401(k) Participants Turn to Pros For Help Managing Their Money

You're a computer engineer, or a nurse, or a graphic designer. Just keeping current in your own specialty is an effort. So what happens to your 401(k) retirement plan while you're off doing what you do?

Does it just languish, forgotten, in some dusty corner of your mind? Are you, among millions of others, crossing your fingers and hoping your portfolio will provide?

Thanks to changes in the industry, investors now can get more help managing their 401(k) accounts. In the past, to prevent conflicts of interest, defined contribution plan providers could make only general asset class recommendations. But regulations now allow financial service companies to hire independent, third-party financial advisers like Ibbotson Associates to manage individual investors' 401(k) accounts. 

Those who choose professional help will find that the money in their portfolio will be allocated appropriately to funds in their existing plan, rebalanced regularly and adjusted over time to meet changing life circumstances. And these programs are catching on.

Ibbotson is the independent third-party advisor for 401(k) managed account programs run by AIG VALIC, Fidelity, Great-West Retirement Services, Merrill Lynch, the Principal Financial Group and TIAA-CREF. Although 401(k) managed accounts are only two years old, participation in such programs is increasing rapidly. Currently there is over $10 billion in 401(k) managed account programs, and that number is expected to reach $300 billion in 2010, according to industry research firm TowerGroup.

A major reason for the growth is that many employees don't know how to manage their retirement plans. Human resources firm Hewitt Associates found that only 16 percent of 401(k) plan participants made any changes to their accounts in 2004. The study also found that, while some employees were not aggressive enough with their investments, others took on too much risk. For example, participants concentrated about 27 percent of their 401(k) assets in their company stock.

Finishing College And Feeling Concerned About Your Debt-Helpful Information To Put You On The Right Path

Finishing College And Feeling Concerned About Your Debt-Helpful Information To Put You On The Right Path 

Many people that go off to college never expect to graduate and suddenly have to be terrified by the fact that they collected some big expensive debts while they were there and are responsible now for paying them back. Debt can build up before you ever notice and especially whenever you are spending years working your tail off during college. Student loans will cost you after you graduate from college, so being prepared is definitely where it is at and what is going to save you tremendous heartache.

Debt is something that many people have to deal with throughout their lives and getting right out of college can be a scary time for anybody to have to worry about any sort of debt ordeal, there is no doubt about that. Paying back student loans that were collected during the time that you were in college can be very scary but knowing what to expect whenever that time does come is always better than not being familiar with it. 

These loans can be quite substantial, to say the very least but as long as you always make your payments promptly and in a timely manner, you will be just fine and will not have to worry about them coming after you, wanting their money. Creditors can be extremely pushy whenever it comes to collecting their money for anyone of you out there but avoiding them is only you prolonging the inevitable and you know that is never going to completely fix anything for you in a positive manner. 

Finishing college is a very trying time for anyone going through that experience and you totally deserve as little stress as possible because you have worked for so long and so hard, that the last thing you need right now is to be concerned and stressed over any type of debt. There are different things that anyone of you could try doing to ensure that you do not have to be bogged down with any sort of student loan debts after finishing college. Make sure you speak up front to the one's loaning you your money about all of the terms and conditions so that everything is completely understood. 

Your future could be brighter by you just taking some simple steps in planning and preparing in a more efficient manner each time that something does come up that will cost you money down the road. Having a financial plan is always extremely crucial when determining whether or not you are going to be able to live by your means or end up struggling severely down the road because of your debt. 

Make sure that you start saving money during college and planning for that time whenever you do finally graduate because that is the moment of truth and the time in your life where you will be responsible for paying back any student loans that you acquired during those years. Your debt is just that, it is your debt, nobody else is going to handle things for you, so be a grown up finally and handle your finances properly. 

Angel Investors Definition

Angel investors are one of the financing options that you can look into when you decide to start your own business venture. Business start-up is not only a crucial process it also requires a lot of time, effort, and of course money. If you do not have the money needed to fund your business, then how can you start your operation? That is why, when you start planning your business venture, you have to carefully consider your capital. And if you do not have a large amount to start with, you can rely on angel investors to provide you capital. But before looking for one, you have to make sure that you understand the angel investors definition. 

Angel investors are high-net worth and accredited individuals that give financial aid to future business owners who are in need of start-up money. They are well-educated, have valuable experience in business, and possess a large sum of money which they invest in exchange for ownership equity. They are usually the best financing option during the early stage of the business. Nowadays, lots of individuals choose to become angel investors. And so when you start your search for the right angel investor, it is important that you know the angel investors definition of each type.

Corporate Angel Investors Definition

Corporate angels are former business executives who have retired early or have been replaced. Although investment is one of their goals, they look for personal opportunity at the same time. So, usually they want to acquire a position in the business as part of the deal. But this should be thoroughly discussed since some corporate angels can be too controlling.

Entrepreneurial Angel Investors Definition

Entrepreneurial angels are successful business owners themselves. Unlike the corporate angels, they can take bigger risks and provide larger amount of money since they have a steady income source. Usually, these businessmen want to assist future business owners to have a successful start-up and eventually a competitive business. The major advantage of these angels is that they are less demanding and they allow the business owner to grow in his own, with them only as financial back-up. 

Enthusiast Angel Investors Definition

Enthusiast angels are retirees who simply enjoy getting involved in different business deals and transactions. They are mostly above 65 years old and are already wealthy even before they start their own businesses. Just like the entrepreneurial angels, they also don’t want to play any role in business management.  

Micromanagement Angel Investors Definition

Micromanagement angels are individuals who have exerted their own efforts in order to become wealthy. Because of their experience, they believe that they know exactly how a business should be managed. Although they are not active participants in management, they can be very visible when the management of the business starts to have problems and is not doing well. 

Professional Angel Investors Definition

Professional angels are lawyers, accountants, and doctors who want to make investments in companies that offer a service or product with which they have little experience. Their main goal of investing is to be hired by the business at the same time as consultant in their area of expertise. 

These are the different types of angel investors that you might encounter when you start looking for the right angel investor for your business. By keeping these angel investors definitions in mind, you can easily decide which one is appropriate for you.

Angel Investors Bring Big Ideas to Reality

If you're an emerging company with the next great product, sometimes you need an angel on your side.

A study by the University of New Hampshire's Center for Venture Research showed that "angel investors" - high-net-worth individuals willing to invest in entrepreneurial companies at an early stage - shelled out more than $18 billion into early-stage companies last year alone, compared to $304 million by venture capitalists.

Finding an angel investor, however, is not an easy task. Safer Smokes Inc. is one company that understands the challenge of attracting the right investors.

This development-stage company is tapping the smoking cessation market with a unique tobacco-free, nicotine-free smoke called Bravo, which has the appearance of a traditional cigarette and burns like tobacco, but is actually made from lettuce fibers.

"Bravo lets you smoke your way out of the tobacco habit gradually," said Puzant C. Torigian, chief executive officer of Safer Smokes.

For companies like Safer Smokes, it may be too soon to approach large venture capital firms, yet time to move beyond networking with family and friends. Angel investors to the rescue.

"The challenge for raising capital in today's market is in harnessing the courage and vision of the angel to see through to the real investment opportunity," said Torigian.

So how do companies like Safer Smokes attract their angel? 

* Have a clear-cut target market for your product or service. For example, Safer Smokes is targeting the smoking cessation market, which has sales approaching $10 billion per year, up from $6 billion just three years ago.

Most angel investors prefer companies that are likely to show positive cash flow within their first 18 months, so having these kinds of statistics about your market can be an incentive.

* Match the business plan objectives to the angel's risk tolerance. Investors want to know the product or service will be unique and well-cultivated. Safer Smokes has a patented solution that company officials say will "affect the landscape of the health care industry."