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The Benefits in Forex Trading

Forex which is popularly known as foreign exchange is a means of trading currencies in pairs. The only way foreign exchange can be done is if a currency is being bought or sold for another currency. Online foreign exchange is a very lucrative business which is done through the internet with the use of a computer. Today it is recorded that forex is the most liquid market in the world where by over three trillions of dollars is being traded each day.

As a matter of fact, online forex involves a high volatility of currency movement and its the major reason why a lot of people run away from it.The risky behind forex is its quick volatility in the market and that is why any one who wants to venture into forex should go for a good training and also have a good mentor ship program with a trusted mentor.

Furthermore,it can be done any where as long as you have a PDA phone, a smart phone or a personal computer. Many online traders today find it very difficult to make profit in the foreign exchange market and therefore loosing all or part of their money over the internet. Some basic skills are needed for a trader to become an expert in this foreign exchange market. Today there are good mentors who have traded and made a mark in this market but the truth is they are not easy to come by and out of the total number of people that go into this trade only about 5 percent are successful
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On the next page you will find an automated Forex trading system system that has factual proof of taking an account from ,100 to around ,500. ==> How Everyone’s Making 0 Daily Letting Their Computer Do The Trading

So If you want to make over six figures while watching TV and letting your computer do the work then I strongly recommend that you to read everything on the next page before it’s sold out!

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How to Start Trading Profitable on Forex? Practical Advice to Succeed

It is well known more than 90% of traders lose their money in the Forex market. The failure has a psychological basis, being the inability to open or close a position according to signals from your trading system. This psychological problem has many symptoms: a person is emotionally unable to close his loss position (he doesn’t want to lose money), and eventually a loss on this position leads to a stop-out. Or on the contrary, the individual immediately closes a lucrative deal just because it is profitable and doesn’t allow the profit to continue growing. A person can open a position only because he is bored, or because of a momentary impulse. Clearly that kind of trading can’t produce the desired result, and those traders who can’t control themselves won’t be able to win in the Forex market.

This article will describe how to overcome the psychological difficulties and start earning money. The method it imparts is particularly useful for traders who haven’t yet learned how to make money and are repeatedly losing deposits despite their own extensive trading experience.

Step One. Learn to perceive the money in your account as an instrument.  Forget that this is money; that ,000 is a car and 0,000 is a house. Forget about it. On the screen you simply see a tool; a tool for earning money.

Step Two. Transactions and the profits they produce are different things. Here we can use the analogy of an apple tree and apples (or another fruit, if you prefer). To close a deal just because it has brought you good money is like cutting down an apple tree just because it has brought you a lot of apples. Conversely, to keep a loss deal is like keeping a wise old apple tree in the yard even though it hasn’t brought you a single apple. You should be guided by a completely different system of values: “And how this apple tree (deal) can bring me more apples (profit).” If you have a good apple tree that has begun to decay, it is necessary to plant a new one. If, in your opinion, a bad apple tree will soon bloom, then you should keep it.

Step Three. When opening or closing a transaction, you must have an answer to the question, “Why am I doing it.” In the beginning it’s better to keep a record of the transactions and the answers to those questions in a notebook.

We then reach the main issue: “And if I cannot follow these rules . . . ?” This means you need to apply the method, which is called “lowering value” in the modern trading psychology. You have to trade with the amount you aren’t afraid to lose.  Are you afraid of losing ,000? If so, don’t deposit such an amount.  What about  00, or 0? Are you still afraid to lose such an amount? Do you still see in this amount money instead of a tool for earning it? Then deposit only or even 10 cents. The experience of thousands of successful traders shows that the less the initial deposit is, the easier it will be. The main thing is that you don’t see in these figures the money. You must first perceive it as an instrument.

Do you agree that, when trading with , you won’t care whether you win or lose 10 cents per day? If you do agree, then you’re ready to perceive as a tool. Thus we have the way to prove to yourself and the rest of the world that you’re able to predict the movement of the currency pair. But only after you’re able to overcome these three steps with the amount you don’t care about can you proceed to the higher amount.

If you’re getting a stable profit with , switch to the account and trade for some time till you start getting stable profits with it. Then add money and trade with . If you began to lose money, switch back to but do not try to recoup! Remember, if you’ve lost , it doesn’t mean you should switch to the account (in order to win back that quickly). On the contrary, it makes sense to try again or even reduce the amount of money in your account.

Unfortunately, this is the only way to make money in the Forex market, just as it is in many other areas. Start with a simple step, and gradually move to more complex or sophisticated plans.

 

Profiforex.com

Returnable Asset Tracking Systems – Living Up To The Sarbanes-Oxley Requirement

Do you believe that a returnable asset tracking system would help fulfill the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley? Not only will it help with satisfying the requirements, but it will also save you money in the long run.

Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 obliges businesses with large $ volumes of returnable assets to expertly track those assets to ensure flawless balance sheets and income statements. Operating without the aid of a returnable asset tracking system, companies may become susceptible to Sarbanes-Oxley liability if antiquated plans cause grave errors in reporting of asset positions. This can be a particular issue with a fleet of returnable shipping assets, such as totes, tanks, containers or cages.

By employing technologies such as the world wide web or www and aided by technologies such as electronic file transfer, RFID or Bar Code, a returnable tracking system can be a significant factor in controlling, recovering and securing returnable shipping assets during their whole lifespan while aiding in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. Contrasted with a GPS location app, the tracking software application solutions provides not only every returnable asset’s most recent point but also a permanently archived history or “passport” from the date the returnable shipping asset was collected.

In addition to assuring compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, the returnable asset tracking system support internal and external audit demands, regulatory compliance and Trade (NAFTA) requirements but also improves Return on Assets (ROA) by identifying unnecessary inventory and increasing utilization of tracked returnable assets.

Some of the administrative rewards you should also anticipate from automated tracking software application can be realized from a focus on event-triggered exception or smart reports. This should address potential trouble areas of the returnable asset fleet performance such as stranded assets, excessive lag or transit times or inordinately high damage.
Do you experience stock outs, non-compliant packaging penalties, misplaced or errant returnable containers? Do you have complicated customer count reconciliations? If you can be more effective, by tracking your containers, should this not result in a more smooth running returnable container program?

Vestigo Corporation provides patented Tracking Systems for all types of returnable shipping assets. Other container tracking systems demand you to conform your operations to the rigid design of their software. With Vestigo, your tracking system is made-to-measure and designed to meet your needs and goals.

Alex Mitchell, Vestigo Corporation
Toll Free 877-232-7255

Benefits of Forex Trading System

Many investors are looking to make money in the foreign exchange market, also known as “Forex” or “FX.” Forex trading is inherently complex as you are trading currency pairs, and requires very advanced technical analysis and a good financial strategy in order to make profits. Luckily, automated forex software has been developed to help investors overcome these problems.

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1. Automatic Forex Software runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The FX market never sleeps, but humans have to. Software robots, however, do not need to sleep. A good forex system will conduct trades at any time of day or night once specific requirements are met. They will buy low and sell high even when their owners are asleep or on vacation.

2. An Automated Forex Trading System knows no boundaries. The currency exchange is global, as you are trading currencies in markets all over the world. As such, making the trades in person is effectively impossible and trading via the phone cannot keep up with the fast moving FX market. Good forex software, however, uses automated on-line exchange information to quickly and instantly make trades as soon as they become available anywhere.

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3. Forex Trading Software is Self-Adapting. Forex software updates itself constantly with new information coming in from all over the world. While it might take a human only a few minutes to read and think about the global exchange rates, a computer can read through them all in a few fractions of a second and update instantly. This gives FX software a decided informational advantage.

4. Automatic Forex Software is Fast. FX software is automatic and will conduct trades almost instantaneously, as soon as they become available. Forex software will grab any good trade regardless of when and where it is, and make the deal without delay. Automated trading systems won’t miss a trade because they were too late. Every trade is performed at the computer’s transactional processing speed.

5. Forex Trading Software is Affordable. FX software automates currency trading to insure that the process is as efficient as possible. By eliminating human errors and the other problems inherent in having human traders, automatic forex software will give you quality of service that in previous years would have taken dozens of highly paid employees. Today’s forex trading systems are very inexpensive, especially in lieu of the massive profits that they can deliver.

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Asset Tracking Is Success Tracking

With the many advancements in technology, asset tracking software has been developed so that businesses small and large can track items that are crucial to their company. Assets are defined as any “permanent” object that a business uses internally including but not limited to computers, tools, software, or office equipment. While employees may utilize a specific tool or tools, the asset ultimately belongs to the company and must be returned.

We’ve all experienced it – the lost laptop, the medical equipment that has seemingly “walked away,” the important piece of evidence that is missing. It is critical now more than ever that businesses have a way to track their assets. Lost assets tend to affect small businesses more profoundly.

Maximizing profitability in these businesses is key to being successful, and assuring that all assets are accounted for is one of many ways to survive in the business world. A recent report from the ARC Advisory Group suggests the worldwide market for asset management for software and services is at .7 billion, and they estimate it will reach .1 billion in 2008, growing at a 4.4% cumulative annual growth rate. Asset tracking software has numerous benefits. It allows companies to track: what assets it owns, where each is located, who has it, when it was checked out, when it is due for return, when it is scheduled for maintenance, and the cost and depreciation.

The reporting option that is built into most asset tracking solutions provides pre-built reports, including: assets by category and department, check-in/check-out, net book value of assets, assets past due, audit history, and transactions.

All of this information is conveniently captured in one program and can be used on PCs and mobile devices. As a result, companies reduce expenses through loss prevention and improved equipment maintenance. They gain control over new and unnecessary equipment purchases, and they can more accurately compute taxes based on depreciation schedules.

The most commonly tracked assets are:

* Office Equipment
* Pieces of Evidence
* Medical Equipment
* IT Equipment
* Vehicles
* Files
* Maintenance
* Educational Materials
* Software Licenses
* Videos
* Tools
* Instruments

Government, educational agencies, and the healthcare industry have started using asset tracking products to reduce costs and maximize efficiency. Multiple computer and office retailers have begun to carry asset tracking products both in-store and online. Varieties of asset tracking software have been designed for several types of scanning environments:

* Heavy Scanning – Businesses with asset quantities up to 100,000
* Moderate Scanning – Commonly used in offices and warehouses
* Standard Scanning – For light duty or small offices

An educated and informed businessman knows that the “little things” can be detrimental to a successful and thriving business. Asset tracking is just one of many ways to keep small and large businesses alike on that road to success.

Look for a Forex Broker Through Forex Listing

When you are thinking of venturing into forex trading, the first thing that you need to do is to begin trading with a forex broker. There are a lot of brokers who can provide you with a demonstration account. These brokers are found over the web, and they will be able to determine whether you are equipped with the proper skills appropriate for a successful currency trading. Since there are hundreds of brokers on the Internet, it would be best if you look for a forex broker through a directory. Forex listing is one website which offers a forex directory to individuals who are interested with this market. The directory of the site is comprised of thousands of links to providers who offer useful information regarding the forex market. Some of the sites are located locally. There are some which are found throughout the nation while others are international providers.

Your forex broker can either be a company or an individual. He or it will carry out your trades for you. Brokers are important pieces of your forex strategies. When you look for a broker, you have to know that they will charge you for the services that they are offering. Forex brokers are different from stockbrokers. The latter charge their clients through a commission. On the other hand, the former earns income through asking price and bid differences. The most ideal forex broker is one who asks for a pip spread of 2 to 3. When they ask for more than 5 pips, you have to avoid them since they are charging too much.

If you search through the directory of forex listing, you will be provided with a forex broker through various categories. Some of these brokers are found globally, some are based in the United States, while there are some who are based in the United Kingdom. You can also locate brokers in Europe, within the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean Islands, Africa, and other places. No matter where you are in the world, you will be able to find a forex broker to help you with your currency trading investment.

When looking for a forex broker, you need to check out the trading platform of different brokers. This platform is a software tool from where you conduct your currency trades. Opt for a broker who offers a platform which is easy to use and friendly. In order to know whether the software is easy to handle, you can try out those which are found in demonstration accounts. There are brokers who allow you to avail of a software application which can be downloaded on your computer. On the other hand, there are some brokers who provide a web-based platform. When you go for the latter, you will be able to use it even if you are using another computer. When it comes to downloadable platforms, these are easier and faster to use. It is up to you which you want to try out before you take a pick from hundreds of forex brokers.

Asset management, asset protection, tax planning

U.S. Supreme Court Louis D. Brandeis

“I live in Alexandria, Virginia. Near the Supreme Court chambers is a toll bridge over the Potomac. In a hurry, I pay the dollar toll and home early. However, I do not usually drive from the downtown section of town and cross the Potomac on the free bridge. The bridge was removed from downtown Washington, DC, beneficial and social services, more drivers to drive the extra mile and help reduce congestion during rush hour.

If I was a toll bridge and a barrier-free tolls, I would like to be made tax evasion. However, if I drive the extra mile and drive outside the city of Washington to the free bridge, I am using a legitimate, logical and suitable method of tax evasion, and I am performing a useful social service in this way.

For my tax avoidance, I should be punished. For my tax avoidance, I should be okay. Living today is a tragedy that so few people know that the free bridge even exists. “

Our progressive tax system in the United States facilitates the redistribution of wealth from the more fortunate and less fortunate. Now the U.S. judicial system is also used to redistribute wealth through litigation. Entrepreneurs, business owners, retirees and others who have accumulated significant amounts of wealth are often financially devastated the U.S. judicial system.

With that in mind, it is easy to understand why even the average property to property risk a person would benefit from implementing an asset management plan to protect assets from claims – particularly frivolous claims – of unknown future creditors. Among many other exceptions to liability insurance, most insurance policies do not include punitive damages, and work-related claims.

Insurance against the most common source of judgments and agreements in more than $ 1 million car accidents are only very rarely maintained at the level necessary to cover such claims. In fact, it can be prohibitively expensive or impossible to insure a high level of coverage. While the ban is the first line of defense against legal claims for damages, it is impossible to take out a lot of important sources of potential liability.

It is important to implement an integrated asset protection plan with your estate plan. Your asset protection plan will greatly increase your property plan, providing additional assurance that you and your family will benefit from the fruit of their labor, and often provide measures to protect the interests of the gift assets to family members – gifts which are protected from your unknown future creditors and all members of your family’s creditors. Simply put, legitimate offshore asset protection planning is to avoid litigation in general, the use of structures, including the prudent use of professional advice and foreign law, it is not intended to protect dishonest or incompetent persons from creditors. Legitimate tax-neutral, flexible offshore asset protection and investment vehicle available.

International variable life insurance and variable annuities with international reputable companies in secure offshore jurisdictions can be attractive investment vehicles. Furthermore, it is well protected, because they have different commission structures they are subject to certain U.S. taxes, offshore life insurance policies and annuities can be significantly cheaper than similar products offered in the United States of America.

What is Asset Protection Planning

Asset protection planning and proper tax planning do not include tax evasion or anti-IRS theories. All solid well designed asset protection planning is done with full IRS compliance and disclosure.

Asset protection advice is not a cookie-cutter “planning. Avoid cheap asset protection “kits” promoted dozens of providers via seminars or online. Good asset protection advice formulated on a case by case basis. It is also not a legitimate asset protection planning does not involve hiding money and using the sea the sea of credit card accounts. Although it is somewhat difficult to track protected assets offshore than in the U.S., where the sea is mainly based on secrecy to protect assets, you will probably soon find you and your shared assets.

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Forex Broker Ratings

Forex brokers are firms that deal in currency trading. The currency trading market is known as Foreign Exchange or Forex. It is very similar to the equity markets, except that it deals in currency exchange and is much larger.

Currency trading has become popular amongst many individuals and is no more a domain of only big financial companies. This has also resulted in the increase in the number of Forex brokers. With so many brokers available in the market, it becomes very difficult to choose a broker that suits the requirements of a trader. However, you can start on trading on your own with the help of forexfunnel.

Forex broker rating is a system that rates brokers on the basis of their performance. The traders who have done business with a broker submit their comments regarding their trading experience with the broker. Generally, traders are asked to rate a broker on a scale of one to ten. You needn’t depend on such estimates with forexfunnel at your disposal.

To become a Forex broker, it is necessary to get a license. All brokers have to be regulated by the various regulatory bodies that are set in place. However, a regulator body will only ensure that a broker complies with the laws. To know how a broker treats customers and if the services provided by the broker are satisfactory, Forex broker ratings come in handy. Instead of breaking your head over complications use forexfunnel to master trading on your own.

The factors that affect a broker’s ratings are spread, execution, trading platform and support provided by the broker. Spread is defined as the difference between the actual exchange rate of a currency and the rate at which a trader can buy the same currency through a broker. It is usually measured in pips. If the rate of a currency is 1.9781 and that offered by a broker is 1.9785, then the spread is 4 pips. Typically, brokers have variable spreads; they can have lower spread when the market is dull and higher spread when the market is busy. This reduces the chances of a trader making a profit. All this may sound difficult but with forexfunnel its very easy to know what to do next.

Execution is the speed at which an order is confirmed. If a trader places an order based on a live price but the transaction is processed after a delay, then he or she loses the pricing advantage. This is called spillage. The trading platform used by a broker must be user friendly and easy to understand. An all time support system is absolutely essential as the Forex market is a 24-hour market and forexfunnel offers just that.

A trader rates a broker based on the above factors. If the support provided was not adequate or the execution was slow, the broker gets lesser points. These ratings are available on the Internet and most websites publish the comments send in by the traders. If you’re really looking at proof, take a look at forexfunnel to know the difference.

Forex broker firms act as an intermediary between a trader and the Forex market. The foreign exchange market functions in the same way as the equity market. Forex brokers are usually backed by large banks or lending institutions. This is because of the involvement of large sums of money in Forex trading. It is mandatory for Forex brokers to register with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates the trading activities of Forex brokers. You can get started with this complex yet profitable market with Forex Funnel because they provide all the guidelines you need.

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Forex Broker- Select a winning Broker

 Great Forex Broker the 6 steps

Selecting the best Forex Broker is an important as a winning trade. A bad broker will cost you a fortune.

This is a must read article

If you are just starting to test the bodies of water of foreign exchange trading or what we advert to as Forex, you will finally have to build a relationship with a Forex broker.

1. Account types – The total of capital you are willing to invest will dictate what type of account you will open with a brokerage. Typically, virtually brokerage firms will offer a “mini” and a “standard” account. As the term involves, a mini account can be opened for as little as 0. This is suitable for the beginner looking to gain experience in trading. However there are cases when trading options such as leveraging can be limited in a mini account. A standard account, on the other hand, offers more options over the mini account but the minimum deposit is also much greater (around ,000.00).

 

2. Platform – The platform is basically the program that you will use to get such information like live quotes, graphs and charts, your exposure, your profit and loss, the margin required, every your open positions with their current profit and loss status and further useful data. A good brokerage will very likely be using sophisticated technology in their platforms so be sure to find out if it is user-friendly at Every. every the buying and selling should be easily done in as little as one click. Many platforms also gives you access to daily analyses in Forex, news reports and Forex signals including support and resistance levels.

 

3. Leverage – Leveraged financing is a feature common in Forex trading. It basically means you can use credit in order to maximize your returns. In simpler terms, what you do is you “borrow” your broker’s funds temporarily to make larger trades and if all goes well, will produce larger profits. An opportunity So is created to control a 0,000 transaction for as little as a ,000 actual investment. In this example, the leverage level is x400. An investor should be aware though that if the market turns sour, there is a risk of losing a substantial sum of money, depending on the amount of leverage taken. So it is a serious idea to learn more about leveraging before exposing your investment in the open market.

 

4. Spread – Stock brokers make their money in commissioning, Forex brokers make theirs done the spread. A spread is the difference between buy and sell–the price at which a currency can be bought and the price at which they can be sold at any given time. To the investor, a smaller spread logically means that there is a higher profit potential. There are 2 types of spread–fixed and various. Fixed spreads remain the same throughout the day. various spreads change according to market conditions. A active market must react considerably in your favor before you can turn a profit. Spread also alters from account types. A mini account typically charges a higher spread than a standard account. A potential trader should So know the spread of Every broker before settling at a decision to sign up.

 

5. Technical support – Obviously, support should be considered such as when the software becomes faulty or when questions arise regarding certain transactions. Quick acting support reflects positively on a broker and you can even try this by contacting them with pre-sale questions.

 

6. Demo account – Before putting any weight on any of the items mentioned above, a beginner should always look for a broker that offers a demo or trial account. Not Every brokers offer demo accounts. A demo account will allow you to trade in “play” money so that any losses you incur do not count against your investment. Needless to say, you do not make any money either if you turn a profit in your demo account.

 

It is there only to get a beginner acclimated to the different Forex conditions. While this may be Many of the almost important points to consider when looking for a Forex broker, there are Many “little things” that may crop up while doing your search such as unique promotions or great offers. However there is enough data in the foregoing to provide you with a basis for judging whether Many offers are above board or not.

 

There is nothing to stop you from signing up with different brokers and to take advantage of whatever great offers they may have on the table. Exercising Many due diligence at the start will prevent a lot of heartache later on. A good Forex broker should be able to serve you become more successful in your trading. Make sure you use a Great Forex Broker and make your Forex trading a profitable one.

 

Now CFD FX Report has recently taken a researched all the Forex Brokers and CFD Brokers in the market and they have selected the Best Forex Brokers and CFD Brokers in the market. So we have helped thousands of traders take the guesswork out of choosing the best broker. To find out more feel free to visit our website CFD FX REPORT or email us: support@cfdfxreport.com

How Using Free Forex Signals Can Benefit Novice Forex Traders

Free forex signals seem to be everywhere on the internet these days. There are literally thousnads of companies and websites who all offer these services. In this article, we ask if there are any catches, and how such forex signals can help a trader’s activities.

As previously mentioned, it appears that wherever one turns on the internet, there are always offers to sign up for free forex signals. The rationale for the website or company in question is often to build their business, and to get as many website visitors as possible. This is perfectly legitimate, and a good way to build a business for forex traders is to offer free forex signals. After all, many website owners are experts i nforex trading, and are actually full time forex traders, so it makes a lot of sense to share their trading ideas, and to build a community this way.

The free forex signals can take a number of forms. Quite often, one has to sign up for a service, and the signals are sent by email as soon as the trader has taken a trade. In this case, it is important that the recipient can receive the email as soon as possible, as otherwise the price may have moved so quickly that the forex signal is no longer relevant.

Free forex signals can be useful for a novice forex trader for a variety of reasons. The first reason is that it gives the trader practice in making a series of trades on a demo account. Whenever a novice trader starts to trade, he or she does so on a practice account. It is very good experience for a trader to become familiar with this trading platform, and a good way of doing this is by making as many trades as possible. By signing up for free forex signals, the trader can become proficient in the trading platform in a much quicker time.

Whilst lots of sites offer them, but how do you know they are all genuine, and provided by professional forex traders? How silly would you feel if someone was just tossing a coin, and if it was heads, he would advise to buy, and if it was tails, he would advise to sell?

This raises another important issue, and that is that it is very important to use a demo account in any case to test out any free forex signals. The provider may make wild claims about the perfromance of the signals, but it is first necessary to test out these claims, and to use the signals on a demo account before trading on a live account. The question is then, how long to trade on a demo account before using them with real money. In my view, it is necessary to have 3 consecutive profitable months using the signals – only then can you have any confidence that the trade signals will be profitable.

A further thing that you need to check is how recent are the prices that the free forex signals relate to. What do I mean by this? Well, when you receive the signal, you need to know that the provider has just this minute sent the signal, and that the advice that he has given, is still valid. For instance, if the signal is that you should buy GBP/USD at market, and to take a 50 pip profit – you need to know exactly at what price he was advising you to take the trade.

This is vital – as if he wanted you to buy at 1.6050, and to exit at 1.6100, but you only received the signal when the price was at 1.6080, then you might lose out on the trade, despite following the advice precisely. For this reason, it is recommended that when you recieve trade advice like this, you ask the provider to tell you exactliy what price is the market price when he sends the email. This way you can see how much price has moved. This is crucial in the forex market, where price can move very quickly in a very short space of time.

Asset liability management of Banks and financial institutions

Asset liability management

In banking institutions, asset and liability management is the practice of managing various risks that arise due to mismatches between the assets and liabilities (loans and advances) of the bank.

Banks face several risks such as the risks associated with assets,interest,currency exchange risks. Asset Liability management (ALM) is at tool to manage interest rate risk and liquidity risk faced by various banks, other financial services companies .

Mismatch of assets and liabilities:

Banks manage the risks of ALM mismatch by matching various assets  and liabilities according to the maturity pattern or the matching the duration, by hedging and by securities.

Increasing integrated risks  is done on a full mark to market basis rather than the accounting basis that was at the heart of the first interest rate sensitivity gap and duration calculations.

What is ALM;

It is an attempt to match: Assets and Liabilities In terms of: Maturities and Interest Rates Sensitivities To minimize: Interest Rate Risk and Liquidity Risk.

ALM is an integral part of the financial management process of any bank. It is concerned with strategic balance sheet management involving risks caused by changes in the interest rates, exchange rates and the liquidity position of the bank. While managing these three risks forms the crux of ALM, credit risk and contingency risk also form a part of the ALM

ALM can be termed as a risk management technique designed to earn an adequate return while maintaining a comfortable surplus of assets beyond liabilities. It takes into consideration interest rates, earning power, and degree of willingness to take on debt and hence is also known as Surplus Management

Definition of ALM:

ALM is defined as, “the process of decision – making to control risks of existence, stability and growth of a system through the dynamic balances of its assets and liabilities.”

The text book definition of ALM :

It is “a risk management technique designed to earn an adequate return while maintaining a comfortable surplus of assets beyond liabilities. It takes into consideration interest rates, earning power and degree of willingness to take on debt. It is also called surplus- management”.

International scenes:

Over the last few years the financial markets worldwide have witnessed wide ranging changes at fast pace. Intense competition for business involving both the assets and liabilities, together with increasing volatility in the domestic interest rates as well as foreign exchange rates, has brought pressure on the management of banks to maintain a good balance among spreads, profitability and long-term viability.

These pressures call for structured and comprehensive measures and not just ad hoc action. The Management of banks has to base their business decisions on a dynamic and integrated risk management system and process, driven by corporate strategy. Banks are exposed to several major risks in the course of their business – credit risk, interest rate risk, foreign exchange risk, equity / commodity price risk, liquidity risk and operational risks.

The ALM process rests on three pillars:

· 1) ALM information systems

2) Management Information System

3) Information availability, accuracy, adequacy and expediency

ALM involves identification of Risk parameters, Risk identification, Risk measurement and Risk management and framing of Risk policies and tolerance levels.

ALM information systems;

Information is the key to the ALM process. Considering the large network of branches and the

lack of an adequate system to collect information required for ALM which analyses information

on the basis of residual maturity and behavioral pattern it will take time for banks in the present

state to get the requisite information.

Measuring and managing liquidity needs are vital activities of commercial banks. By assuring a bank’s ability to meet its liabilities as they become due, liquidity management can reduce the probability of an adverse situation developing.

The importance of liquidity:

It  transcends individual institutions, as liquidity shortfall in one institution can have repercussions on the entire system. Bank management should measure not only the liquidity positions of banks on an ongoing basis but also examine how liquidity requirements are likely to evolve under crisis scenarios.

Experience shows that assets commonly considered as liquid like Government securities and

other money market instruments could also become illiquid when the market and players are

Unidirectional. Therefore liquidity has to be tracked through maturity or cash flow mismatches.

Various types of risks with assets:

Currency Risk;

Floating exchange rate arrangement has brought in its wake pronounced volatility adding a

new dimension to the risk profile of banks’ balance sheets. The increased capital flows across free

economies following deregulation have contributed to increase in the volume of transactions.

Large cross border flows together with the volatility has rendered the banks’ balance sheets

vulnerable to exchange rate movements.

Dealing in different currencies;

It brings opportunities as also risks. If the liabilities in one currency exceed the level of assets in the same currency, then the currency mismatch can add value or erode value depending upon the currency movements. The simplest way to avoid currency risk is to ensure that mismatches, if any, are reduced to zero or near zero.

Banks undertake operations in foreign exchange like accepting deposits, making loans and advances and quoting prices for foreign exchange transactions. Irrespective of the strategies adopted, it may not

be possible to eliminate currency mismatches altogether. Besides, some of the institutions may take proprietary trading positions as a conscious business strategy. Managing Currency Risk is one more dimension of Asset- Liability Management.

Mismatched currency position besides exposing the balance sheet to movements in exchange rate also exposes it to country risk and settlement risk. Ever since the RBI (Exchange Control Department) introduced the concept of end of the day near square position in 1978, banks have been setting up overnight limits and selectively undertaking active day time trading.

Interest Rate Risk (IRR);

The phased deregulation of interest rates and the operational flexibility given to banks in

pricing most of the assets and liabilities have exposed the banking system to Interest Rate Risk.

Interest rate risk is the risk where changes in market interest rates might adversely affect a bank’s

financial condition. Changes in interest rates affect both the current earnings (earnings

perspective) as also the net worth of the bank (economic value perspective). The risk from the

earnings’ perspective can be measured as changes in the Net Interest Income (Nil) or Net Interest

Margin (NIM).

Problem with poor Management Information systems;

In the context of poor MIS, slow pace of computerisation in banks and the absence of total deregulation, the traditional Gap analysis is considered as a suitable method to measure the Interest Rate Risk. It is the intention of RBI to move over to modern techniques of Interest Rate Risk measurement like Duration Gap Analysis, Simulation and Value at Risk at a later date when banks acquire sufficient expertise and sophistication in MIS.

The Gap or mismatch risk can be measured by calculating Gaps over different time intervals as at a givendate. Gap analysis measures mismatches between rate sensitive liabilities and rate sensitive assets(including off-balance sheet positions). An asset or liability is normally classified as rate sensitive

if: The Gap Report should be generated by grouping rate sensitive liabilities, assets and off balance sheet positions into time buckets according to residual maturity or next reprising period, whichever is earlier. The difficult task in Gap analysis is determining rate sensitivity. All investments, advances, deposits, borrowings, purchased funds etc. that mature/reprice within a specified timeframe are interest rate sensitive. Similarly, any principal repayment of loan is also rate sensitive if the bank expects to receive it within the time horizon. This includes final principal payment and interim instalments. Certain assets and liabilities receive/pay rates that vary with a reference rate. These assets and liabilities are repriced at pre-determined intervals and are rate sensitive at the time of repricing. While the interest rates on term deposits are fixed during their currency, the advances portfolio of the banking system is basically floating. The interest rates on advances could be repriced any number of occasions, corresponding to the changes in PLR.

Risks in ALM :

It is the risk of having a negative impact on a bank’s future earnings and on the market value of its equity due to changes in interest rates. Liquidity Risk: It is the risk of having insufficient liquid assets to meet the liabilities at a given time.

Forex Risk: It is the risk of having losses in foreign exchange assets and liabilities due to exchanges in exchange rates among multi-currencies under consideration.

Conclusion; thus ALM is a continuous and day to day matter which has to be carefully managed and preventive steps taken to mitigate the problems associated with it. It may cause irreparable damage to the banks in terms of liquidity, profitability and solvency, if not monitored properly.

 

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