest investment since 1971 (when the gold standard was effectively abandoned) made in 2018 and 2019 **.

Cash is subject to the risk of the bank and its solvency, and will only thrive in periods of deflation (when prices of goods in the future actually become cheaper). More interesting will be how fiat* currencies react to the unprecedented levels of printing that have been employed and further promised by governments willing to do whatever it takes to end the current potential economic crisis.

Having mentioned 1971 above, It might be worth our noting that gold has outperformed all major currencies over time. Using a World Gold Council relative value scale *** that starts with gold in currency at 100 in the year 1900, by 1971 the US Dollar had devalued to 50.65, but by 2019 was reckoned at 1.48 (that is to say it has lost 98.52% of its relative-to-gold value!) Before you ask, the Great British Pound has fared worse (relative value 25.34 in 1971 and, astonishingly, 0.39 by 2019).

So now you know why most commentators, including this one, usually end their notes with as usual, we would recommend you to stay invested in a diversified portfolio, kindly note that the value of investments and the income derived from them may go down as well as up and you may not receive back all the money which you invested. Any information relating to past performance of an investment service is not a guide to future performance.

All that said, it might be the right time, now, for us to (re)consider that we are still comfortable with all of our holdings. Trusted professionals will tell us, and its a phrase used by Ravenscroft and BullionRock many times, to know what we own and why we own it.

* noting, without exaggeration, that each time an asterisk has been used in this piece, a further 400 words on that specific point could easily be written

** from The World Gold Council: Central bank net purchases in 2019 were remarkable. The annual total of 650.3t is the second highest level of annual purchases for 50 years, highlighting the importance central banks place on having an allocation to gold in their reserve portfolio. The highest level was recorded in 2018 and buying in 2019 was not widely expected to repeat these levels for a second consecutive year. (https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-full-year-2019/central-banks-and-other-institutions)

*** https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/relevance-gold-strategic-asset-uk-edition-2020 [Chart 4]

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Why investment diversification matters: spreading the risk - Guernsey Press

Dear Helaine: I need some financial advice. I am 60 years old and, after working for a U.S. embassy as local staff, I migrated to the United States in 2014. Upon separating from the embassy, I received a six-figure severance. I invested about $40,000 toward the purchase of a home in North Carolina, and I am currently left with $145,000 in savings. This is all the savings I have. My wife is now the main breadwinner, and I earn extra money as a substitute teacher. We have no credit card debt. The major monthly liability is the mortgage of $1,600. We have three children. Two are in college and self-supporting. One is in high school. Please advise me on where I can safely invest my savings so I can get a reasonable rate of return. At this stage of life, my appetite for risk is not that great. -- Trying to Stay Afloat in the United States

Dear Trying to Stay Afloat in the United States: Investing a large sum of money can seem overwhelming. As a result, all too many of us can end up making a risky move we don't view as such: We do nothing. In the period of time you sat on your funds, the S&P 500 -- if you reinvested your dividends -- increased by slightly more than 75 percent. Your risk and loss aversion cost you a tidy sum of money -- but I bet you don't see it that way. So what should you do now? Obviously, you can't go back to 2014 and invest the sum. We can't change our past behavior. We only live moving forward. I would first counsel that you eliminate the idea of a "safe" investment from your vocabulary. It's an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp. Investments offer greater and lesser risks. Experts generally suggest you take the number 100, minus your age from it, and invest the remainder of your funds -- in your case 40 percent -- in the stock market, using a broadly diversified index fund such as a total stock market index fund. That's an all-encompassing fund, representing the entirety of the domestic stock market. The remainder of the sum should go in a long-term bond fund. Should you do this? Probably, but this is the limit of an advice column -- I don't actually know you. I don't know how old your wife is, how much she earns, and what your financial situation will be like when she leaves the full-time workforce. And this is all important stuff, and it would be negligent of me to tell you exactly what to do without knowing all of that. My suggestion? Sit down with a certified financial planner who is paid by the hour and doesn't earn their keep by selling financial investments that they will receive a commission on. Yes, you'll need to pay for the service, but it's money well spent. The Garrett Planning Network, which specializes in working with middle-income people, is a good place to start.

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Where to invest a large sum later in life - The Times and Democrat

It's not too late to buy great stocks at attractive prices. Despite the stock market's bounce last week, there are still plenty of stocks with tremendous growth prospects that are priced at a discount.

But which stocks have the greatest chances of delivering stellar returns? I think that $5,000 invested in each of the three following stocks should make you a fortune over the next 10 years.

Image source: Getty Images.

There's more data being generated than ever before. And that means there's a greater need to analyze data than ever before. The problem is that most of the tools available for data analysis fall short of meeting users' expectations. They're too cumbersome and too complicated.Alteryx (NYSE:AYX) provides the answer to these problems.

Alteryx's data analytics platform doesn't require any programming (although it's compatible with the leading data analysis programming languages). The company's focus on usability is paying off. Its platform won the 2019 GartnerPeer Insights Customer Choice award for data science and machine learning platforms.Over 6,000 customers now use Alteryx's platform, including 719 of the 2,000 biggest companies in the world.

But Alteryx still has a tremendous growth opportunity ahead of it. Market researcher IDC projects that the big data and analytics software market will total $49 billion globally in 2021. Alteryx should capture an increasing share of that market as more customers standardize their data analysis using its platform.

Its shares might look ridiculously expensive with a forward earnings multiple of 123. But keep in mind that Alteryx's valuation is based on expectations of tremendous growth over the next few years. I think that it will deliver on those expectations. Andwith its shares still way off their highs from earlier this year, there's no better time to buy Alteryx than now.

You might not have realized that there's a war going on around you -- the "war on cash." This war encompasses a major trend of consumers switching from using physical currency to electronic forms of payment. Square (NYSE:SQ) ranks as a top general in this war on cash.

Square is best known for its small card readers used by many small and medium-sized businesses. This payment processing service is the foundation of an entire ecosystem that the company offers, with other products and services including customer loyalty, marketing, payroll, and e-commerce applications. Square also provides loans and debit cards to businesses.

In addition to its focus on businesses, Square is a major player in the peer-to-peer payments arena with its Cash App. PayPal'sVenmo has been the leader in this market, but Cash App is catching up quickly. It's generating strong revenue growth for Square and also presents a larger customer base to which the company can market new products and services.

Sure, Square stock has been shellacked by the COVID-19 pandemic as its customers reel from the impact of quarantines and non-essential business shutdowns in many areas. But I think this presents an awesome buying opportunity. The economy will bounce back and so will Square.

There's also another big trend under way that could have escaped your attention. The days of personal negotiations to place advertising spots are numbered as advertising agencies turn to programmatic advertising, which uses software applications to buy ads quickly and cost-effectively.The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) is the clear leader in buy-side programmatic advertising.

The most significant catalyst for The Trade Desk is the rise of connected TV (CTV). CTV includes all of the streaming services that have gained widespread popularity. Not all of them use ad-based models, but quite a few of them do. The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green recently said that "we are in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime consumer shift to connected devices and streaming content." And that consumer shift presents a huge opportunity for his company.

Programmatic advertising still only represents a small part of the total ad market. But with programmatic ad spending growing five times as fast as overall ad spending, it won't take too long before it makes up a big share of the market. The Trade Desk stands to benefit from this growth.

Shares of The Trade Desk plunged as much as 49% during the coronavirus-fueled market sell-off before rebounding somewhat. It's likely that some advertisers could cut their marketing budgets to save costs during this challenging period. But the long-term prospects for The Trade Desk remain very bright. My view is that buying this stock now at a discount should set up investors for terrific returns over the next decade.

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$5,000 Invested in These 3 Stocks Should Make You a Fortune Over the Next 10 Years - The Motley Fool

By Omkeshwar Singh

The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. - Warren Buffett

I am worried about my investments, what should I do, should I exit the market now?

We have been hearing this question or variations of it for a while now. The global lockdown prompted by the spread of Covid-19 has driven many retail investors into a panic mode, many of them are thinking of stopping and redeeming their investments in stocks and mutual funds, and putting the money in bank deposits. Only a few want to hold on to their investments.

Before discussing the merit of each approach, let us take a trip down the memory lane.

You might know that this is not the first time the markets have faced a crisis of such magnitude. There have been situations since 1991 when at least one event in a decade has led to a crash in benchmark indices by more than 35% in India.

Surprisingly, the Indian key indices have always returned to their peak within an average 16 to 18 months, which is faster than the US or any other developed markets.

The table below depicts how the Indian markets behaved during the tough times in the past.

On an average the peak to trough fall is 50%, it usually takes 14 months for the markets to fully bottom out and takes 18 months on an average to fully recover to the previous peak.

Here are the few things that a stock market or a mutual fund investor should do under the current market scenario:

Dont panic and stay invested This advice is for the long-term investor. The market goes up and down but in the long run it is likely to perform better and provide good returns. In the short term your portfolio may lose shine and drop in value due to volatility. However, if you have a longer time horizon of, say, 5-10 years, dont get disheartened by bad news and stay invested. You are bound to recover and make better returns on your investments.

Avoid redeeming your mutual funds Many investors make this mistake of redeeming the funds when the markets are falling. They think it is better to get out of the markets at this stage and re-enter when the market starts to recover. But it is almost impossible to time the markets. Also, remember the losses you incurred are notional losses, unless the investments are redeemed. Once you redeem the funds, you will end up making actual losses.

Invest in funds with a strong portfolio Investing in businesses with strong fundamentals and a healthy portfolio is of utmost importance. Such quality companies will create wealth because even after a sharp decline they have shown strength with their prices always inching higher. In the long run, when things are under control, markets will recover and the same businesses will be fairly priced again and your portfolio will reap better returns.

Invest in mutual funds via SmartSIP As you know, you can maximise your returns if you follow the buy low and sell high principle. Investing in SIP does not give you this advantage, upgrade to SmartSIP. SmartSIP allows you to invest automatically either in equity schemes or liquid schemes based on the signals generated by considering the margin of safety index.

Smart SIP invests your monthly SIP amount in equity mutual funds when the markets are fairly-valued and it doubles your monthly SIP amount when markets are very undervalued.

Smart SIP skips fresh investments in equity schemes when markets are expensive and books profits/sells a part of your existing equity units when markets are very expensive. The sale proceeds and monthly instalments are invested in liquid schemes.

Smart SIP skips your investment in equity schemes and parks the SIP amount in liquid schemes, the money is later used to buy equity mutual fund units when the markets become inexpensive.

This way the SmartSIP makes sure you make the most of the market volatility while being invested in the markets and generate superior returns than your regular SIP investments.

Want to know more about SmartSIPs? Read: Should you opt for the new `Smart SIP way of investing?

(Omkeshwar Singh is Head - RankMF at Samco Securities)

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Should you sell or hold on to your mutual fund investments? - Economic Times

Every crisis creates an opportunity. This can sound a bit insensitive especially when the force behind the crisis is a viral pandemic that has claimed more than 141,000 lives while infecting more than 2.1 million in under four months.

The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged global markets causing countrywide lockdowns and forcing business closures. As such, to optimistically forge forward to seize the opportunity and invest might not resonate well with a lot of people.

Yet cancer is as deadly if not deadlier, and investors continue to sieve through terabytes of market data in search of companies that are on the brink of finding a solution to buy their stocks. In the same spirit, investors will be on the lookout for companies that show promise in their search for a COVID-19 cure, vaccine, or a more efficient method of testing.

Here, we are going to look at a few companies that could be interesting for investors amid the coronavirus pandemic. And surprisingly, not all run their trade in the healthcare sector.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has emerged as one of the mainstay names in the healthcare sector to benefit from the coronavirus pandemic. The company developed a COVID-19 test kit that returns results for a positive test within 5 minutes while those who turn negative can receive results in 15 minutes.

President Trump hailed this discovery as a game-changer in the fight against the spread of the virus through mass testing. The US leads globally in terms of tests with over 3 million, partly because of Abbott Labs' ID Now COVID-19 test system. The company indicated earlier this month that it will be conducting 50,000 tests per day and since then the number of cases in the US has ramped up.

The shares of the company have gained more than 50% since it announced the 5-minute COVID-19 test kit in late March. Analysts estimate that Abbott could realize as much as $150 million in sales from COVID-19 tests, but they have also warned that the company could witness a significant drop in sales for other diagnostic sales, according to a report on Barron's.

This week, the company reported that it had developed an anti-body test for COVID-19 which will test for recovered patients that may have developed immunity for the virus. Abbott said that it will be shipping 4 million anti-body tests in April, with a target of 20 million monthly shipments by June. President Trump applauded the anti-body testing in a recent briefing calling it a "great test" that could play a crucial role in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic. However, the fight does not start and end with Abbott Labs. To completely eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic, it will take more than the Illinois-based Abbott. It will take the world to work in unison. As such, while Abbott and co in the US look to develop products that will rid the country of the disease through vaccination and therapy, Europe, Asia and the rest of the world are doing the same albeit with a different approach. Poland-based tech giant Infermedica last month announced the launch of a COVID-19 risk assessment tool to be offered as part of its free for use symptom checking app Symptomate and Infermedica API among other portals. The company CEO, Piotr Orzechowski, told the media that "Helping patients to quickly assess their risk of coronavirus and providing recommendations on the next steps is how we can help. The demand for health services is escalating and patient triage is, more than ever, an important tool in guiding patients on what to do when they're feeling unwell." The company is working with more than 50 partners globally, including Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) in the US. It has also been adopted by the ministries of health in Poland and Ukraine. While there are several privately held companies looking to embrace the opportunity created by the coronavirus pandemic, very few can quantify the expected impact on the top line. Furthermore, unless you are a venture capitalist or an angel investor there isn't much of an opportunity. Abbott is one of the few that offer retail investors the opportunity to benefit by investing via the stock market.

With projected monthly sales of $150 million from its rapid diagnostic test kit, Abbott could report $450 million in additional sales for the second quarter of 2020. That is about 5.6% of the total revenue of $7.98 billion reported in the same period last year. The company's stock surged further on Thursday morning after its Q1, 2020 results beat EPS expectations of $0.61 per share with $0.65. The company's top line surged higher 2.5% to $7.7 billion from the same period last year.

The rise in the company's stock price over the last two weeks has increased its P/E ratio to 46.93, which is relatively higher compared to close peers, Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) 10.57, AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) 15.21, and Medtronic Plc (MDT) 25.26. But this should not be a reason to think that Abbott is overvalued. The company traditionally trades at a higher P/E ratio compared to its peers, averaging 55 over the last 12 months.

As such, the rise in stock price has been accompanied by relatively better earnings growth. The company's forward P/E of 23.81 is more in line with the industry average which again indicates high expectations on earnings during the next 12 months. The long-term future also looks promising with a PEG ratio (5-years expected) of 2.44. Again, this is not far off the PEG ratios of Medtronic's 2.35 and Boston Scientific's 2.41.

Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG) operates in the consumer goods industry. The company experienced some slowdown in top line and bottom line in the last three quarters. However, since the coronavirus pandemic hit the market, it has since witnessed a resurgence in demand.

In the company's most recent quarterly results, CEO Sean Connolly demonstrated optimism going into the final quarter of fiscal 2020 saying that Q4 revenues could offset the weaknesses of the slowdown experienced during the 9 months ended February 29, 2020.

The company is expecting a surge of more than 50% in domestic sales, which will be enough to tramp up annual growth.

Connolly said that "on a quarter-to-date basis, shipments and consumption in our domestic retail business have increased" by about half, more than offsetting the effect of "worsening trends in our food-service business."

The company has benefited from the country lockdowns, which prompted consumers to go on a shopping spree in a bid to stockpile for the future. The first and second quarters of fiscal 2021 might not benefit from similar economic imbalances, but Q3 and Q4, the world could experience another wave of the coronavirus pandemic triggering another series of lockdowns. Experts have indicated that unless the world finds a vaccine for COVID-19, there could be a series of waves before we finally get on top of the disease. As such, Conagra and other consumer goods companies could continue to witness abnormal sales figures, which will boost their short-term valuations.

This is clearly demonstrated by the company's improved valuation for the next 12 months. Conagra's 12-month trailing P/E ratio of 20.49 will improve to 14.37 within the next 12 months. Its PEG ratio (5-years expected) will drop to 2.13.

In comparison, the company's current valuation is dwarfed by Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) which has a P/E of 19.63. Another close peer, The Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) trades at a trailing P/E of 17.68. But when you look at the forward P/E ratios and the PEG ratios of the two companies, Conagra prevails as the most attractive in the long term. Mondelez's Forward P/E and (5-year expected) PEG ratios of 19.72 and 2.86, respectively are higher than Conagra's. On the other hand, Kraft Heinz remains on top for the next 12 months with a forward P/E ratio of 12.15, but if we factor in earnings forecast for the next five years, Conagra offers better growth potential.

Generally, the entire consumer goods sector appears to have benefited from the coronavirus pandemic as consumers continue to stockpile. Shares of Conagra are now up more than 36% since March 13 while The Kraft Heinz has gained over 41%. On the other hand, Mondelez has recouped most of the losses incurred between Feb. 14 and March 23. The company has gained 28% over the last three weeks, after plunging nearly 30% in the preceding period.

Zoom Video Communications (ZM) is a video conferencing company based in San Jose, California. Shares of the company have gained 123% since Jan. 2. There was a temporary pullback late last month but the stock has since recovered amid mixed analyst recommendations.

With the implementation of the social distancing campaign across the world, businesses have adapted to modern methods of communications. Employees have been forced to work remotely to avoid the spread of COVID-19, which means that normal office conversations needed to be conducted via video conferencing. Zoom Video is one of the beneficiaries of this paradigm shift.

The company's shares temporarily plunged during the final week of March after Credit Suisse analysts suggested that now would be the time to sell amid increased optimism that the lockdown will be lifted soon. However, shares of the company have recouped most of the losses after another report from Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Drew Kootman chipped in with a bullish view.

There are a few twists and turns remaining before we can say for certain that we are now free of the coronavirus pandemic. Preliminary forecasts suggest that it could take as long as 18 months before a vaccine for COVID-19 hits drug stores across the world. On Wednesday, President Trump said that the most important thing now is coming up with therapeutic treatment for the disease since a vaccine requires long periods of testing before it can be approved for use on people.

From a valuation perspective, Zoom Video appears to be trading at an extremely high price to earnings ratio. The company's trailing 12-month P/E ratio of about 1,510 could be prohibitive to value investors. However, its forward P/E ratio of 328 shows promise while its (5-years expected) PEG ratio of 9.62 confirms its growth potential.

In the most recent quarter, the company's earnings grew 169% and this demonstrates why investors are willing to pay a high premium for the stock.

From a competitive view, Zoom Video's main rivals come from well-diversified tech giants in the form of Microsoft Corporation's Skype and Cisco Systems Inc.'s (CSCO) Webex. Privately-held GoToMeeting is unlikely to cause short-term concerns from an investing perspective. As such, Zoom Video offers investors a unique investment opportunity as a publicly listed pureplay video conferencing company.

Besides the intermediate opportunity presented by COVID-19, Zoom Video will also witness growth amid the growing use of remote workforce. The remote working business environment will improve as more people embrace 5G network technology beginning in 2021. This will encourage more businesses to utilize remote workers thereby boosting the growth of the video conferencing market.

In summary, the coronavirus pandemic is nothing to be celebrated. It has adversely affected global economies, contributed to a loss of jobs, caused emotional harm and above all, claimed several lives.

However, it would be even worse if companies like Zoom Video, Abbott Labs, and Conagra Brands, among others, did not respond to the crisis in the way they did. Besides standing to make a lot of money, they have helped to solve many problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

And if we cannot get rid of the disease soon enough, they and several others will continue to benefit as they provide the much-needed answers to the problems that arise.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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These Companies Point Where You Should Invest Amid COVID-19 Pandemic - Seeking Alpha