Image: Pixabay.com
Caption: From small poker acorns do big businesses grow

What’s the best way of turning money into even more money? Investing it. That’s what some of the legends of the poker industry have successfully achieved with their profits made at the tables. When you consider just how much prize money is on offer in the poker industry today, it’s unsurprising the very best in the business choose to diversify their profits by investing in initiatives outside of Texas hold’em. Last year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event saw the third-highest prize pool in the history of poker tournaments, with $67,877,400 up for grabs. The top ten professionals in terms of live career earnings include the enigmatic Phil Hellmuth, who just so happens to be one of the shrewder investors of his poker winnings, as we will explain in more detail shortly.

There are many poker icons that have successfully diversified their poker fortunes into even more profitable business ventures. If you’re familiar with the world of poker, you’ll almost certainly have heard of this trio of poker gods-turned-entrepreneurs:

Jerry Buss: Successful owner of the LA Lakers

For a number of years, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Jerry Buss was a high-stakes Texas hold’em cash game player. He had been a major player in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas card rooms and then became a regular entrant in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) events in the 1990s. Buss’ best-ever finish was a third-place finish in a seven-card stud WSOP tournament, followed by a runner-up finish in a World Poker Tour (WPT) invitational event back in 2003. A charismatic individual, Buss was also invited to play on NBC’s Poker After Dark television series, as well as the High Stakes Poker series on GSN.

Using much of the revenue he had generated from the cash game and tournament poker tables in the late 80s and early 90s, Buss then invested heavily in professional sports teams in Los Angeles. He spent $67.5 million on acquiring the World TeamTennis side, the LA Strings, the NBA giants, the LA Lakers and the NHL outfit, the LA Kings. Undoubtedly, Buss’ most successful investment was his purchase of the Lakers, where he was able to attract a string of big-name stars to the Lakers roster; namely Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. It was his desire to provide world-class entertainment for the fans that led in the Lakers’ ‘Showtime’ era. His financial contribution to basketball was marked by an induction to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 prior to his 2013 death.

Dan Harrington: Real estate riches with Anchor Loans

72-year-old Dan Harrington, nicknamed ‘Action Dan’ in the poker fraternity, is best known for winning the WSOP Main Event in 1995. Harrington had been a successful bankruptcy lawyer for a number of years prior to entering the world of poker and business. Harrington learnt his trade playing poker at the Mayfair Club in the 1980s, sitting alongside some of the other household names of professional poker in Erik Seidel and Howard Lederer. Harrington made the final table of the 1987 WSOP Main Event, finishing in sixth place and started to generate solid revenues from his love of tight-conservative Texas hold’em.

Harrington began to dabble in real estate and stocks and shares before co-founding an enterprise of his own with two of his friends in the world of poker, Stephen Pollack and Jeff Lipton. In 1998, Anchor Loans was established, providing short-term loans to ‘fix-and-flip’ real estate investors. The company has funded more than $5.3 billion in short-term loans in its 20 years of business. Harrington retired from the business in 2010 but is still a shareholder in the company. Harrington has a long and proud history as a poker author, publishing a string of books on online and offline cash games in Texas hold’em no-limit, suitable for beginners and intermediate players. Although he penned a book on ‘Modern Tournament Poker’ in 2014, he hasn’t gone as far as writing about some of the latest poker room incarnations such as SNAP poker that is fast-fold and offers instant gratification for millennial players. Although Harrington’s live tournament earnings are barely a quarter of Phil Hellmuth’s, it’s obvious that Harrington has diversified his poker revenues impressively into real estate and publishing.

Phil Hellmuth: Book publisher extraordinaire

“pp-ed-how-good-phil-hellmuth” (CC BY 2.0) by Chingster23

Caption: Poker Brat turned publisher for the sharp-tongued American

Phil Hellmuth is one of the larger-than-life characters in the world of professional poker. The aptly-named ‘Poker Brat’ has never taken kindly to losing at anything in life, most certainly not at the poker tables, and his will to win has helped him become one of the most respected poker pros on the tour. As of last year, his live tournament earnings were in excess of $21 million, sitting eighth in the all-time winnings list. Hellmuth also holds a record 14 WSOP gold bracelets and also holds the record for the most amount of cashes at WSOP events, standing at 108. These landmarks further serve to commemorate the commitment and passion Hellmuth has held for his poker craft through the years.

Hellmuth has always had a passion for telling stories and, in 2009, as the poker boom started to decline somewhat, he opted to set up his own publishing house with a view of allowing fellow poker professionals to tell their own accounts of life at the tables and away from the felt. The book, Deal Me In: 20 of the World’s Top Poker Players Share the Heartbreaking and Inspiring Stories of How They Turned Pro, written by Stephen John and Marvin Karlins, has proven to be extremely successful among the poker community. Amateurs and semi-pros alike have found it particularly inspiring to see how even the world’s most powerful poker stars had to work hard to build their bankrolls from the outset. It also reinforces that those who have the courage to dream big can, and often will, succeed.

Poker is a gruelling and demanding profession. Even those who stick at it for many decades will look to have downtime away from the tables to keep fresh. What better way for successful poker players to take their heads out of the game than to invest some of their riches in generating more income on the side.

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“Being a rookie trader, it’s easy to forget the basic set of rules when it comes to day trading.” Tom Soyer, a senior financial analyst at Olsson Capital said in a conference held recently.

According to Soyer, a high percentage of day traders give up when they lose out on a trade. The main reason for this, however, is that these new traders have not taken the basic trading rules to heart. To make it easier for rookie day traders to begin a trading career, Soyer composed a list of basic rules to take into account when trading for the first time.

You are never too old to learn something new

It does not matter how long you have been dabbling in day trading, you always need to keep a close eye on trading publications. These can include chart, reports and financial records of the type of trading you are doing.

Don’t expect to become rich overnight

Day trading, although done in short timespans, should not make you think that you’d become rich overnight. As a new trader, you should be prepared to lose out on a few trades. Should you complete your day of trading and be able to cash out a substantial amount of money, do not expect that every day will go like that.

When it comes to margin trading

If you choose to borrow money from your broker to give your trade a bigger boost, you need to take into consideration that this type of margin trading holds its own risk. Should your trade be successful, you walk out with better results as a result of the money you borrowed. But if the trade goes south, your loss will be even bigger than when trading without borrowing.

Don’t trade according to what you hear

The media is full of opinions and speculation. Don’t fall victim to its claws. Yes, that’s easier said than done as we as human beings tend to get emotional about these type of things. Before you make a trade, know what you want from the trade and have a pre-set plan for how you want the trade to go. If you hear that the market is about to fall, make sure of the fact, read your charts and should it be true, exit the trade to minimize losses.

Keep your number of stocks low

If you’re a day trader that is just beginning out, it is better to keep the number of stocks you trade to a maximum of two per day. This gives you the ability to spot new opportunities much easier and keep your wits about you when keeping an eye on the markets you trade on during the day. As you gain more experience, you can increase your trades per day accordingly.

Don’t rush your trades

When the market opens in the hours of the morning, prices tend to be volatile as many traders are ready to execute their trades right away. As a beginner trader, it is better to wait for at least 20 minutes before making a trade as, by this time, the market should begin to settle again. Towards the end of the day, trade price volatility will be higher again as ,by this time, traders want to close their trades for the day. That being said, the best time for a rookie trader to execute trades would be at midday.

Keep your trading money aside

It is a good idea to keep the money you intend to trade with aside. That way, you won’t trade with the money that is intended for other expenses. As a new trader, you will have to be prepared to cut your losses with some of the money you have set aside as not every trade will fall in your favour.

If you follow the above-mentioned set of rules while developing a trading strategy, it is Soyer’s opinion that day trading will be much easier for rookies. Since new traders are still learning the tricks of the trade, it is better to play it safe before jumping into the deep and possibly drowning in trades you make without truly understanding what you are doing.

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The process of online business is fast and cheap. You can do business without having to talk to live representatives without having to settle from your home comfortably. According to a senior financial analyst at Wilkins Finance, the speed and ability to unlock online business is fully related to support technology, which may fail at the very least. Other possible issues are the federation for customer service and investment decisions. The problems discussed below are to make you aware of what bad can possibly happen so you can have a backup ready.

Technical problems

The online business merchandise is just as good as server and software. Highly volatile business days can slow down processing processes and slow down the information process. If you do not have the necessary purchases and sales firms, especially in the fast-moving markets, you will find significant losses. Software widgets can end up delays in cost pricing and status information. This may result in business losses as you enter orders due to delays in false price or ordering reports.

Investors depend on internet and mobile services providers to investigate information research and business locations. If you do not have access to the internet access point, you will not get the exact information or select the key business locations. So to overcome this problem, you should have a backup device always ready and an alternative internet connection.

Customer service

Online brokers are a low-cost expense structure that allows them to submit leave to the commissions. You may be waiting for a telephone call for a long time, especially in non-profit markets, as well as trained and traded traders. Also, you cannot provide some commands through the phone, such as Release the Optional Options Commands. Brokers can prioritize affordable buyers and active businesses, which can expand the waiting time for middle investors.

Administrative measures such as exchange of funds between accounts or sending posters between brokers and long-term business opportunities may be possible. However, the brokerage firms that offer 24/7 customer service will be able to assist you whenever you are in need.

Feedback mechanisms

The business of online trading is that you are an investor, and you depend upon a broker. Online brokers usually do not offer sales recommendations. You need to save time for research, such as reviewing financial statements about corporate websites, investment links, and price charts on the financial website. You should consider double-budget funds that offer professional management and diversity at reasonable prices if you do not have a timely accounting account. In short, you will need some time to invest in your online trading business. Moreover, choosing the right broker will also prevent these problems.

If you have problems with your service, then you should have internet backup in your workbook or public library by employing regular administrative hours. For example, if goods are between transactions between accounts. Place market commands in fast-moving markets because these orders can be used instead of inappropriate prices. Review the general information on ideas about ideas before opening different brokers, service levels, and online accounting.

Sustainable business

Online investments can be dangerous for nonprofit investors because these emotions are easy to respond and can make a lot of investment decisions based on the raged emotions. In real equity, this stock should be held for a longer period of time, to make the Starter Market profitable for a gradual growth. If a single investor often sells a counter to the current events and economic conditions, then it may have benefited from long-term economic benefits.

Taxes

Easy access to online business can be the finest results of investment on investment.  You must pay 15% of investment profits for more than one year, but pay an ordinary income tax that is one year or less. Your income tax will be up to 35 percent. Therefore, it is a taxable ability to keep a long-term investment profile in the long run. The trick is also to avoid the tax rule by keeping the stocks for short periods of time.

It can be concluded that like every other business, in online trading as well you might face problems. However, one thing to be kept in mind is that every problem comes with a solution. Instead of panicking, work on improving the situation.

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SIPs feed on the volatility of markets and generate wealth from market tides. Though based on the basic market concept but surfing the money market waves requires a complex set of abilities and skills.

Veteran fund managers employ latest financial models and software and automatic money market timing instruments to ride the money market wave successfully.

SIP is the answer to the investment need of investing in the volatile yet gainful money markets without getting thrashed by the market waves, and mutual fund managers are increasingly supplying better to this need by making the SIP more investor-friendly. Most first time investors in SIP would be surprised to know the following investor-friendly features of SIP that make it so attractive for investors:

1. SIP Investment Amount Can Be Very Nominal

Investors need not shell out lump sums for investing in mutual funds. By doing SIP investment, they can start investing with as little as Rs 500 to 1000 a month. As the money flows in more well-chosen units are bought by the investor and within quite a less time frame a well-diversified portfolio is created which yields high returns and the risk is completely diversified out. SIPs start showing very good returns within one to three years’ time frame though many SIPs are showing significant weekly, monthly as well as daily returns too.

2. SIPs Have High Flexibility

There is no fear of losing money or being penalized if an investor wants to close SIP. Investors can close SIPs any time they choose to and get the invested amount as well as the applicable returns credited to their accounts. SIPs are becoming more and more flexible by the day with respect to schemes, payment frequency and plan alterability.

The payment frequency can be even weekly or daily; daily Sips are the latest in news. Earlier introduced flexible SIP options include step-up SIP, top up SIP, flexible instalment SIP, trigger-based SIP and pause SIPs. Investors also have the flexibility of choosing from different types of SIP schemes like conservative, balanced and growth SIP schemes.

3. No Money Is Charged for Opening A SIP

Investors need not pay any money to the mutual fund firm or agent for starting a SIP. The investor just needs to submit the KYC documents and once those are approved the investor can apply for the SIP by filling in the mutual fund and SIP form. Upon successfully being subscribed investor would just need to pay the SIP amount as chosen by the investor.

4. SIPs Offer High Returns

The average annual returns being made by conservative SIPs is 12 to 15 % which is quite high as compared to recent FD returns. Higher returns to the tune of 20 to 25 % annually or even higher can be attained from growth type mutual funds.

Recently the RBI has cut the FD rates even further and as such they are not capable of generating sufficient returns for the investors and additionally FD returns are taxable above the Rs 2 lakh per annum return limit (form 15 G/H are not accepted by the banks from investors earning more than Rs 2 lakh per year total returns from all FDs). The good news is that several SIP-based mutual fund schemes offer tax exemptions under the Income Tax Act especially those mutual fund schemes which invest in equities as returns from equities are not taxable.

5. SIPs Can Be Purchased Easily

The investor need not fill up a myriad of documents and make repeated visits to the mutual fund office for purchasing a SIP-based plan. It is easy to purchase SIPs, and they can be purchased through the offline as well as online mode. The only essential criterion is filling with KYC documents with the mutual fund firm for first-time investors. But this is just a first-time requirement and not a repeated requisite. Once investors start to invest in a particular mutual fund firm they can make repeated purchases from the comforts off their homes.

Nowadays purchasing SIPs online has become quite simple. Investors can purchase directly from the mutual fund firm site or through the secure customer portals. Investors can even file the KYC application and documents online.

Benefits of purchasing SIP from secure customer portal overrides purchasing from direct company website in several ways. The essential difference lies in the fact that the former is customer oriented and not product oriented.

Investors can benefit in the following ways by investing through secure customer portal:

• Comparative information on products and schemes and SIP calculator
• Ratings of funds based on rating criteria of top rating agencies
• Selection of firms only authorized by SEBI and RBI
• Customer portal with accredited Fintech capabilities
• Customer log in facilities and customized website
• Investment and transaction records on customized website
• Regular monitoring of purchased plans and funds
• Highly secure transaction platform
• Latest information and updates on investment products
• Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly returns and NAV patterns

Investors can choose the best fit SIP option from the secure customer portal and make it their investment platform.

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Fancy color diamonds from the Aurora Butterfly of Peace Diamond Collection, ranging from 0.62 to 2.00 ct. Courtesy of Alan Bronstein and Aurora Gems.

Just when you think the market for fancy colored diamonds can’t get any hotter… it does.

This year has seen some notable gem auctions by high-end auction houses and jewelers. And while it’s not just diamonds to go on the block – stunning sapphire, emerald and jade creations have been among the touted pieces – it’s the colored diamonds that have captured the attention and opened the pocketbooks of the most discerning investors.

Indeed, the market for the comparatively scarce fancy colored diamonds has been booming for a number of years. The value of colored diamonds generally has grown 142 percent over the last decade, while the value of fancy pink colored diamonds has really soared, up 315 percent, according to The Fancy Color Research Foundation. Blues, meanwhile, have experienced a surge of 154 percent.

This has all created a lot of anticipation each time another diamond auction is announced, and small wonder, given the records the sales are setting. Among the events that have set this year’s pace:

• The Pink Star sale by Sotheby’s at its April auction in Hong Kong may have been the event of the year – if not the decade. The Pink Star is the stunning 59.6 carat diamond that is the largest flawless fancy vivid pink ever to have been graded by the Gemological Institute of America. The winning bid of $71.2 million by Hong Kong jeweler Chow Tai Fook smashed all previous world records for any diamond or jewel – even if it fell short of an earlier $83 million failed bid by New York diamond cutter Isaac Wolf.
• Bonhams New York auction, also in April, may not have featured a marquee draw like the Pink Star, but still offered enough variety to entice a crowd. Fancy colored diamonds were the highlight of the lot, but also of interest were signed pieces by Cartier, Art Deco items and statement sapphires and emeralds. A fancy vivid yellow diamond and diamond ring (valued at $400,000 to $600,000) was the sale’s top piece. It was notable for its unusual old-fashioned cutting style that showcased its brilliance and depth of color.
• Christies, too, has been showcasing colored diamonds alongside other gems in its auctions, and its most recent, the Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Sale in May, lived up to its billing. The auctions provided an exciting selection of magnificent gems. The top piece was an exceptional fancy vivid blue diamond ring by Moussaieff, highlighted by a pink diamond surround, valued at between $8 million to $10 million. Another noteworthy auction piece was a rare platinum and gold bracelet of colored and white diamond florets – each flowerhead featuring a oval-shaped pink diamond at its center, with the clasp featuring a blue one. It was valued at between $2.8 million to $3.8 million.

Although details are not yet known, there’s also a high level of anticipation building over a similar planned showcase of fancy pink diamonds – the 2017 Argyle Pink Diamond Tender. This invitation only-event provides an opportunity to appreciate and bid on some of the rarest stones produced by the Rio Tinto Group’s Argyle Mine. It’s the source of 90 percent of the world’s high quality pink diamonds.

Events like these underscore the unabated enthusiasm for diamonds – and colored diamonds especially – as a likely option for discerning investors.

There’s more demand for them among investors these days. But they get an added bonus as their investment is in an asset that is also a stunning piece of jewelry, notes Michael King, Director of Trading at Paragon International Wealth Management, a Toronto-based firm that is a leader in acquiring and managing hard investment assets, with a specialty in fancy colored diamonds. Paragon International Wealth Management’s King also adds that, “They’re [colored diamonds] long-term investments with a great return — often many times over their original price.

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