But when you hear about former attorney general Elliot Spitzer’s high priced hooker, then you will probably have memories of hearing about the story. When it is said that no advertising is bad advertising, she would seem like the ultimate test wouldn’t she? She was a prostitute, sleeping with a married, high profile man. As far as getting a good reputation, we could say she had a disastrous start right?

But turns out, she is now doing better than ever. She has her own website, is launching her first record, is being invited to celebrity events, is being lured to write an autobiography, etc. I find it very interesting to see how well she is doing and to me, this is one of those ultimate examples that one of the only things worth doing for a corporation on the internet is to get attention. She has had some success with her song releases so far, giving interviews to the NY Post and would be sure to sell millions if she ever does write that book.

We had discussed Puma’s new stock index and if it would really pay off. I do see links between the two stories. One sure thing is that Puma cares more about getting attention for now than about actually selling clothes and that is probably a clever strategy. Will Nike and Adidas one day be playing catch up on the web or regret not being aggressive or edgy enough?

In my opinion, too many corporations worry about the impact of different possibilities on the internet when in fact, it is important to live on the edge, in order to even have a shot of being talked about, gaining attention and hopefully going viral. In a past column, I had discussed how I believed Pepsi was using the web much more efficiently than Coca-Cola and I believe it can have an important impact. Companies like GoDaddy are able to generate a lot of buzz and get their name out there while others spend many times more on marketing without much results…

It would have been incredibly brilliant if it had launched a year earlier but is still a good enough idea to generate buzz and excitement. This is a perfect example of an attempt at viral marketing. The objective of course is to get people to talk about the video as well as the idea. Then, of course, viewers will either send links to the video by email, Twitter, Facebook or even discuss it on blogs such as this one. It is an innovative way to get more eyeballs on its website.

I would say that this video has a good shot at becomming a hit and with close to 200,000 views on Youtube alone, without even having launched the product officially, chances are good that this will be a multi-million visitor idea, and probably considered a success. The advantage of course is that the costs are so slim to generate such a video.

Now the big question of course is if the they will be able to make a decent return on their investment. Chances are they will. Right now, they are collecting emails on their website as well as getting their name out there which as you will see on my post Wednesday, is always good. The saying that there is no “bad promotion” is certainly as true as ever in this internet era.

What are your thoughts on the Puma Index?

We had an interesting week in the markets with lots of action but most markets ending up down for the week and some already talking about a new crash? I’m not a big fan of the theory, but it should make next week very interesting!! Here are a few of the more interesting reads from last week in the blogosphere:

-TFB discusses the top Canadian dividend stocks as well as positions 11 through 20!
-Zach discusses credit card defaults rising and rising!
-A good post on GLBL about getting personal finances back under control
-MDJ: What is important about having m0ney for you?
-I did talk about fixed income ETF’s look at a trade on one of them here
-How emotions affect fixed income investors by Canadian Capitalist
-A great article by FP..how to find and select a tenant!
-Will interest rates stay low forever by TCT!
-Citigroup suing Morgan Stanley over Credit Default swap agreement..!

It is quite interesting to see funds flow in and out of ETF’s. However, it is often difficult to compare ETF’s as they often do not target exactly the same returns. But in some cases, several ETF’s track the same index but with very different charges. Why would you invest in a fund that charges over twice the fees if it targets (and pretty much meets) the same returns before fees. A very interesting case is taking place in the emerging market ETF’s.

One on hand, there is the very known EEM, managed by Ishares, that charges .72% of fees, which is high but seems reasonable considering it invests in many different illiquid markets. EEM has $31.7 Bn under management, a very impressive amount. But then consider Vanguard’s VWO fund which tracks the same index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. It charges .27% of fees, not even half of the fees charged by Ishares. Since it is not as known, VWO still has fewer assets under management, at $22.7 Bn.

The question of course is why someone would choose to invest in EEM when in fact you could pay fewer fees for the same return? One reason could be that you think one manager will not be able to achieve the promised return. In this case, both companies have a very solid reputation, both funds have a good history and you can look at this graph, there is in fact almost no difference between the return of the two funds.

You can take a look at the differences between the two here:

As you can see, they are pretty much identical so paying 0.45% more of fees does not sound like a good deal. There are rumours that Ishares will reduce the fees it charges later this year on EEM but for now, with as the largest emerging markets fund, it has little incentive to actually do so. If two funds offer the same return but one has a better reputation, strangely, many investors fly to that one.

Of course, I would not switch based simply on fees to a new and unproved company. But Vanguard is far from that and I will be the first one to buy VWO the next time I buy emerging markets ETF’s. I have stated numerous times that I am a fan of Ishares, but not fan enough to throw money out of my window… Of course, if you would like to do so, be my guest, I’ll be sitting outside to collect:)

Best Personal Financial Planning and Personal Investment

Articles this Week from Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #107 – September 18, 2009

Welcome to the September 18, 2009 Edition #107 of the Carnival
of Financial Planning.

The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a
long-term view of personal
financial planning for individuals and families. We focus on efficient
and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to
lifetime financial security.

This edition
is arranged by subject
heading, so that you can browse efficiently.

Enjoy!

The Skilled
Investor, Editor

Budgeting

The Smarter Wallet presents Internet Banking: Compare Online Banks For Your Savings Needs posted at The Smarter Wallet

Susan Savering presents Personal Budget
Expenses posted at Family
Financial Planners,
saying, “When you don’t understand how much you spend and how much
you save and invest, you do not have a financial plan. This
dramatically increases your family’s long-term financial
risk.”

Dorian Wales presents Budget vs. Net Worth
posted at The
Personal Financier, saying, “While it may be recommended to
manage both a budget and net-worth sometimes focus leads to better
results.”

Economics

Roshawn Watson presents The Rich Get Poorer posted at Watson Inc,
saying, “The implications of this recent recession have been
far-reaching enough to put a big dent in American and world wealth.
Both the magnitude of wealth and the number of millionaires decreased
profoundly in 2008.”

20smoney presents Why Cash For (fill in the blank) Does Nothing For Our Economy posted at 20s Money, saying, “A look at why cash for clunkers and similar programs actually do not have any real effect on the economy as a whole.”

Super Saver presents Expecting Another Bubble posted at My Wealth Builder,
saying, “Low interest rates are bound to create another bubble.
Hopefully, by expecting one, I can protect our savings better that
during the housing and financial crash.”

Banker Saver presents On Bank Mergers and the Hostile Takeover posted at Banker Saver, saying, “Discussing bank mergers, takeovers and acquisitions!”

Dorian Wales presents On
Causality and Correlation in Economics posted at The Personal
Financier,
saying, “Causality is perhaps the most fundamental element of empirical
evidence available to economists. However, it is also the source of
many misconceptions due to its elusive nature.”

Estate Planning

The Financial Blogger presents Estate Planning: 5 Reasons Why You Should Have A Professional Among Your Liquidators posted at The Financial Blogger,
saying, “managing an estate is more complicated than simply writing a
few checks! Fortunately, for those who can afford it, you can name a
professional among your liquidators.”

Jeff Rose presents Taking Care of an Elderly Parent posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “Find of what you need to do when you have to become the parent of your parents.”

Financial Planning

Jeff Rose presents Do a Background Check Before Hiring Your Financial Advisor posted at Wisebread,
saying, “Are you looking to hire a financial advisor but worried they
might be next Madoff. Before doing so, be sure to do a background check
to see if you can find any clues that might prevent you from hiring the
wrong one.”

KCLau presents I achieved financial freedom at 38 posted at KCLau’s Money Tips,
saying, “This post is contributed by WaiYin, a reader whom I admire
very much because she achieved financial freedom at age 38! Here, she
shares how she did it.”

Woman Tribune presents “Can My Credit Card Company Do That To Me?” posted at Woman Tribune,
saying, “A list of current complaints from credit cardholders and
comprehensive answers about several current credit card terms.”

Dividend Tree presents Building Core Competency for Long Term Survival posted at Dividend Tree,
saying, “whether it is running a business or individuals’ investment
portfolio, it is important to build a core competency for long term
sustainability. In my case, I focus on good quality companies that
consistently pay or have potential to pay growing dividends over time.”

Four Pillars presents Affordable Refinance Program posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Making Home Affordable refinance program eases requirements.”

Patrick @ Military Money presents How Much Life Insurance Do Military Members Need? posted at Military Finance Network,
saying, “Military members may have different life insurance needs than
civilians. Here is information regarding how much life insurance
military members should buy, and some resources for finding the best
life insurance deals.”

Sustainable Life Blog presents The Real Cost of Your Car posted at Sustainable Life Blog,
saying, “Examines the real cost of your car when looking to upgrade.
Includes looking at repair costs and other potential issues.”

Susan Savering presents Personal Investing Strategy posted at Family
Financial Planner,
saying, “When pursuing optimal financial planning and investing
strategies and controlling your costs and capital gains taxes, you also
need to establish a time-efficient system to monitor, adjust, and
adhere to your financial plan.”

Financing Education

Praveen presents Will Education Follow the Housing Bust? posted at My Simple Trading System, saying, “Tips for students to avoid excessive loans and debt”

Financing a Home

The Amateur Financier presents Financial Lessons: Home Buying posted at The Amateur Financier,
saying, “A guide explaining how to buy a home. Included is advice on
saving for a down payment, choosing the right type of mortgage, and
gathering all the people you’ll need to help inspect the house.”

Tallahassee Real Estate presents Real Estate And Lemonade: A Housing Market Analogy posted at Tallahassee Real Estate Blog,
saying, “From conversations with both readers and real estate
professionals, as well as reading of articles and blogs on the
internet, it is clear to me that most people do not have a grasp for
what is coming in this current housing market crisis.
Perhaps the best way to communicate these concerns about the housing
market is with a short analogy. An analogy is useful because it is
simple and easy to understand. Once we show the parallel between the
analogy and the real estate market, you will then understand what I
believe is a huge oversight in our nation’s real estate reporting and
housing speculation markets. So, without further ado…”

Alex Fotopoulos presents When to Refinance a Mortgage? posted at My Trader’s
Journal, saying, “Some key points to consider when
refinancing your home.”

Colin Robertson presents Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit Score? posted at Mortgage Tips and Credit Help,
saying, “Consumers always seem to be overly concerned about their
credit scores and what impact certain actions may have on them; perhaps
this is a result of all that clever marketing.”

Alex presents Is Buying a Rental Property Worth it? posted at MoneyStance – Money Making Opportunity Reviews.

Health Care

KCLau presents Withdraw EPF Fund to Pay Insurance Premium? posted at KCLau’s Money Tips, saying, “Vincent Lee from Penang generously shares an idea to use your EPF”

Income

Ted Reimers presents Best Companies to Work for after Graduation posted at CampusGrotto, saying, “Top companies that offer great advancement through the company as well as a good starting salary and benefits.”

FMF presents How to Respond to Every Job Offer You Receive posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “How to respond to ANY job offer you receive.”

The Financial Blogger presents What I Don’t Like About Mary Kay and other Multi Level Marketing (MLM) Companies posted at Gather Little By Little,
saying, “someone you know, a good friend, gives you a call and his
voice appears as a ray of light over your head; he has found a
solution, an easy way to make more money!”

FMF presents Community College Seems Like a Smart Option to Me posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “A great way to save on one of the biggest and most important investments of your life.”

Natalia presents What is Forex posted at Forex Signals and Forex Education,
saying, “This article introduces readers to the concept of Foreign
Exchage (FOREX). It briefly goes into the history of the Foreign
Exchange market and how money is traded by different participants all
over the world today.”

Investing

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents How to Open a Roth IRA posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Tips on how to open a Roth IRA and what to look for in your Roth IRA Custodian.”

Mike presents Best ETF Gold Stocks at BuyMyStockPicks, saying “Gold just hit $1,000 per ounce last week upon recent precious metal’s rally. Where is it heading? Gold is probably heading higher in the upcoming months!”

Zach Scheidt presents Under Armour – Fourth and Long posted at ZachStocks,
saying, “Under Armour (UA) has a strong athletic brand, and an
expensive stock. The third quarter is the most important period for the
company and with consumers spending less it could be a disappointing
time for investors. Consider shorting or at least avoiding long
positions.”

ABC presents Stock Market Indexes posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “How different types of stock market indexes work.”

Praveen presents India Fund (IFN) Trade Example posted at My Simple Trading System,
saying, “An example of how having a trading system gives you
an edge, and let’s you take advantage of market moves outside of your
control.”

Super Saver presents Investment Plans for the Rest of 2009 posted at My Wealth Builder,
saying, “I’m starting to think that the economic recovery will be
slower and longer than current expectations. I believe the next couple
months will be telling. Here are my plans.”

Zach Scheidt presents Education Breakdown – An Expensive Short Opportunity posted at ZachStocks,
saying, “China Education and Technology Company (EDU) is primed for a
sharp decline. Investors have been programmed to expect the company to
beat quarterly guidance, but competitive pressure could catch up to
EDU.”

Tomas Escent presents Quant Investing posted at Nerds on Wall Street,
saying, “Think of this book as sort of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to Wired
Markets. There are no robots parking cars for six million years, but
there are robots trading millions of shares in six milliseconds, so
maybe that’s close enough.”

The Skilled Investor presents Personal
Investment Management posted at Personal
Investment Manager,
saying, “Investors more easily understand investment costs that are
directly measurable, such as fees deducted on investment statements.
However, many investors ignore or are unaware of the opportunity costs
of their sub-optimal investment behaviors. Opportunity costs are
usually much more difficult to measure directly, but these investment
costs can be even higher than more visible investment fees.”

Patrick @ Cash Money Life presents Best Brokerages for Roth IRAs posted at Cash Money Life,
saying, “Where should you open a Roth IRA? This article reviews some of
the best mutual fund firms and discount brokerages for opening a Roth
IRA.”

Dividend Tree presents What is your preference – Aristocrats or Achievers? | Dividend Tree posted at Dividend Tree,
saying, “The key question here is; are we willing to invest in
companies that have still not completed 25 years of dividend growth?
All dividend aristocrats were at that stage at some point in time.”

Investing Toolkit presents How To Find A Good Mutual Fund posted at Investing Toolkit.

Bob Schwartz presents Buyers Overpaying on California Foreclosure Homes | San Diego real estate market blog posted at San Diego real estate,
saying, “If you are thinking about picking up a real estate bargain by
buying a bank-owned foreclosure property, or a short sale, it behooves
you to pay attention.”

Curt presents High Price of Gold is a Clear Sign That Inflation Is Not the Answer posted at PennyJobs.com.

Retirement Savior presents Government Backed Investing – Investment Wish List Pt. 2 posted at Retirement Savior, saying, “If you think the best safe investments are Treasury and Agency Bonds, think again.”

Tushar Mathur presents Can’t Control the Markets? Try controlling the Costs posted at Everything Finance,
saying, “As 2008 proved, the financial markets are prone to
unpredictable periods of turbulence. That can make investing feel a bit
like a roller-coaster ride. The disappointing results that many mutual
funds posted in 2008 and at the outset of 2009 may have left you
feeling concerned over your financial future. You’re not alone.”

ABC presents Investment Real Return posted at ABCs of Investing, saying, “A simple explanation of investment real return.”

Frank Vertin presents Best Stock Index Fund posted at Best Index Fund,
saying, “Buying an S&P 500 index fund through an investment
counselor can substantially increase your initial purchasing costs and
and drive up your annual management expense fees. Unfortunately, the
vast majority of individual investors buy mutual funds and ETFs through
brokers and investment advisers. Rarely do financial advisors recommend
that you buy index funds with low fees. This is because low cost, no
load mutual funds do not pay them as well as loaded, high fee mutual
funds.”

Larry Russell presents Top No Load Mutual Fund posted
at No Load
Mutual Funds,
saying, “Taken as a whole, the vast body of investment research studies
show that there really are better approaches to buying and owning
mutual funds and ETFs. You do not need to frantically chase fund
performance. Performance chasing simply does not work.”

The Dough Roller presents Summary of the Best Online Discount Brokers posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “Summary of some of the best online stock brokers.”

Dividends4Life presents The Dividend Freeze posted at Dividends Value,
saying, “As summer turns to fall and the heat begins to moderate,
winter and its freezing temperatures are just around the corner.
However, some companies have been frozen in place for the last year;
more specifically, their dividends have been frozen at the same rate
for more than a year.”

Managing Debt

SpendOnLife.com presents Drowning in Student Loan Debt? IBR Law May Help posted at SpendOnLife,
saying, “New options are avaiable for families and individuals who
struggle to make minimum payments on their student loans. A provision
of the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act, known as IBR
(Income-Based Repayment), could serve as a much needed lifeline in
tough financial times”

Mike presents How to Get Out of Debts with Balance Transfer APR 0 posted at The Credit Toolbox.

Ray @ Financial Highway presents Basics of Credit Score and Credit Report and How often to Check posted at Financial Highway.

MoneyNing presents Free Credit Reports posted at Money Ning, saying, “AnnualCreditReport.com should be the only way to get a free credit report.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents What Are The Best Credit Card Rewards Programs? posted at The Digerati Life

The Smarter Wallet presents Equifax Credit Report and Score: Review of Equifax Products posted at The Smarter Wallet, saying, “I cover one of the credit bureaus and look into the products they offer to help us monitor the state of our credit.”

CreditCardAssist presents What Are The Responsibilities of a Co-Signer? posted at Credit Card Assist, saying, “Some risks and responsibilities to be aware of when co-signing for a credit card account or a loan.”

oneadvice presents Losing Sleep Over Unsecured Debt? posted at One Advice, saying, “Are you losing sleep over unsecured debt? See how you can tackle your debt and learn to love the ZzzZZzz’s again…”

SpendOnLife.com presents Credit Recipes: Cooking up Credit Score Greatness posted at SpendOnLife,
saying, “Here we show how to take what’s in your credit pantry
(history) and bring it to its full potential with careful planning and
using your credit wisely. We share how to make the most of what you’ve
got with our recipes for Ramen Noodle Credit, Credit Primavera, and
FICO Filet Mignon.”

Miscellaneous

Darwin presents Best Places to Work: Surprising Survey Results and Analysis posted at Darwin’s Finance,
saying, “The 50 Best Places to Launch a Career Survey – Results and
Analysis that is both enlightening and surprising in many aspects.”

MoneyNing presents How to Break Bad Habits posted at Money Ning, saying, “How many bad habits would you like to break?”

Roshawn Watson presents Should You Buy A House Outright? posted at Watson Inc,
saying, “Suppose you find yourself in the somewhat unique predicament
of having the resources to purchase your house outright without a
mortgage. Is it then financially-wise to make the purchase?”

Tyler Tervooren presents Prioritize Your Sustainable Pursuits posted at Frugally Green,
saying, “When you’re trying to implement sustainability into your life,
there are limitless opportunities to spend money and time. Don’t burn
yourself out trying to change things you don’t really care about.
Instead, recognize what you really value in life and find ways to
implement and maximize change in those areas.”

No Load Bonds presents Bond
Index Fund posted at Bond Index Fund,
saying, “Simply put, if you pay higher bond mutual fund fees, then
these bond management expenses tend just to be a deadweight loss to
you. The best bond fund buying strategy is to pick only very low-cost
no load bond funds.”

Retirement Planning

Mike Piper presents How to Rollover a 401k into an IRA posted at The Oblivious Investor, saying, “A step-by-step guide to rolling a 401(k) account into an IRA. Also includes some tips on pitfalls to avoid.”

Top Stock Index Funds presents Top Stock Index Funds posted at Top 10 Index Fund,
saying, “Buy these top 10 very low cost no load S&P 500 index
mutual funds directly. You do not have to pay the heavy added expenses
of buying through a stock broker, financial adviser, investment
adviser, or investment counselor.”

Risk Management and Insurance

April presents Gone Phishing: How To Avoid Being Caught By Scammers posted at Get Rich Slowly,
saying, “Taking the proper steps to avoid scams and identity theft is
an important part of protecting your hard earned money. This Get Rich
Slowly post was written by staff writer, Adam Baker.”

Patrick @ Military Money presents COBRA Benefits 2009 Economic Stimulus Recovery Act posted at Military Finance Network, saying, “The 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan includes additional COBRA and unemployment benefits.”

Savings

jim presents CD Rates Center posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

PT presents Open a Holiday Savings Account posted at Prime Time Money.

Four Pillars presents Back To School Cell Phone Deals posted at Quest For Four Pillars, saying, “Comparison of the best cell phone deals for students heading back to school.”

Taxes

Jeff Rose presents 2010 Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversion Tax Rules posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “Tax implications of converting from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Don’t forget the after-tax contributions.”

Tom Drake presents How To Calculate Your Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) | The Canadian Finance Blog posted at The Canadian Finance Blog,
saying, “Calculating your adjusted cost base (ACB) is necessary to
determine the true cost of your investments for capital gains and
losses.”

Jeff Rose presents American Opportunity Tax Credit For College posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “The American Opportunity tax credit is a nice step up for parents with kids in college.”

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