Texas-based Investment Planner Launches Unique Investment Blog
ArborInvestmentPlanner.com launched a free Investment Blog with portfolio management articles, blogroll, and personal finance and political websites pertinent to investor’s financial health
Houston, TX – June 30, 2009 (PRWeb) – ArborInvestmentPlanner.com launched a new Investment Blog aimed at independent investors who want to manage their own portfolio. The new blog includes investment portfolio management articles, blogroll, investment and political web sites.
Owner, Ken Faulkenberry states “we have put together the best Conservative, Libertarian, and Christian based blogs and web sites at one location”. He also admitted “We hope while investors are exploring they note the outstanding long and short term performance of the Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP).”
ArborInvestmentPlanner.com is a stock and ETF online portfolio management service which provides a real-time model portfolio, trade alerts, updates, and special reports to subscribers. The new blog is a free service and accessible to everyone. New Blog: www.ArborInvestmentPlanner.wordpress.com
Local Track Team Ready for Area 13 Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics District Qualifier
Texas Stallions Youth Track Club
The Texas Stallions Youth Track Club score fourteen top six finishes at final meet before district!
Spring, TX, June 8, 2009. – In the last meet before the Area 13 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics (JO) District Qualifier, the Texas Stallions demonstrated readiness by bringing home 3 gold, 2 bronze, 3 fourth, 5 fifth, and 1 sixth place finishes. A youth Track and Field Club based in Spring Texas, the Texas Stallions are dedicated to the development of youth track and field athletes in the North Houston area. Lead by head coach Paul Durisseau, fifteen Texas Stallions participated in the AAU sanctioned Flying Dragons Track Meet on Saturday June 6, 2009 at Klein Memorial Stadium in a variety of track and field events for youth 5 – 18 years old.
Ten boys and five girls took part in events that were held by age groups: Primary (5-8), Sub-Bantam (9), Bantam (10), Sub-Midget (11), Midget (12), Sub-Youth (13), Youth (14), Intermediate (15-16), and Young Men/Women (17-18). Awards were given for the top-six finishers in each age group. Competing against over 10 other teams, the stallions took home fourteen top-six finishes. The top-six finishers were:
Girls:
Youth:
- LaKayla LaFrance – 100m Hurdles, 3rd – 17.34
Sub-Youth:
- Brittany Collins – 800m Run, 5th – 2:47.36
Midget
- LaMika LaFrance – 400m Dash, 5th – 1:07.37; 800m Run, 5th – 2:52.74
Primary
- Lavoxkeia Carnes – 100m Dash, 1st – 15.78; 400m Dash, 1st – 1:16.06
Boys:
Intermediate:
- Lamont Grow – Long Jump, 3rd – 19’5”
Sub-Youth:
- Alexander Brooks – 1500m Run, 4th – 6:05; 800m Run, 6th – 2:48.34
Midget
- Freddie Moore – Shot Put, 4th – 36’2.5”; Discus, 4th – 57’3.75”
Bantam
- Christopher Ward – 1500m Run, 5th – 6:16; 800m Run, 5th – 3:02.15
Primary
- Harrison Moore – Long Jump, 1st – 12’3”
The Texas Stallions Stable consists of Adam White, Ahmad Cummings, Alexander Brooks, Anthony Grant, Audreanecia Hagan, Brittany Collins, Christopher Collins, Christopher Ward, Freddie Moore, Harrison Moore, Hunter Cork, Jarius Chevalier, Jonathan Carnes, Kaleb Bryant, Kaylan Harris, Kendrick Skinner, LaKayla LaFrance, LaMika LaFrance, Lamont Grow, Lavoxkeia Carnes, and Zhanna Brooks.
The Stallions can be seen next Saturday, June 12 -13, 2009 at the Area 13 AAU JO District Qualifier, held by the Sonics Youth Track Club at Klein Memorial Stadium, 16715 Stuebner Airline, Klein, TX 77379 at 8:00 am each day. Qualifying times in the district meet will allow athletes to advance to the Area 13 Regional Championships in July where they will have the opportunity to qualify for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics to be held in Des Moines IA in early August. To learn more about the Texas Stallions youth track club please visit our website at http://www.eteamz.com/txstallionstrack/, call our registrar Erica Skinner at (832)-866-2026, or email txstallions@att.net.
About the Texas Stallions Youth Track Club
The Texas Stallions Youth Track Club is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Gulf Association and the USA Track and Field (USATF) Gulf Association youth track programs for boys and girls from ages 6 to 18 years old. Our track club is dedicated to the development of youth track and field athletes in the North Houston area. Our objectives are: to challenge our youth through track and field, and to strive for excellence in every life endeavor; to teach fundamental track and field principles that will equip youth athletes with the skills to compete on a national level; To develop the minds and bodies for future leadership athletic training and discipline; and to develop a spirit of competitiveness that will foster a desire to always strive for excellence. Our website is located at http://www.eteamz.com/txstallionstrack/.
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Photo Caption: Texas Stallions Youth Track Club.
Investment Planner Real-Time Model Portfolio Reaches All-Time High
May 30, 2009 – ArborInvestmentPlanner.com announced today its real-time model portfolio, the Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP) is up +10.3% for the year to date, an all-time high. This is after a 2.0% loss in the portfolio for 2008 versus a loss of 37% in the S&P500. The AAAMP has a positive return of 7% for the entire bear market beginning in the fall of 2007 to the close of Friday.
The AAAMP is sent to ArborInvestmentPlanner.com subscribers to help investors achieve diversification thru proper asset allocation by following the model. Trade alerts, updates, and reminders then keep subscribers updated and flexible as economic and market conditions require.
For more information visit: www.ArborInvestmentPlanner.com.
Five Essential Themes For Every Investment Portfolio
ArborInvestmentPlanner.com
SPECIAL REPORT
By Ken Faulkenberry
How do you get a strategic advantage that can add the percentage point or two that really gives your investment portfolio extraordinary returns?
Look at what one or two extra percentage points return can mean to your portfolio. A $100,000 investment earning 8% for 30 years returns $1,093,573, at 9% returns $1,473,057, and at 10% returns $1,983,740. It’s amazing what that extra two percentage point return does over a lifetime!
Return on investment is driven by supply and demand. If you have demand that outstrips supply; the return on investing in that product or service will have to be higher than average to attract investors into investing and meeting that need. Therefore, everything being equal, if you can invest where demand is high and growing you can expect a higher than average rate of return on your investment.
Here are five themes with the potential of providing the extra return on investment that transforms your portfolio from average to extraordinary:
ENERGY – Whether we are talking about oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy, or new green energy, we will probably need it all. We already use all the energy we produce worldwide. The tremendous growth expected in the standard of living of the emerging markets, in addition to worldwide increase in population, will force us to find more ways to produce and deliver energy to an energy starved world.
INFRASTRUCTURE – No state or nation is able to thrive without the infrastructure to support growing economies and populations. Airports, railroads, highways, communications, etc. are all needed to move people, products, and information efficiently. Developed countries have old and neglected infrastructure needs. Emerging markets have unending needs for new infrastructure.
FOOD/NUTRITION- As third world nations develop they require more and higher quality food. This process is already under way. Add world population growth and you have ever increasing demand for good nutrition and quality food for decades to come.
DEFENSE/TERRORISM/WAR – We live in a dangerous world. Trends that include an increasing number of fanatics willing to kill innocent people will require technology and diligence to defeat. Add to the fact that as we have become more global and mobile we have needed more resources to keep the peace, not less.
HEALTH/ENVIRONMENT – This might be the most rewarding and riskiest investment of the five. Due to population growth in the developing markets, higher standards of living being demanded by emerging countries, and the aging of the developed nations (particularly the U.S. and Japan); the demand for health care and need for environmental services are expanding rapidly and possibly outstripping any other area. The growing risk is the trend toward government which socializes the industry and creates rationing instead of a free market that innovates and grows to meet expanding needs. Therefore, one must be extra careful when investing in this area.
Each of these five themes have the potential to provide extraordinary investment returns because the demand created by the global market place will require these needs be met. Choosing individual investments that provide a properly diversified asset allocated portfolio takes knowledge and many hours of research. Ken Faulkenberry, principal at ArborInvestmentPlanner.com, asserts, “We take advantage of global trends and provide the Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP), Trade Alerts, and Updates to help independent investors make their own investment decisions.”
“People want to stay in control of their assets,” says Faulkenberry, “but lack the time, resources, or knowledge to research individual investments and place them in a properly diversified portfolio. Companies like Arbor Investment Planner provide these services, along with peace of mind.” More information is available at: www.ArborInvestmentPlanner.com.
Texas Based Independent Recording Artist Jennifer Grassman Flouts Traditional Music Industry Precedents
Houston Based Recording Artist Jennifer Grassman Puts an Innovative New Twist on Album Production and Music Marketing with the help of Spring Fitness Centers
May 7, 2009 – HOUSTON, TEXAS – Houston based recording artist Jennifer Grassman recently split from her record label of five years, Truth Love Music, and set out to produce and fund her third album as an independent artist in the purest sense of the term. With projected production expenses for the album approximating $10,000, Grassman needed an innovative way to raise funds and market her music.
Spring Fitness Owner Thomas Kennison and Recording Artist Jennifer Grassman
“I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” said Grassman, “so I did not find raising $10,000 to be particularly intimidating. Money is the oil that lubes the cogs of creative production. I view it as the means to an end, not as the end. Meaningful art is the ultimate end. Since the majority of my fans are diehard art and performing arts enthusiasts, I decided to offer them an opportunity that would appeal to their passion. In exchange for donations they can receive secret concert tickets, get their name listed in my album credits, and other such novel tidbits.”
Grassman’s various sponsorship levels range from $25 to over $1,000, and “Thank You Gifts” for said sponsorships range from a free CD to a privately held house concert and dinner, for you and your friends, right in your home. Although these opportunities have only been available for a little over a week, several contributions have already been made, including one by area gym, Spring Fitness. Spring Fitness will be receiving credit in Grassman’s upcoming album, Serpents’ Tales & Nightingales, as well as on her website, www.JenniferGrassman.com, where a list of sponsorship opportunities can be found.
“Spring Fitness is actually the gym that my husband Jason and I attend,” said Grassman. “I love their facilities because they have an exclusive women’s area and it’s not pretentious like a lot of the bigger chain gyms. Jason and I went in to work out recently and the owner, Tom (who is almost always there), informed us that he wanted to donate towards the album. That, as you can imagine, solidified my commitment to working out there. My abs have already improved!”
This new business model which incorporates fan and corporate sponsorships is quite deviant from the traditional music industry model, in which a record label would provide the capitol to fund an artist’s projects. Given that in this case no record label is in play, Grassman decided to do what she does best; be creative.
“My music is creative,” stated Grassman, “and that seems to fly pretty well. Why should my marketing or business practices be any different? If it’s ethical and inspired, I’m up for it. Besides, business should be fun, especially in regards to the arts.”
About Jennifer Grassman
Jennifer Grassman is a vocalist, pianist, composer and recording artist. Grassman’s music effortlessly fuses diverse elements of classical, Celtic, gothic and rock styles into a beautiful, moving genre all her own. She resides in northwest Houston, Texas with her husband and two cats. To learn more, please visit www.JenniferGrassman.com or www.rainnoverhouston.org.
About Spring Fitness
Founded in 1994, Spring Fitness Center provides customers with “family style fitness.” While most gym facilities charge extra for personal training, child care, aerobics and tanning, Spring Fitness is special in that it incorporates these services into one low monthly fee competitive even with non profit centers such as The YMCA. Spring Fitness also has sister clubs in Tomball and off FM 1484. To learn more please visit www.NewSpringFitness.com.
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Jennifer Grassman
www.JenniferGrassman.com
www.RAINNOverHouston.com
Press & Media Contact:
Candace Runaas
281.257.4431
info@runaasresources.com
www.runaasresources.com
- Spring Fitness Owner Thomas Kennison and Recording Artist Jennifer Grassman
Pretty Girls Wins Gold Remi at Worldfest Houston Film Festival
Pretty Girls Wins Gold Remi at Worldfest Houston Film Festival
Zenfilm and Jennifer Grassman’s music video collaboration continues to earn respect among artistic peers
Jennifer Grassman during shoot of the award winning Pretty Girls video
Houston, TX – April 28, 2009 – Jennifer Grassman Music and Zenfilm celebrate yet another award for their music video collaboration Pretty Girls. The Worldfest Houston Film Festival presented the artistic team, which includes TLM Productions, with the coveted Gold Remi. In February 2009, the video also received a Silver Addy from the American Advertising Federation.
“This recognition means so much to me as an artist,” says Grassman. “It is a true honor to have Worldfest and The American Advertising Federation recognize our work with such distinguished awards.”
Pretty Girls, Grassman’s first music video, unveiled worldwide in December 2008. The visually stimulating production is garnering significant US and international attention, including airplay on MTV-UK and festival screenings across the United States.
The track single hails from her debut album At the Back of the North Wind and is described as a “surreal, dark and beautiful homage to women through the centuries and the joys and dangers that their beauty has drawn into their lives” by Zenfilm director Ross Wells.
Filmed in and around a 150 year old rural farmhouse outside of Richmond, Texas, Pretty Girls captures dramatic and dangerous moments in the lives of attractive females throughout the ages. The narrative is intercut with dynamic performance footage of Jennifer Grassman filmed in Studio A of ‘The Abbey Road of the South’, historic SugarHill Studios, in Houston.
The award-winning video is gaining a rampant online viral presence on channels such as Vimeo and YouTube. To view Jennifer Grassman’s Pretty Girls music video, visit www.JenniferGrassman.com.
About Jennifer Grassman
Jennifer Grassman is a vocalist, pianist, composer and recording artist. Grassman’s music effortlessly fuses diverse elements of classical, Celtic, gothic and rock styles into a beautiful, moving genre all her own. She resides in northwest Houston, Texas with her husband and two cats. To learn more, please visit www.JenniferGrassman.com or www.rainnoverhouston.org.
About Zenfilm
Zenfilm is a film production company and postproduction boutique founded by the award winning team of Executive Producer Merideth Melville and Director W. Ross Wells. The company has produced award winning music videos that have received international airplay and festival recognition in recent years. Zenfilm worked together with Dan Workman and Andrew Amelang of TLM Productions to bring this project to the screen. For additional information, visit www.zenfilm.com or http://wrosswells.com.
CONTACT:
What are ETFs? Should they be in your Portfolio?
ArborInvestmentPlanner.com
April 2009
Special Report
What Are ETFs?
Should They Be In Your Portfolio?
ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund. Used as an investment vehicle, they are a hybrid of mutual funds, stocks, and closed-end mutual funds. Like stocks or closed-end mutual funds, ETFs trade on a market exchange so they can be traded (intraday) anytime stocks trade, not just at the end of the day. It has multiple holdings or investments inside it like a mutual fund or closed-end fund. It has a certain number of shares outstanding on a given day that investors buy or sell to change their position, like a stock or closed-end fund. But unlike closed-end funds which can trade at a discount or premium to their NAV (Net Asset Value), ETFs typically trade close to their NAV because they can be exchanged in-kind with baskets of the underlying securities by authorized institutions.
The ability to trade intra-day may or may not be important in an individual investor, but it definitely is a nice feature. The ability to have multiple holdings or track a specific index is a major positive attribute since diversification is so important. The fact that ETFs have shares outstanding and don’t have to liquidate small amounts protects shareholders because fund managers are not forced to liquidate assets on demand that drive up commissions and fund expenses.
In addition to the above, ETFs have other important attributes. ETFs generally have lower expenses ratios than mutual funds due to the way they are structured. Like sector mutual funds ETFs can segment to very specific or targeted sectors of the economy. This allows investors to have a diversified position in a small slice of a sector you want to be invested in. For example, ArborInvestmentPlanner.com believes potable water is going to be a scarce resource this century. There are few pure water plays or opportunities in individual stocks, but you can buy ETFs that specialize in companies in the water industry. This allows you to take a small position that is diversified.
While there are many positive attributes to ETFs, there is one major drawback. Since most ETFs are not actively managed, but are programmed to follow a specific index, the index and therefore the EFT, may not own the very best stocks. Actively managed ETFs will generally have higher expense ratios than ETFs tied to an index. This is why it’s important to either do your own homework or have someone you trust such as ArborInvestmentPlanner.com doing your research for you.
Like any investment, ETFs require research and knowledge to be able to place them in a properly diversified asset allocated portfolio. ETFs play an important role in the Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP) by providing an inexpensive way to diversify small positions in targeted sectors of the market (i.e. Water Resources, Precious Metals Mining, Agribusiness, Environmental Services, Biotechnology, etc). The Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP) usually holds 25-40 individual positions of which typically about one-third are ETFs.
More information is available at www.ArborInvestmentPlanner.com.
Sincerely
Ken Faulkenberry
ArborInvestmentPlanner.com
Hedging – ArborInvestmentPlanner.com – Special Report
Hedging has become somewhat of a dirty word lately. People have correlated it with Hedge Funds and “betting against America”. In reality hedging, like many things (i.e. alcohol), can be abused or used incorrectly and cause harm. But when hedging is used correctly, it can be a useful tool or in some cases a prudent necessity. A homeowner will usually hedge the chance of a fire destroying his home by purchasing fire insurance. Hedges can also improve the safety and reduce risk in an investment portfolio. Hedging is a portfolio strategy of diversification to reduce risk by owning something that is correlated inversely to other assets in the investment portfolio. Owning precious metals, including gold and silver mining stocks, is a hedge. The primary purpose of owning these investments is because they do well during times of rising inflation or economic and political turmoil. These are the times other asset classes like stocks, bonds or real estate may not do well. Therefore it is prudent to hedge a portfolio by owning some investments related to precious metals. It is important to constantly monitor economic and political risks to achieve the optimum asset allocation in precious metals. The Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP) has a long term target of 5% of the portfolio in precious metals related investments, but that percentage could be much higher at certain times. A recent popular vehicle for investing, Exchange Traded Funds(ETF’s), has made it easy to invest in an instrument that moves inversely, or the opposite direction of a stock market index. Some of these EFT’s even move 2 or 3 times as much as the underlying index. This allows an investor to take the market risk partially or wholly out of one’s stock portfolio. For example, let’s say you own $100,000 of 20 great companies with solid balance sheets and high dividends, but believed strongly the stock market was going to decrease in value. You may not want to sell your stocks so you buy $50,000 of an EFT that moves 2X the inverse of the market. You now have removed all the market risk from your portfolio of stocks. If the market moves lower as you believed, you will make money on the ETF to make up for losses in your stocks. Of course, if you are wrong and the market moves higher, you will lose money on the ETF that will offset the gains in your stocks. Either way, you continue receiving the dividends and do not incur taxes and commissions selling and buying your 20 stocks. Hedging is an important and useful diversification strategy to reduce investment risk and improve long term portfolio performance. It is also a strategy that requires monitoring and careful application. Properly used, hedging can reduce investment risk. The Arbor Asset Allocation Model Portfolio (AAAMP) uses precious metals investments and inverse index ETF’s to maintain asset allocations at levels believed to be optimum for the current investment environment. We use hedging to reduce portfolio risk. We continually update the AAAMP with every trade or major market move in order to stay disciplined and focused on our asset allocation. (www.arborinvestmentplanner.com)
Commissioner Jerry Eversole to Speak at Chamber Gala
Spring, Texas – March 25, 2009 – The Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce (SKCC) is proud to announce that Jerry Eversole, Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner, will be the special guest speaker at the chamber’s 2nd Annual Christmas in July Gala.
“We are pleased that Commissioner Eversole accepted our invitation to be our guest speaker this year,” said Toni Richard, SKCC president. “When I heard him speak at the Pundt Park Grand Opening, he was so personable and witty. His humor, passion for the community and down-to-earth personality complement our membership and our mission for the Spring-Klein area.”
Commissioner Eversole is currently serving his fifth four-year term as commissioner of Precinct 4, the largest Harris County precinct, encompassing 587.1 square miles with over 904,000 residents.
“The Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerce represents the fastest growing segment of the Houston Metropolitan area,” states Elle Carnes, the Christmas in July Committee chairperson. “Spring, Texas made up 54% of the growth in Harris County last year. Our invitation to Commissioner Eversole, a well-respected figure in our community, is an extension of our goal to promote what is great about Spring.”
In tandem with the Commissioner’s appearance, the gala includes a live auction and the Chamber will also recognize the year’s most distinguished business for their service to the community with the ‘Toni Awards.’
The SKCC, which celebrates its one year anniversary this May, held its first Gala last year only two months after their inaugural meeting. Larry Joe Doherty, best known for his television role as Judge Larry Joe on Texas Justice, and his wife, Joanne, were the featured guests celebrating with nearly 80 attendees.
The 2009 Christmas in July Gala and Awards Ceremony will be held at the Shady Oaks Banquet Hall, located at 909 Lemm Road One, in Spring on Friday, July 24, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Advertising, sponsorship opportunities and live and silent auction details are available online. Early bird tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at only $50 for members and $55 for non-members until April 30. For more details, please visit www.springkleinchamber.org or contact Elle Carnes at 281-460-6018 or elle@explorespring.com.
ABOUT THE SPRING KLEIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Founded in May 2008, the Spring Klein Chamber of Commerce (SKCC) is the business and community support organization dedicated to being the primary resource for area economic development, business expansion and overall quality of life in Spring-Klein. For more information, visit www.springkleinchamber.org or call 281-257-4431.
Find Cheaper Ways to Get Entertainment – My Fox Houston
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/entertainment/090305_studio_recording_streaming
The historic SugarHill Studio in Houston was the host location for this piece on how consumers are seeking budget-friendly entertainment options. Jennifer Grassman (www.jennifergrassman.com) received an excellent mention in this informative piece and was interviewed by Dan Workman and Rosa Guerrero after performing several songs from her current CDs and they upcoming Serpant Tales and Nightingales. Ross Wells of Zenfilm, Troy Burwell of Xprescom and the rock group, MacAdams, were also key players in the 3rd installment of LIVE FROM SUGARHILL. Check out the Fox News report on the trend. And tune in to www.ecslive.com to see the recorded version of the entire program on Saturday night, March 7, 2009.
