I’d like my software to be able to pull bank account transaction information (obviously securely) into a budgeting database. Its possible that customers will come from many different banks. What is the best way to go about doing this?

Web Services. You must make some arrangements with the banking company for details on their exposed web services to get the bank transactions of specific users.

Once you get the specific web services, you can just call these on your application.

Our company is expert in providing solutions for a particular domain. You are appointed as a project manager for a new project. You have to do Risk management. What will be your approach?

It’s important to understand that risk management is an integral part of project management. The basic approach is:
1. Identify Risk
2. Priortizie Risk
3. Handle Risk
4. Monitor Risk

It’s always good to have a database to help you do these steps. In a little more detail, I’ll explain the steps. Just want to point out that this is large topic so I’m just pointing out a very basic approach.

1. It depends on the level on which you are identifying risks but mainly, you are looking for things that affect cost, schedule, or quality. Again, that is very basic.

2. To prioritize, you would then rate the risk using the tried and true Risk Matrix which compares the likelihood of an event happening to the impact it would have if it happened. (Probability vs Consequence). Using the rating, you would then know which Risks were high, medium, and low.

3. After you have your Risks in order of priority, you then determine how you will handle them. The basic methods for handling are transfer, accept, avoid, and mitigate.

Here is an example explaining each. A requirement from your customer in your project requires an item to be shipped through a dangerous area. The risk is the item gets stolen. You can transfer the risk to someone else by hiring a company to do it for you. You can accept the risk by saying it might happen but the risk is low enough we aren’t going to do anything and just ship it. You can avoid the risk by removing the requirement from the project. And you can mitigate the risk by shipping it with a convoy of armed guards.

4. Then after you execute your handling strategies, you have to monitor those risks to see if they become problems or the risk rating changes.

It’s important to point out that risks are NOT problems or issues. They are potential problems. Once the probability of it happening becomes 100% or the event already occurs, it is no longer a risk and it is now a problem. Some people confuse risk and problems and track them together.

Wanting, hoping & wishing for more money is something we all do and at some point in our lives it can and does happen; from a win on the lottery to an inheritance, pay rise or gift the next question is always: what to do next? Will it be spend, spend – holidays, cars – or should it be save, save, save. Devil or angel? Your heart or your head? However, does it have to be such a stark choice – can you spend and still have enough to maintain a lifestyle without worry – of course so long as you remember two golden rules from the master himself, Warren Buffet: Rule one is “preservation of capital”, rule two “never forget rule one” They apply whether you decide to handle your financial affairs yourself or employ a professional. So what are the basic rules of investment and how do they work?

First you must understand yourself and, in particular, your view of risk. What does this mean? It means being honest with yourself and how you view both money itself and risk. Your values and beliefs about these will have been established at a very young age, primarily via your parents and those closest to you. If your view of high risk is to lose £100 in an investment decision, then I would suggest that you have a very low risk threshold. Alternatively if you are happy investing £250,000 in a new business venture and can sleep easily, then your risk threshold is high. Both views of course, have to be measured against your overall wealth. You can establish your own “risk profile” by completing any of free online personality tests such as those found at www.similarminds.com. If you decide to use a professional adviser this is the first thing he or she will try to establish. Put simply, they will try to understand the limit of your comfort zone where money is concerned, as well as your long term financial goals and objectives.

Many of the financial markets are extremely volatile, and prices can move significantly on a day to day basis. The US market for example is considerably more volatile than the UK market. For example, a share in the FTSE 100 can move up to 10p in a day whereas a share in the equivalent American market can move one dollar or more (60p) – i.e. 6 times as much per day. You’ve now taken the test and spoken to the experts what next? What will be the key to your success? Diversification or, put more simply, spreading it around will be key, because that is what the successful boys, and increasingly girls, do. It is simple common sense – you do not put all your eggs in one basket as this is asking for trouble. If you had £100,000 to invest, you might put 15% into shares, 10% in premium bonds, 25% in Government Bonds, and the rest into property. Most millionaires are risk averse, they just manage their risk better by preserving their capital, diversifying to spread the risk, and using sound money management techniques. Perhaps this is why they are millionaires!! Just watch Dragons Den and see how careful they are.

Once you have established your risk profile, and accepted that in order to increase the value of what you have it will be necessary to trade and invest, what markets or investments should you choose? Property, pensions, shares, bonds, unit trusts, options, derivatives, precious metals, currency, the list is endless. It all sounds very complicated and intimidating. In fact it doesn’t have to be. There is no reason to feel threatened or intimidated because by asking simple direct questions everything can be explained very easily and in a non patronising way. Remember this is your money and these are your dreams; never, ever invest in anything you do feel comfortable with or fully understand. If it can’t be explained clearly and simply or it keeps you awake at night, you shouldn’t be in it!!

anna coulling
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/investing-for-beginners-91977.html

Real estate flipping is a term used by most people these days, the meaning of which is re selling real estate for a profit. Most participants in the real estate market confirm the transaction before re selling their property for a profit. The insinuation is that they use their own funds to secure an investment. This is characteristic real estate investment. But the true art of flipping lies in re selling an interest before closing the deal. One buyer of a contract of sales or purchase will find another buyer for the same interest ready to buy before the first buyer completes the deal. This implies that the first buyer is only putting the deposit out of his own resources. This is characteristic real estate speculation

More often than not, real estate flipping can be the cause for many problems even though it is not an illegal practice. Most real estate boards and organizations do not encourage the practice of real estate flipping. Market value can be defined as the price that a property is expected to obtain after considerable time and exposure to the various market conditions. If someone with extraordinary skills and talents, like a realtor is involved, flipping would then envelop an element of misrepresentation. However, if no professionals are involved, courts have ruled that misrepresentation will still be punishable by law. Such misrepresentations can also be categorized as deceptive. Apart from the legal and moral issues, flipping contributes to the approximate inflationary damages that prove them to be unfavorable for the whole economy. This is more pronounced when they involve large items like capital assets. When it comes to real estate investing, the small matter of re selling property for profit is considered to be a common part of the business.

In a market economy, the main responsibility of the speculators is to soak up all the risk and to contribute a minimal amount of flow of money or liquidity to that market place. Often times, speculators reduce the liquidity in a market by increasing the prices. The effect of price increase is to reduce the number of buyers therefore affecting demand and lowering prices even further. On the other hand, investors play a completely different role in the market. A person that purchases a property renovates it and then re sells it for a profit is known as an investor and not a speculator. This will also be the case for a person who buys property under foreclosure.

When it comes to the subject of investment, risk management is also very clear. Investment is directly proportional to the basic relation between personal incomes. This can also be influenced by the nature of the property bought or sold and the rates of interest. An increase in the value of personal income will lead to an increase in investments and this in turn will lead to the subsequent expansion of prices and economy. On the contrary, high rates of interest will lower investment by increasing the cost of financing. The end result will be a lower demand graph thus hampering the progress of prices and the economy. Even if the investor decides to use his own exclusive resources, there will still be a measure of risk. If the main purpose is to make easy money through flipping and speculation, the risks involved will be considerably higher.

Kris Koonar
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/speculation-vs-real-estate-investment-60625.html

According to the Cashflow quadrants by Robert Kiyosaki, I will need to switch to either a business owner or an investor to become wealthy. If I were to choose the path as an investor, I realized that there are certain responsibilities that I need to fulfill.

What are the responsibilities?

To answer this question, let use the example of investing in mutual funds.

As we all know, fund managers managed mutual funds. They are expert and more qualified than the average investor in stock investment. Thus they are in a better position to make money from the stock market.

Another advantage of mutual funds is that there is diversification to reduce risk. The amount of money is pooled to invest in different stocks, thus achieving diversification. These are the two selling points of investing in mutual funds.

When I initially started to invest in mutual funds, I never do any detailed research. Like most people, I simply invest in a mutual fund that I think it will make money. The decision is usually purely based on the information presented by the sale persons. Happily, I invested and forget about it. I felt that since the expert fund manager is managing my investment, I had nothing to worry about. And I never really monitor the performance of the mutual funds.

This did not just happen to mutual funds investment. I did that to other kind of investments as well. I felt that I wanted to spend as little time as possible and leave everything to the experts. I was lazy to learn and manage my own investments actively.

Later, I learned from the Rich Dad’s series by Robert Kiyosaki that financial education is essential. Since I always desire to be wealthy, I have decided to gain financial literacy. After studying for a few years, I have learned a lot of things and that really open my open eyes.

As an investor, I am responsible for the outcome of my investments. No one else is responsible for the result of my investments. This is the part where most people missed out. They thought that they could leave things to the expert and do nothing.

Firstly, I have the responsibility of selecting the expert to manage my investments. I need to select expert based on their track records. In the case of mutual funds investment, I need to select the fund manager who has track records to increase my odds of winning.

Secondly, I have the responsibility of monitoring my investments regularly. If things are not in order, I should consider cutting loss and get out of the investments. In the case of mutual funds investment, if I have invested in a particular sector, I need to check that there are no bad news regarding the sector that may affect my investments. If the sector is expected to perform badly for the next few years, then my mutual funds investment will definitely perform badly. Then, I should consider cutting loss.

Thirdly, I have the responsibility of choosing the correct investment company. If an investment company has financial problems, then I face the risk of losing money if the company were to liquidate. In the case of mutual funds investment, if the fund house had financial woes, I would be asking for trouble by investing my money with them.

Next, I have the responsibility of choosing the right investment product. If I choose the wrong investment products, I am almost guaranteed to loss money. In case of mutual funds investment, if I had chosen a dotcom fund just after the dotcom bubble had burst, I would definitely be losing money.

Then, I have the responsibility of getting the cheapest investment cost. If I have choose an investment with high investment cost, then it simply means that my investment return needs to perform better than the high investment cost before I can make money. In the case of mutual funds investment, I should look out for ways to reduce sales charge, expensive ratio, fund management fees and so on.

Lastly, I have the responsibility of planning for my investment. Like what I have learned from the Rich Dad’s series by Robert Kiyosaki, investment is a plan. In the case of mutual funds investment, I should time my entry and my exit properly. The performance of the mutual funds goes up and down over the years. If I had not set any profit target for my mutual funds investment, then I would be holding on to the funds indefinitely. I would end up not selling my mutual funds when there is a reasonable profit. If I needed my money when the market had dropped, then I would be losing money by cashing out at the wrong time.

The above are just some responsibilities as an investor. They are by no means complete. I believe when I learn more, the list of responsibilities will grow. In short, one need to be responsible for one’s investments.

* DISCLAIMER *
The author only provides the material and information as a layperson’s views about an important subject. The materials and information are from sources believed to be reliable and from his own personal experience, but he neither implies nor intends any guarantee of accuracy.

All the materials, information and procedure in this book are only the author’s personal opinion. You must consult your own professional advisor and other reputable sources on any matter that concerns you or others.

The author, publishers and distributors are not competent and do not profess to give legal, accounting, medical or any other type of professional advice. The reader must always seek those services from competent professionals who can review your own particular circumstances.

The author, publisher and distributors particularly disclaim any liability, loss, or risk taken by individuals who directly or indirectly act on the information contained herein. All readers must accept full responsibility for their use of this material.

Max Ng
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/be-a-responsible-investor-102531.html

E.Discuss Risk Management and Risk Assessment for a company that conducts some of its business over the public Internet. Describe in full detail at least five measures that the company can take to protect their information.

No

WealthCap is also a managed fund, which is basically an investment fund that is managed professionally by an expert fund manager who invests in a variety of investments. Investing in WealthCapfund will provide you with wide range of benefits including the ability to do the following.

* Choose investment options to meet your needs of investment

* Access your money and withdraw partial or whole amounts

* Increase your investment any time

* Obtain quarterly updates that covers the performance of all funds

* Switch money between funds easily and without penalty

With managed funds, money is pooled together with that of the investors to create a single strong fund that provides significant investor benefits that includes an instant increase in buying strength.

Hence a managed fund is one that enables you and lot of other people each with a small amount to invest, to pool your money for everybody’s benefit. The main advantages of managed funds rather than trying to ‘do it yourself’ are

1. Full time expert’s management: The investment market moves quickly and it is vital to keep in track of top of things. Most of us don’t have time to look after investments properly. Since professional investment managers spend their entire time thinking and learning about markets, currencies, interest rates and so on, they don’t make mistakes that amateurs do.

2. Risk reduction due to spread of investment: It is unlikely for you to have the resources to build a portfolio to compare with a major funds manager even if you had time to look after your investments. So, spread of investments is the most important way of reducing risk.

3. Chances beyond your normal reach: Managed funds have access to the best investment opportunities due to their size and investment muscle.

4. Value and Convenience: Managed funds are low maintenance investments compared with property, shares or even term deposits.

5. Advantages of tax: Professionally managed funds take advantage of tax benefits and pass them on to you when you pay income distributions. So managed funds not only help you to achieve better returns but also may help you pay less tax.

The four types of managed funds are

1. Unit Trusts: This works by pooling money from a number of investors and then using this money to buy a variety of investments. It gives you a greater power of buying and allows you to share costs and give you the benefits of professional management.

2. Group Investment Funds: This is also an investment where individuals pool their money together to create greater buying power, cost sharing and take advantage of professional management.

3. Superannuating Funds: These are the largest and most popular type of managed investment focused more toward conservative investments.

4. Insurance Bonds: This is used to describe the range of investment-linked policies offered by several life insurance companies. This is very similar to unit trusts

For more details please visit www.wealthcapfund.com

Mark Plummer
http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/what-are-managed-funds-131641.html

Some secrets you should know about keeping to the family budget.

Duration : 0:0:57

I am a CA inter from India. I need to start off a career in financial management and my aim is to be a fund manager. My total work experience in the audit department of a bank is of 10 months and no other experience.

There are various courses (for example: http://www.theirm.org/courses/COcourses.html) on risk management. You could start by getting a job in the insurance industry, they often send staff on free courses in risk management.Otherwise you’d need to research the risk management diplomas and certificates available in your country.
Other sources:
www.edwel.com
www.learningtree.com/courses/286.htm

I understand how derivatives work. I want to know other methods / unique ways of applying derivatives to hedge exposure to a particular investment.

see article called "How can i manage financial risk?" on http://www.howtotradeforeigncurrency.com/forex-blog/how-can-i-manage-financial-risk-