Month: April 2020

Business

5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Managed IT Services

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

The way different companies used to do business has been changed dramatically in the last few years. Now, there are the latest and modern solutions for companies and businesses in order to enhance their productivity and grow their businesses.

Managed services for businesses have genuinely revolutionized the start-up culture. There are different kinds of service providers for your business all around the globe. It means you don’t have to a separate department for everything. Instead, you can just get managed services. For example, Managed IT services for small and mid-sized organizations are easily available, and you can easily take benefits from it.

Woman Holding Laptop Beside Glass Wall

Here are some of the reasons that make managed IT services a must-have for your business:

 Efficient and Reliable IT Operations

When it comes to IT operations, you need to have an efficient and reliable team to take care of the important things. It is only possible when you have a team full of experts to perform on-demand IT support. Therefore, if you get managed IT services, you’ll know that you have a collaborative partner to make things easy for your business. Hence, you’ll be able to focus on matters other than IT support.

Enhanced Compliance and Security

IT management services make sure that they provide ultimate compliance and security to your business. If you have an in house IT team, then if things go south and there is a security breach, your system will be compromised. So, you’ll have to spend a good deal of money to make sure that you have unbreakable security. But, if you get managed services, then they will take care of all the security details for your business.

Proactive Maintenance Approach

When it comes to IT support, it means that you’ll be needing regular maintenance. This maintenance can be extremely time consuming, and if not done on time, it can affect your business operations. Therefore, make sure that you have the right approach for maintenance. It is important because, if delayed, it can cause serious damage to standard operations and workflow of your business.

A Cost-Effective Solution

If you are a small or medium-sized business, then obviously, finance is difficult for you to manage. You can’t afford to build a complete in-house tech support team. It requires a lot of infrastructure and resources. Therefore, getting the services of a company is a cheap and wise option for small and medium-sized businesses. Now, even the big companies around the globe are choosing such companies because of all the benefits they have to offer.

Enables the Internal Staff to Be More Productive

Lastly, the most important thing for any business is the high productivity of the staff. When you have managed services from another company, it’ll definitely easily burden off your own employees. Hence, they will have more time and resources to focus on other important business operations. It’ll be the ultimate help for your business’s growth because his growth highly depends on the productivity of your employees.

Economics

Coronavirus Research Index Reveals which Countries Put the most Effort in COVID-19 Research

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Finbold.com has launched the Coronavirus Research Index (CRI) to identify countries that are putting in the most effort in finding ways to manage the COVID-19 disease.

The index ranks the countries based on the number of active medical coronavirus studies that show which countries are actually executing the most research related to COVID-19 to understand the virus to find the effective means of managing the disease. According to the Index, China, the United States, and France are the top three countries leading in the number of active studies related to coronavirus.

China leads in studying coronavirus

The CRI shows that China has 60 active studies, with the United States having 49 ongoing studies. On the other hand, France has 26 active studies. Idas Keb, a co-founder at Finbold, on the findings commented:

“Interestingly, the index also reveals that while there is some correlation between countries that have the most COVID-19 cases and the number of medical studies, the majority of the countries are still far behind on coronavirus research. For example, Spain, which is second by the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, is not within the top 5 countries in the research index.”

The report features studies that are labeled as ‘Active’ on the ClinicalTrials.gov database. The studies have a different status like Recruiting, Not yet recruiting, Active not recruiting and Enrolling by invitation.

The research index also highlights the study title, the status of the study, the institutions carrying out the study and the interventions placed into managing the condition.

Currently, the Finbold.com Coronavirus Research Index identifies 39 countries with ongoing studies on COVID-19. All listed countries have confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

You can find the research and try out the tool here: https://finbold.com/coronavirus-research-index/  

Banking

Is a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) a Good Idea for Freelancers

Author ByCFI.co

A quarter of British adults have nothing in savings. Meanwhile, one in 10 Brits admits they tend to spend more than they earn. As a freelancer, you can’t get caught without a good nest egg awaiting you during retirement. By setting up a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), you can prepare yourself for the year to come. A SIPP will help you save for retirement without worry you’ll spend your savings. 

What is a SIPP pension exactly, and how does it work?

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about SIPP investments as a freelancer!

What is a SIPP?

First, what exactly is a self-invested personal pension?

A SIPP is a pension that holds all of your investments until you retire and begin drawing a retirement income. This form of personal pension works similarly to a standard personal pension. The main difference, however, is that a SIPP offers more flexibility with the investments you choose.

Once you have your SIPP set up, you can add regular contributions to your nest egg. You can also make ad hoc payments into your self-employment pension. Then, your pension provider will claim tax relief and add it to your savings.

How Does It Work?

How does a SIPP work and help you save for retirement?

With a standard personal pension, all of your investments are managed for you. They’re controlled within the pooled fund you selected. With SIPPS, however, you have the freedom to select and manage your own investments instead. 

You can also pay an experienced, authorised investment manager to make the decisions for you. 

SIPPs are best for people who want to manage their own funds. By giving you control, your self-invested personal pension also allows you to switch investments as you’d like. That way, you have the peace of mind that you’re making investments with your own best interests in mind. 

Why Is It Important as a Freelancer?

The majority of Brits between the ages of 22 and 29 have no more than £1,000 tucked away in savings. If your self-employed, it’s up to you to start a pension on your own. 

Unfortunately, many self-employed people struggle to make ends meet as they grow older. By planning for SIPP investments now, you can prepare yourself for any rocky roads ahead.

There are a few benefits to choosing a SIPP, including:

  • You can receive pension tax relief from the government
  • A strong pension plan will give you low-cost access to professional investment managers
  • The right investment manager can help you invest your money in a range of assets
  • Choosing the right assets can help you manage risk in a sensible way
  • If you die before you turn 75, your pension will pass on to your beneficiaries as a lump sum
  • New pension freedom rules allow you to decide what to do with your pension savings when you reach retirement

As a freelancer, having the freedom to choose what you do with your self-employed pension is essential. Many full-time employees are already paying into a pension. In fact, employers are now obligated to automatically enrol employees into a workplace pensions scheme. 

Other Options

If you’re currently self-employed and want to set up a private pension, start by finding any old workplace and personal pensions established in the past. Then, combine them into your new pension. Completing this process will make your new self-employment pension easier to manage in the long-run.

Working with a financial advisor can make this process easier, too. They can help move your pensions over into their system. Then, they’ll combine and transfer your pensions into your new SIPP pension plan. 

Otherwise, might need to contact your previous pension providers to get your pension balances on your own. 

In addition to a SIPP pension plan, you might decide on other options, including a personal pension or stakeholder pension. Self-employed individuals can also utilise the government scheme National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), too. However, there’s no “best” pension for self-employed workers.

It really depends on your own specific circumstances.

Ideally, try to find a provider who lets you make contributions when you want. As someone who is self-employed, your income might not end up as predictable as you’d like. Having control over the details of your self-employed pension can make it easier to manage. 

Investments

Now that you know a little more about how SIPP investments work, let’s review the assets you can choose from. A few include:

  • Unit trusts
  • Some National Savings and Investment productions
  • Commercial property (shops, offices, factories)
  • Investment trusts
  • Government securities
  • Individual stocks and shares (quotes on the recognised UK or overseas stock exchange)
  • Insurance company funds
  • Traded endowment policies
  • Deposit accounts with banks and building societies 

However, this is only a shortlist. Speaking with an expert can help you explore your options. There are also different SIPP providers who have different investment options available for you to choose from. 

You can’t hold residential property directly within a SIPP with tax advantages that usually accompany pension investments.

However, you can hold residential property in a SIPP through certain types of collection investments. For example, a real estate investment trust would allow you to include the property in a SIPP without you losing tax advantages.

These investments are often subject to restrictions. It’s also important to note that not all SIPP providers will accept this type of investment. 

In addition to your self-invested personal pension, make sure to take the time to develop an overall investment strategy. Planning now will help you in the future.

You can access and use your SIPP more flexibly now. According to new rules, you can now access the money in your SIPP at the age of 55. 

Take a SIPP: Understanding Your Self-Invested Personal Pension as a Freelancer

Prepare for the future and make the most of your money. By understanding the importance of creating a self-invested personal pension, you can save away money as a freelancer. Then, you’ll have what you need to prepare for the day you retire!

Searching for more helpful investment tips? Explore our latest Investment Management guides today.

Wealth Management

Core principles to boost up your profit factors

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

While trading, every trader uses a unique trading strategies to navigate in the Forex market. Strategies are used by traders to help them to trade in a profitable way. You need to understand the fact that not all the strategies will work for every trader. A simple trend trading strategy can help you to secure profit, but still, you might not be able to make a decent profit after a few months. The market is always changing its nature and it’s your duty to keep pace with this dynamic market.

The market allows a trader to work as per their skills and strategies. If you have good and effective skills and strategies you will be able to make profits but if you have a lack of skills and strategies then you will find it difficult to make profit. Although there are some important principles that are common in the entire market for all traders to achieve their goals.

Pay attention to the indicators

It’s important for all traders to understand what is happening and what might happen in the market. Through the analysis of Forex indicators, you can understand the market better. Indicators play a crucial role in the market, so all traders should learn their uses. When you learn the use of the indicators, open a demo account with Rakuten so that you don’t have to lose too much money.

You can find out the economic situation of the market’s currency by using the indicators. The indicators also help traders to identify the best time for entry and exit in a profitable way. If you can identify the best times then it will maximize your profits by reducing your losses.

Keep a personal trading record

Many traders fail to keep accurate and faithful trading records and thus can’t identify their previous mistakes or rectify them. Trading records can enhance a trader’s entire trading system, as it allows you to trade by thinking twice to find out whether you will make profit or not. Once you develop the habit of keeping the record, you can execute quality trades in the fx trading account. Most importantly, you will start building up confidence which is the most crucial component of trading.

You can make better strategies and skills in your trades by keeping trading records. A trading record acts as a guideline for traders as it helps them to rectify their previous mistakes and to trade with better strategies in the next move.

Embrace the risk management

If you want to become a successful trader, you should never avoid risk management in your trades. Risk management is essential for all the traders as they can lower the percentage of losses in the trades by setting proper risk management. Never break the rules of risk management as it can blow up the trading account. Stick to the safe method so that you can earn big amount of money. Analyze the losing orders and learn from your mistakes. Once you become good at trading, start placing trades with confidence.

You should never risk more than 2% of your trading capital and never change your risk management out of greed. Many new traders set higher risk management in their trades and thus end up losing their capital. It is also known that proper risk management is a savior for traders as it reduces the percentage of losses.

Conclusion

You can have your own rules for trading in the Forex market but don’t ever avoid the principle trading methods. The above points will help you to trade in a profitable way, you also need to pay attention to all the terms and conditions of the market. The entire trading system may become easier for you if you learn and understand the market more precisely. Mastering the Forex market is a never-ending learning process.

Technology

How do the professional cryptocurrency miners make a profit

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Mining has become a very lucrative business. Due to the rising demand for cryptocurrency, thousands of people are trying to earn their living by mining it. In the past, mining Bitcoin was extensively popular. But things are getting much better. People are mining different types of crypto to compete with giant mining companies. Though you could have once made a decent amount of money as a solo miner, nowadays it has become way more difficult.

Does that mean, we the individual miners have no place? Well, it’s a bit of a tricky question as the answer is related to the actions of miners. If a person knows the ins and outs of the mining business, it can be a life-changing profession. Let’s learn some of the key steps which miners are using to make big profit from this market.

Return over investment

The professional miners have a clear knowledge of ROI which is often known as a return over investment. You don’t want to spend a huge amount of money setting up a personal mining rig without knowing the ROI. You have to consider mining as a business and only then will you be able to come up with a unique idea that will tell you how much money might get from per month. Once you know your monthly income from mining, it’s just basic math to find out how long it will take to cover the investment. In the past, the mining process was much easier but things are extremely difficult now. Unless you have a super-powerful mining rig, you should not expect to get a full return from your investment within a short time. So, consider the ROI factor whiling mining cryptocurrencies.

Selection of the digital asset

Selecting a digital asset is the most complicated task. It’s more like knowing what cryptocurrency to buy. Those who think Bitcoin mining is the only way to make money have a lot to learn about the crypto mining industry. People are mining Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, etc. which is relatively easy. So, how do you find the best digital asset to mine?  Pro miners use the real-time market data from bigX and they find the cryptocurrencies which are most likely to go in up the near future. So, it’s obvious you can’t make a big profit by mining one specific set of the asset. Try to diversify your mining rigs so that it increases your win rate. It might be tough for new miners but they must educate themselves to become pros.

The cost associated with mining

Setting up the mining rig is not the only cost by which you can make a decent profit from this market. You have to know about the associated cost in mining. In most cases, electricity consumption becomes the killers. But the professional miners use alternative solar power to mitigate the mining cost. Setting up a solar power hub for the mining rigs might be a very expensive process. Unless you are going to commit to this business in the long run, you should not entertain this idea. At times, you will also have technical faults in the mining rigs. To fix these problems, you have to spend a good amount of money. Include those costs in your mining business and find out how much money you can make from this industry. This data will help you to scale the business.

Conclusion

Mining can be a very profitable business for those who know the perfect way to run a rig. It requires constant supervision and adjustments to the strategy so that you can efficiently mine cryptocurrencies. Though new miners might not understand the importance of focusing on the minor details, it plays a crucial role in the ROI factor. So, follow the tips of this article very carefully.

Finance

Finding the standard size of your trading account

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Very few traders pay attention to the size of their trading account. In most cases, the traders are biased in favor of leverage and they are enjoying the high-risk trading environment. But leverage is only for the expert Singaporean traders who know the risk management policy from the core. They often find it hard to manage the leverage trading account. The best practice is to use 1:10 leverage (maximum) while trading the real market. You can say that without using the leverage, you won’t be able to support your family. Well, it depends on the size of your account. If you invest $1000, it’s very obvious you are not going to make a significant profit from this market.

This content is not going to be like a traditional article. We are going to give you some key metrics that will allow you to manage the risk in trading. Most importantly, it will help you to find the amount of money which you must have to live your life with trading business.

Your family needs

First of all identity your family needs. Calculate the basic costs of your family life so that you know the minimum amount of money you need to make per month. In most cases, rookies don’t believe in such an approach. They become fairly aggressive with the trading method and try to earn money without having any goal. But such things are not going to work. This is not how the professionals place their trade in real life. They have specific sets of goals and for this reason, they can make a decent profit from this market. Being a new trader in the Forex market, it will be tough to trade with goals. Without developing these skills, you won’t be able to know the amount of money which you must invest in trading.

Depends on your win rate

The success rate of retail traders in the exchange traded funds greatly varies. You have to know your success rate by using the demo account. Those who have a high success rate can effectively use leverage. So, they will require a small amount of money. On the contrary, those who don’t have a high success rate must trade with a low leverage account. For them, leverage is like a time bomb. They will never know when it costs them a fortune. So, work hard on your trading strategy so that you can have a great win rate in trading. Never try to deal with the market with a low win rate as it makes the trading process much more complicated.

Profit factors

You might be thinking about how much money you can earn from this market. The professional usually makes 5-10%+ profit per month. So, use the simple mathematical calculation and find out how much money you need to support your family. If the number of too big, you must increase the size of your capital. But this should be done professionally. Borrowing money from other people to trade the market is a very big mistake. This is one of the most common reasons why rookies are losing money in trading.

The rookies might not be able to earn so much profit for the first few years. They should be happy with a 2-3% profit per month. Once they become good at analyzing the profit factor, they can easily scale up the size of their account balance.

Conclusion

There is no fixed rule to investing money at trading. But stop investing money that you can’t lose in trading. If we talk about the rule of thumb, it is imperative to invest at least $2000 at the initial stage. Anything less than that will force you to overtrade. Once you start overtrading, you are going to have a very long journey towards success.