Tyler Huck, his wife Claire and daughter Camryn.

Source: Tyler Huck

When Tyler Huck graduated from college in 2008, it was smack in the middle of the financial crisis.

That shaped his views on money and investing.

"I saw friends, family lose heavy money on real estate," Huck said. "I saw parents lose heavy money on their stock investments inside IRAs and 401(k)s."

"My first real exposure to the market as an adult going into the workforce was negative," he added. "It was fear and panic and it was tough to get a job at that time."

A marketing major, Huck eventually landed a job as a teller at a local bank. Now, at 33 years old, he's a financial advisor for Oxygen Financial, a financial advisory and wealth management firm specializing in Generations X and Y (also known as millennials).

His advice: start saving now.

"The rising cost of health care, mixed with the fact you will not have your retirement supplemented by a pension and potentially Social Security, it's going to be on your shoulders to save the brunt of your retirement [income]", said Huck, who also hosts a finance and careers podcast for millennials called "They Don't Teach You This."

The best day to start investing was yesterday. The next best day is today.

Caleb Silver

editor in chief, Investopedia

Retirement is something many millennials feel unprepared for.

In fact, even affluent members of that generation are worried 39% expect to be forced to work beyond retirement age, a new survey by Investopedia found. The investing education website, in partnership with Chirp Research, surveyed 844 affluent millennials, ages 23-38, through an online survey. The median income for the survey was $132,473, compared to the median household income of approximately $71,400 for the generation as a whole, according to Pew Research.

Of those surveyed by Investopedia, 36% said they should be investing more.

"The lack of knowledge and the lack of education makes them fearful and makes it feel very risky to them," said Investopedia's editor in chief, Caleb Silver.

To overcome that fear and start investing or to simply get smarter about how you are doing it there are several steps you can take.

Start putting money aside for your retirement now, whether $50, $100 or $125 a paycheck, said Silver.

"Pay yourself first," he said.

If you work for a company that offers a 401(k) plan, take advantage of it. Some employers also offer matching contributions, which is essentially free money towards your retirement.

"These plans are great behaviorally because once the contribution is set up, it is automatic and a hassle to change," said certified financial planner Cathy Curtis, founder and CEO of Curtis Financial Planning in Oakland, California.

More from Invest in You:You can put cash into socially conscious investments and still make moneySmart investing strategies in any marketHow to invest like Warren Buffett

When you contribute regularly, dollar-cost-averaging comes into the equation, she added.

In other words, "the contributor will buy more shares when the price is low and less shares when prices are high, so average returns will be higher over the long term," explained Curtis, a member of the CNBC Digital Financial Advisor Council.

Roth individual retirement accounts allow your money to grow tax-free, since the contributions are made after tax unlike 401(k) plans or traditional IRAs.

There are income limits. If you are married and have a modified adjusted gross income of $203,000, you can't contribute to a Roth. If you are single, you can't contribute to it if your income is over $137,000.

You can contribute a reduced amount if, as a couple, your income is between $193,000 and $203,000 or, if you are single, your income falls between $122,000 and $137,000.

Curtis likes Roth IRAs, especially for younger people.

"Even though they are best used as retirement plans letting the money grow tax-free for decades, they have flexibility," she said. "If a person really needs the money, if they follow the rules, they won't pay tax on the withdrawal."

Your after-tax contributions can be taken out at any time without penalty. However, it's a different story for withdrawing investment earnings.

After you hit age 59 and have funded the account for a least five years, you can start to make withdrawals without any penalties.

Since millennials do almost everything online, using an app could be a good way to start socking away money, even in small amounts, Curtis suggests.

There are a number of investing apps available from newer disruptors, like Acorns and Robinhood, to those from big banks, like J.P. Morgan Chase.

Still afraid of dipping your toe in the water or diving deeper? You can overcome that fear by making sure you are invested in a diversified portfolio, including bonds, Curtis said.

NicoElNino | iStock | Getty Images

Bonds offer your portfolio some protection when the stock market goes down so if you are highly risk intolerant, don't put most of your money into equities.

In fact, if you start early, a 60/40 stocks-to-bonds portfolio mix can do quite well over the long term, said Curtis.

"Volatility is what scares most people, but volatility is temporary and is the price investors pay to get the better returns that stocks provide," she said.

If you have money in a 401(k), IRA or some sort of index fund and are looking to invest in individual stocks, then look at names that have a product or service you enjoy, said Oxygen Financial's Huck.

"It gets you excited about saving money," he said.

Don't worry if you are just starting now. It's not too late.

"The best day to start investing was yesterday," said Investopedia's Silver. "The next best day is today."

Curtis agrees. She suggests making up for lost time by cutting out a discretionary expense, like a new pair of shoes or weekly restaurant dinners, and investing the money instead.

Also, if you haven't maxed out your 401(k) contribution, increase it by a percent or two and "not even feel the pinch," she added.

"I know people who didn't start investing until their 40's who are doing fine now," Curtis said. "But they could be so much further ahead and have more options later in life if they start early."

Originally posted here:
How millennials can overcome their fear of investing - CNBC

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Like other third-world countries, one issue that Haiti faces is an abundance of waste, coupled with a minimal sanitation system. Storms dont help the matter either as ocean waste, particularly plastic, washes up on the shores and in the canals of the Caribbean nation. Additionally, a great deal of plastic could end up in the ocean because most Haitians drink their water from plastic bottles or bags.

Yet, despite the obvious challenges in cleaning up so much, HP and two of its partners have found a way to collect plastic waste and, ultimately after treating it, put it to good use. Since 2017, HP has manufactured ink cartridges made from over a million pounds of plastic bottles recycled from Haiti. And for the past 19 years, overall, the company has converted a staggering 199 million-plus pounds of plastic into 3.9 billion printer cartridges.

We decided to focus on plastic because there was so much of it.

The opportunity to use plastic from Haiti landed on HPs radar after the company was approached by Ian Rosenberger, founder and CEO of the First Mile Coalition, formerly known as Thread International. After the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Rosenberger contributed to the relief effort but also discovered that turning this trash into money could do some good for the countrys citizens.

"We decided to focus on plastic because there was so much of it," said Kelsey Halling, director of partnerships at First Mile. "Generally, [plastic] is more valuable than paper or cardboard, and we discovered we could turn plastic PET bottles into fabric and yarn."

After joining the Clinton Global Initiative, First Mile connected with Timberland, their first commercial apparel partner. Upon hearing more about HPs commitment to using recycled materials, and their intention to increase that part of the supply chain, Rosenberger saw where the organization could contribute.

"When he heard that we were using a huge volume [of recycled plastic], he thought that HP could be one of the buyers out of Haiti for this type of plastic," noted Ellen Jackowski, global head of sustainability strategy and innovation at HP. "When we look at our own supply chain, we were buying plastic off of the general global plastics market, mostly out of North America, so shifting some of that volume to Haiti seemed like a good possibility."

In essence, First Mile serves as a go-between for HP and plastic recyclers in Haiti. But, in addition to interfacing with the brand and collection centers, the organization has helped develop programs around safety and hygiene and business-related matters, including how to manage accounting and cash flow. Additionally, the partnership has led to the opening of two learning centers in the country, serving over 100 children with quality education, food and medical assistance.

Since 2010, ECSSA has recycled over 60 million pounds of plastic materials from the country, and he says that the partnership with HP and First Mile has been transformative.

According to Edouard Carrie, founder of ECSSA, one of the plastic suppliers in Haiti, over 9,000 people are registered to collect, with an estimated 1,200 doing so full time. Since 2010, ECSSA has recycled over 60 million pounds of plastic materials from the country, and he says that the partnership with HP and First Mile has been transformative.

"The impact on their lives is amazing," said Carrie, who learned more about recycling as a student at the University of Tampa and then decided to start the company to help his home country. "Without recycling, they would have no other source of income or revenue. Whats most rewarding to me is seeing the number of people we can help. People are buying something that was affecting our ocean, [and it] is helping the rest of the world."

The next phase of the project involves additional investment by HP. Specifically, the company has committed $2 million for a new plastic washing line in Haiti that helps eliminate the need for an extra step before the harvested plastic is sent to Montreal, where the ink cartridges are manufactured.

The facility helps lower HP's carbon footprint by eliminating steps and providing a more direct line from raw materials to finished products. According to HP, it also could create more than 1,000 new local income opportunities. Yet, from a practical perspective, the new, sophisticated equipment helps accelerate the scale of moving plastic from Haiti.

"Its [a modest] investment for a company like ours," said Jackowski. "But the significance of that decision is breakthrough."

According to Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale: "There are currently more than 86 million metric tons of plastic in our ocean, and each year, over 8 million metric tons of additional plastic enter the ocean," and that "HPs collaborative approach in Haiti is driving meaningful impact to reduce marine litter."

We want to get [the Haiti] process scaled and stable. Weve been open source about this and share our knowledge with other global companies.

"The appetite to repeat and extend it to other countries is huge both internally and externally," she said. "We want to get [the Haiti] process scaled and stable. Weve been open source about this and share our knowledge with other global companies," referring to the partnership the brand has with Next Wave Plastics, a coalition of companies dedicated to drastically reducing plastic waste in the ocean.

For now, however, the focus continues in Haiti, where the brand not only has reinvented sourcing of materials but provided an essential opportunity to improve the lives and futures of people in the country.

"HP has been a really unique partner for us," added Halling. "Theyve had a tremendous impact on the neighborhoods and communities that were working in."

Read the rest here:
A peek into HP's investment in reducing ocean-bound plastic in Haiti - GreenBiz

Rue Gilt Groupe, which owns Rue La La and Gilt, has attracted an investment from Simon Property Group to take outlet shopping online.

Online discount retailer Rue Gilt Groupe has attracted an investment from the nations largest shopping mall operator, Simon Property Group, to launch a new website for outlet shopping.

On Wednesday, Simon said it had invested $280 million for a 50% stake in Rue Gilt Groupe, which is backed by billionaire Michael Rubin and owns flash-sale sites Rue La La and Gilt. The companies have collaborated on a new site, called ShopPremiumOutlets.com, where shoppers can find discounted products from 2,000 brands. The site, which has been in beta testing since March, currently has 300,000 products available, with more to come, the companies said.

Rue Gilt Groupe will operate the site and earn a commission on every sale that is made on the platform. Simon has pledged to use a portion of its $100 million-plus annual marketing budget to promote the new site.

The unconventional partnership brings together a brick-and-mortar retail company and an online retailer in a play to create a new marketplace for off-price merchandise. Its a slice of the retail industry that has remained stubbornly offline. For instance, Marshalls only recently introduced a website. TJMaxx does only a sliver of its total sales through its website.

Simon and Rue Gilt Groupe plan to leverage their customer databases, which together include more than 35 million people, to market the new offering. They say the platform will help brands drive additional online sales, get rid of excess inventory and serve as an additional channel for acquiring new customers.

When you put the physical and the online world together, sales for both go up, David Simon, CEO of Simon Property Group, said in a phone interview. This gives us an opportunity to create an online platform that shoppers can go in between visits to the outlets.

As foot traffic at malls has declined, Simon Property Group, a retail real estate giant, has been looking for ways to diversify its business and take part in the e-commerce boom. The CEO says he does not expect the website to cannibalize sales at the nearly 100 outlets that he operates around the world.

For Rue Gilt Groupe, this is a way to diversify its business away from the flash-sales model and become a more dominant player in the online discount space. We look at this as the biggest opportunity we have at Rue La La and Gilt, Rubin, the executive chairman of Rue Gilt Groupe, said in a phone interview.

Last year, Rue La La purchased a struggling Gilt for under $100 million, which was a far cry from the billion-dollar valuation it fetched in 2011. Rubin says that business has turned around, noting that he has added 2 million customers since the acquisition and that Gilts sales are growing 30% year-over-year.

Forbes estimates that Rubin is worth $2.9 billion, thanks to his majority ownership in Kynetic, a holding company for e-commerce companies Fanatics, Rue Gilt Groupe and ShopRunner.

Read the rest here:
Rue Gilt Groupe, With $280 Million Investment From Simon, Is Taking Outlet Shopping Online - Forbes

I work with many types of real estate investors people who want to buy their first investment properties, investors who want to grow their property portfolios and first-time homebuyers who realize that even their homes are investments in their financial futures. My conversations with these investors have revealed the following as eight of the most common real estate investing mistakes, which can be avoided with smart preparation and diligent research.

1. Not Starting

For most people, not starting is the common enemy. There are many things that get in the way: lack of confidence, lack of knowledge, fear of losing money and fear of failure, to list a few. You can never succeed if you dont take the first step. It is okay to be afraid. But not taking the first step means losing opportunities and not achieving the financial success you've dreamed of.

Know what success looks like to you. More importantly, know what it means to you. This is your driving force. Take that first step!

2. Jumping Right In Without Proper Planning

A common piece of advice I see in many books and investing articles is: Just start. What are you waiting for? Theres some wisdom in taking the leap, but theres a distinction between jumping in unprepared and starting with a proper plan and strategy. The age-old adage Look before you leap is very apt here.

Have a plan. Dont merely rely on luck and on winging your way through it.

3. Trusting Everyone

Real estate investing is a topic covered extensively online. My biggest challenge was to figure out who I could trust, especially when I didn't know a lot myself. There are so many gurus and experts out there but do they have a sound strategy? Do they have a good track record? Or are they pushing an expensive system with a risky strategy? Ask many questions and be cautious about who you place you trust with. Only follow advice from people you can trust.

4. Following (Only) Your Gut And Getting Emotionally Attached

Its easy to get emotionally attached to an investment. Gut feeling and instinct play an important role in real estate investing, but so does data. In the words of Edward Deming, Without data, all we have is an opinion.

There is so much information that can be analyzed: market data, neighborhood data, demographic data, trends, property data, cash flow, rental projections, etc. This is data that can accurately predict trends for you. Think intuitive right brain versus logical, analytical left brain: Neither side is better. Balance it out and get the best of both worlds. Use data to stay grounded. It can help you ensure that you are making a good investment.

5. Trying To Do Everything By Yourself (Who Needs A Team?)

Real estate investing is a team sport. I cannot stress enough the impact a team can have on an investors success. A great real estate agent will help you find a terrific property at a fair price. A great mortgage broker will ensure that you get financing at a good rate. A great real estate investment coach will help magnify investment success. A complete team also needs a lawyer, property inspector, tax accountant, property manager, contractor, stager, interior decorator, real estate photographer, architect and more.

Remember that a team is stronger than any one member. Surround yourself with an army of experts. It often is the difference between success and failure.

6. Failing To Learn The Basics Of Real Estate Investing

Many people buy their first or their second property without really knowing much about real estate investing. I should know I was one of those people. On the surface, investing seems simple: Get approved for a mortgage. Buy a property. Find a tenant. Done. The problem is that experience can be expensive. If I could go back and redo some of my early investments, Id be much further ahead today.

Knowledge is power. Learn as much as possible from others. Avoid having to learn by making the same mistakes. As Warren Buffet has said, The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself ... the more you learn, the more you'll earn.

7. Overspending On Renovations

Whether an investor buys a property to flip it or to rent it out, Ive noticed that its very common for them to overspend on renovations. In some cases, it happens because the renovations go over budget. In many cases, its because there wasnt a clear plan or budget. But most of the time, the investor willingly overimproves their property. They fail to analyze the impact the renovation will have on appreciation and cash flow.

Dont spend on renovations that wont benefit you! Do your due diligence to understand what adds value and what doesn't.

8. Not Knowing When To Be Patient And When To Be Aggressive

Its important as an investor to recognize a deal when there is one and to make a decision quickly before someone else does. One of the best investments I ever made was a house I visited at night with a flashlight so that I could make an offer that same night. What many dont realize is that I had been watching the market for months before jumping on that opportunity that I couldnt resist.

It can often be difficult to assess when patience is required and when to jump in. Use your data and your gut but most importantly, be alert.Know how to balance being patient and taking action to achieve the best outcome.

See the article here:
Avoid These Eight Common Real Estate Investing Mistakes - Forbes

Fisheye Farms got started in Detroits West Village neighborhood in 2015 with just 1,200 square feet of raised bed space. The farmers discovered quickly that the citys resurgent restaurant scene meant there was plenty of demand for local, sustainably grown vegetables.

We were making sales and growing a lot of produce, said co-founder Andy Chae. We had a business going, and the whole time we were trying to find more land and just hitting roadblocks everywhere we went. When Chae and co-founder Amy Eckert found a promising parcel, they approached their bank for a loan, but they were quickly shot down. So, when a team from Steward, an investment start-up looking to funnel capital into regenerative agriculture projects around the world, expressed interest in giving them a loan, they were intrigued.

Thanks to their partnership with Steward, Fisheye Farms acquired a plot thats nearly 10 times larger than the original, in the neighborhood of Core City.

Fisheye Farms Amy Eckert and Andy Chae.

Its one example of how during a proof-of-concept phase over the past year, Steward put $2.2 million into 16 varied projects hand-picked by the companys team. Now, farms can apply for funding directly on Stewards website. And on the investment side, anyone can buy into the Steward Farm Trusta fund that will provide loans across the portfolio of farmswith a minimum of $100.

That was the idea all along, said founder Dan Miller, a real estate and tech entrepreneur, that people can come to the website and invest directly, and farmers can submit directlyand we connect those two components. Investors at certain levels will also soon be able to invest in individual farms.

Over 2,000 farms applied for funding in the first year, and Miller is looking to scale up. Ive generally found that these farms have economic opportunities. They are just starved of funding, he said. More people are getting into regenerative and sustainable farming. Wed love to be working with hundreds, and hopefully thousands, of farmers in the not-too-distant future.

The Steward Model

Steward is not the first company promoting and enabling investment in sustainable agriculture. Dirt Capital is known for its work helping organic farmers in the Northeast buy land, and Denver-based Bio-Logical Capital has financed and helped execute regenerative agriculture projects in Vermont and Hawaii. Online platform Kiva connects investors to small-scale farmers around the world. And Arabella Advisors and RSF Social Finance have advanced impact investing in various food system projects, including sustainable agriculture initiatives.

Dan Miller of Steward.

While each project approaches the challenge slightly differently, Miller says this alternative funding is still just a drop in the bucket compared to the financing that goes into industrial commodity agriculture. Almost all agricultural lending is driven by government policy, whether its direct government lending or through banks that have government programs, and those policies incentivize large industrial production, he said. So, the second youre not [producing] commodity products, youre in another bucket thats too small, too complicated, and is completely ignored.

Anu Rangarajan, director of the Cornell Small Farms Program, said accessing capital is a huge issue for the small farms her team works with around the country, especially those run by new farmers who dont inherit land. Its pretty well established that funding is a real issue these days given that land values have gone up a lot, she said, and then having operating capital is also a challenge.

Rather than competing with other good food investment vehicles, Miller sees Steward as complementary, with each company adding eggs to the still-tiny basket of investors trying to tip the scale in the other direction.

Plus, while many funds focus specifically on land, Steward also provides loans to improve infrastructure. For instance, loan recipient Omar Beiler, an Amish grass-fed dairy farmer, bought processing equipment that allowed him to sell milk, butter, and ice cream directly to customers.

Whatever the farmer needs, well adjust accordingly, Miller said. In addition to the investments in Beilers operation and Fisheye Farm, Steward has helped Oregon-based East Fork Cultivars buy 12 acres of land to grow certified organic hemp and Louisiana-based Dusty Roads farm buy a walk-in cooler for its organic vegetables, more than half of which had been going to waste due to lack of refrigeration. Steward has also funded several international projects, such as a natural winemaker in Switzerland and a pomegranate farm in Morocco.

Omar Beiler on his horse-drawn tractor.

While the farms the company has funded so far are diverse in location and crops, the farmers are overwhelmingly white, a point Rangarajan hit on right away when evaluating the companys model. Miller said the team is actively working on diversifying their portfolio, and noted the many women and LGBTQ farmers who had accessed funding. Weve had many ongoing discussions about how to guarantee more inclusivity in an area that is historically harder for people of color to break into or thrive in, he said.

To apply for funding, farms fill out an application on the website. Steward then evaluates applications based on business plans and farm practices. For example, it requires farms to be regenerative, meaning they increase biodiversity, enrich soils, improve watershed health, sequester carbon, and enhance ecosystem services, and sustainable, defined as prioritize[ing] self-sufficiency and capable of sustaining farmers, resources, and communities. It also sends employees and consultants to visit farms the company is considering investing in.

Once a farm is accepted, Steward works with the farmers to structure a loan based on their specific needs and resources. Miller said loans could range from $10,000 to $1 million (the majority from the first round of funding were six-figure numbers). Each farm also gets a farm steward, who is tasked with offering guidance and resources as necessary.

Any investor with $100 or more can go to the website and invest in the Steward Farm Trust, which owns the entire portfolio of loans and has a projected annual return rate of 4 to 6 percent. The company is calling the model crowdfarming, since individuals can do it easily online and theyre investing alongside others. But unlike crowdfunding models such as Kickstarter, the online investment pathway does not allow you to select a specific project; the lending is spread across Stewards portfolio of farms. There are opportunities for qualified investors to put their money into specific farm projects, but that is through a separate fund and requires more capital.

The challenge, then, will be finding investors who are interested in supporting regenerative agriculture and are willing to bet their money on itwith returns that are much higher than what one would make from a savings account but with less potential for profit than investing in, say, stocks.

One challenge, Miller said, is that people dont invest in farms. Its not something they have in their investment portfolio. So, were going to have to educate them about that.

Future Stewardship

Another challenge is that while Steward has big plans for the future, many of the farms it has funded have not yet entered the repayment phase. And the small farms will have to manage high interest ratesStewards loan rates are between 8 and 10 percentwhile working within tight margins and in the face of unpredictable weather patterns.

Rangarajan of Cornells Small Farms Program said she was concerned that those rates were so high, farmers may not be able to manage them. The margins on a farm are so low, she said, so if you have a crop loss, that could be an issue, people defaulting on loans because of loss.

Miller recognized how high the rates seem to farmers used to seeing government subsidized rates of around 2 percent, but said that is another example of how the system privileges large commodity operations, in terms of only giving larger farms access to artificially cheap capital.

Steward aims to build a capital market for sustainable agriculture that fairly compensates both partiesinvestors earn returns commensurate with the risk of small farms and farmers access flexible funding tailored to their needs, he said. Though the interest rates are higher we have found that farmers are able to grow rapidly with appropriately tailored funding, especially when supported by Steward and our network of Farm Stewards.

At East Fork Cultivars, CEO Mason Walker and farm founders Nathan and Aaron Howard had been growing CBD-rich cannabis since 2015. The team had been looking to grow hemp for several years but hadnt been able to access land. That changed when they met Miller. When a neighboring farm went up for sale, they were able to buy it with a $640,000 loan from Steward. That loan came with a 9 percent interest rate, but Steward gave the farm a two-year grace period before theyd have to start making payments, which was crucial, Walker said.

East Fork Cultivars CEO Mason Walker (left) and co-founder Aaron Howard.

Its certainly way more expensive than a traditional mortgage, but [we liked that] they would be an ally for us and a strategic partner to support our mission, Walker said. The consultants on staff also helped us buy farm equipment, and with budgeting and marketing opportunities.

Rangarajan said that this kind of ongoing partnership could make a big difference in whether the Steward-funded farms are able to succeed. When people are ready to scale to build toward greater and greater farm viability the three- to four-year stage can be the make-or-break point, she said. To be able to go into partnership with someone who understands that risk and is supportive as the farm grows, I think that would be really exciting.

Today, East Fork is growing certified organic hemp for CBD and has also turned its farm into a kind of living lab. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley are using the site to study how growing cannabis impacts wildlife migration patterns. Meanwhile, the farm team is experimenting with how to reduce energy and water use and creating and testing its own fermented soil amendments in hopes it will improve the soil and help the plants defend themselves against pests.

At the end of the day, Walker said, We would not have bought this property without Steward.

See more here:
With $100, You Too Can Invest in Regenerative Agriculture - Civil Eats

And we have record foreign direct investment of 1.3 trillion more than any other country in the EU.

Boris Johnsons speech to the Conservative Party conference this week contained a list of the partys economic achievements while in government.

Theres one claim in particular that some FactCheck readers have been querying that foreign investment is still at a record high following the Brexit vote.

The short answer is that the Prime Minister accurately quoted one official statistic which does show that Britain is still a popular destination for foreign investors.

But other ways of measuring investment are much less flattering, and Mr Johnson failed to mention more recent bad news about investment into the UK which some commentators have explicitly blamed on Brexit uncertainty.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) refers to significant investments made by overseas investors in domestic companies.

Downing Street pointed us to the latest worldwide figures for 2018 published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in June this year.

There are two main measures. Flow is the value of investments made from abroad over a given year and stock is the value of the equity held by foreign investors at the end of the year.

Boris Johnson was talking about stock in his speech. The book value of foreign investments at the end of 2018 was actually higher than 1.3 trillion it was around 1.48 trillion, according to the UN.

This was indeed a record high, and higher than any other EU country. In fact, Britain ranked third in the world for inward FDI stock in 2018, behind Hong Kong and the United States.

Mr Johnson didnt mention the alternative flow figure though, possibly because the latest numbers do not show a record high. In fact, FDI flows to the United Kingdom declined by 36 per cent between 2017 and 2018, as new equity investments halved, according to the UN data.

And that came after an even bigger fall in inward investment flow the year before. In all, FDI flows fell by nearly two-thirds, or more than 100bn, between 2016 and 2018.

Its fair to say that FDI flows are often volatile and there was a massive spike in 2016, so arguably the 2017 and 2018 figures werent all that bad in historic terms.

But there has been other bad news on foreign investment since these figures were published.

Statistics from the Department for International Trade show that the number of major investment projects fell by 14 per cent from 2017/18 to 2018/19and the number of new jobs created fell by 24 per cent.

Other indicators are more positive: the value of stock and the number of cross-border investment projects rose after the Brexit vote. So the picture is mixed.

But while there is no proof that Brexit is to blame for changes in foreign investment flow, some commentators including the accounting firm EY have said they believe the political uncertainty around our exit from the EU is making the UK less attractive to investors.

Using Mr Johnsons preferred measure, the stock of inward foreign direct investment, the latest available figures do show a record high. Its actually higher than the 1.3 trillion figure he used.

But other measures of foreign investment, like the annual flow of investment into the UK, have fallen since 2016.

Overall, its fair to say that the UK has historically been a favourite destination for global capital, and overseas investors continue to hold large amounts of equity in UK firms compared to other EU countries. There are mixed signals on whether Brexit is changing that.

Excerpt from:
Is foreign investment in the UK really at a record high? - Channel 4 News

This article wasfirst published by MyWallSt.Which 2 pot stocks will beat the market? Find out in MyWallSt's free guide!

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) is one of the most closely studied and followed stock portfolios on the planet and has thrived under the leadership of founder and stock market guru Warren Buffett.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Here at MyWallSt, we have built our investment strategy around the ideology of Buffett himself: buy and hold 'til we're grey and old! This is the basic tenet of Buffett's strategy: He believes in investing in companies with long-term value rather than a "flash in the pan." We take a look at arguably the five best additions to the Buffett portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway currently owns roughly 5% of the second-richest company on Earth, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). It also happens to be Berkshire's top holding by quite a large margin, coming in at close to a $50 billion market value. Buffett first began buying up shares in Steve Jobs' brainchild in 2016 and has bought more shares every quarter since, with gains coming in at around 25% since its first purchase. Despite Apple's declining hardware sales, Buffett firmly believes in the company's "stickiness," or the ability to remain relevant in everyday consumer life for years to come.

Much of Berkshire's enormous 9.3% stake in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) came about following the Great Recession of 2008. The investment mogul invested $5 billion into the struggling bank, purchasing the shares at a much-reduced price of $7.14 per share, well below the trading price at the time of $26.99 per share. With the bank growing back to its pre-recession heights, Buffett has seen the market value of his position in BofA grow to $26.7 billion, making it an extremely successful investment.

It's safe to say that Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) hasn't been short of scandals in recent years, which has contributed to it being one of the worst-performing banks in the sector. However, through all of this, Warren Buffett has publicly backed his investment and its managers. Wells Fargo is one of Buffett's oldest banking investments, which he bought in 1989 worth $3 per share. With CEO Tim Sloan resigning earlier this year, and its stock price seemingly beginning to become steady after a fluctuating year, the company looks to be on the path to recovery. Despite all this, it's still one of Buffett's top stocks, and he has actually had to sell shares to meet regulatory demands of remaining below 10% ownership, with the market value of his position coming in at close to $20 billion.

Another golden oldie for Warren Buffet -- he purchased his first Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) stock back in 1988 at a time of struggle-- that appears to still hold his seal of approval despite the changing landscape and growing health-consciousness of the average consumer. Buffett originally paid $1.3 billion for shares of the company, which translates to a current market value of roughly $18 billion, an increase of almost 1,300%. The investment pays Berkshire a massive $650 million per year and has seen increases in annual dividends almost annually for the past 50 years. It pays to own 9.5% of the world's most recognizable beverage maker. Fun fact: Buffett is actually a massive fan of the drink itself, and claims to drink several cans a day.

In a surprising move, Berkshire Hathaway recently bought a stake in e-commerce giant Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). One of Buffett's two lieutenants, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, started a position in the first quarter of 2019, and then added shares in the second. Though not a typical Buffett stock, considering its high price and price-to-earnings ratio, the purchase was still a wise move, as Amazon does fit the Buffett model of compounding growth with a formidable moat. The dominant leader in e-commerce over the past 25 years, Amazon has grown into a massive empire including hardware, music, streaming, and more. Not only does its core delivery service control 50% of U.S. market share, but its subsidiaries such as Amazon Web Services are also dominating in their respective fields. It may be too early to call it a great Buffett investment, but it has all the signs of potentially being his greatest yet.

Image source: MyWallSt.

One of these pot stocks is already+100% this year. What are you waiting for?

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The 5 Greatest Investments of Warren Buffett - The Motley Fool

Tencent is the world's largest games publisher. It's both an internet and entertainment giant in Chinathe equivalent of Facebook or Googlebut gamers worldwide are probably more familiar with Tencent's investments into a growing number of game developers and publishers.

But with over 300 investments in its portfolio, staying on top of every company that Tencent has a stake in can be a little daunting.

That's why I've created this reference listing each of Tencent's public investments in foreign gaming companies (basically, companies outside of China), including, where possible, how much of that company Tencent owns. As part of our ongoing coverage of PC gaming in China, it's also important to understand the growing influence Chinese gaming companies like Tencent have on the global market.

In 2011, Tencent went from being Riot Games' publishing partner in China to its majority stakeholder after paying $400 million for a 93 percent stake in the League of Legends developer. Four years later, Tencent scooped up the remaining 7 percent equity for an undisclosed amount, taking full control over Riot Games just as League of Legends was exploding as an esport around the world.

Tencent's purchase of Riot was nothing short of prescientLeague of Legends is the most popular PC game in the world, pulling in an estimated $1.4 billion in revenue last year. Riot Games remains largely free to steer the game how it pleases, but that relationship has some ugly downsides. Wanting to cash in on the mobile gaming boom, Tencent tried to get Riot to make a mobile version of LoL. When the developer refused, Tencent went ahead and made their own mobile clone of LoL called Arena of Valor that became one of the most profitable mobile games in Asiaand Riot wasn't very happy about it. That is now mostly water under the bridge now that Tencent has abandoned Arena of Valor in the West and Riot is now making a mobile version of LoL. Squabbles aside, Tencent's purchase of Riot has cemented it as the king of esports.

Tencent's $330 million investment in Epic Games back in June 2012 triggered one of the most dramatic shifts in PC gaming of the last decade, ushering in a new era of free-to-play games as a service. Seeing that "the old model" of selling games wasn't working, Epic founder Tim Sweeney decided to join forces with Tencent to better learn about operating live-service games. It paid off.

With Tencent's investment, Epic scrapped Unreal Engine 4's monthly subscription in favor of a free version where Epic earned royalties on sales. Though developers might pay more for a successful game in the long run, it opened Unreal Engine up to an enormous community of indie developers and helped fuel intense competition between rival engine, Unity, which up until then was considered to be the best technology for small developers. At the same time, Epic began experimenting with live-service games like the Paragon and Fortnite: Save the World. While both games were failures, Save the World put Epic in the perfect spot to jump on the battle royale bandwagon andalmost by accidentcreate the biggest gaming pop culture phenomenon since Minecraft and Pokmon. Last year, Fortnite made $2.4 billion, making it the most profitable game that year.

(Image credit: PUBG Corp)

Yes, Tencent a piece of both Fortnite and PUBG, the two dominant battle royales. What's even more amusing is that Tencent also has rights to publish both games in China, meaning it's actually in competition with itselfnot a bad place to be in. Tencent's investment into Bluehole first began in 2017 with Tencent first acquiring 1.5 percent of Bluehole before increasing that investment to an undisclosed amount rumored to be around 10 percent. That's probably just the beginning, though, as Tencent is rumored to be seeking a complete acquisition of Bluehole.

Tencent was one of several investors that helped Ubisoft survive a hostile takeover last year from Vivendi, who at the time was Ubisoft's largest stakeholder. For years, Vivendi had been steadily acquiring more stake in Ubisoft in hopes of ousting founder Yves Guillemot and seizing control for itselfputting thousands of jobs in jeopardy in the process. The situation looked grim until Ubisoft struck a deal with Vivendi that saw the French conglomerate divest its stake to a variety of investors that included Tencent.

As part of the agreement, though, Tencent is just a silent partner who cannot increase voting rights or ownership stake in Ubisoftmaking a hostile takeover by Tencent impossible. The acquisition of Ubisoft shares also heralded in a strategic partnership where Tencent would publish Ubisoft games in China, which caused its own flurry of backlash over censorship.

(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Years before Ubisoft, Tencent helped another company escape Vivendi: Activision Blizzard. Activision fell under Vivendi's control way back in 2007 when it merged with subsidiary Vivendi Games in order to join forces with Blizzard and benefit from the enormous success of World of Warcraft. Five years later, the merged companies of Activision Blizzard announced a deal to buy back Vivendi's stake in the company and become independent, and Tencent jumped at the opportunity to buy 5 percent of the company for an undisclosed amount.

In 2018 Tencent snatched up a majority stake in the New Zealand developer of Path of Exile, Grinding Gear Games. The purchase alarmed Path of Exile players who feared the Chinese publisher would start implementing more aggressive microtransactions or changes to Path of Exile's delicate in-game economy. But, like many of Tencent's acquisitions, Grinding Gear Games has supposedly kept its independence over Path of Exile's operation. In the year since, little has changed about Path of Exile's economy or microtransactions despite the game's continued growth.

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Supercell - 84.3 percent: Tencent's $8.6 billion dollar investment in this Finnish mobile developer is one of the biggest purchases in videogame history. But considering 60 percent of Tencent's $19.13 billion in gaming revenue last year came from mobile games, and Supercell's enduring hits like Clash of Clans, the acquisition makes a lot of sense. Like Riot Games, Supercell reportedly retains most of its independence and is still located in Finland.

Frontier Developments - 9 percent: Tencent invested 17.7 million into the developer of Elite Dangerous and Planet Zoo in 2017 as part of a strategic partnership to capitalize on increased interest in space and "themepark" games in China.

Kakao - 13.5 percent: Kakao is a South Korean internet and entertainment company whose games subsidiary is responsible for the mega-hit Black Desert Online, which surpassed $1 billion in gross sales last year, and also publishes PUBG in South Korea.

Paradox Interactive - 5 percent: When Swedish grand strategy publisher Paradox first went public in 2016, Tencent swooped in to buy 5 percent for $21 million. Part of the sale was motivated because Steven Ma, the head of publishing at Tencent Games, is a big fan of Hearts of Iron 2.

Fatshark - 36 percent: Warhammer: Vermintide 2's success led Tencent to acquire a large minority stake in Swedish developer Fatshark in early 2019 for an estimated $56 million.

Funcom - 29 percent: Tencent's most recent purchase was 29 percent of Funcom, the makers of Conan Exiles and The Secret World.

Sharkmob - 100 percent: This new studio comprised of ex The Division and Hitman devs was fully bought by Tencent in early 2019, though it hasn't announced its first game yet.

Discord: Discord has received $158 million in funding last year, including an undisclosed amount from Tencent (among many other investors).

That covers most of the companies that PC gamers will care about. It also owns a 39.7 percent stake in Sea, a South-East Asia esports and publishing company, an undisclosed majority stake in web game publisher Miniclip, and about a half a dozen minority stakes in a variety of mobile game companies to boot.

The rest is here:
Every game company that Tencent has invested in - PC Gamer

Responsible investment (RI) surged in importance for all types and sizes of institutional investor around the world in the last year, a new survey has found, with the biggest gains in positive sentiment towards the approach recorded among respondents in the UK.

Of the UK respondents toAons 2019 Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing survey, 42% indicated RI was very important or critical to their organisation, up from 19% in 2018, and 87% answered that they believed the approach was at least somewhat important, up from the 66% who gave that response in 2018.

In continental Europe, those percentages were 85% in 2019, up from 80% in 2018.

In the US, meanwhile, the percentages were 78% compared to 57%, and in Canada the proportions were 78% up from 66%.

Tim Manuel, head of responsible investment for Aon in the UK, said: In the UK, where regulations in favour of responsible investing continue to strengthen, we see investors taking more concrete steps to implement responsible investments within their funds.

The fact that Aon had a high response to the survey in the UK, with 43% of overall respondents being based there, was indicative of this frame of mind, Manuel said.

Meredith Jones, author of the report and global head of responsible investing at Aon, said the consultancy was also observing significant investor-led RI efforts where regulation was not driving activity, however.

Year-on-year change in responsible investing attitudes by geographic region

Source: Aon, Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing 2019

The survey polled nearly 230 investment professionals internationally.

Corporate pension funds were revealed to have undergone a sea change in their attitudes to responsible investing, with the share of investors expressing a positive sentiment toward the approach growing from 56% in 2018 to 86% in 2019. Public pensions saw similar growth, according to the poll, but from a different departure point, with positive sentiment spreading from 70% of respondents last year to 92% in 2019.

Year-on-year change in responsible investing attitudes by investor type

Source: Aon, Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing 2019

The most popular primary motivation for pursuing RI across all investors was the belief that incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) data leads to better investment returns, Aon said.

However, the firm said many UK and European respondents indicated in the survey that they were motivated to engage in RI in order to have an effect on global issues such as climate change, diversity or social justice.

By contrast, only 10% of US investors and 8% of Canadian investors indicated global impact as a motivator, Aon said.

According to the survey, lack of agreement on key issues, such as terminology and materiality, was a hindrance for fewer investors this year than last: 14% of those polled in the 2019 survey, down from 26% in 2018. However, Aon said the industry continued to struggle with what constitutes ESG, socially responsible investing (SRI), and impact investing.

In its view, imprecise terms have been applied on a wide variety of investment products, with a number launched over the last 12 months under an ESG label when they included features that fell more under the headng of SRI and/or had impact goals as well.

Aon said it continued to advocate for the apt imposition of names when it comes to all things RI.

It also said it planned to launch an impact fund and a low carbon factor fund for its discretionary asset management clients.

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Chart of the week: Responsible investment surges in importance - IPE.com

After a loss it can be difficult to suss out the bright spots on a football team, especially one as jarring as the Dallas Cowboys Week 4 match-up with the New Orleans Saints. While the offense was stuck in mud all night long the defense held up its end of the bargain for the most part to keep them in the game. The player perhaps as responsible for that as any? Offseason trade acquisition and defensive end Robert Quinn.

Quinn notched two sacks on the night amid numerous pressures of Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater. He leads the team with three takedowns despite only appearing in two of four games on the year due to suspension. He also has four run stops on the season.

Not bad for a sixth-round pick and a contract that was negotiated down for $4 million in savings.

But Quinn is not satisfied.

Asked after the game about his play he replied, If I had a good individual effort and we lost as a team, then my performance wasnt good enough. At the end of the day, we lost as a team, thats all that really matters. I would give up all my stats for a W.

Three times in his career has Quinn hit double-digit sacks (something hes on pace to do again in his age-29 season), and every one of those years were squandered on bad St. Louis Rams teams. In fact, in his previous eight campaigns in the NFL, hes only made one playoff appearance, a wild-card exit in 2017 with the Rams in Los Angeles.

Hes treading unusual water, being on a team with the talent to wade into the postseason current, and his individual performance will be a big part of what this Dallas team is capable of. Being satisfied after a loss is the worst kind of look for a player, one that Quinn is unwilling to wear.

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Player of the Game: Quinn consummate teammate after strong personal performance - Cowboys Wire