This post comes fromMiranda Marquitat partner blog Bargaineering.

One of the greatretirement savings toolsis the tax-advantaged account. Accounts like 401k's and the IRAs can help you save for retirement, and reap tax advantages at the same time. Your tax-advantaged retirement account can provide you with a great way to save up money for retirement, putting your capital to work for you and building wealth. These accounts are easy to use, and they make saving up for the future fairly simple.

However, even though tax-advantaged retirement accounts are relatively easy to manage, it is possible to make mistakes with them. As you contribute to your retirement account, here arefive common retirement mistakes to avoid:

Not starting as soon as possible

The biggest mistake in any retirement savings plan is to not start as soon as possible. The earlier you start, the more time compound interest can work on your behalf. Getting started is a major part of retirement savings, and putting it off means you fall further behind. Along with this is the idea that you should max out your retirement accounts if you can. Even if you can't max out your contributions right now, you can create a plan to work up to it. (Post continues below video.)

Leaving money on the table

Another issue comes with leaving money on the table. If your employer offers a match, you should take it, up to the maximum allowed. Find out what sort of match is available, and then do what you can to contribute as much as you can in order to qualify for that matching contribution. It's free money that can go toward building your nest egg.

See the original post here:
5 common retirement mistakes

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Transamerica Retirement Services announced today the launch of the Transamerica Partners Sales Academy. The Transamerica Partners Sales Academy offers selected third party administrators (TPAs) the opportunity to define their firms unique value proposition in the small- and mid-sized retirement plan market. Transamericas training helps TPAs build their brand and sales skills expertise through core messaging exercises and presentation skills workshops.

The Transamerica Partners Sales Academy allows TPAs to refine key marketing skills that can help build relationships with small- and mid-sized business owners, said Deb Rubin, vice president and director, national distribution of TPA services at Transamerica Retirement Services. We are committed to helping TPAs expand their businesses. Transamerica has doubled its efforts to better serve the TPA community over the past two years, and has experienced record-breaking growth in the TPA marketplace as a result.

The inaugural Transamerica Partners Sales Academy event was held in Baltimore, Md. and concluded on April 27. Christabelle Cook, a retirement plan consultant with Trinity Pension Consultants, noted, Transamerica gave us access to experts that know how to build and reinforce our companys positive brand, which is just what we need to be more successful. This program is perfectly suited for TPAs because it focuses on giving financial professionals a competitive edge in the retirement plan market.

Phil Dabney, vice president of business development for Benetech, Inc., said, The curriculum was outstanding. Transamerica Partners Sales Academy is a brilliant idea because it offers training and knowledge that can help TPAs like us to exceed our goals.

For more information about Transamerica Partners Sales Academy, please call (877) 398-7526 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

About Transamerica Retirement Services Corporation

Transamerica Retirement Services Corporation (Transamerica or Transamerica Retirement Services), which is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, designs customized retirement plan solutions to meet the unique needs of small- to mid-sized businesses. Transamerica and its affiliates have more than 17,0001 retirement plans totaling more than $20 billion1 in assets. For more information about Transamerica, please refer to http://www.TA-Retirement.com.

1As of December 31, 2011.

TRSC 6303-0412

See the original post here:
Transamerica Retirement Services Announces Partners Sales Academy

Link:
Personal Identity Performance Piece - Video

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To kick off National Physical Fitness Month, SP Health, a consumer health business which develops the world's most comprehensive online weight loss platforms, and personal trainer Gunnar Peterson are launching The Gunnar Challenge, an exclusive online community who participate in an eight-week program of online workouts and healthy meal plans to help achieve dramatic fitness and weight loss results. Once only available to celebrities and top athletes, now anyone who signs up can transform their body in record time with access to Peterson as a personal trainer, including his workouts, recipes, insights, and support tools.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120501/AQ98515)

To celebrate the inaugural challenge, a special "Premiere" workout will be led by Peterson from his exclusive Beverly Hills gym and is free to anyone that signs up on gunnarchallenge.com. The "Premiere" workout will be streamed live online on Tuesday, May 8 at 7 a.m. PST/10 a.m. EST. Following this special event, the first Gunnar Challenge starts Monday, May 21. Registration is now open at gunnarchallenge.com and the full eight-week program costs only $99.

The Gunnar Challenge is an innovative digital health and fitness program that unites nutrition with exercise to help people lose weight and get in great shape.Besides having access to Peterson's private techniques and nutritional guidance to help make the right food choices, The Gunnar Challenge was developed by a team that understands what it takes to lose weight and make a real change in one's life.

"As a personal trainer, my philosophy is that if you put in the work, you get results," said Peterson, the Beverly Hills-based personal trainer to celebrities and professional athletes. "For more than 25 years I've been working with people to transform their bodies, and now I'm proud to launch The Gunnar Challenge so that anyone willing to put in the effort can achieve their goals and change their outlook on life. I can't promise it will be easy, but I will promise to make it fun."

Each workout was developed by and features Peterson, based on his proven techniques that have been getting Hollywood's A-listers in shape for decades. Woven into the workouts are daily motivational video messages which Gunnar calls "verbal vitamins" sharing his personal weight loss beliefs and providing encouragement with a humorous approach. The workouts, between 30 and 60 minutes in length, include functional movements to tone and strengthen the entire body, combined with cardio to burn body fat. There is a new workout each day to prevent boredom, plus a surprise wildcard workout every Saturday.

"Research shows that people often get frustrated with exercise programs because they get stuck in a rut or lose motivation before seeing results," said Scott Penn, founder and chairman of SP Health and former global vice president of Weight Watchers International. "We are thrilled to launch The Gunnar Challenge with America's top celebrity trainer our weight loss program is based on the combined philosophies that through physical science and increased motivation, changes will be made and we'll get you looking 'great in 8.'"

Alongside the workout videos are weekly meal plans and healthy recipes developed by nutrition experts, including family-friendly shopping lists and tips for curbing hunger. Also included is a food tracker with a database of over 100,000 foods, so that all calories can be counted and nutrition intake measured.

Based on the belief that competition spurs motivation, an online forum also is part of the program, as well as a branded presence on Facebook and Twitter. Both to share messages of encouragement and inspire through personal success, a leaderboard will be continuously updated to track progress, with chances to win prizes based on effort, results and performance. Gunnar will also keep participants accountable by demanding a goal be set prior to participation be it losing 20 pounds or being able to run without stopping for 15 minutes and progress will be followed with reminders from Gunnar himself.

The Gunnar Challenge is accessible via the website and smart phones. If not at a personal computer, a log-in is provided to visit the site, view the videos or download recipes from any computer with internet access. The mobile website can be accessed via phones and tablets for unlimited access.

See the article here:
Gunnar Peterson Launches "The Gunnar Challenge" In Partnership With SP Health

By Bobby Fisher - May 1, 2012 | Tickers: DNKN, PEP, KO | 0 Comments

Bobby is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has proposeda 2-for-1 stock split which would be its first in 16 years. The split is part of its plan to double its revenues during this decade. Since 1919, when the stock first began to trade, the largest beverages company in the world has split its stock only 10 times. As a strategy, stock splits are used to encourage trading when a company feels that its stock has become too expensive. It can also be used when a company feels that the price of its stock is well above the price of stock of its competition. If the stockholders approve, each shareholder will get one additional share for each shareheld and the total number of shares outstanding will double from 5.6 billion shares to 11.2 billion shares. Coke had earlier reported first-quarter profits that exceeded expectations and the strong performance was the result of higher sales of drinks especially in developing markets such as India and China. The company has successfully managed commodity price inflation while catering to customers who care about price with smaller pack sizes. Incidentally, the smaller sizes also have higher profit margins.

Earlier, Coke had reported a solid performance for the first quarter of 2012. There was 5% growth in global volumes well distributed over the world. Important developed markets such as North America (+2%), Japan (+3%) and Germany (+3%) all showed satisfactory growth but the real strength came from the developing countries India (+20%), China (+9%) and Brazil (+4%). Sparkling beverage volumes were up 4% with contributions from the Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta brands. For the quarter, still beverages such as water, tea, coffee and energy drinks grew by 9% globally. Net income for the quarter was $2.05 billion ($.89 a share) against $1.9 billion ($.82 a share) for the same quarter in the previous year. Revenue for the quarter at $11.14 billion was up 6% over the figure of $10.82 billion for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Despite a commendable performance in a declining North American market, the near future for Coke lies in the developing markets and particularly in Asia. You just have to look at the growth in India and China to see where the focus should be. The company expects that the middle class in these markets will add to between 800 million and one billion people in the rest of this decade. It is investing $4 billion in China where growth has doubled over the last few years and is expected to double again by the end of the decade. With over 40 bottling facilities and 60% or more of the market, there is no reason why this objective is not achievable. The key to this growth is not just sparkling beverages like the flagship brand but also beverages like green tea and mineral water in markets like Japan. I personally believe that the blockbuster growth will come from bottled water because many of these countries do not have safe and reliable drinking water and public utilities just do not have the same credibility as a company like Coke. Add to this Coke's ability to invest large amounts in brand building and its expertise in building brands on a long-term basis and you have a powerful recipe for success. In India, the company is looking to invest $2 billion more in order to boost its marketing efforts and its production and distribution infrastructure.

The top beverages in terms of volume sales in the US are Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite all from the Coke stable, Pepsi and 7-Up from Pepsico (NYSE: PEP)and Snapple from Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Globally there is no doubt that this is a two horse race between Coke and Pepsi and no other beverage company can even be remotely considered as competition. I consider quite likely that both Pepsi and Coke could make some strategic acquisitions of brands with large domestic market share. This has worked successfully in India where the Coke acquisition of local cola brand Thums Up has proved to be successful with the local cola out selling its flagship brand. The energy drinks sector is small but growing rapidly and further attention is required. The market leaders are Monster Beverage with a market share of approximately 40% and privately-owned Austrian company Red Bull GmbH with a market share of just under 30%. The Coke energy drink offering, Full Throttle is quite a long way behind and has some catching up to do.

Coke continues an aggressive growth strategy by using partnerships with large beverage distributors and their most recent and notable success has been the exclusive tie up with Dunkin Brands Group (NASDAQ: DNKN). This would give them access to more than 16,000 Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurants in the US. Its willingness to expand its brand portfolio to accommodate local tastes is evidenced by the contribution of local Indian mango beverage "Maaza" to the continued growth. Success for Coke in the beverages market is far more critical than Pepsi because Coke does not have the cushion of the foods businesses that Pepsi does. A major area of concern is the continuously rising sugar prices because sugar is an important input. Production costs continue to increase sharply and, though all beverage manufacturers would be affected, Coke could have the bigger problem because it does not have other diversified businesses.

Because of its solid performance over many years and leadership qualities that it has demonstrated, Coke has always been a high priority as far as equity investors are concerned. In fact, this presents a problem as you will rarely find that the stock market undervalues Coke stock. Most certainly, if you have an investment in Coke, you should consider it as an anchor stock in your portfolio. You should look to add to your holdings on declines in the market price.

BobbyFisher has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. If you have questions about this post or the Fools blog network, click here for information.

Go here to read the rest:
Coca-Cola: This American Staple Should Be in Your Portfolio

HOUSTON, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. (KRA), a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers, announces financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.

2012 FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

"During the first quarter 2012, prices for feedstocks such as butadiene increased rapidly from the December 2011 lows, marking the end of the customer destocking that prevailed in the second half of 2011 and driving demand, particularly in our paving and roofing end use, as customers built inventory in advance of the summer paving season. As a result, first quarter sales volumes were a record 90 kilotons," said Kevin M. Fogarty, Kraton's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Not surprising however, our margins in the first quarter 2012 were pressured by the impact of these raw material price increases and the inherent lag in recognition of price increases for our products, which are typically implemented with thirty days' notice to customers. We therefore expect our margins in the second quarter of 2012 to reflect the benefit of our first quarter price increases. While we remain optimistic about the outlook for the year, our second quarter sales volume could be lower than the volume we posted in the first quarter" Fogarty added. "Although raw material prices increased in the first quarter, we generated $56 million of cash from operating activities. Through active inventory management, we were able to avert the working capital build that has historically been associated with rising raw material prices. Lastly, in terms of innovation results, on a trailing twelve month basis our Vitality Index was 14%, which is the percentage of total revenue coming from innovations introduced within the past five years."

Three Months Ended March 31,

(US $ in thousands, except per share amounts)

2012

2011

Revenues

$ 408,313

$ 344,828

More here:
Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2012 Results

LAS VEGAS, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Altrient, Inc., a maker of high-performance nutritional supplements, primarily high-dose vitamin C, is coming to Detroit, May 3-6, to join in the celebration of the 17th year of the Michigan International Women's Show during The Balance Your Life Road Tour 2012, part of "The Balancing Act" Morning Show on Lifetime Television. The tour is presented in conjunction with the multi-state Southern Women's Show.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111206/LA16628LOGO)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111213/LA20305)

"For the past three months, we have been traveling throughout the South enjoying everything that is wonderful about Southern hospitality," said Cindy Nachman, CEO of Altrient, Inc. "Now we're headed north and looking forward to participating in an event that has a strong history of success. We're also looking forward to introducing our high-performance nutritional products to the many smart and health-conscious show attendees."

Among the products Nachman will be showcasing is Altrient C, considered by many to be the best vitamin C on the market, along with Altrient ME and LED. LED is the proprietary Liposome Encapsulated Delivery system that transports essential nutrients throughout the body. Because Altrient alone uses LED, it can offer levels of product effectiveness unmatched by any other health or supplement provider at any price. To learn more, go to http://www.altrient.com.

The Balance Your Life Road Tour is one of the most highly anticipated events in Detroit. It attracts thousands of local women with fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, beauty tips, health screenings, decorating ideas, and personal growth opportunities. After Detroit, The Balance Your Life Road Tour takes a short summer vacation and returns on Sept. 20 to Charlotte, NC.

About the Balance Your Life Road Tour:

The "Balance Your Life Pavilion" will reach over 250,000 women in person, and millions through online and TV broadcast. Tour partners include CeraVe, Big Fish Games, Altrient and The Gateway for Cancer Research.It's the perfect partnership,since "The Balancing Act" and the Southern Women's Show not only share a common constituency, but also a mutual purpose and mission: To help women balance it all. For more information on the "Balance Your Life Road Tour" go to http://www.thebalancingact.com/tour/.

MEDIA NOTES: To schedule an interview with Cindy Nachman, or learn more about Altrient products, contact Virginia Martino at 702-257-2345 or virginia@brandltd.com. For more information on the "Balance Your Life Road Tour" go to http://www.thebalancingact.com/tour/.

Contact: Virginia Martino virginia@brandltd.com or 702-257-2345

Continue reading here:
Altrient High-Performance Vitamin C Celebrates 17th Year of Michigan International Women's Show, May 3-6

Aston Martin showed three 'Year of the Dragon' special editions in Beijing

While there were no totally new offerings from Aston Martin at Auto China 2012, the British luxury automaker took the opportunity to showcase its personalization capabilities by unveiling three "Year of the Dragon" special editions. The decked-out DBS Volante, Virage Coupe and V8 Vantage S Coupe on show in Beijing are part of the company's "Dragon 88" edition which will be limited to, you guessed it, 88 customized sports cars.

Aston Martin says that each of the 88 cars will feature "bespoke details that celebrate the mystical qualities of the dragon symbol, synonymous with power, strength and good luck in Chinese folklore." This detailing includes golden dragons embroidered on the headrests and 24-carat gold coated Aston Martin wing badges. The cars also get a special paint job to "chime with traditional Chinese art and imagery."

The customization doesn't extend to performance upgrades, but perhaps to soften this blow, Aston Martin showed the 7.3-litre, carbon fiber-packing One-77 supercar alongside the "Year of the Dragon" offerings.

Aston Martin wasn't alone in its efforts to impress the locals in Beijing (Smart and Jeep also showed dragon-themed cars) and is pushing to rapidly expand its distribution in the region.

We are investing significantly in the Chinese market throughout 2012 and beyond," says Aston Martin's Global Sales Director Andy Gawthorpe. "Today Aston Martin operates nine dealerships in the region, with 11 additional showrooms planned to open in China this year alone. China is on course to become Aston Martins third biggest market.

Source: Aston Martin

Just enter your friends and your email address into the form below

For multiple addresses, separate each with a comma

Privacy is safe with us because we have a strict privacy policy.

Visit link:
Aston Martin gets personal in Beijing

DALLAS, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- (www.flexjet.com) Flexjet, a leader in business aviation solutions, is launching a new brand campaign on May 1, designed to appeal to the world's most successful people. The new ads and website redesign spotlight the company's world-class personalized service and unrivaled scheduling flexibility, while leveraging its unique passion and expertise that come with Bombardier's 100-plus years of aviation heritage.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120430/LA96832)

"We know there are three ways to fly. There's commercial, there's private and then there's Flexjet," said Fred Reid, President, Flexjet. "Once customers experience firsthand our relentless dedication to exceptional customer service -- paired with customized private aviation solutions that only we can offer -- they realize bigger isn't better; better is better."

Visually, the new brand campaign features people in every ad, a departure from traditional campaigns that rely solely on aircraft images. The copy highlights Flexjet's industry-leading service and scheduling flexibility --reinforcing the company's commitment to focus on the needs of its customers so they have more freedom to focus on the things most important in their lives.

The ads also highlight Flexjet's innovative Customer Account Management program. Flexjet invested significantly to consolidate its client-facing departments, including billing and scheduling, in order to provide customers with a single, dedicated point person to streamline requests. Customer Account Managers ensure every client experience is personalized to their needs and sets the service standards by which other private aviation companies will be measured.

Finally, the campaign underscores the unparalleled expertise and passion for performance Flexjet offers. By virtue of its Bombardier lineage, Flexjet's aviation experience reaches back to Short Brothers PLC, the first company to produce aircraft for the Wright brothers in 1909.

Flexjet recently recorded one of its best years ever for "flawless" customer service and earned the prestigious FAA Diamond Award -- the highest honor for maintenance training -- for the 13th straight year.

The campaign was developed in conjunction with The Richards Group and new ads are slated to run in print and online media, including Elite Traveler, Bloomberg Markets, Forbes, Robb Report and The Wall Street Journal, beginning May 1.

For more information about Flexjet, please call 1-800-FLEXJET or visit http://www.flexjet.com.

About Flexjet Richardson, TX-based Flexjet -- a division of Bombardier, the world's largest business aviation manufacturer -- first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet now offers whole aircraft ownership and management, fractional jet ownership, jet cards and charter brokerage services. Flexjet's fractional aircraft program is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation's Industry Audit Standard, and Flexjet is the first and only company to be honored with its 13th FAA Diamond Award for Excellence. Flexjet's fractional program fields an exclusive family of Bombardier business aircraft -- the youngest in the fractional jet industry with an average age of approximately five years -- including the Learjet 40 XR, Learjet 45 XR, Learjet 60 XR, Challenger 300 and Challenger 605 business jets.

Read this article:
Flexjet Gets Personal With New Brand Campaign

One of our most compelling speakers at the 2012 Local Search Association annual conference was Mary Boysman, VP Brand Marketing and Advertising at Aspen Dental, a fast-growing, multi-market health care provider.

Speaking to a crowd of local search leaders from around the world, Boysman described in detail how she and her team developed a comprehensive strategy that drove meaningful local leads for her business and elicited support from the highest levels of her organization.

The presentation left the group buzzing because it outlined the type of innovative and integrated local marketing plan that many local search providers are trying to explore and develop with their clients.

I want to share some of the key learnings I walked away with after Boysmans presentation. Its a model for local businesses everywhere looking to navigate the complexity of todays fragmented media environment. Lets talk through the steps it takes to create a powerhouse marketing organization.

The first priority is to clearly understand your companys mission and create a marketing plan to help achieve it. Pinpoint ideal customers by drilling down their ages, genders, education levels and incomes to create distinct customer target profiles.

Then, research those profiles intensively to determine associated attitudes towards your companys services and the specific obstacles in the way to getting target customers in the door and spending on services.

These findings inform strategic marketing messaging and programs that address those concerns directly, as well as provide insight on the types of media channels that should be used. By having clarity on your companys mission and target customers, youll be able to start thinking about ways to bridge gaps between the two.

Just a few years ago, many companies advertising strategies relied nearly entirely on print; newspapers, magazines, direct mail, and Yellow Pages. But, with a deep understanding of your target customer, youll be able to identify areas to diversify and expand the your marketing approach.

Think about refining your advertising model. You may find that directories continue to deliver sales volume, but newspapers do not. Or you may find your magazine spend isnt performing as well as direct mail. Reallocate your budget where it makes sense and build out your advertising portfolio to channels youre not reaching if the research supports it.

By adding channels over time, youll be able to continuously track progress and position the company to reach a greater number of target customers in the places they are searching most whether through television commercials, direct mailings, or search engine-sponsored ads.

The rest is here:
Five Key Learnings From A Local Marketing Success Story