by Adrian Suljanovic•06:30 AM, 2 Jun 2023•4 minute read
Fresh-faced broker brothers Blake and Reece Thorn have found their way into the family business and have made their father’s brokerage Auspak Home Loans their own.
In this Q&A, we find out how and why the dynamic duo entered the broking industry, how these two siblings work together, what their first deal was, and how they de-stress and unwind after a long day.
Here’s what they had to say:
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How would you feel if the financial adviser you hired to take care of your investments had four previous instances of customers filing a complaint against them? What if they had been fired from two previous financial institutions? Hopefully it would give you the same sick feeling it gives me.
How would you feel if you learned that you could have discovered all of this if you had spent less than 10 minutes doing some online research? Don’t answer that quite yet. More on that in a bit…
Navigating the choppy waters of the investing world isn’t easy. You’ve got a multitude of account options to consider and even more investments and insurance to protect your family. Having a solid financial adviser by your side to guide your ship through to calm waters is an invaluable asset.
Unfortunately, the act of finding a good adviser is difficult, and there is a sea of job titles to understand that potentially confuse the issue. Some of them are meaningless and don’t describe the depth of knowledge or experience required to acquire the title. Others take years of experience and study to pursue, but the title may not help you discern that. You want someone on your team with the latter, not the former.
Yet even finding the right designation isn’t a guarantee you’ve found a good adviser. Some advisers are just out to make a buck while others have unrealistic expectations about what kind of returns can be earned in the market. (There are 7 types of financial advisers I want to punch in the face, so make sure your adviser doesn’t have any of these qualities either.)
Once you have a list of candidates in front of you, the next step is to find out about your adviser’s background. Grab your shovels; we’re going digging.
How to check your financial adviser’s background and qualifications
Here are seven ways to check up on a financial adviser’s background and professional qualifications. It might look like a lot of effort — but work with me, people! The following can be done in less than 30 minutes. Unfortunately, some of my clients learned that the hard way.
The clients were in their 70s and didn’t have a good feeling about their adviser. Their kids shared their sentiments and reached out to me. After spending a total of 15 minutes doing some research online, I discovered terrifying news: There were four separate instances where a client had filed a complaint against the adviser. In fact, he had been let go from his previous brokerage firm because of the complaints.
A few of the allegations included “breach of fiduciary duty” and “fraud.” I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t trust someone to manage my money who can been involved in several wrongdoings. These are the grievances we know about. What about the ones we don’t?
You’re willing to spend four days researching the best price and deal on your next big-screen TV purchase, right? By comparison, for less than an hour of your time, you can protect yourself — your retirement, your investment in your kid’s education, and your overall financial well-being — from a scam artist. Presumably, it’s worth your time. Let’s get to work.
1. Understand the adviser’s credentials Just because someone has a crazy alphabet soup of titles behind their name on their business card doesn’t mean they are truly qualified to be your financial adviser. Do some research on the actual credential first. You can use Investor Watchdog’s Here’s what it takes to become a CFP.) You have to have two to five years of experience. There is a ton of studying involved. The test takes forever (not everyone passes) and there are continuing education requirements to keep the CFP designation.
If someone tells you they are a CFP, that’s great, but you need to verify. Pretty much all of the quality credentials offer a search function on their website, and the CFP Board is no different. You can do a search under Find a CFP Professional.
If you did a search for me, this is what you would find:
My info on CFP.net
As you can see, it shows that I received the CFP designation in 2008, that I haven’t had a bankruptcy in the last 10 years, and that I’ve never been disciplined by the CFP Board. If your adviser doesn’t show up in the search or has disciplinary action from the board, that is a red flag.
3. Perform a FINRA Broker Check Next you will want to perform a FINRA Broker Check. FINRA stands for “Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.” It is the largest independent regulator of securities firms in the United States.
Broker Check will show you:
whether the adviser is registered with FINRA. (I haven’t been since 2011 when I left my employer to start my own financial advising firm.)
which industry exams the adviser has passed, such as, the Series 7 (to become a stockbroker, broker-dealer, or Registered Representative) and Series 66 (to become an Investment Adviser Representative).
any disciplinary action that has been taken against the adviser.
the adviser’s previous employment history for the last 10 years. (If they change brokerage firms every 12 months, that would be a concern.)
states in which the adviser is allowed to do business. (If your state is not listed, run!)
any outside business interests that the adviser has. (If part of his pitch is to get you to invest in a new condo development and it turns out he owns a majority stake in it, run!)
I had to drop my Series 7 when I started my own firm, so that’s why I’m not registered with FINRA. Even so, it makes sense to check my information with this tool. I voluntarily dropped my Series 7 so my info still looks clean in FINRA’s eyes. But what if I was no longer registered with FINRA because they had to discipline me four times? Look out!
4. Perform SEC and NASAA searches Your next stop on the research train is the good ol’ SEC. No, I don’t mean college football. We’re going to check in with the regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Generally speaking, if you are in the business of giving advice on investing in securities, you must either register with the SEC or register with your state’s regulatory authority. You register with the big boys if you manage more than $25 million in client assets. Smaller than that and you are your state’s problem, not the SEC’s.
The SEC has a ton of good information on avoiding scams on their website, and they offer a broker search as well. The only info I could find on me was from FINRA’s Broker Check which the SEC utilizes. If I worked for a massive firm, you could search that as well.
The SEC will also point you to the North American Securities Administrators Association. This is the association of state regulators, and for over 100 years they have defended the small investor from local scams. You definitely want to check in with them even if it means you actually — gasp — have to pick up the phone and call the state regulators yourself. NASAA says it best on their site:
“State securities regulators should be the first call for an investor before you turn over any money to a broker or investment adviser. You can access extensive employment, disciplinary, and registration information about your stockbroker or investment adviser through your state securities regulator.”
5. Ask individuals you trust So you’ve done your “official” homework. You poked around at the regulatory bodies that should know about serious wrongdoing by your potential adviser. Don’t stop there.
The searches above are only going to show you the grievous offenses by the adviser. Those are absolutely critical to know, but it doesn’t paint the full picture. You also need to know simple things like if the adviser calls his or her clients back in a timely manner and whether or not people actual enjoy using his or her services.
So ask around. Ask your friends, colleagues, and family members. Have they heard of the adviser? Good? Bad? Indifferent?
Reputation in the local area is a big deal. Do take everything with a grain of salt — just because one person is super upset doesn’t mean the adviser is terrible — but a bunch of bad comments would be of concern.
6. Check out the web and read social media profiles Lastly there is this one amazing tool that I’m sure you’ve never heard of.
Are you ready?
It’s called Google.
I know, right? Crazy. You can search for your potential adviser’s information on Google. Seeing a lot of news articles about a Ponzi scheme they might be running? You know what to do. (Hint: Run quickly to the nearest CFP with a fiduciary duty to you.)
You can also check out Facebook profiles, what they’re saying on Twitter, or if they have any recommendations on LinkedIn. These social media tools will give you a better idea of the type of person who will be investing your money. Maybe they went to your university’s rival school and you just can’t bring yourself to trust “them,” or maybe their Facebook page is full of photos of an event at your favorite non-profit and you feel an instant connection.
You don’t have to be best buddies with your adviser, but understanding who they are and how they act outside of the formal, professional website for their services is important too.
7. Ask the adviser this critical question You’ve whittled your list of potential advisers down to a few key people. It’s time to sit down with them in person for your first consultation. (Hopefully it’s free.) You can talk about their experience, background, exams, and all that. That’s fine.
But there is one thing you really need to ask: “Mr. Adviser, do you have a fiduciary duty to me?”
Any answer other than an immediate “yes” should make you uncomfortable. Fiduciary duty is where someone legally puts your best interests above their own.
Let’s say that one more time so it sinks in. If your adviser has a fiduciary duty to you, they must legally operate in a way that puts your interests above their own.
How about the opposite? If your adviser doesn’t have a fiduciary duty to you, then they can operate so that they put their best interests above yours. That means they could put you in expensive investments with high fees that they get paid a huge commission on when there are better, less expensive alternatives available.
An adviser who doesn’t put you first is one whom I would be hesitant to hand my financial future to because there’s no guarantee he or she won’t do whatever they want with my money to earn themselves an income rather than to protect my financial assets.
I mention asking this question in person versus on the phone because you want to see if the potential adviser squirms or tries to walk around the question. You deserve a straight answer and you want to see how they react.
Protect yourself with a little effort
What’s sad to me as an adviser is it is pretty rare for someone to go through all of these steps, yet they take so little time to perform. Again, think about your last major purchase whether it was a car, a refrigerator, or a TV. You probably spent hours standing in the big box store staring at the TV screens, going home, and reading technical reviews online. And that’s for a television.
Invest a little bit of time to make sure you aren’t going to ruin your entire financial future by signing up with a scam artist rather than a legitimate financial adviser. You’ll be glad you did.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
38k salary is a solid hourly wage; above most minimum hourly wage jobs.
For most people, an entry-level job would be paying just over $38,000 a year. The question that remains is can you make a living off $38k a year.
The median household income is $67,521 in 2020 which decreased by 2.9% from the previous year (source). Think of it as a bell curve with $68K at the top; the median means half of the population makes less than that and half makes more money.
The average income in the U.S. is $48,672 for a 40-hour workweek; that is an increase of 4% from the previous year (source). That means if you take everyone’s income and divided the money out evenly between all of the people.
But, the question remains can you truly live off 38,000 per year in today’s society since it is well below both the average and median household incomes. The question you want to ask all of your friends is $38000 per year a good salary.
In this post, we are going to dive into everything that you need to know about a $38000 salary including hourly pay and a sample budget on how to spend and save your money.
These key facts will help you with money management and learn how much per hour $38k is as well as what you make per month, weekly, and biweekly.
Just like with any paycheck, it seems like money quickly goes out of your account to cover all of your bills and expenses, and you are left with a very small amount remaining. You may be disappointed that you were not able to reach your financial goals and you are left wondering…
Can I make a living on this salary?
$38000 a year is How Much an Hour?
When jumping from an hourly job to a salary for the first time, it is helpful to know how much is 38k a year hourly. That way you can decide whether or not the job is worthwhile for you.
38000 salary / 2080 hours = $18.27 per hour
$38000 a year is $18.27 per hour
Let’s breakdown how that 38000 salary to hourly number is calculated
For our calculations to figure out how much is 38K salary hourly, we used the average five working days of 40 hours a week.
Typically, the average workweek is 40 hours and you can work 52 weeks a year. Take 40 hours times 52 weeks and that equals 2,080 working hours. Then, divide the yearly salary of $38000 by 2,080 working hours and the result is $18.27 per hour.
Just above $18 an hour.
That number is the gross hourly income before taxes, insurance, 401K, or anything else is taken out. Net income is how much you deposit into your bank account.
You must check with your employer on how they plan to pay you. For those on salary, typically companies pay on a monthly, semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly basis.
What If I Increased My Salary?
Just an interesting note… if you were to increase your annual salary by $5K to $43K per year, it would increase your hourly wage to over $20 an hour – a difference of $2.40 per hour.
To break it down – 43k a year is how much an hour = $20.67
That difference will help you fund your savings account; just remember every dollar adds up.
How Much is $38K salary Per Month?
On average, the monthly amount would be $3,167.
Annual Salary of $38000 ÷ 12 months = $3167 per month
This is how much you make a month if you get paid 38000 a year.
$38k a year is how much a week?
This is a great number to know! How much do I make each week? When I roll out of bed and do my job of $38k salary a year, how much can I expect to make at the end of the week for my effort?
Once again, the assumption is 40 hours worked.
Annual Salary of$38000/52 weeks = $730 per week.
$38000 a year is how much biweekly?
For this calculation, take the average weekly pay of $730 and double it.
This depends on how many hours you work in a day. For this example, we are going to use an eight-hour workday.
8 hours x 52 weeks = 260 working days
Annual Salary of$38000 / 260 working days = $146 per day
If you work a 10 hour day on 208 days throughout the year, you make $182 per day.
$38000 Salary is…
$38000 – Full Time
Total Income
Yearly Salary (52 weeks)
$38,000
Monthly Salary
$3,166
Weekly Wage (40 Hours)
$730
Bi-Weekly Wage (80 Hours)
$1,461
Daily Wage (8 Hours)
$146
Daily Wage (10 Hours)
$168
Hourly Wage
$18.27
Net Estimated Monthly Income
$2,418
Net Estimated Hourly Income
$13.95
**These are assumptions based on simple scenarios.
38k a year is how much an hour after taxes
Income taxes is one of the biggest culprits of reducing your take-home pay as well as FICA and Social Security. This is a true fact across the board with an all salary range up to $142,800.
When you make below the average household income, the amount of taxes taken out hurts your hourly wage.
Every single tax situation is different.
On the basic level, let’s assume a 12% federal tax rate and a 4% state rate. Plus a percentage is taken out for Social Security and Medicare (FICA) of 7.65%.
So, how much an hour is 38000 a year after taxes?
Gross Annual Salary: $38,000
Federal Taxes of 12%: $4,560
State Taxes of 4%: $1,520
Social Security and Medicare of 7.65%: $2,907
$38k Per Year After Taxes is $29,013
This would be your net annual salary after taxes.
To turn that back into an hourly wage, the assumption is working 2,080 hours.
$29013 ÷ 2,080 hours = $13.95 per hour
After estimated taxes and FICA, you are netting $29,013 per year, which is $8,987 per year less than what you expect.
***This is a very high-level example and can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and potential deductions. Therefore, here is a great tool to help you figure out how much your net paycheck would be.***
Taxes Based On Your State
In addition, if you live in a heavily taxed state like California or New York, then you have to pay way more money than somebody that lives in a no tax state like Texas or Florida. This is the debate of HCOL vs LCOL.
Thus, your yearly gross $38000 income can range from $25,973 to $30,533 depending on your state income taxes.
That is why it is important to realize the impact income taxes can have on your take home pay. It is one of those things that you should acknowledge and obviously you need to pay taxes. But, it can also put a huge dent in your ability to live the lifestyle you want on a $38,000 income.
How Much Is 38K A Year Hourly Salary Calculator
More than likely, your salary is not a flat 38k, here is a tool to convert salary to hourly calculator.
Many entry level jobs start at this range, which may make you believe that a business degree is worth it.
38k salary lifestyle
Every person reading this post has a different upbringing and a different belief system about money. Therefore, what would be a lavish lifestyle to one person, maybe a frugal lifestyle to another person. And there’s no wrong or right, it is what works best for you.
One of the biggest factors to consider is your cost of living.
In another post, we detailed the differences of living in an HCOL vs LCOL vs MCOL area. When you live in big cities, trying to maintain your lifestyle of $38,000 a year is going to be extremely difficult because your basic expenses, housing, transportation, food, and clothing are going to be much more expensive than you would find in a lower cost area.
To stretch your dollar further in the high cost of living area, you would have to probably live a very frugal lifestyle and prioritize where you want to spend money and where you do not. Whereas, if you live in a low cost of living area, you can afford the cost of living and maybe save more money. Thus, you have more fun spending left in your account each month.
As we noted earlier in the post, $38,000 a year is well below the average income that you would find in the United States. Thus, you have to be wise with how you spend your money.
What a $38,000 lifestyle will buy you:
If you are debt free and utilize smart money management skills, then you are able to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
You are able to rent in a decent neighborhood in LCOL.
Driving a beater car is normal.
You should be able to meet your basic expenses each and every month.
Not be able to afford many of the fun spending luxuries.
Participate in the 200 envelope challenge.
When A $38,000 Salary Will Hold you Back:
However, if you are riddled with debt or unable to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle, then living off of 38k a year is going to be pretty darn difficult.
There are two factors that will keep holding you back:
You must pay off debt and cut all fun spending and extra expenses.
Break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
It is possible to get ahead with money!
It just comes with proper money management skills and a desire to have less stress around money. That is a winning combination regardless of your income level.
$38K a year Budget – Example
As always, here at Money Bliss, we focus on covering our basic expenses plus saving and giving first, and then our goal is to eliminate debt. The rest of the money leftover is left for fun spending.
This is how zero based budgeting works.
If you want to know how to manage 38k salary the best, then this is a prime example for you to compare your spending.
You can compare your budget to the ideal household budget percentages.
recommended budget percentages based on $38000 a year salary:
Category
Ideal Percentages
Sample Monthly Budget
Giving
10%
$158
Savings
15-25%
$570
Housing
20-30%
$887
Utilities
4-7%
$127
Groceries
5-12%
$253
Clothing
1-4%
$19
Transportation
4-10%
$127
Medical
5-12%
$158
Life Insurance
1%
$10
Education
1-4%
$10
Personal
2-7%
$29
Recreation / Entertainment
3-8%
$71
Debts
0% – Goal
$0
Government Tax (including Income Tatumx, Social Security & Medicare)
15-25%
$749
Total Gross Monthly Income
$3,167
**In this budget, prioritization was given to basic expenses and no debt.
Is $38,000 a year a Good Salary?
As we stated earlier if you are able to make $38,000 a year, that is a low salary. You are making around or just above minimum wage.
While 38000 is a decent salary just starting out in your working years, it is a salary that you want to rapidly increase before your expenses go up or the people you provide for increase. If not, you will be left working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
However, too many times people get stuck in the lifestyle trap of trying to keep up with the Joneses, and their lifestyle desires get out of hand compared to their salary. And what they thought used to be a great salary actually is not making ends meet at this time.
This $38k salary would be considered a lower class salary. You must make each dollar count in your budget.
Check: Are you in the middle class?
In fact, this income level in the United States has enough buying power to put you in the top 95 percentile globally for per person income (source).
The question you need to ask yourself with your 38k salary is:
Am I maxed at the top of my career?
Is there more income potential?
What obstacles do I face if I want to try to increase my income?
In the future years and with possible inflation, in many modest cities a 38,000 a year is not a good salary because the cost of living is so high, whereas these are some of the cities where you can make a decent living at 38,000 per year.
If you are looking for a career change, you want to find jobs paying at least $50000 a year.
Is 38k a good salary for a Single Person?
Simply put, you can make it work.
You can stretch your salary much further because you are only worried about your own expenses. A single person will spend much less than if you need to provide for someone else.
Your living expenses and ideal budget are much less. Thus, you can live comfortably on $38000 per year.
And… most of us probably regret how much money wasted when we were single. Oh well, lesson learned.
Is 38k a good salary for a family?
Many of the same principles apply above on whether $38000 is a good salary. The main difference with a family, you have more people to provide for than when you are single or have just one other person in your household.
At the 38K salary with a family, you would need more than one income stream to make this possible without government help.
The costs of raising children are high and will steeply cut into your income. As you can tell this is a huge dent in your income, specifically $12,980 annually per child.
That means that amount of money is coming out of the income that you earned.
So, the question really remains is can you provide a good life for your family making $38,000 a year? This is the hardest part because each family has different choices, priorities, and values.
More or less, it comes down to two things:
The location where you live in.
Desire to improve your career and make more money.
Your lifestyle choices.
You will not be able to afford everything on this salary.
Many times when raising a family, it is helpful to have a dual-income household. That way you are able to provide the necessary expenses if both parties were making 38,000 per year, then the combined income for the household would be $76,000. Thus making your combined salary a very good income.
Learn how much money a family of 4 needs in each state.
Can you Live on 38000 Per Year?
As we outlined earlier in the post, $38,000 a year:
$18.27 Per Hour
$146-182 Per Day (depending on length of day worked)
$730 Per Week
$1,461 Per Biweekly
$3,166 Per Month
Next up is making $40,000 a year.
Like anything else in life, you get to decide how to spend, save and give your money.
That is the difference for each person on whether or not you can live a lower-class lifestyle depends on many potential factors. If you live in Washington or New Jersey you are gonna have a tougher time than in Florida or even Texas.
In addition, if you are early in your career, starting out around 32,000 a year, that is a okay place to be getting your career. However, if you have been in your career for over 20 years and still making $38K, then you probably need to look at asking for pay increases, pick up a second job, or find a different career path.
Regardless of the wage that you make, if you are not able to live the lifestyle that you want, then you have to find ways to make it work for you. Everybody has choices to make.
But one of the things that can help you the most is to stick to our ideal household budget percentages to make sure you stay on track.
Learn exactly how much do I make per year…
One of the best ways to improve your personal finance situation is to increase your income. Here are a variety of side hustles that are very lucrative. With time and effort, you can start enjoying the lifestyle you want.
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You might be asking yourself what the Jackson Five has to do with the Roth IRA five year rule for qualified withdrawals? I’m sad to say, “Absolutely nothing”. Other than then number “five”, of course. I just thought it was fitting with all the recent tributes to the King of Pop to have my own. Now that I have your attention…..
The basics of the Roth IRA include the phrase “Tax Free Money”. That phrase makes the Roth IRA the most attractive retirement planning tool of our time. When it comes to the intricacies of the Roth IRA, in regards to how it works, some confusion can set in. One provision of the Roth IRA that can leave many scratching their heads is the Roth IRA Distributions Rules For Withdrawals: 5 year rule.
The Five Year Rule pertains to when you can take qualified distributions from your Roth IRA tax and penalty free. Nobody wants to pay tax and penalties, right? That’s why it’s important to know how the Roth IRA withdraw rule works. Just to add more fun to the mix, you need to first know that there are two sets of Five Year rules. One pertains to Roth IRA contributions and the other pertains to Roth IRA conversions. We’ll begin with Roth IRA contributions.
Withdrawal Rules on Roth IRA Contributions
In order for you to take money from the Roth IRA tax and penalty free, it has to be considered a “qualified distribution”. We’ll get to what the rules on qualified distribution are in one moment. First thing I need to remind you is that all contributions can be taken at any time, tax and penalty free. That means what you put into the Roth IRA (contribution) can be taken out the following day without consequence (not factoring sales charges and market risk).Let me illustrate:
Example 1
You open a Roth IRA at your bank and decide to put $5000 into a money market account inside the Roth. A month goes by and something happens where you need to withdraw your money. You can withdraw the original $5000 tax and penalty free. What has to stay is the earnings or, in this case, the interest that you made off the $5000 (which should be minimal considering you didn’t have it that long). Now keep in mind, the bank may charge you some cancellation fee of some kind, so read the fine print. But as far as the IRS is concerned, you are in the clear.
Example 2
Just to illustrate another side of the first example, let’s say this time you decide to invest at a brokerage firm and choose an investment more tied to the stock market. After a month goes by, your original $5000 investment now plummets to $3000. (I think a lot of people can relate to that). All you are allowed to withdraw is the $3000. That’s it! Sometimes that gets overlooked. Also, if you paid a sales charge or commission on that investment, that’s not being refunded to you either.
What is the Rule For Qualified Distributions on a Roth IRA?
What’s so important about a qualified distribution? If it’s deemed qualified, you then avoid taxes and the 10% early withdraw penalty. Taken directly from IRS pub 590 this defines what qualified distribution is:
A qualified distribution is any payment or distribution from your Roth IRA that meets the following rules. It is made after the 5-year period beginning with the first taxable year for which a contribution was made to a Roth IRA set up for your benefit, and the payment or distribution is:
Made on or after the date you reach age 59½
Made because you are disabled
Made to a beneficiary or to your estate after your death, or
One that meets the requirements listed under First home under Exceptions in chapter 1 (up to a $10,000 lifetime limit).
Remember that you have until April 15 of the following calendar year to make a Roth IRA contribution for any tax year. But the five year window begins January 1st of the actual tax year. Also, the five year window is based on when you made your first deposit. Meaning that a new five year window does not begin with each additional deposit. Is your head spinning? Let’s look at another example:
Example 3
You open a Roth IRA but don’t actually make your first contribution until April 10th, 2006. Your five year window would then begin on January 1st, 2005. If you didn’t make another deposit until 2008, your five year window is still based on the January 1st, 2005 date. Don’t forget that it’s Five Year rule plus one of the other factors (most likely 59 1/2) to get the money tax and penalty free.
Roth IRA Conversions
The Five Year Rule works a bit differently when it pertains to Roth IRA Conversions. The major difference is starting of a new five year window with each new conversion. Once you reach the age of 59 1/2 this isn’t much of an issue, but you still need to aware of this. Especially, if you haven’t had a Roth IRA open for at least five years. If so, the conversion amount will come out tax free, but the earnings are still subject to a five year holding period. Let’s look at another example:
Example 4
If you started a Roth IRA at age 50 with a contribution and then decide to convert at ages of 58, 59, and 60 respectively, you are immediately eligible to take all funds out tax and penalty free (even earnings) since you satisfied age and “any or “a” five year holding period in a Roth.
The above example is one what I wrestled with trying to find the answer and as it stands right now, that is the best interpretation of the rule that I’ve found.
Similar to Roth IRA contributions, the five year clock begins on January 1st of the year that you convert. The key difference is that the you must convert in the calendar year and not the tax year: before December 31st.
Converting has been difficult to qualify for a conversion since your adjusted gross income has to be less than $100,000. But as I’ve written about on more than one occasion, Roth conversion rules change slightly and the income limit is removed in 2010. Expect many to take advantage of this next year.
Keep it in Order: Rules For Taking out of Roth IRA
You have made it thus far- congratulations! We’re almost there. The last step that we have to address is the ordering rules for taking out withdrawals from your Roth IRA. This is important because of, once again, the taxes and penalties that might occur. According to the IRS, the order of a distribution from a Roth IRA is:
Regular Contributions – by considering the first money withdrawn from the account “regular contributions,” and not earnings, the IRS allows account holders to remove a portion of their accounts before the five-year rule applies.
Conversions – this is on a first-in, first-out basis. So the money placed into an account because of a conversion that occurred in 2008 would be removed before a conversion that occurred in 2009.
Taxable – the taxable portion of the conversion is removed first. This is the amount claimed as income because of the conversion.
Non-Taxable – this is the portion of the conversion not included in gross income.
Earnings – finally, the last money to be removed from an account are the earnings on the assets placed in the account.
Logically, it makes sense. The monies that you have paid taxes on will come out first tax and penalty free. After the contributions are taken out, just work down the list to see what you can or cannot take. Still confused? This is where a CPA or a Certified Financial Planner can assist you computing the numbers for you.
Required Minimum Distributions and Roth IRA
One last note when doing conversions and you are over the age of 70 1/2. Since you are the IRS magic age to begin required minimum distributions, those distributions can’t be converted to a Roth IRA. In the year you wish to convert, you must first withdraw your required distribution, and then you can convert any or all remaining funds to a Roth. This is only if you do a full conversion. If you are looking to do a Roth IRA conversion at the beginning of the year, but postpone your RMD; then you’ll want to do a partial conversion and leave at least the amount of the RMD in the IRA. Be sure to double check with your IRA custodian to see what their policy is on the matter of RMD’s and converting. Keep in mind that in 2009 RMD’s are suspended, so that would not apply. It will continue as scheduled in 2010.
What’s the Difference Between Short Calls and Long Calls?
Every time a call option contract transaction takes place there is a seller and a buyer. The seller is said to have gone short the calls and the buyer is long the calls. “Short calls” and “long calls” are simply shorthand for these two positions and strategies.
Short calls are a bearish options strategy used to profit from an expected sideways to downward price action on a security. On the other hand, a long call is a bullish options strategy that aims to capitalize on upward price movements on an asset such as a stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Short calls are the opposite strategy to long calls and their potential payoffs reflect that. Long calls have the potential to be unlimited in gain, and short calls the maximum gain is the premium.
What Are Short Calls?
“Short calls” is shorthand for pursuing the strategy of selling a call option.
Short call sellers receive a premium when the call is sold. The seller hopes to see a decrease in the underlying asset’s price to achieve the maximum profit.
It is also possible for the seller to profit if the underlying asset price stays the same. Options prices are based on intrinsic value (the difference between the strike price and the asset price) and time value.
If the asset price remains stable, intrinsic value will also be stable. However, as the option nears expiration the time value will drop to zero due to theta decay.
Furthermore, there are two types of short calls, naked and covered calls. Short calls are “naked” when the seller does not own the underlying asset. Short calls are “covered” when the seller owns the underlying asset at the time of sale.
Short calls have a fixed maximum profit equal to the premium collected and losses are undefined. Theoretically, a stock could rise to infinity, so there is no cap on how high the value of a call option could be.
Therefore short calls can be highly risky. For this reason, traders should have a risk management plan in place when they engage in naked call selling.
Short Call Example
It’s helpful to see an example of a short call to understand the upside reward potential and downside risks involved with such a strategy.
Suppose your outlook on shares of XYZ stock is neutral to bearish. You think that the stock, currently trading at $50, will trade between $45 and $50 in the next three months.
A plausible trade to execute would be to sell the $50 strike calls expiring in three months. We’ll assume those options trade at $5. The breakeven price on a short call is the strike price plus the premium collected.
In this example, the breakeven price is thus $50 plus $5 which is $55. You profit so long as the stock is below $55 by the time the options expire but will experience losses if the stock is above $55 by expiry.
Two months pass, and the stock is at $48. The calls have dropped in value thanks to a minor share price decline and since there is less time until expiration. The drop in time value relates to decaying theta, one of the option Greeks, as they’re called. Your short calls are now valued at $2 in the market.
Fast-forward three weeks, and there are just a few days until expiration. The stock has rallied to $49, but the calls have actually fallen in value. They are now worth just $1. Time decay has eaten away at the value of the calls — more than offsetting the rise in the underlying shares. Time decay becomes quicker as expiration approaches.
You choose to buy-to-close your options in the market rather than risk a late surge in the stock price. Most options are closed out rather than left to expire (or be exercised) as closing options positions before expiration can save on transaction costs and added margin requirements. You cover your short calls at $1 and enjoy a net profit of $4 on the trade ($5 collected at the trade’s initiation and a $1 buy back to close the position).
Pros and Cons of Short Calls
Pros of Short Calls
Cons of Short Calls
Benefits from time decay
Unlimited risk if the underlying asset rises sharply
Can be used in combination with a long stock position to generate extra income (covered call)
You may be required to deliver shares if the options holder exercises the call option
The underlying stock can be sideways to even slightly higher and you can still profit
Reward is capped at the premium you received at the onset of the trade
Finally, user-friendly options trading is here.*
Trade options with SoFi Invest on an easy-to-use, intuitively designed online platform.
What Are Long Calls?
Long calls are the opposite strategy to a short call. With a long call, the trader is bullish on the underlying asset. Once again, a key piece of the options trade is the timing aspect.
A long call benefits when the security rises in value, but it must do so before the options expire.
Long calls have unlimited upside potential and limited downside risk. A long vs short call differs in that respect since a short call has limited profit potential and unlimited risk.
A long call is a basic options strategy that is often a speculative bullish bet on an underlying asset. It’s a good options strategy for those just starting out since there is a limited loss potential and the strategy itself is not complicated.
Long Call Example
Buying a long call option is straightforward. Long calls vs short calls involve different order types. With long calls, you input a buy-to-open order and then choose the calls you wish to purchase.
You must enter the underlying asset (often a stock or ETF, but it could be an option on a futures contract such as on a commodity or currency), along with the strike price, options expiration date, and whether the order is a market or limit order.
Suppose you go long calls on XYZ shares. The stock trades at $50 and you want to profit should the stock rise dramatically over the next month. You could buy the $60 strike calls expiring one month from now. The option premium — the cost to buy the option — might be $2. Because the call is out-of-the-money, that $2 is composed entirely of extrinsic value (also known as time value).
Since you are going long the calls, you want the underlying stock price to rise above the strike price by expiration. It’s important to know your breakeven price with a long call — that is the strike price plus the premium paid. In our example, that is $60 plus $2 which is $62. If the stock is above $62 at expiration, you profit.
After three weeks, the stock has risen to $70 per share. Your calls are now worth $13.
That $13 of premium is made up of $10 of intrinsic value (the stock price minus the strike) and $3 of time value since there is still a chance the stock could keep increasing before expiry.
A few days before expiration, the shares have steadied at $69. Your $60 strike calls are worth $10. You decide to take your money and run.
You enter a sell-to-close order to exit the position. Your proceeds from the sale are $10, making for a tidy $8 profit considering your $2 premium outlay.
Pros and Cons of Long Calls
Pros of Long Calls
Cons of Long Calls
Unlimited upside potential
The premium paid can be substantial
Risk is limited to the premium paid
You can be correct with the directional bet and still lose money if your timing is wrong
Is a leveraged play on an underlying asset
There’s a chance the calls will expire worthless
Comparing Short Calls vs Long Calls
There are important similarities and differences between a short call vs long call to consider before you embark on a trading strategy.
Similarities
Traders use options for three primary reasons:
• Speculation — Speculators often do not take positions in the underlying stock. Investors can buy a call and hope the underlying asset rises or they can sell a call and hope the asset price drops. Either way, the investor is taking a risk and could lose their investment, or more in the case of naked short calls.
• Hedging — Short sellers of stock may sometimes buy call options to hedge their stock positions against unexpected price movements.
• Generate Income — Covered short calls help to generate extra income in a portfolio. The seller sells a call that is out-of-the-money, collects the premium, and hopes the stock doesn’t rise to that strike price. However, the investor can also choose a strike that they would be happy to sell at such that, if the stock rises and the option is exercised, they are happy to sell their shares.
Differences
Long calls are a bullish strategy while short calls are a neutral to bearish play.
Potential profits and possible losses are the opposite in long calls vs. short calls. A long call has unlimited upside potential and losses are limited to the premium paid. A short call has an unlimited loss potential with a max profit that is simply the premium collected at the onset of the trade.
Time decay works to the benefit of an options seller, such as when you enter a short call trade. Time decay is the enemy of those who are long options.
When implied volatility rises, the holder of a call benefits (all else equal) since the option will have more value. When implied volatility drops, options generally become less valuable, which is to the option writer’s benefit.
It’s also important to understand the moneyness of a call option. A call option is considered in-the-money when the underlying asset’s price is above the strike price. When the underlying asset’s price is below the strike, then the call option is considered out-of-the-money.
A call writer prefers when the call is more out-of-the-money while a call holder wants the calls to turn more in-the-money.
Short Calls
Long Calls
Neutral-to-bearish view
Bullish view
A more advanced options play
A trade that is good for options beginners
Limited reward, unlimited risk
Unlimited reward, limited risk
The Takeaway
Long calls and short calls are two options trading strategies you can use to place a directional and timing wager on an underlying asset — often a stock or ETF. Buying calls is a bullish play while selling calls is a neutral to bearish strategy.
If you’re ready to try your hand at options trading online, You can set up an Active Invest account and trade options from the SoFi mobile app or through the web platform.
And if you have any questions, SoFi offers educational resources about options to learn more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but some fees apply, and members have access to complimentary financial advice from a professional.
With SoFi, user-friendly options trading is finally here.
FAQ
Are long calls better than short calls?
Long calls are not necessarily better than short calls. Using one versus the other depends on your outlook on how a security will move between now and expiration.
Long calls appreciate when the underlying asset rises in value. Short calls, on the other hand, are useful if you have a neutral to bearish view on a security. Short calls drop in value as time value erodes and when the underlying asset’s price falls.
Like long calls, it is important that your directional bet and timeframe line up with the calls you look to sell short.
How do short calls and covered calls differ?
Short calls are often naked positions. That means they traded outright without having an existing long stock position. Naked short calls are risky since there is unlimited loss potential should the stock rise.
Covered calls work by owning shares of a stock, then selling calls against that long stock position. Covered calls are a common options trading strategy whereby a trader looks to enhance a portfolio’s income by collecting a premium while the underlying shares trade sideways or decline in value.
The downside of covered calls is that your shares can get called away from you if the stock price rises above the strike price. Covered calls have the benefit of protecting the trader from unlimited losses since the long stock position offsets the short calls’ unlimited loss potential.
Photo credit: iStock/Prostock-Studio
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Warehouse, Appraisal, Non-QM, RON Products; Reverse Mortgages: Catch the Wave; Mortgage Apps Continue Decline
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Warehouse, Appraisal, Non-QM, RON Products; Reverse Mortgages: Catch the Wave; Mortgage Apps Continue Decline
By: Rob Chrisman
3 Hours, 24 Min ago
A biologist, a chemist, and a statistician are out hunting. The biologist shoots at a deer and misses five feet to the left. The chemist takes a shot and misses five feet to the right. The statistician yells, “We got ’em!” Are you selling your house? Me neither. Few people are: there are only about 564,000 active listings. That’s about 11,000 per state. In California, where there are 58 counties, that is an average of less than 200 per county. In Wyoming, the least populated state, there are 58 counties so that’s 190 listings per county. Of course, averages don’t apply like that, but it is important to keep things in perspective, and the overarching issue is a continued lack of supply and a strong demand impacting prices, affordability, and sales numbers. Can lighthouses help? Since 2000 about 150 lighthouses have been transferred to new owners, about 80 given away at no cost to agencies, nonprofits or educational organizations willing to maintain them, and about 70 auctioned off for a total $10 million so far. This year, six lighthouses are up for offer. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Lenders One, one of the largest mortgage co-ops in the country with a diverse mix of 250+ member companies and providers of an end-to-end solution independent mortgage professionals trust to drive profitability and growth. Listen to an interview with Verisk’s Kingsley Greenland on climate risk, stress testing, catastrophe modeling, and macroeconomic policy.)
Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services
“Have you found yourself digging through loan files to find price concession records while an auditor awaits? Have you ever wondered if your margin is better or worse than your peers? Have you been looking for a way to track how competitive your pricing is, in real time? Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, offers data and analytics tools that provide this actionable business intelligence, and more! Our granular rate lock data provides key insights into your business, as well as benchmarking against 42% of all rate lock activity. Reach out to Optimal Blue now to learn how our data and analytics platform can help you develop smarter, more profitable pricing strategies!”
Beer – it’s not just for drinking anymore. In fact, beer is just one of many everyday items with multiple uses that would surprise you. Want another? Remote online notarization (RON) isn’t just for originations anymore. Recently, servicers have discovered the benefits of using RON for loan modifications, partial claims and even assumptions. On average, servicers reduced the average cycle time from 21 days down to 7 days. While we all know that time is money, the reduction in cycle time and carry costs resulted in a savings of about $500 per loan. In today’s environment where we all need to find savings to help improve our margins this is an easy way to get there. Email Suzanne Singer or stop by NotaryCam’s booth 22 at NS3 in St. Louis next week to learn more about the many uses of RON.
“No one does Non-QM like Newfi Wholesale! Our newly expanded Non-QM product suite offers 90% LTV up to $1.5M, loan amounts up to $4M, 2-1 buydowns, DSCR (no minimum ratio) 1-8 units, and alt-doc solutions that make sense for your borrowers. Most of all, we have a passion to close deals and about 1/3 of all of our funded Non-QM deals have common-sense exceptions! In the words of one of the brokers who work with us: “Looking for an amazing Non-QM lender? Newfi is your go-to lender.” We offer industry-leading Non-QM pricing, technology, and product innovation. For more information contact SVP, Non-QM Development & Strategy Dan Bayer or 925-584-0579.”
Tired of slow, low-quality appraisals? Try The Appraisal Marketplace. The Marketplace allows you to fulfill appraisal orders directly from your LOS, without relying on an AMC or managing a panel. Even better, by leveraging real-time appraiser performance data, its “Uber-style” algorithm matches every order with the appraiser that’s truly right for the job. This gives you the fastest turn times, lowest revision rates & lowest fee escalation rates in the industry. Seriously. Learn more.
“CWDL is committed to empowering our clients and friends with mortgage industry-specific education and insights, even when it’s outside of our core focus on audit, accounting, and tax. So, when our clients mentioned they’d like to better understand the perspectives of warehouse bankers and how they evaluate lenders, we organized a panel of industry veterans to share their insights. Join us for our webinar on June 15 to “Meet the Warehouse Bankers,” as we discuss such topics as when and how to best communicate with your warehouse partners; how warehouse banks evaluate counterparty risk in their clients; what lenders should consider or plan for regarding M&A, a winddown or facility consolidation; and much more. This webinar is free and open to all lenders who are looking for more insight into their warehouse relationships. To register, contact Kasey English.”
Agencies, Investors, Lenders, and Reverse Mortgage Biz
The last time I saw a stat, 10,000 people a day were turning 62. And a lot of them have equity in their houses. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association points out that, “Homeowners 62 and older saw their housing wealth grow by 1.95 percent or $226 billion in the third quarter to a record $11.81 trillion from Q2 2022, according to the latest quarterly release of the NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index… The increase in older homeowners’ wealth was mainly driven by an estimated 1.95 percent or $268 billion increase in home values, offset by a 1.93 percent or $42 billion increase in senior-held mortgage debt.” So, if you’re looking for a growth business…
Need a Pre-Qual? Plaza’s Reverse Mortgage staff will run a complete analysis of your submitted information and send the findings back to you via e-mail, typically within a few hours. The analysis details available funds, interest rates, fees, and other loan information.
Plaza Home Mortgage posted Video Marketing to Seniors. And brokers can use Plaza’s Reverse Calculator to run scenarios and you’ll quickly and easily see how much borrowers could receive, no personal information required.
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation has had a reverse division for many years and has seen continued growth.
CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) announced that it is expanding its reverse mortgage division by making additional investments, resulting in what it calls “enhancements.” “Borrowers heading into retirement are seeking solutions that will benefit their future. CCM’s newly established Reverse One Team offers a specialized network of advisors and tools for loan officers to become certified specialists in originating reverse mortgage loans.”
Reverse training and certification programs among “forward” lenders are increasing. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. and Guaranteed Rate, for example, offer pathways within their organizations for forward professionals to become certified in reverse mortgages. Broker shops including C2 Financial also maintain a reverse training and certification program.
PHH Mortgage delivers for the entire mortgage lifecycle: non-delegated, best efforts, mandatory, bulk MSR, and reverse.
While bringing more forward specialists up-to-speed with reverse origination practices can certainly help to expand an LOs or lender’s business, it is well known that anyone interested in the business must be aware of some of the specific differences inherent in originating the product when compared with more traditional, forward mortgage options. And a solid month, volume-wise, might only be one or two loans.
Anyone interested should check out Reverse Mortgage Daily, and think about the use of video in their marketing and consulting with client’s families. “Homeowners aged 55 and over increasingly embrace online video as one of their preferred ways to research and discover information…68% of Baby Boomers use YouTube to watch videos. Half of them watch videos more than once per week, and they’re watching news, educational content, and DIY tutorials.”
Capital Markets: Housing Prices Ramping Up
The bad news is that mortgage applications continue to falter. The good news is that we finally had a little rally yesterday as bond markets responded to weekend news that President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. Rates had risen of late as fears of a U.S. default gained momentum. A default would force the Treasury Department to pay higher interest on its bonds to convince investors to stick around, with mortgage rates and other borrowing costs tending to follow Treasury rates.
In Federal Reserve news, New York Fed President Williams discussed inflation, the labor market, and the importance of price stability yesterday by saying, “Inflation remains too high, and high inflation is hardest on those who can least afford to pay higher prices for food, shelter, and transportation.” He explained that the U.S. is seeing signs of a gradual cooling in the labor market, along with a rebound in labor force participation. Still, unemployment nationally remains historically low, at 3.4 percent.
The first trading day of a shortened week was headlined by house price indexes. The FHFA Housing Price Index was up 0.6 percent in March after increasing a revised 0.7 percent in February. The index was up 4.3 percent year-over-year, with prices in many western states starting to decline for the first time in over ten years. The fastest growing states were South Carolina, North Carolina, Maine, Vermont, and Arkansas. The declining states included Utah, Nevada, California, Washington, and D.C. Separately, the Case-Shiller home price index rose 0.7 percent in March, suggesting that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 may have come to an end. The S&P Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index was down 1.1 percent in March with big declines out West, and the Southeast remaining the country’s strongest region.
Today’s calendar kicked off with the usual mortgage applications from the MBA for the week ending May 26. Mortgage applications decreased 3.7 percent from one week earlier, with activity expected to decline again following last week’s increase in yields amid increasing odds of a 25 basis points hike at the June FOMC meeting. During the reporting period, 30-year mortgage rates hit new highs for the year and their highest since last November.
Later this morning brings Chicago PMI for May, Job openings from JOLTS for April, and Dallas Fed Texas services for May. Four Fed speakers are scheduled: Boston President Collins, Governor Bowman, Governor Jefferson, and Philadelphia President Harker. The latest Beige Book will be released in the afternoon ahead of the June 13/14 FOMC meeting. The rest of the week will be dominated by the jobs report on Friday, the last jobs report before the mid-June FOMC meeting. Fed funds futures currently see a 60 percent chance for another 25-basis point hike. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better by .125-.250 and the 10-year yielding 3.65 after closing yesterday at 3.70 percent; 4.40 percent on the 2-year.
Employment and Transitions
“Are you an account executive looking to change it up!? Why not Kind Lending!? At Kind, our family of diverse and talented Kind Ambassadors are the driving force behind our new approach to the mortgage experience. We are focused on serving the broker community and their borrowers by providing an array of products, top-notch service by experienced and friendly professionals and superior resources to support their business model. Founded by Glenn Stearns in 2020, Kind Lending is one of the fastest growing mortgage lenders in the country, building partnerships with our customers, who ultimately become family and our reason why. At the heart of it all, our people believe kindness matters and a client’s positive experience is everything. Come grow with us! Contact Delfino Aguilar, SVP TPO Production (619.726.0377).”
Earlier this month Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) announced the winners of its Home Possible RISE Awards®. The annual program, RISE (Recognizing Individuals for Sustained Excellence), salutes Freddie Mac’s top clients across multiple categories for excellence with the Home Possible® mortgage, Freddie Mac’s affordable lending solution for very low- to low-income homebuyers. Hallmark Home Mortgage earned the Home Possible RISE Award for Greatest Volume. “I’m thrilled and honored that Hallmark Home Mortgage has been recognized with the Freddie Mac Home Possible Rise Award for the Greatest Volume in the Corporate Segment. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, and we are incredibly proud of this achievement,” noted Deborah Sturges, CEO & Founder Hallmark Home Mortgage.
Evergreen Home Loans™ adds to its awards line up. This year, the company placed on the Puget Sound Business Journal Corporate Philanthropy List for the third year in a row. It honors the region’s corporate philanthropists and companies who have made significant contributions to the community through philanthropic work. “We are committed to making a meaningful impact in our local communities,” said Don Burton, Founder and CEO of Evergreen Home Loans. “And we are humbled by the recognition for this award.” As loan officers, you already positively impact lives and communities… Continue to do so with a company that helps associates give back, provides paid hours for volunteer work, celebrates individual growth, and truly lives its unique and award-winning culture. Visit the Evergreen careers page to explore current opportunities.
Are you a loan officer or mortgage banker frustrated with the constraints of retail lending? Tired of competing against lower rates, fees and closing costs? Then now’s the time to take control of your pipeline and career by making the switch to wholesale lending as an independent mortgage broker. Whether you’re looking to open your own brokerage or join a team as a loan officer, you can get up and running without missing a beat with support from the team at BeAMortgageBroker.com. You have nothing to lose and only clients, greater flexibility and compensation to gain.
loanDepot, Inc. has promoted Alec Hanson to serve as its chief marketing officer (CMO). Hanson will “lead a consolidated marketing team, overseeing the development of brand, digital marketing, and organic and digital lead generation campaigns that drive awareness and revenue growth while differentiating loanDepot’s marketing engine as a competitive advantage for loan originators. Hanson will also be responsible for the company’s originator-led field-level marketing capabilities.”
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Today we’ll take a look at the top mortgage lenders in Colorado.
Interestingly, the top lender in the state isn’t a direct lender or a depository bank.
In fact, aspiring home buyers and existing homeowners can’t even work with this company directly.
Instead, they’ll need to work with an intermediary to access the loan programs offered by this behemoth of a mortgage company.
This company was also the top mortgage lender in the state of Arizona, giving them a strong foothold in the Mountain West region of the United States.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Colorado (Overall)
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
UWM
$11.7 billion
2.
Rocket Mortgage
$9.5 billion
3.
Chase
$8.5 billion
4.
Wells Fargo
$4.6 billion
5.
U.S. Bank
$4.6 billion
6.
Homepoint
$4.5 billion
7.
Fairway Independent
$4.2 billion
8.
American Financing
$4.1 billion
9.
Pennymac
$4.0 billion
10.
loanDepot
$3.9 billion
As alluded to, the top Colorado mortgage lender last year was actually a wholesale lender that works with mortgage brokers.
This runs counter to the more traditional retail lending channel offered by big banks and household lenders like Rocket Mortgage.
Yet somehow United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) managed to beat the competition quite easily with $11.7 billion in loan origination volume, per HMDA data from Richey May.
That was more than enough to take out national #1 overall Rocket Mortgage’s $9.5 billion, and JPMorgan Chase’s $8.5 billion.
In order to work with UWM, you’d need to enlist a mortgage broker that is approved to do business with UWM.
Seeing that UWM is the largest wholesale mortgage lender in the nation, most mortgage brokers are.
Another advantage to using a mortgage broker is that they will likely be approved with several companies, so it may turn out that they have a better option beyond UWM.
For the record, Rocket Mortgage also operates a wholesale unit so a broker could be working with both simultaneously and send your loan to the one offering the best price.
Moving on, a pair of depository banks took fourth and fifth, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank, both with roughly $4.6 billion each.
The rest of the top 10 featured a slew of nonbank lenders, including Homepoint, Fairway Independent Mortgage, American Financing Corp., Pennymac, and loanDepot.
American Financing Corp. is the only Colorado-based mortgage lender on the list, headquartered in Aurora, just east of Denver.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Colorado (for Home Buyers)
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
UWM
$4.7 billion
2.
Chase
$3.9 billion
3.
Fairway Independent
$2.7 billion
4.
FirstBank
$2.1 billion
5.
U.S. Bank
$2.1 billion
6.
Cherry Creek Mortgage
$1.9 billion
7.
Rocket Mortgage
$1.7 billion
8.
Wells Fargo
$1.6 billion
9.
loanDepot
$1.5 billion
10.
Guaranteed Rate
$1.4 billion
If you’re thinking about buying a home, you might be curious who the top lenders are for home purchase loans.
Some mortgage lenders specialize in both purchase loans and refinances, while others focus on just one.
When we narrow it down to just purchase transactions, UWM still retained the lead with $4.7 billion funded.
That was enough to keep Chase’s $3.9 billion at bay, and more than enough to conquer Fairway Independent Mortgage’s $2.7 billion.
Coming in fourth was Colorado’s own FirstBank with $2.1 billion, which has over 100 locations in The Centennial State.
U.S. Bank snagged fifth with roughly the same amount funded during the year.
Local mortgage banker Cherry Creek Mortgage took sixth with $1.9 billion, followed by Rocket Mortgage, Wells Fargo, loanDepot, and Guaranteed Rate.
Always good to see some local names on these lists – and it makes more sense to be in this category as home buyers tend to gravitate to more native companies for big life decisions.
Top Refinance Lenders in Colorado (for Existing Homeowners)
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
Rocket Mortgage
$7.7 billion
2.
UWM
$7.0 billion
3.
Chase
$4.5 billion
4.
American Financing
$3.7 billion
5.
Freedom Mortgage
$3.3 billion
6.
Homepoint
$3.3 billion
7.
Wells Fargo
$2.9 billion
8.
Pennymac
$2.7 billion
9.
loanDepot
$2.5 billion
10.
Newrez
$2.4 billion
When it came to mortgage refinancing, Detroit-based Rocket Mortgage ruled the roost with $7.7 billion funded last year in the state.
However, their crosstown rival UWM (also from Michigan) wasn’t far off with $7.0 billion funded.
If Rocket served more home buyers in Colorado, they could have challenged the top spot overall.
Coming in third was Chase with $4.5 billion, followed by local mortgage banker American Financing Corp. with $3.7 billion.
And rounding out the top five was Freedom Mortgage with $3.3 billion. They tend to excel when it comes to refinance loans.
Others in the top 10 refinance list included Homepoint, Wells Fargo, Pennymac, loanDepot, and Newrez.
Top Mortgage Lenders in Denver
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
UWM
$7.2 billion
2.
Rocket Mortgage
$5.4 billion
3.
Chase
$5.2 billion
4.
American Financing
$3.0 billion
5.
Fairway Independent
$2.8 billion
6.
U.S. Bank
$2.8 billion
7.
Homepoint
$2.8 billion
8.
Wells Fargo
$2.4 billion
9.
loanDepot
$2.3 billion
10.
Newrez
$2.0 billion
Top Mortgage Lenders in Colorado Springs
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
Ent Credit Union
$1.8 billion
2.
UWM
$1.4 billion
3.
Freedom Mortgage
$1.3 billion
4.
Pennymac
$1.2 billion
5.
Rocket Mortgage
$1.2 billion
6.
NBH Bank
$615 million
7.
Cherry Creek Mortgage
$557 million
8.
Homepoint
$493 million
9.
loanDepot
$468 million
10.
Chase
$450 million
Top Mortgage Lenders in Fort Collins
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
UWM
$550 million
2.
Cornerstone Home Lending
$543 million
3.
Rocket Mortgage
$510 million
4.
Chase
$344 million
5.
First National Bank of Omaha
$342 million
6.
U.S. Bank
$275 million
7.
Elevations CU
$267 million
8.
First Western Trust Bank
$259 million
9.
Homepoint
$258 million
10.
loanDepot
$249 million
Top Mortgage Lenders in Boulder
Ranking
Company Name
2021 Loan Volume
1.
Elevations CU
$1.2 billion
2.
Chase
$720 million
3.
UWM
$558 million
4.
Rocket Mortgage
$510 million
5.
Cherry Creek Mortgage
$398 million
6.
Wells Fargo
$348 million
7.
FirstBank
$305 million
8.
Homepoint
$259 million
9.
Guaranteed Rate
$247 million
10.
loanDepot
$216 million
Are Colorado’s Top Mortgage Lenders Also the Best Choice for Homeowners?
While size can matter when it comes to choosing a mortgage lender, it isn’t always a major consideration.
As noted, the top mortgage lender in Colorado isn’t even a retail company. They operate solely via the business-to-business, wholesale lending channel.
This means working with a smaller mortgage brokerage if you get a loan from UWM, which could be a single individual running their own shop.
Additionally, only one Colorado-based lender made the top-10 list, American Financing Corp.
So if you want a local lender, they might not even feature in these lists. And that’s totally fine, as long as they’re financially sound and above board.
Sure, you might find that the largest lender is also the one you like best, but they don’t necessarily need to be big to get the job done.
As always, take your time, do your research, obtain multiple quotes, and ask lots of questions before you proceed.
Generally speaking, value stocks are shares of companies that have fallen out of favor and are valued less than their actual worth. Growth stocks are shares of companies that demonstrate a strong potential to increase revenue or earnings thereby ramping up their stock price. The terms value and growth refer to both two categories of stocks and two investment “styles” or approaches of investing in stock.
Each style has pros and cons. When value investing, investors can buy shares or fractional shares of a company that has strong fundamentals at bargain prices. However, investors must be careful not to fall in a “value trap”—buying stocks that appear cheap, but are actually trading at a discount due to poor fundamentals.
What Are Value Stocks?
When investors hunt for value stocks, they are looking for stocks that are relatively cheap, unfashionable, or that they believe aren’t receiving a fair market valuation. Value investors try to identify value stocks by examining quarterly and annual financial statements and comparing what they see to the price the stock is getting on the market.
Investors will also look at a number of valuation metrics to determine whether the stock is cheap relative to its own trading history, its industry, and other benchmarks, such as the S&P 500 index.
For example, investors often look at price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which is the ratio of price per share over earnings per share. Some experts say that a value stock’s P/E should be 40% less than the stock’s highest P/E in the previous five years.
Investors may also look at price-to-book, which is the price per share over book value per share. A stock’s book value is a company’s total assets minus its liability and provides an estimate of a company’s value if it were liquidated.
Value investors are hoping to buy a quality stock when its price is in a temporary lull, holding it until the market corrects and the stock price goes up to a point that better reflects the underlying value of the company.
What Could Make a Stock Undervalued?
There are a number of reasons that a stock could be undervalued.
• A stock could be cyclical, meaning it’s tied to the movements of the market. While the company itself might be strong, market fluctuations may temporarily cause its price to dip.
Recommended: Cyclical vs Non Cyclical Stocks
• An entire sector of the market could be out of favor, causing the price of a specific stock to dip. For example, a pharmaceutical company with an effective new drug might be priced low if the health care sector is generally on the outs with investors.
• Bad press could cause share prices to drop.
• Companies can simply be overlooked by investors looking in a different direction.
What Are Growth Stocks?
Growth stocks are shares of companies that demonstrate the potential for high earnings or sales, often rising faster than the rest of the market. These companies tend to reinvest their earnings back into their business to continue their company’s growth spurt, as opposed to paying out dividends to shareholders. Growth investors are betting that a company that’s growing fast now, will continue to grow quickly in the future.
To spot growth stocks, investors look for companies that are not only expanding rapidly but may be leaders in their industry. For example, a company may have developed a new technology that gives it a competitive edge over similar companies.
There are also a number of metrics growth investors may examine to help them identify growth stocks. First, investors may look at price-to-sales (P/S), or price per share over sales per share. Not all growth companies are profitable, and P/S allows investors to see how quickly a company is expanding without factoring in its costs.
Investors may also look at price-to-earnings growth (PEG), which is P/E over projected earnings growth. A PEG of 1 or more typically suggests that investors are overvaluing a stock, while PEG of less than one may mean the stock is relatively cheap. PEG is a useful metric for investors who want to consider both value and growth investing.
Investors jumping into growth stocks may be buying a stock that is already valued relatively high. In doing so, they run the risk of losing a potentially significant amount of money if an unforeseen event causes prices to tumble in the future.
How Are Growth and Value Strategies Similar?
While growth and value investing are two different investment strategies, distinctions between the two are not hard and fast — there can be quite a bit of overlap. Investors may see that stocks listed in a growth fund are also listed in a value fund depending on the criteria used to choose the stock.
What’s more, growth stocks may evolve into value stocks, and value stocks can become growth stocks. For example, say a small technology company develops a new product that attracts a lot of investor attention and it starts to use that capital to grow its business more quickly, shifting from value to growth.
Investors practicing growth and value strategies also have the same end goal in mind: They want to buy stocks when they are relatively cheap and sell them again when prices have gone up. Value investors are simply looking to do this with companies that are already on solid financial footing, and hopefully, see stock price appreciation should rise as a result. And growth investors are looking for companies with a lot of potential whose stock price will hopefully jump in the future.
Using Growth and Value Strategies Together
The stock market goes through natural cycles during which either growth or value stocks will be up. Investors who want to capture the potential benefits of each may choose to employ both strategies over the long term. Doing so may add diversity to an investor’s portfolio and head off the temptation to chase trends if one style pulls ahead of the other.
Investors who don’t want to analyze individual stocks for growth or value potential can access these strategies through growth or value funds. Because of the cyclical nature of growth and value investing, investors may want to keep a close eye on their portfolios to ensure they stay balanced — and consider rebalancing their portfolio if market cycles shift their asset allocation.
The Takeaway
Growth and value are different strategies for investing in stocks. Investing in growth stocks is considered a bit riskier, though it also may provide potentially higher returns than value investing. That said, growth stocks have not always outperformed value stocks.
As a result, some investors may choose to build a diversified portfolio that includes each style so they have a better chance of reaping benefits when one is outperforming the other.
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Inside: Trade and Travel is a legitimate investing course to learn how to make money in the stock market. See my personal view as a student.
I have been in the personal finance industry for a long time and have watched gurus with CFP and many more designations struggle to make money consistently in the stock market.
There are many concepts on how to trade the stock market.
Teri’s IWT system works.
It’s legit.
I’m a part of her investing course. I have seen the results. $1000 a day club in my LIVE account. Yes.
So, you get to read my Invest with Teri review first.
Teri is able to break down investing into the stock market like no one else I have seen.
You can read a book or blog and find many different concepts that work for them. Then, walk away with your head spinning and quit on the idea of trading and lose a bunch of money along the way. This is why most people leave it to professionals (which is a mistake with that pesky 1% asset management fee).
The Invest with Teri Method is a 7 Step Process that simplifies how to invest in the stock market.
She goes into detail on each of the seven steps to make sure you pick the right companies, limit your risk, know when to buy, and when to take profit.
Plus you have access to a private Facebook group and countless hours of coaching calls to really understand the IWT method.
This is how I am choosing to finance the life I want.
Okay, now that we got that out of the way… let’s dig into the details of the Invest with Teri review and learn how to travel and travel.
This is what you want? Right?
Make more money and have more time freedom.
Enough sitting on the sidelines… read this IWT review and then sign up today.
Honestly, if you have any money in the stock market, you need to take this course to understand the fundamentals.
This post may contain affiliate links, which helps us to continue providing relevant content and we receive a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the full disclosure here.
What Are Online Stock Trading Classes?
If you’re interested in taking stock trading classes, there are a few things to consider before jumping into the world of investing. Stock trading is an investment that can be profitable if done correctly and is a way to grow your money.
Stock trading courses are a great way for newcomers to learn about the stock market. Also, courses are fantastic for those who want to refine their investing skills or maybe stop the bleed of money from trying on their own.
The Invest with Teri Ijeoma course provides a more structured learning path and can help you avoid some of the common mistakes made by novice traders.
In order to get the most out of a stock trading course, it is important to find one that matches your individual needs and goals. Plus one that can offer support and guidance because learning to trade is a learning curve.
Who Should Take Stock Trading Classes?
It is possible to learn the ins and outs of stock trading on your own without taking any classes.
However, for those who want a more structured learning experience, or for those who want to have access to a community of traders, stock trading classes can be a great option.
Taking stock trading classes can be a great idea for people who are interested in getting into the industry. The stock market is one of the most popular industries to get involved with, so it is likely that you’ll want to pursue a side hustle that may lead to a career in this field.
There are many different types of stock trading classes available, so it is important to do your research and find the one that best suits your needs.
Even if you are an index fund investor doing it on your own, this investing class is great knowledge to understand how the market works beyond “I hope it keeps going up.”
Must Read: How To Invest In Stocks For Beginners: Investing Made Easy
Trade and Travel 2.0
Right now, Teri and the rest of her coaches are doing a MAJOR overhaul on the signature course.
Her design team is currently working really hard to create an updated look and feel so you can experience Trade and Travel even better than before.
However, there will be changes – some we know about and some we don’t.
What we Know Today:
A significant Price increase happened (like double to $10k)
Shorting and gaps will be included in the main Trade and Travel course.
Limited time support on coaching calls. (However, a subscription model for additional coaching will be available.)
What You’ll Learn in the Trade and Travel 1.0 Course
The Trade and Travel course is an online course that will teach you everything you need to know about the world of trading, and more!
First of all, Invest with Teri along with Trade and Travel are used interchangeably. They are both the same AMAZING course that will teach you to make money in the stock market.
You will learn the Teri Ijeoma trading strategy.
The Invest with Teri 1.0 course is divided into two sections:
Travel & Travel – This is the basic course to understand fundamentals and to learn how to make money as the stock market goes up.
VIP Program – This is an advanced course that covers shorting, gaps, and options.
The great news… you can start with the basic Trade & Travel program and upgrade to VIP at a later date.
If any of this sounds foreign to you, Teri is one of the best teachers I have ever met. She breaks break down investing in the stock market like no one else I have seen. She is able to take difficult concepts and make them easy.
Simply put, Teri offers a course that teaches you everything you need to know about investing.
Later, in this Invest with Teri review, I will detail the difference between the two courses and what you will learn.
Teri’s Purpose of Trade and Travel – Financial Independence
The purpose of the course is to help students learn how to generate wealth.
Students can use the extra income earned from the course to supplement their income, pay off debt, or save so they can solidify their financial independence.
There is no doubt that in order to achieve financial independence, you need to invest in yourself. This means learning new skills, working on your mindset, and making smart choices with your money.
With a positive attitude and a determined spirit, anything is possible!
Want to Learn More about Investing?
How do you trade with Teri?
The privilege to have one-on-one coaching with Teri herself is very rare. However, she is known to offer group mastermind sessions for her VIP students.
So, in order to trade with Teri, you must enroll in the full $5000 course and wait for the next opportunity to trade with her.
Trade And Travel Program
The Trade and Travel program is the fundamental part of the investing course. This section will teach you the basics of the stock market and how to make money on the way up.
Teri’s trading strategies focus on risk management and she has seen many of her students achieve success with trading.
To be upfront in this Trade and Travel review, you will learn:
Learn how to pick stocks
Understand how the stock market works and how you can make money off it
Recognize why risk management is the most important aspect of trading
Understanding how to read charts
Learn the best places to buy and sell a stock could be
Be able to tell the story of the candles
Understand if your stock trade has a strong likelihood of being profitable
Determine how many stocks to buy based on your risk tolerance
How to place a trade at your brokerage
Manage your trade and exit based on your trading plan
That is a highlight of what you will learn in the basic Trade and Travel program.
Trade And Travel VIP Investor Program
The VIP program is the advanced piece of the course once you learn the fundamentals of the Trade and Travel program.
For those looking to upgrade to the VIP program, you will learn:
Make money when the market goes down.
How does shorting the stock work
When to look for gaps and what they mean
What is globex?
Options! This is everyone’s favorite part of the course!
Understand how to make money with option contracts
Risk management with options
Plus so much more!
Plus you can rewatch all of the curriculum and coaching calls over and over until you get it. That aha moment!
Both Travel & Travel and VIP offer live zoom training each week. Plus there is a vault of recording coaching calls to review.
Supportive Trading Community
Teri has built a supportive trading community of fellow students who have gone through the course.
Each trade cuzzin offers encouragement, advice, moral support, and feedback to each other.
This supportive community can help people overcome their anxiety and doubts when trading and investing.
You can find this supportive community on Facebook groups, Telegram groups, Clubhouse clubs, local meetups in your city, and people have connected to create a mastermind group. Honestly, there are plenty of people available to make sure you are successful on your journey.
Don’t forget… There are weekly live calls and chart parties.
This is how many people have turned 10k into 100k.
My Personal Trade and Travel Reviews
This is one of the best educations I have received.
My biggest regret is that I did not enroll in the course sooner (same as the time before I upgraded to VIP).
In all honesty, this course is a better education than spending hundreds of thousands on a college degree.
Personally, I meet Teri during FINCON, a huge conference for personal finance content creators and brands.
I loved how Teri spoke during her presentation and quickly reached out to learn more about her Invest with Teri course. Also, I was intrigued by the $1000 in a day club.
As always, I investigate every single company or platform that I recommend.
Obviously, this course has an eye-shocking price tag when you first see it. However, once you start earning your money back, you quickly realize how undervalued her course is.
As I always tell my readers… if I wouldn’t put my time, energy, or money on the line, then I am not going to tell you about it. I will only recommend products, services, and courses only that I truly know that work.
My View as a Trade and Travel Student
After a few months of debate if I could afford to spend the money on this investment course…
I became a Trade and Travel student in February 2021.
As outlined above, the course is jam-packed with information. I thought with my background in personal finance I would have a leg up over the others. However, I quickly learned that I need to view the stock market from Teri’s point of view and put blinders on to others’ opinions or styles of trading.
There are a ton of ways to make money in the stock market. This is one of them.
You can google and probably find many more investment courses and rabbit holes to follow. Investing is one of the most popular Reddit Personal finance topics. People want to learn to trade and most are looking to be fed information.
You have heard that saying, “teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry.”
The same holds true for completing this course, “Teach a trader to make money and you will be more profitable than your dreams.”
The best thing about life is you get to decide what you want to do, spend your time, and budget your money. Investing in this course is a big pill to swallow and I get it. However, I would not be so adamant about telling others about this course since I see a path for people to stop the stress with money.
I am successful with trading. Now, it is your turn to become successful.
This is by far the best investing course I have ever seen. 1000% recommended by me personally.
$1,000 In A Day Club
Here is proof. I made the $1k club in my live account and $10K in SIM.
I am a part of the trading community.
What exactly is the $1000 in a day club?
This exclusive club is for those traders who have made over $1k in a day.
Many IWT traders have received this plaque and part of this $1000 in a day club.
If you want to invest money and make $1000 a day this is how to start.
This is how I am choosing to finance the life I want.
Get one step closer to reaching your dreams and financing your life!
How Long Does It Take to Learn to Trade Stocks?
The time it takes to learn how to trade stocks depends on your personal learning style.
It typically takes 2 to 3 years to learn how to trade stocks.
By taking an in-depth course, you can shorten your learning curve.
Teri’s Approach to Learning to Trade Stocks
More importantly, the results you see trading stocks will depend on the effort put in to learn the curriculum, manage the trade, minimize your risk, and prepare your mindset.
Teri’s goal for her student is to earn 1% of our capital consistently.
This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You have to put in the hard work to reap the benefits (aka profit).
For example, some people learn better by reading and others prefer watching videos. Some people may find that they learn best by following an instructor in a live trading room.
Who is Teri Ijeoma?
How many years of trading experience does Teri have?
Teri Ijeoma has over 10 years of trading experience.
Once she left her job as an elementary school assistant principal, she took off to travel the world. Those around her started asking questions and she taught her first group of students in Thailand.
Teri enjoys enlightening people on investing strategies and is passionate about building wealth.
Combining her trading experience with her teacher background, Teri is a talented educator in the investing world.
Teri has been featured on Forbes, NBC, CBS, ABC, Black Enterprise, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Fox News, Comcast – just to name a few!
She thrives by teaching others how to invest, so they can afford the life of their dreams.
Teri has made significant amounts of money through trading and is motivated by helping others achieve success.
Check out Teri discussing her $1,000,000 in a day profit. Yes, one million dollars in a day!
I’m scared to lose my real money trading. Can I still take the course?
Don’t want to risk your money, but are curious?
You can practice in a simulated account before you move to real money. Then, you can make mistakes. Learn from those mistakes. Understand how the stock market moves. Make wins.
The bottom line you can make real money in the stock market. You just have to be armed with knowledge and a trading system that works.
That is why most people lose money in the stock market! They don’t understand how the stock market works. They have poor risk management strategies and tend to select the wrong companies to trade with.
In the Trade and Travel course, you will walk away with so much investment knowledge and support from other people in the course to be successful.
Afraid to trade individual stocks? Teri’s process works with ETFs too!
Is Invest with Teri Reviews Reddit? Is this a scam?
As with any popular r/personalfinance thread, this is one that comes up often…is Invest with Teri legit?
There is a lot of mixed information on the web when it comes to Invest with Teri.
Some people have had great experiences and made a lot of money, while others have had negative experiences and lost money.
Since I have been forthcoming that I am a student of her course, I would recommend active trading as a way to supplement your income.
However, you must be willing to put in the time and effort to see the results.
And honestly, that is where most people give up because you must put in the effort.
At Invest With Teri, they believe anyone can learn how to invest and generate income through investment. They offer a variety of courses on how to invest, as well as a community of support to help you get started.
Their program has helped people from all backgrounds achieve their financial goals.
Did this Trade and Travel Review Convince You?
Teri Ijeoma is a millionaire trader and coach who shares her tips and tricks for success.
Trading is a skill that can be learned, and with the right education, anyone can do it successfully.
Trading is not a get-rich-quick scheme – it takes time and effort to learn.
Don’t waste your time or money on being a self-taught trader. Take a course from an expert.
I am part of this trading community and so excited to be a trade cuz!
Start building another income stream for yourself.
Invest with Teri Ijeoma teaches you how to make a lot more money than you currently are. Very possibly, trading can help you replace your current income or even exceed it
To be successful, you need to invest in this investing course, develop a solid trading plan and stick to it.
Get one step closer to reaching your dreams and financing your life!
Be the first to know when Teri releases a coupon code for her Invest with Teri course.
Do you have an Invest with Teri Coupon?
It is VERY rare that Teri puts out a coupon code.
However, if she does, I always notify my email list who have been on the fence about enrolling.
Typically, these coupon codes are valid for a limited time only.
Trade and Travel FAQs
Obviously, you are doing your due diligence before enrolling in this course, which I completely understand. I did too! I spent a lot of time researching prior to enrolling in this course.
Here are answers to the most asked questions about Invest with Teri, Trade and Travel, VIP program, as well as Teri Ijeoma.
Is the Trade and Travel course for new investors?
Yes, the Trade and Travel course is for both new investors and experienced investors.
Honestly, you are more likely to lose money in the stock market by trading on your own rather than spending money on the best investing course available.
The course is designed for everyone, regardless of experience level.
There are different courses available within the program for more advanced students (like shorting and options).
How long does the program take to complete?
You can complete the course within a weekend if you binged watch everything.
However, it takes 8 weeks to thoroughly go through the curriculum.
The main Trade and Travel course is broken down into sections, and modules include videos, tutorials, pdf worksheets, quizzes, and more.
The course instructor, Teri Ijeoma, estimates that it will take 8 weeks to complete the online course material before you begin trading.
In addition, there are plenty of coaching calls, which are filled with gems of information that you can watch.
This investing course is much like obtaining a college degree. The more you study, the better results you will have.
What will I learn in Invest with Teri course?
You will learn how to trade stocks and options based on her Invest with Teri method.
This is a solid, effective investing strategy.
Learning how to effectively trade stocks and make 1% consistently is the goal. This is higher than the market returns on any given day.
How much does Teri ijeoma course cost?
The cost of the Trade and Travel 2.0 course is $10000.
In addition, there is a payment plan available that allows you to pay in installments which is a great option without interest or hidden fees.
Honestly, this investing course is undervalued given the amount of knowledge you will gain.
Is there a payment plan?
Yes, there is a payment plan.
This is a great way to invest in the program with an affordable payment plan based on what you can pay today.
Right now, you can start the course with Payment Plans as LOW as $208/Month.
Can I purchase the Trade and Travel course and upgrade to the VIP program later?
Yes, you can always upgrade to VIP and pay the $2,500 difference. This is something you can do at any time.
I purchased the course to learn the basics and when I made money to pay for the VIP course I upgraded. Many students have done the same.
My gem of advice… eventually, you need to upgrade to VIP to fully understand the chart analysis as well as make money on the way down.
How much money do I need to start trading?
Many students start with $500.
This question is very difficult to answer because it depends on your personal finance situation and the type of trading you want to do.
The best advice is to start small and grow your account.
Trading stocks and options come with risk as such you must recognize that it is possible to lose all of your trading money.
Personally, I recommend starting with the amount you are comfortable losing. For me, I started with $3000.
Again, you do not need a lot of money to start trading. Check out this interview with Chris Calvin (aka Trade with Coach). He started with $500 and quickly grew it to 5 figures!
What trading platform does Teri Ijeoma use?
In her Trade and Travel course, she reveals which brokerages she has used in the past.
Right now, she is known to use Tradestation.
Recently, in her 5 Day Take the Trade Live Challenge, she set up a brokerage account with TD Ameritrade.
Do I have to attend coaching calls live?
You don’t have to attend coaching calls live. Also, all of the live trainings are recorded except the weekly Trade and Travel Q&A.
By attending a live coaching call, you have the opportunity to ask questions and get help from the instructor.
You can access the class recordings at your convenience once the coaching call is uploaded.
Personally, I attend the VIP coaching calls live to get the best out of the experience.
Remember, if you miss a class, you can always watch the recording later. You will have lifetime access to the coaching call recordings.
How long do you have access to the curriculum?
LIFETIME ACCESS!
You will have lifetime access to the curriculum.
That is pretty amazing to have these resources available forever.
You can review the curriculum as many times as you like.
Personally, I have gone back and reviewed many modules and coaching calls again (and again).
Is there a Facebook group? How long do you have access?
In fact, there are two Facebook groups for students that are run by the IWT coaching staff.
One Facebook group focuses on the general IWT method and the other is specific to VIP strategies.
In addition, there is a Trade and Travel sponsored Telegram group.
These Facebook groups are a great way to connect with other students and to learn from each other.
You have access to the group for as long as you are enrolled in the course.
What’s Teri’s Instagram handle?
First of all, there are so many fake accounts for Teri Ijeoma, Invest with Teri and the Trade and Travel Course.
Teri’s real account is @teriijeoma
Beware of imposters accounts and scams.
Can I share my course log-in information with others?
No, this is not allowed.
Each person should purchase the course separately.
The only exception is you can share with your spouse.
What is the refund policy?
According to their policy, refunds are not available for any of their courses. (You can read that here).
However, they do not want unhappy students or I don’t want unhappy trading cuz.
So, if you need additional assistance, reach out to their support team at [email protected] and one of the fabulous coaches will assist you.
Honestly, this makes 100% sense as a student. There is so much knowledge and information in the course that it is not surprising.
If you truly put in the time and effort, you will see success. You have to put in the work though.
Just a reminder… trading is a risky investment if you don’t know what you are doing. You can lose money in the stock market.
Know someone else that needs this, too? Then, please share!!
Typically when people think of an IRA or what you can hold in an IRA, they think of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, maybe even money markets. What a lot of people don’t know is that there are other things that you can hold in your IRA other than the usual suspects. Some of the things that people would like to hold in an IRA but they can’t are insurance policies, certain collectibles such as art, antiques, metals, rugs, gems, stamps, coins, or even maybe alcoholic beverages such as wines. Please see IRS Pub 590 for more information on what collectibles can’t be held into an IRA. Unfortunately, none of those can be held in an IRA. On the bright side here are eight things that can be held in your IRA.
1. Certain gold and silver coins minted by the US treasury.
These include the Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle Coins. You may also vest into high quality gold, silver, or platinum and palladium bouillon
2. Stock from an initial public offering.
Most are familiar with the letters “IPO“. If a company has never issued equity before, it would be considered an IPO. Since it’s an entirely new issue, there are certainly more risks involved.
3. Closely held stock.
Private or closed corporation stock offerings are not available to the public on the open market. Normally, they are made to pre-qualified individuals. These offerings must comply with the securities Blue Sky laws in the state in which the offering is made. The number of individuals included in the offering cannot exceed the maximum stipulated by state law.
These offerings, usually made by corporations seeking capitalization, can be in any class of stock described in their prospectus. Many corporations act as their own registrar as well as transfer agent. They may or may not use market makers for their offerings. Purchases and sales are described in their offering materials, which you should study closely.
4. Real estate Investments.
If you watched as much Flip That House as I have, you know that flipping a home can be a good real estate investment. But who ever thought you could hold that real estate in an IRA, right? Here some of the type of property that you can hold:
Single family and multi-unit homes
Apartment buildings
Co-ops
Condominiums
Commercial property
Improved or unimproved land (leveraged or unleveraged)
You can use a special type of IRA to hold real estate called a self-directed IRA. You can use a company called Equity Trust to hold your self-directed IRA.
5. Limited Partnerships
A partnership is a type of unincorporated business organization in which multiple individuals, called general partners, manage the business and are equally liable for the debts of the business.
Other individuals, called limited partners, may invest in the business but are not directly involved in management. Limited partners are liable only to the extent of their investments.
Unlike a limited liability company or a corporation, partners share equal responsibility for the company’s profits and losses, and its debts and liabilities.
The partnership itself does not pay income taxes, but each partner has to report their share of business profits or losses on their individual tax return. Estimated tax payments are also necessary for each of the partners for the year in progress.
General Rules Regarding Partnerships in a Self-Directed IRA or Real Estate IRA
Here are some general rules regarding self directed partnership investments in your self-directed individual retirement account or real estate IRA:
The partnership agreement must permit an individual retirement account or a qualified plan to be a partner.
The partnership must comply with the appropriate state law, have a determinate life, and be assignable.
The partnership subscription agreement must be signed by you as having been read and approved, and will be executed by Entrust for your benefit.
Partnerships may be subject to unrelated business income (UBIT) and other taxes. It’s important to consult your tax advisor for proper direction.
6. Oil and gas royalty interest.
Minerals, royalties and overriding royalties receive revenues from the production of oil and gas from a well without paying the drilling or monthly operating expenses from the well.
The term “royalties” can be used interchangeably to mean mineral interests, royalty interests, or overriding royalty interests. However, there is a difference between minerals and royalties, and an even greater difference between overriding royalties and both minerals and royalties. The similarity between mineral interests and royalty interests is that both involve ownership of minerals under the ground. Both receive portions of the income from the production of oil and gas. However, the difference is that the owner of a mineral interest also has the right to execute leases as well as collect bonus payments; whereas, the owner of royalty interests does not execute leases or collect bonus payments.
7. Stock options.
Unless you work for a major corporation, you probably aren’t familiar with stock options. Basically, a company will give their employees options on the company stock that can be redeemed hopefully as a gain later on. If held in an IRA, these gains could be deferred.
8. Notes or Mortgages
A note is a vehicle that is used to extend credit from one or more individuals or entities to another individual or individual’s entity.
There are two types of notes:
Secured notes are backed by collateral, providing the lender increased assurance of return of the loan amount and interest, such as mortgages and deeds of trust.
Unsecured notes are not backed by collateral. You might consider an unsecured note for perhaps a friend or a non-disqualified relative, but it is a higher risk—and sometimes reward—than a secured note.
Investing in Trust Deeds and Mortgage Notes
To clear up confusion a trust deed, deeds of trust, and mortgage notes are largely the same investment, depending on the state that you reside in.
These notes may be either in first or subordinate positions and may be purchased from brokers or private parties. Usually, the documentation is recorded at county recorder’s offices, and title to the property is insured as instructed.
Disadvantages of These Investments
While it’s an interesting and unique list, one of the disadvantages of doing so is that most of these types of investments are illiquid. From my personal experience, other than the gold coins, most of my clients have not attempted to hold any of these types of investments in their IRA’s.
For those that are approaching required minimum distribution age at 70 1/2 holding some of these illiquid investments will make it difficult to generate the cash that’s required to be taken out . And by not taking out the RMD you are subject to the 50% penalty that the IRS will impose.
In addition to that, it may be also difficult to find a trustee to actually that will be willing to hold these types of assets. Many investment or brokerage firms are not willing to do the extra work to hold such a unique asset in a self directed IRA.