Best Stock Investment Strategy For 2010 & Beyond

The best stock investment strategy for 2010 and beyond will focus on a stock investment that is actually an investment fund. This investment strategy is easy to put into action and is the best way to simplify things for the average stock investor. You can do it the hard way in 2010 and beyond, or you can learn about stock investment funds and do it the easy way.

Many people try to pick the best stock investment by pouring over the list of equities (stocks) traded on the major exchanges. That gives you about 5000 choices. Others try to pick the best investment fund from the equity category offered by a specific mutual fund family. This limits your choices, but also your opportunities; since few families offer a wide array of specialty or sector funds that specialize in a particular industry.

The best stock investment strategy for 2010 and going forward is to focus on industries and sectors that have been out of favor and will eventually be top performers when a real economic recovery takes hold. The economy is not out of the woods yet, as the jury is still out in regard to our financial system and the big banks that created the financial crisis. Unemployment is still at unacceptable levels and the real estate market is still in a funk. Where will the big profits be when the financial storm eventually passes?

You'll find your best stock opportunities in the sectors that were previously beat up severely. Now, let's talk investment strategy. You will want to have a primary equity holding in the form of an equity investment fund that moves with the market. That's a lot easier than picking individual issues and putting together your own portfolio. You can buy into the general market by simply buying shares in an ETF (exchange traded fund) that tracks a major market index like the S&P 500.

In one simple transaction you can buy shares in SPY which tracks the major market index that the professionals follow and use as a benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. If the market is up you make money... if stocks are down you lose like most everyone else. Then, you add investment funds (ETFs) to your portfolio that track industries or sectors that were beaten up the worst when stocks in general were falling. Avoid those that have already reached new highs.

For example, the gold sector was cold for years before it took off and gold prices hit all-time highs. It's too late to get rich here in 2010 and going forward for a few years. On the other hand, the real estate industry has been hammered in recent times. Stocks and funds that invest in that sector lost up to 90% when the financial crisis unfolded, and are still way under water. Your best stock investment in 2010 or in the years that follow could very well be an ETF that tracks the real estate sector. Symbol URE is one such fund, and gives investor 2 to 1 leverage in the process.

If you are new to the world of investing, your best stock investment strategy is to focus on the investment funds (ETFs) that trade on exchanges and offer just about any category of investment conceivable. For example, how else could you invest in equities, bonds, commodities, or foreign securities without years and years of experience? Go to your broker's site or other financial site and get familiar with the various categories of ETFs that are available. Or search "ETF" on the internet.

I've been an active investor for 35 years. Today, 90% of my investing activity is in exchange traded funds. I like to be able to play gold, real estate, and other sectors the quick and easy way without the risk associated with the likes of commodities contracts and options contracts.

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A Nursing Career Outlook For 2010 and Beyond

There are many people wondering about the nature of their jobs in the middle of an economic downturn that will be remembered for centuries.  As a nurse or student, you need not worry; the profession is actually in a shortage.  According to an American Association of Colleges of Nursing fact sheet, "Dr. Peter Buerhaus...found that despite the current easing of the nursing shortage due to the recession, the U.S. nursing shortage is projected to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 2025.  A shortage of this magnitude would be twice as large as any nursing shortage experienced in this country since the mid-1960s."

There are generally two major areas in which the nursing shortage takes its toll.  The first is attrition that takes place in every profession, retirement.  As nurses are poignantly aware, particularly those in geriatric specialties, people age and move from the career segment of their lives to the "golden years".  This opens many opportunities for young nurses to move forward in their careers.  In New York State alone, the number of practicing nurses under age 30 went from 25.1% to 10%.  This trend is certain to continue with rising age of the Baby Boomers.  When more nurses retiring coupled with the aging population takes hold, it's easy to see why demand will increase for the nursing community.

The second issue is the prospect of comprehensive, or universal, health care on the horizon.  Regardless of your political stand on the issue, it is very likely that the scope of potential patients will rise dramatically from some form of legislative reform.  This works in the favor of nurses and nursing students.  An increase in patients obviously calls for an increase in those who care for them. 

Conservative estimates generally indicate that the increased coverage will lead to 12-15 million insured patients.  More liberal estimates place the number closer to 47-50 million.  The added stress on the system will affect all areas of nursing, but many experts believe it will particularly affect the Emergency Departments and nurse practitioners most directly to begin, since doctors will also see an increase in their patient load, and thus employ the use of NP's more often to effectively treat everyone.

More than likely, universities will soon increase the number of seats in nursing schools to accommodate for these influxes.  This is nothing less than a windfall for the industry from the new RN to the Practitioner who's been working since the 1960's.  The demand for experienced nurses will increase dramatically, and the commensurate pay will increase as well.  For the relatively new nurse, opportunities will arise in specialized fields that had once been very selective courses.  Perhaps now is the time to take those classes in Obstetrics or Cardiac Care.  And of course the nursing student will be looking to a future of immediate and lasting job prospects in the field long after graduation, something that their peers can envy in times of economic strife.  Things look up for the nursing profession for a long time to come.

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