LOM Financial (Bermuda) Limited

Behavioral biases can be dangerous when it comes to investing. Making decisions based on emotions can often lead to serious losses. Read up the article below from CNBC for more insights: One of Warren Buffett's most quoted axioms urges investors to "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." Buffett's observation highlights the role emotions play in many investment decisions, as well as the way an unemotional investor can profit. But there's more to emotion in investing than fear and greed. AfricaImages | Getty Images There are more than 100 behavioral biases that can undercut effective investment decision-making Researchers have identified more than 100 behavioral biases that can undercut effective investment decision-making, according to Michael Pompian, founder and partner at Sunpointe Investments and author of "Behavioral Finance and Wealth Management: How to Build Optimal Portfolios That Account for Investor B

In the financial and business world, knowledge is power. This is why it’s a must to bank on the most consistent information, reliable research, and trustworthy industry knowledge to go with one’s every financial and investment decision in the industry.  Equipping yourself with the right knowledge and information resources can make a big difference but it’s also important to know where to find them. If you don’t know where to start, check out this list of the top sites for financial news and advice and you’ll be good to go. Bloomberg This finance and investment website is where you can find the most recent and relevant financial information published by experts and read by seasoned investors. It has different features like the Bloomberg Markets where you can find news and pertinent analysis every day. In addition, they have their selection of their own mobile apps for on-the-go investors. Kiplinger Based in Washington, D.C., Kiplinger’s blog focuses both on person

When investing, it's always best to assign specific goals to each investment account. Goal-based investing provides direction to your money. Read more on Business Today : We all have dreams and desires but we do not plan our investments according to our goals, most people just invest in an unplanned manner. Goal based investing adds direction to an investment. A structured, well thought out process for investing, where you know the purpose behind each rupee that is being invested is known as goal based investing. It looks at your existing assets, expense patterns, risk profile, asset allocation and the various short, long and medium-term goals and creates a road map for each of these goals in a fairly predictable manner. It comprises of two parts - planning & investing. Goal planning notifies the amount that is required to fund the goal and the how much is needed to invest regularly or one-time to get to the desired amount. Investing that amount in the most suitable pro

Image source: aliantlaw.com The world is entering a new economic order and the former major players are starting to recognize the strength of an emerging economic powerhouse that’s been slowly but surely making its way to the top—Africa. Ranked as not only the most resilient in the world, many African countries have been predicted to become the fastest growing economies because of the region’s massive number of opportunities for foreign investors and their potential to be the world’s most dynamic player. The credits go to the Africa’s focus on both social and political reforms that are transforming the region into a top business and trading hub. Furthermore, the progressive development of vital social and political infrastructure has contributed to high-quality workforce, business-oriented young population, and the fast-emerging middle class that have significantly boosted the region’s spending power. Image source:economist.com The rise of Africa as an emergin

Overseas markets might seem riskier, but international investing still offers dynamic and vital diversification. In emerging markets like China and India, for example, the odds for achieving higher returns is much higher than investing in US stocks exclusively. Here are more insights from The Philadelphia Inquirer : Outside the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks had outperformed international ones for years, but that may be changing. There really is no place like home, and many investors tend to keep their investment strategies heavily weighted toward U.S. company stocks. Something that falls within their comfort zone feels like a safer bet. But investors who insist on staying close to home in today's stock market environment could be undermining their odds for achieving higher returns. Although U.S. stocks have substantially outperformed foreign markets for the last several years, the tide may be shifting. Overseas markets have been outperforming U.S. stocks

Image source: countrynavigator.com Globalization has paved the way to a limitless mobility of people from around the world to move and find refuge, be it for political or economic security, from their country of heritage to a foreign land. Diasporas have made some of the world’s biggest cities into huge cosmopolitan centers, serving as melting pots for a great diversity of cultures, backgrounds, and ways of life. Cities like New York, London, Dubai, and Hong Kong have a substantial percentage of  expatriates living and working within their boundaries. Although the motivations of such mobility may be personal , there are ways in which groups in diaspora unknowingly help their countries of origin, especially in terms of social and economic impact. This is because they maintain their connections to their homeland and in many instances, they preserve a legal identity as well as establish a socioeconomic presence in their country of origin. In turn, this type of migration has c

Recovery after the last major financial crisis has been very diverse and uneven across all states and across different industries. All of which, however, may have been partly (or largely) affected by the United States' political environment. Bloomberg has an interesting article on this matter: The beginning of an explanation.   Photographer: Mike Theiss/National Geographic/Getty Images One of the conundrums of the recovery from the financial crisis is how varied it is and the diverse perceptions of it by different people in different parts of the U.S. All of this reminds me of John Godfrey Saxe’s wonderful poem, “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” In it, six blind men each touch and describe a different part of the animal. Their incomplete perspective makes it impossible to grasp the whole. The elephant analogy applies to a U.S. economy, where regional components are very different from, and often bear little resemblance to, one another. Attempts to draw b

Even during the ancient times, physical gold has been a symbol of wealth and power. In fact, it was a recurring image of royalty in the histories of the world , from being the favored metal used to make ornaments and precious objects for the rulers of Egypt, to being the valued trading currency among many European, American, and Asian merchants. With physical gold’s successful run as a high-valued asset in the ancient economy, you should be wondering if the same story is still true today: Is gold still as precious as it was before? Should you include physical gold in your investment portfolio? Indeed, these are important questions that every wise investor who has never considered physical gold before should be asking. The truth is, physical gold has long been acknowledged as a valuable asset. In fact, it is still considered as the universal “money” in many countries because of its unique benefits not only to the economy but to its investors. Gold has also long

When people talk about investing, one of the things that they never fail to mention is how they should start young in setting aside money for the future. Although this advice has its merits,  analysts argue that while people in their 20s hold the prime age when it comes to investing, it doesn’t mean that older people don’t have a chance to redeem themselves and start saving up for their golden years. So does age really matter when it comes to investing?  Perhaps the question that we should be asking is: is age the single most important factor in investing? It’s always the best decision to start in your 20s and doing so can guarantee the highest possible compound interest growth because compared to their older counterparts, young investors have more time to accumulate money and reinvest their earnings without worrying much about the risks. However, age should not limit older people from getting started on their investment goals. For instance, people in their 30s who

People sometimes just have this gut feeling that they should invest in a specific company. Despite funneling all their money into a specific stock, they still want to spend more. So they borrow from brokers instead. Basically, this is what margin trading is all about. According to the law, traders are allowed to borrow as much as 50 percent of the buy value of the stock. It significantly increases the chances for a profit, but the risks will become greater as well. Image source: investopedia.com Margin investors are indeed brave souls. They are trading with the concept of borrowing money from the casino so that they could play a few rounds on the blackjack table. Nonetheless, there exists an interest rate sweet spot where they could create a solid case for borrowing other’s people money to spend on stocks. To find it, all a person needs to do is refer to some graphs and a couple of historical data. It states that after-tax market returns of 9 percent will do rather swi

The LOM Group’s headquarters resides in the heart of Hamilton, Bermuda’s capital. LOM Financial Limited was established in 1992 by a Bermudian banking and business family, whose ancestry on the island dates back many generations.  The LOM building houses our Wealth Management, Brokerage, Trading, Finance, Compliance, Settlement operations and Custody divisions.  Excluding the banks, the LOM Group is the only investment firm licensed to provide international custody operations from Bermuda. Settled in 1609, the island is the oldest self-governing British Dependent Territory.  Not only picturesque and beautiful,  Bermuda  boasts centuries of political, social and economic stability, one of the reasons Bermuda witnessed a rapid growth in international business during the 80’s and 90’s.  International Businesses benefit from Bermuda’s english common law systen and centuries of jurisprudence.  In addition to Bermuda becoming one of the world’s largest  reinsurance  centers, it is the