Why Does Securities Lending Make Sense?
If you are you looking for easy financing
that can be used for any purpose . . .
Securities Lending Provides Quick & Easy Capital
What is it that you want to accomplish? Whether you want to purchase real estate, buy a new car, RV or luxury yacht, pursue personal or business investment opportunities, exercise employee stock options, or meet other business or personal financial goals, consider securities lending.
Securities lending (also known as stock loans) are used by forward-thinking investors who want to retain the future ownership of their assets as well as leverage the present value of their securities for immediate cash needs.
Securities lending offers non-recourse / non-purpose loans based upon the value of actively trading securities you already own. This lending program provides you with an extension of credit based on eligible securities that you pledge as collateral.
By borrowing against your assets rather than selling them, you can keep your investment strategy on track and defer any capital gains taxes that might result from selling securities to meet your financing needs.
Stock loans have NO personal liability – they are a non-recourse loan secured by your securities. If the borrower defaults, he/she keeps all the loan proceeds and the lender’s only recourse is to keep the pledged collateral.
Stock loans are non-recourse – the borrower’s financial liability is limited to the collateral pledged for the loan. Borrower has the right to walk away from the loan (with no adverse credit reporting) if the value of his securities falls below 80% of the loan amount.
Stock loans are quick & easy – simple straight-forward paperwork, with no fine print. Just your stocks acting as collateral for your loan.
Use the cash for any worthwhile purpose! Buy a home, buy a business, RE investment property, pay-off a mortgage – use it for virtually anything you desire.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS –
• Simple & Quick – NO Credit Check / NO Income Verification
NO Upfront Fees / NO Closing Costs / NO Personal Guarantee
• Loans are “Non-Purpose” – loan can be used for virtually anything borrower wants to accomplish (personal or business)
• Loans are “Non-Recourse” – giving the borrower the opportunity to simply “walk away” if the collateral falls below a set floor amount
• High Loan-to-Values – up to 80% LTV (depending upon security); which is much higher than banks and brokerage companies can offer
• Loans are Interest Only – principal payment at maturity; otherwise loans can be refinanced or extended
• Low Fixed Interest Rates – usually between 2% to 4%
• Loan Term – minimum of 3 yrs; also 5 yr / 7 yr / 10 yrs
• Quick Funded – usually within 5 to 7 business days
• Borrower Maintains Beneficial Ownership – borrower keeps all upside market appreciation. In addition, borrower receives credit against their interest payment for all dividends or interest on bonds. An added benefit is that the lender is responsible for taxes on the dividends during the loan term. It is a loan (not a constructive sale) per section 1058 of the Internal Revenue Code.
• This is NOT a Margin Account Loan – A securities based loan is not a “margin account loan”. These loans have significant advantages over conventional margin loans. See ICON’s website for detailed information.
Authored by - Randall Farr, Managing Director – ICON Commercial Lending, Inc
Contact Randall Farr at 866-956-5554, ext 115
Click here for information about Non-Purpose, Non-Recourse Lending
(Note: Borrowing with securities as collateral involves certain risks, including the possibility that you may need to deposit additional securities and/or cash in the account to meet a maintenance call and that securities in the account may be sold to meet the maintenance call. Proper management of your account and a thorough understanding of the conditions that may affect your investments will assist you in effectively using the margin lending program.)
The Great 401K Stock Loan Scandal – How Wall Street Minted Money While Retirees Picked Up the Losses
During the “Go-Go” Wall Street days of a few years ago, some companies got rich by being middle-men between 401k mutual funds and short sellers who wanted to borrow their stock.
The short sellers put up collateral, agreed to pay dividends, and paid a small amount of interest. These middle-men companies took a big slice of the earnings. The 401k funds got only a little, but did not complain because they thought it was essentially a risk free source of extra money.
Unfortunately, the middle-man companies overseeing the transactions got greedy, and started investing the collateral in commercial paper, instead of safer T-bills. When the financial crisis hit, and Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, there was a panic in the commercial paper market, and some of the invested collateral suffered losses.
These Wall Street firms then passed the losses onto the funds. Ultimately, it was the “little guy retirees” who are paying the price. Effected S&P 500 funds, for example, lagged their benchmark index by 11 basis points (0.11%) before fees. Mortgage-backed funds lagged by up to 53 basis points (0.53%).
Even though these losses caused by poorly invested collateral are insignificant compared to the overall loss in the mutual funds (e.g. the S&P 500 index lost 36% in 2008), they still angered some investors – who have filed class action law suits.
Overall, this situation seems to be limited to mutual funds. People with brokerage accounts who buy individual stocks do not have to worry. All the major brokerages keep 100% of any fees from lending securities to short sellers. In return, they cover any losses.
Today stock loans are very popular. Since the financial markets have been turned up-side down and banks are not lending, one method of financing has gained a lot of attention – securities based lending.
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Securities Lending is a long-established process. In fact, hundreds of successful stock-lending transactions have been executed involving the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), National Stock Market and Small Cap Stock Market (NASDAQ), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB), and certain foreign exchanges.
For those with money invested in marketable securities, there is a safe way to leverage their assets and take advantage of the golden opportunities now available to cash-in on terrific RE investment opportunities which are available today.
If you are a forward-thinking investor who wants to retain the future ownership of your assets as well as leverage the present value of your securities for immediate cash needs, securities lending (also known as stock loans) can be a terrific program.
Securities base loans are –
· Simple & Quick – NO Credit Check / NO Income Verification / NO Upfront Fees / NO Closing Costs / NO Personal Guarantee
· Loans are “Non-Purpose” – loan can be used for virtually anything borrower wants to accomplish (personal or business)
· Loans are “Non-Recourse” – giving the borrower the opportunity to simply “walk away” if the collateral falls below a set floor amount
· High Loan-to-Values – up to 80% LTV (depending upon security); which is much higher than banks and brokerage companies can offer
· Loans are Interest Only – principal payment at maturity; otherwise loans can be refinanced or extended
· Low Fixed Interest Rates – usually between 2% to 4%
· Loan Term – minimum of 3 yrs; also 5 yr / 7 yr / 10 yrs
· Quick Funded – usually within 5 to 7 business days
What Is Technical Share Analysis? Section 1
Technical analysis is the art and science of examining share chart data and predicting future moves on the stock market. Investors who use this style of analysis are often unconcerned about the nature or value of the companies they trade shares in. Their holdings are usually short-term – once their projected profit is reached they drop the stock.
The basis for technical analysis is the belief that stock prices move in predictable patterns. All the factors that influence price movement – company performance, the general state of the economy, natural disasters – are supposedly reflected in the stock market with great efficiency. This efficiency, coupled with historical trends produces movements that can be analyzed and applied to future stock market movements.
Technical analysis is not intended for long-term investments because fundamental information concerning a company’s potential for growth is not taken into account. Trades must be entered and exited at precise times, so technical analysts need to spend a great deal of time watching market movements.
Investors can take advantage of both upswings and downswings in price by going either long or short. Stop-loss orders limit losses in the event that the market does not move as expected.
There are many tools available to the technical analyst. Literally hundreds of stock patterns have been developed over time. Most of them, however, rely on the basic concepts of ‘support’ and ‘resistance’. Support is the level that downward prices are expected to rise from, and Resistance is the level that upward prices are expected to reach before falling again. In other words, prices tend to bounce once they have hit support or resistance levels.
Charts
Technical analysis relies heavily on charts for tracking market movements. Bar charts are the most commonly used. They consist of vertical bars representing a particular time period – weekly, daily, hourly, or even by the minute. The top of each bar shows the highest price for the period, the bottom is the lowest price, and the small bar to the right is the opening price and the small bar to the left is the closing price. A great deal of information can be seen in glancing at bar charts. Long bars indicate a large price spread and the position of the side bars shows whether the price rose or dropped and also the spread between opening and closing prices.
A variation on the bar chart is the candlestick chart. These charts use solid bodies to indicate the variation between opening and closing prices and the lines (shadows) that extend above and below the body indicate the highest and lowest prices respectively. Candlestick bodies are coloured black or red if the closing price was lower than the previous period or white or green if the price closed higher. Candlesticks form various shapes that can indicate market movement. A green body with short shadows is bullish – the share opened near its low and closed near its high. Conversely, a red body with short shadows is bearish – the stock opened near the high and closed near the low. These are only two of the more than 20 patterns that can be formed by candlesticks.
Since the financial markets have been turned up-side down and banks are not lending, one method of financing has gained a lot of attention –securities based lending.
Click here for information about Non-Purpose, Non-Recourse Loans
For those with money invested in marketable securities, there is a golden opportunity to cash-in on the tremendous RE investment opportunities now available. Today, there are multiple commercial & residential RE properties available for about 30% to 50% of what they were only two years ago.
If you are a forward-thinking investor who wants to retain the future ownership of your assets as well as leverage the present value of your securities for immediate cash needs, this can be a terrific program.
Click here for information about Securities Based Lending / Stock Loans
Technology Equipment and Software Financing
Technology equipment and software are very important for a business in today’s world.
Technological or software equipment includes new computer system, routing software, safety equipment and so on.
These types of equipment are generally very expensive and so the need for technology equipment and software financing arises. However most of the traditional lenders may not be ready to finance technological equipment or software. This is due to their inability to understand the purpose and type of this equipment. Therefore an expertise approach is required to understand the need for technological and software equipment. There are some genuine financing companies that offer help to acquire these types of equipment.
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There are various categories of technology and software equipment. Therefore various options are allowed by financial institutions to get technology equipment and financing help. Audio visual equipment is one among them which includes cameras, sound equipment and so on. This equipment is really important for companies that specialize in audio video. Seeking the financial assistance of financing companies is required due to high price tags of this equipment
Safety and security equipment is essential for certain companies. These types of equipment include metal detector, alarm equipment, closed circuit TV, digital video recording, motion detector, security gate, fire suppression and so on. These types are vitally important for maintaining the personal safety and security. Due to its highest price ranges, most of the companies could not afford to buy it. But technology equipment and software financing makes it possible for almost all companies to acquire safety and security equipment.
Telecommunication equipment helps in effective business communication. Thanks to these types of equipment, many companies are functioning properly without any communication gap. Latest telecommunication equipment is available now which helps in effective communication. Broadcasting equipment, multiplex equipment, telephone system, transmitting equipment etc are really important for a modern office. However their price ranges are extremely high making it impossible to afford for small and medium companies. Technology equipment and software financing is the only best option to meet all the essential requirements.
Computer hardware is essential for most of the companies. Since their prices come down, most of the companies can get it easily. The data storage equipment, server, work station, network etc are vitally important for any business in today’s world. But the computer hardware has undergone constant changes. When the existing hardware becomes old, you need to buy a new one. This situation calls for the help of technology equipment and software financing.
Software financing is required to acquire the latest software. The traditional lenders would not be willing to provide financial assistance to buy the software. However accounting software, ecommerce software, manufacturing software, CAD software etc are essential for the business operation of most of the companies. In fact, every company requires certain type of software. Some of the reliable financing companies recognize the need for software financing and they offer essential help.
Since there are no embarrassing procedures for getting the technology equipment and software financing help, any company can apply for the financial assistance from the valid financing company.
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Do You Know How to Use “For Cash Advance Lending”
Cash advance loans are a handy financial product for myriad of situations. They are written for small amounts which are usually too small for a bank or an installment loan provider to lend. This makes them particularly good for emergency bills, purchases that must be made on a tight schedule or for other purposes where one needs money very quickly but where their regular paycheck is too far away for them to count on that funding. They also allow borrowers to avoid some unpleasant consequences of having too little funding at a vital time in their lives.
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One’s usual options when in these situations is to use a credit card, to tap into savings or to use a payday loan, another term for a cash advance loan. The first two options are sometimes not quite as desirable. Credit cards tend to come with a lot of hidden fees and expenses and it’s very easy to forget to pay off a debt and to let it sit on the account and collect interest which ends up in that money costing much more than its initial value. Of course, not all individuals even qualify for credit cards and this is another difficulty.
Tapping into savings has several drawbacks. For starters, it represents establishing a very bad habit. Tapping into one’s savings should always be a last resort when there are no other options available. Hitting one’s savings accounts oftentimes carries penalties that make the cash very expensive, as well. These fees are often far more than what would be charged by a payday lender to finance a small loan that allows one to get by temporarily until their regular cheek arrives. Savings should always be left alone until one is truly in a dire situation.
A payday loan usually comes at a very small financing fee. These lenders express this fee in terms of interest. The interest figure itself will often seem very high. This is because the loan is designed to be taken for a very short term which makes this necessary if the lender is to make any profit off of providing the money. Interest payments are reckoned by multiplying one’s loan amount by the interest by the time for which the loan is taken. When one does this arithmetic, it’s usually apparent that the financing charge for a payday loan is very small, indeed.
Payday loan amounts are usually convenient for expenses such as utility bills, installment loan payments or credit card payments which will fall behind if one waits for their next check to pay the debt. One will be able to borrow up to a percentage of their paycheck as determined by sate regulators and, in most cases, this total amount is more than one needs to get by for a couple of weeks.
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The Property Market and the Global Recession
Australia is one of the few countries, along with Canada, who has felt the credit crunch less than the rest of the world. There may be many reason for this, such as stricter property lending rules or because there is such a large amount of space and supply of land to be able to be used for homes that the vast increases the majority of the world saw from 2004 – 2006 did not happen.
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While Australia has not been completely sheltered by the economic downturn, it has weathered the storm quite well. There is a divide amongst experts as to how the property market will react in 2009 and 2010 in Australia. Most financial analysts tend to think that property values will fall from 5%-10%. Most agree, however, that an increase in value to the property market is not likely before 2011.
In the end, the Australian property market will be affected, either positively or negatively by four overriding factors: debt, employment, the global economy, and housing price stability. In reference to debt, the main issue that is facing the majority of Australian households is that the debt levels are at record highs. In a property market where housing prices are rising, the number of eligible buyers may drastically fall as people are financially unable to take on any more debt.
Employment is a very strong factor in whether the Australian property market will rise or fall. Unemployment rates are on the rise, but because there have been labour shortages in the mines, there has been work for those able to do manual mining labour. Unfortunately, due to the uncertainty in the economy, some businesses are protecting themselves by making full-time employees part-time, as this saves on health care and tax expenses. If the economy does not begin to strengthen, more business will have to move to measures such as this, in addition to redundancies and lay-offs.
The global economy, but specifically the economies of the US and China, needs to strengthen in order for the world to come back to financial order. Many countries are introducing stimulus plans to help revitalize their country, get spending under control, and to help bring financial strength back to their currencies. While the Australian property market will not feel the immediate affects of a strengthening US or Chinese economy, the medium term affects will help to maintain or increase property values.
In order to keep housing stability in Australia, interest rates have to remain low and repossessions must remain few. Banks that are working with their customers in order to allow them to keep their homes are helping bring back the economy. If banks repossess a majority of homes and hold on their books a large amount of overvalued, non-saleable stock, the market will surely fall.
Half way through 2009, the Australian property market has been able to maintain a solid ground. If employment can continue and the stimulus packages of other countries begin to kick in, the property market will remain strong. Although significant rises in the Australian property market should not be expected, a modest increase next year should be an attainable goal.
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How Several Merchant Accounts Work
Having a merchant account may sound very tricky for those who have not examined all the possibility of maintaining more than one account. But it does make you save on merchant account fees and credit card processing charges.
Remember that lowered mid and non-qualified surcharges make up most processing expenses that may well be skipped. For any factor that causes a credit card transaction downgrade, it sure contributes much to ballooning processing costs.
Being able to understand why you can benefit from having more than one merchant account will need you to consider the two general categories of merchant accounts. When you have a customer paying with his card at a retail store, that transaction falls under card-present.
When you have a customer paying from a company’s web page through an internet credit card processing service, that transaction is card-not-present. So what has this got to do with mid and non-qualified surcharges making you save cash with many merchant accounts?
Downgrades will cut the surcharges when you have two merchant accounts if your business receives fairly equal volumes of transactions under the two categories. That’s because a transaction will probably go down to the mid or non-qualified discount rate tier in cases when a card-not-present purchase is entered in a card-present account.
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With many merchant accounts, you can keep off soaring surcharges and downgrades simply by processing transactions under the appropriate account. Immediately considering to pay a higher rate combined monthly fees and discarding the possibility is the usual reaction to the idea of having more than on merchant account. On the other hand, this can easily be solved by getting all accounts with one merchant bank.
While it doesn’t happen very frequently, these banks and credit card processing companies may have technical difficulties resulting in on-and-off service. This translates to money lost as far as businessmen are concerned. When you have more than one account with different processors, you can avoid this downtime problem. But remember that what it takes to avoid these service disruptions by having more than one merchant account is still little compared to its benefits.
Besides, these disruptions won’t be happening too often and you will have to pay for every merchant account you maintain. Competition is usually the main challenge unless you become aware of the strategies of maximizing your sales while minimizing your expenses and this is applicable for every kind of business.
Having said that, it is not easy to keep up with all these. While the purpose of getting a merchant account is to allow for an efficient way to manage your finances, there will be techniques right within that you may explore to make way for an even higher level of efficiency, whether you have a retail or ecommerce merchant account to keep.
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