INVESTMENT

Stocks and mutual funds

Stocks:
When you buy a stock, you're buying a small piece or a share of a company. Stocks are also called “equities" because shareholders have equity (meaning ownership) in the company they decide to buy stocks on. We believe stocks, and the mutual funds that own them, are an important part of almost any investment strategy. If the thought of investing in the stock market scares you, then you have definitely come to the right place. Individuals with very limited experience in stock investing are either terrified by horror stories of the average investor losing almost 50% of their portfolio value, The reality is that investing in the stock market carries risk, but when approached in a disciplined manner, it is one of the most efficient ways to build up one's net worth, most of the affluent and very rich generally have the majority of their wealth invested in stocks. As a stock investor, there are two basic ways you can make money: 1. Capital Gains – The first way stock investors make money is through growth or capital gains. This means that if the stock price goes up, your shares are worth more. So if you sell them for more than you paid for them, you keep the difference, which is referred to as a capital gain. The price of a stock goes up and down, so if you sell your shares for less than what you paid for them, then the result would be a capital loss. 2. Dividends – The second is by receiving a dividend from the company. Dividends are simply a little piece of the company's profits, typically paid quarterly. Companies don't have to pay dividends to their shareholders, but many times they do. It's important to note that even companies that have historically paid a dividend can stop at any time. The role of stocks:
Stocks can play an important role in your portfolio for a variety of reasons, including: • Current or future income needs • Potential for growth of principle and accumulation of wealth • Potential for offsetting inflation So many choices, but we can help With more than 65,000 stocks available around the world, it can be difficult to choose what's right for you. We can help you decide. The minimum investment based on stock is 1 shares. Mutual funds:
Buying shares in mutual funds can be intimidating for beginning investors. There is a huge amount of funds available, all with different investment strategies and asset groups. A mutual fund is an investment company that takes money from many investors and pools it together in one large pot. The professional manager for the fund invests the money in different types of assets including stocks, bonds, commodities, and even real estate. An investor buys shares in the mutual fund. These shares represent an ownership interest in a portion of the assets owned by the fund. Mutual funds are designed for longer-term investors and are not meant to be traded frequently due to their fee structures. Back in 1924, most Americans couldn't afford to buy individual stocks. Investing was reserved for institutions or the extraordinarily wealthy – until a new investment called a "mutual fund" was invented. Mutual funds offered investors the opportunity to group their money together and buy stocks, bonds and other investments "mutually." Mutual funds hold many investments, they can be diversified by: • Type of investment (i.e., stocks or bonds) • Size of the companies • Industry • Country or countries Our Professional management Skills We have extensive knowledge that helps investors make investment decisions. A portfolio manager may adjust the portfolio mix based on changes in market conditions or a company's performance to help the fund achieve its stated objective. Convenience In addition to diversification and full‐time professional management, mutual funds offer convenience in several other ways, such as: • A low minimum investment amount • The ability to buy or sell on any business day • Free exchanges of funds within the fund family • Various funds with objectives for almost any investment need • Free automatic reinvestment of dividends and capital gains Because of these benefits, mutual funds are a popular way to invest. Mutual funds usually cost more than buying stocks individually because of sales charges and annual fees. You generally pay for the outside professional management and broad diversification that can be difficult to achieve otherwise – especially if you don't have a lot of money to invest at one time. With more than 8,000 mutual funds on the market today, we understand it can be difficult to know which funds to choose. With more than $400 billion in mutual fund assets under care, Stratton brokerage dedicates significant resources to identify suitable mutual funds for our clients. The analysts within our Mutual Fund Research Department hold face‐to‐face meetings and visit multiple fund companies on site to gain a deep understanding of the fund managers, their philosophy and processes. The mechanics of trading mutual funds are different from those of ETFs and stocks. Mutual funds require minimum investments of $7,000 to $10,000.

Forex and crypto trading

Forex: Forex (FX) is the marketplace where various national currencies are traded. The forex market is the largest, most liquid market in the world, with trillions of dollars changing hands every day. Many entities, from financial institutions to individual investors, have currency needs, and may also speculate on the direction of a particular pair of currencies movement. The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, except for holidays. Currencies may still trade on a holiday if at least the country/global market is open for business. When trading currencies, they are listed in pairs, such as USD/CAD, EUR/USD, or USD/JPY. These represent the U.S. dollar (USD) versus the Canadian dollar (CAD), the Euro (EUR) versus the USD and the USD versus the Japanese Yen (JPY). There will also be a price associated with each pair, such as 1.2569. If this price was associated with the USD/CAD pair it means that it costs 1.2569 CAD to buy one USD. If the price increases to 1.3336, then it now costs 1.3336 CAD to buy one USD. The USD has increased in value (CAD decrease) because it now costs more CAD to buy one USD. Forex is traded on margin, meaning you can gain a potentially higher market exposure by putting down just a small percentage of the full value of your trade. With forex trading, you can speculate when forex prices are rising as well as falling as compared to other currencies. We offer two pricing models: spread-only and core pricing plus commission. Our pricing models are clear and transparent. Find out about our two pricing options and see which one you qualify for. The pricing engine aggregates live prices, in real time, from our liquidity providers and calculates a mid-point. A custom-built pricing algorithm automatically calculates the spread symmetrically around the mid-point for each tradable instrument on our trading platform. This mid-point fluctuates throughout the day as wholesale prices change. Forex prices can move quickly, especially during volatile market conditions. Our award-winning trading platform is engineered for reliability and speed, helping to ensure that your trade is executed at the price you want. It is easy and straightforward to deposit and withdraw funds to and from your trading account. Funds can be deposited and withdrawn using crypto that way it’s faster easy and reliable. Crypto:
A cryptocurrency is a digital or visual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation. Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments online which are denominated in terms of virtual "tokens," which are represented by ledger entries internal to the system. "Crypto" refers to the various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques that safeguard these entries, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions. The first blockchain-based cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which still remains the most popular and most valuable. Today, there are thousands of alternate cryptocurrencies with various functions and specifications. Some of these are clones or forks of Bitcoin. Bitcoin remains the most valuable and talked about cryptocurrency, as well as the most actively traded on exchanges, it was launched in 2009, this digital asset's price has fluctuated wildly over the past years, making it attractive for day traders who have started applying forex trading strategies to it. Bitcoin has evolved in recent years into a speculative investment for individuals seeking alpha from alternative assets and a possible hedge against global uncertainties and weakness in fiat currencies. Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital floating exchange that is pegged to the U.S. dollar like in foreign exchange (forex). However, unlike gold, there is no underlying physical asset on which one can base the price but be rest assured that it’s worth more than gold or any fiat currency put together. A major advantage of trading forex with the bitcoin is that the bitcoin is not tied to a central bank. Digital currencies are free from central geopolitical influence and from macroeconomic issues like country-specific inflation or interest rates. Also you don’t need to reveal your bank account or credit card details to make a bitcoin transaction. This is a big advantage in terms of cost and financial security. Bitcoin transactions have no global boundaries. An investor from any part of the world can trade with us. Regulatory challenges from some Countries may be of concern but not a big challenge, once you’re willing invest with us our transactions remains discrete, there are no geographical boundaries. We have different investment plans for you at elysiumprimebrokerage.