We got our first opportunity for utilizing our accommodation rights under Pancard club investment scheme. We had invested in the scheme six months back and were eagerly waiting for our first holiday in Malvan. The opportunity came in the month of August which is the best season to visit Malvan.
The idea of investing in Pancard clubs was a collective decision by all of us after exploring the investment thoroughly. There was a point when we came to know about a fraud scheme complaint notified online by some member. After reading the complaint we were seriously thought of backing out from the investment. But some of us had some reservations regarding the complaints. Some of the things which were mentioned in the complaints were baseless which made us think about the genuineness of the complaints.
After inquiring more about the investment scheme we came to know members who were really happy with the investment scheme. Panoramic Universal Limited is the company that launched Pancard clubs investment scheme. The company got caught in to some sort of controversy after the launching the investment policy. The controversy was created when the rumor surfaced claiming Pancard clubs was not related to PUL. It was later clarified by the company that Pancard clubs is a company which is managed by panoramic group of companies.
After all our enquiries we decided to go forward with our decision to invest in Pancard Club investment scheme. Our first trip under the scheme was to Malvan. We had our accommodations arranged by PUL in Hotel Sagar-Kinara. The accommodation was top class and was totally worth the investment. It was one of the best trips we had that year as the monsoon helped us to see real greenery in and around Malvan. We are still looking forward to our many more picnic/vacations under the investment scheme.
After all our enquiries we decided to go forward with our decision to invest in Pancard Club investment scheme. Our first trip under the scheme was to Malvan. We had our accommodations arranged by PUL in Hotel Sagar-Kinara. The accommodation was top class and was totally worth the investment. It was one of the best trips we had that year as the monsoon helped us to see real greenery in and around Malvan. We are still looking forward to our many more picnic/vacations under the investment scheme.
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Capitalism is based on capital and fund mobility. If you have some money, it is recommended to re-invest it to generate you more profit than to keep it hoarded in a bank account. While keeping some money in the bank as a back-up solution is something advisable, a portion of your money should be invested so it can generate bigger returns over time. Investing your funds carefully and keeping them moving when appropriate can bring you significant financial gain. However, you must choose carefully the right investment solution for you if you want your finances to also be safe versus the level of risk you are taking on. While all investment solution companies promise you huge gains and virtually zero risks, you have to consider many elements when choosing your investment solution company. The possibility of greater returns inherently brings forth a greater level of risk.
Before deciding to invest your money through an investment solution company, you must take several things into consideration. You should ask yourself how much are you willing to invest (depending on how much you are willing to re-invest of your money you can choose a financial solution ), what kind of return rate you want and how secure you want your investment to be. (Do you want a fast growing but riskier investment solution, or do you prefer a slow growing one, which is safer). If you do not know much about the financial world or you do not have the time to invest the money yourself, you can choose an investment company. A good agency that offers investment solutions has many specialists deciding on the best choice for you and they make their decisions based on a vast experience with financial investments. However, choose an investment solution company that offers you transparency (to offer you details about your account whenever you ask for these details), clarity (its brokers and specialists should discuss with you all aspects regarding their financial operations and your account).
The Internet is a great resource and using it you can find detailed information about the investment solution company of your choice. You can see their experience and past financial results. You can also search for any past issues and problems (Internet forums are great places to find out such information). When discussing with their agents, ask to see their portfolio, how they choose to invest their clients’ money and why are they doing so. A transparent agency will inform you about all these details and a close relationship between the agency and its clients is equally important. Setting your investment goals is the final step before signing any contract with an investment company. Decide what kind of investment solutions you are interested in (domestic or international, stock or real estate) and choose your investment company accordingly. After setting these financial goals and future plans (chose if you want to use the money immediately or do you want to use them further in the future), use any available information (portfolios, case studies, lists and financial history) to choose the investment solution companies that best suits your needs. Always have several options to start with and you can eliminate the companies that do not suit your desire.
If you’re like most people, you want your financial future to be better than your present, or at least not worse. So, you set money aside and think of ways to make it grow. The options seem endless, but you’ve selected real estate as your investment arena, and you’re considering condos.
Condos have several advantages over single family houses or 2-4 unit buildings. And several disadvantages. In my conversations with people who’ve invested in condos, few were aware of all of them. So here they are.
Advantages of buying a condo as an investment property
Maintenance
Maintenance needs to be done on all properties. Condos, especially condos that are professionally managed, offer some relief to condo investors.
You don’t have to worry about roof, stairs, landscaping and such. The association takes care of them. For a price, it’s true, but you don’t have to do them.
Some of the problems inside the unit can also be taken care of by the complex maintenance crew. That varies from condo association to condo association. And they charge you for it, but you don’t have to drop everything else and run to your condo because the sink’s leaking.
Price
Some condos are very expensive. However, houses of similar size in the same neighborhood cost more. So, you can buy an investment property in a better neighborhood. Also, in most areas, there’s no such thing as a 1-bedroom house, but there are 1-bedroom, or even no bedroom, condo units. And, usually, there are people willing to rent them.
Amenities
Amenities vary from condo association to condo association. But it’s possible to invest in a condo located in a complex that has swimming pool, 24-hour security, and such things.
The disadvantages of buying a condo as an investment
Rules
You have to follow rules that are not yours. Each association has its own rules. And the rules can change. One of the rules that can change is whether tenants are permitted or not. If you own a condo and the association votes no more tenants, when your lease is up, you either move in or sell. Your association might decide to go with the ‘no more tenants’ rule at a time when selling is not a great option.
Or, worse, they decide to allow too many rentals. Too many tenants can make getting a mortgage difficult (FHA and others do not like condo associations where more than 10% of the units are rented.) which makes reselling your investment difficult, not to mention refinancing it.
Shared decision making
Yes, you could make sure you have something to say about decisions and get yourself elected on the board of directors; still, you are not the only decision maker.
Association fees
You have to pay the same amount whether your unit is rented or vacant. In other words, you get to pay the same amount whether you use or not the services (for instance, the water bill portion of your assessment).
Special assessments
When you bought your condo unit, there were no special assessments and none were being considered. Six months later, the association decides it’s time for a new face and there’s not enough money in the reserves. They decide to go ahead with the face lift and pay it with special assessments. Your share is going to be twice your profits for the next 20 months. Can happen.
Yes, things can go wrong with a single family investment or an apartment building investment. But there you have more control. Because there you can have a home inspector inspect the whole structure. Because there there’s no board of director’s member whose boyfriend owns a construction company that could use a few thousand dollars.
So, overall, buying a condo as an investment is not the way to go. That is, if you can afford a single family house. A single family house is not the best way to go if you can afford a 2-unit building. A 2-unit building is not the best way to go if you can afford a 3-unit building and so on. Because of 2 reasons: when a condo is vacant (or a single family house) the whole income source is gone but the expenses are still there.
In any case, if you’re buying a condo as an investment property, you should know what you’re getting into.
The core/satellite model approaches investment strategy using the two major viewpoints of stable investment meant to avoid market volatility, and higher risk investment, which is necessary for higher returns. Because of the instability of financial markets, the construction of the core portion of one’s portfolio is necessary to provide a sound base for one’s investments. As the word “core” indicates, these relatively stable passive investments, like ETFs and passive mutual funds, are the bulk of the portfolio in this strategy. The core will often be balanced with other non-equity investments that fluctuate independently from the stock market
Core investment trading is often limited to manage tax losses, and also because this portion of the portfolio is constructed as a long-term investment for the future. With a stable core in place, the satellite portion of the portfolio is intended for higher performance with a smaller percentage of assets. The smaller size of satellite investments limits the overall risk exposure of the client. At the same time, it gives the portfolio manager the opportunity to actively seek returns that outperform their benchmarks.
Unlike core investments, satellite holdings may be traded very rapidly. Tax losses are inevitable in satellite trading, but there is also the enhanced opportunity for short-term gains. Because of the balanced approach of core/satellite portfolio management, such investments should be utilized in any overall financial investment strategy.
Although active portfolios generally provide greater returns, during periods of instability and lower returns, passive long-term investments linked to major market indices offers a secure base to set benchmarks. The satellite investment portion provides opportunity for additional returns exceeding benchmarks. The core/satellite portfolio is constructed to keep tax and other expenses at a minimum – while limiting volatility within the core – and still having an opportunity of outperforming the broad stock market with satellite investments.
When implementing a core/satellite investment strategy, you should consider your financial situation including risk tolerance, and your budget requirements. The performance of core investments, for example, can be constructed with the intention of meeting minimum expected return requirements. Obviously, then the assets used for satellite investments can be seen as “extra” funds granted to your investment manager for alpha performance using higher risk strategies.
Major institutional investors have used the core/satellite approach for years. The concept of managed risk allotting the majority of one’s assets to stable investments, and a smaller portion within one’s risk levels to more active opportunistic investing, is not new.
As a boutique investment bank, we expend a lot of effort providing high quality advice and service to our middle-market investment bank clients. We understand the need to align our investment banking services and fees with our clients’ interests, because ultimately, we act as our clients’ advocate. Completing transactions is difficult; we need to be working together. The following is a brief primer related to investment banking fees.
Retainer A credible middle market investment bank will charge a non-refundable retainer. There are two primary reasons for the retainer: (1) it covers the time and expense incurred in preparing the client to go to market and (2) it serves as a screening mechanism to ensure that the client is committed to the transaction. This retainer may be paid as a lump sum, over time or based on achievement of certain activities associated with the transaction process. This retainer should represent a minor portion of the overall fee. Sometimes retainers or portions of retainers are credited toward the success fee.
Success Fee The success fee, representing the majority of compensation, is tied to successful completion of a transaction and is structured as a percentage of the deal size. For capital raises, a fee percentage is applied to the amount of capital raised. The fee percentage increases as one moves from raising senior debt (perceived as less risky and ranges from 1%-2%) to junior debt (more risky) to equity (perceived as most risky and ranges from 5%-10%). Some fee arrangements include an “equity kicker” in the form of warrants. The size of the deal may also influence the fee percentage; the larger the deal the smaller the percentage. For merger and acquisition services, the fee percentage is applied to the overall size of the transaction. Although many business brokers refer to the Lehman formula, few mid-market investment banks use this structure. Instead, they may quote a straight fee percentage or a performance based progressive fee, which increases based on achieving a certain valuation target. The higher the companys valuation (the more dollars the seller puts in his pocket), the higher the investment bankers fee percentage. Progressive fee arrangements provide a strong incentive for the investment banker while aligning the parties’ interests in maximizing the value of the transaction to the client’s owners.
Final Comments. As with most things in life, keep the fee arrangement simple. Haggling over unique, low probability circumstances or creating complex fee structures generally backfires. Complex arrangements tend to cause uncertainty and can result in lack of motivation and focus from the investment banker, not what the client desires. You get what you pay for. Expect to pay a reasonable, market fee. Receiving an engagement letter containing a low fee (potentially with no retainer), indicates a low level of sophistication. Conversely, an engagement letter quoting an out-of-market high fee indicates someone wanting to take advantage of a client. These are not investment bankers you want handling your important deal.
About Wilcox | Swartzwelder & Co. Wilcox Swartzwelder and Co. based in Dallas, Texas, is a boutique investment bank providing merger and acquisition services and corporate finance advisory services to middle market companies in the energy, industrial and infrastructure sector. The Firm delivers a high level of personal service, in-depth industry knowledge, rigorous transaction execution and superior results. Principals have successfully completed almost 100 transactions with aggregate value in excess of $3.6 billion.
Mr. Jason Wilcox 433 E. Las Colinas Blvd. Waterway Tower, Suite 1200 Irving, TX 75039 972-831-1300 www.ws-ibank.com
Securities offered through Petro Growth Energy Advisors, LLC., member FINRA/SIPC.