Investment Opportunities Projections for 2014

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2014 - WHAT'S HOT WHAT'S NOT Online Trading Academy is a leading source of investor training, with 34 financial education centers around the world as well as a full online curriculum. Here are investment and trading forecasts for 2014 from some of Online Trading Academy's top traders. HOT SHORTING AND HEDGING Smart individual investors are learning to invest like the pros and play both sides of the market, allow volatility to work to their benefit. "FRONTIER" MARKETS such as Bahrain, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait and Lebanon. These are high-risk markets with low volume and minimal regulations, so be cautious and exercise due diligence before you jump in. OPTIONS Buy/sell options premiums get wider in a volatile market, creating more opportunities for both puts and calls. Consider writing, instead of buying (that's what the professionals do) and use options as portfolio insurance. WALKABLE HOMES AND APARTMENTS These investments should be standouts in real estate, along with new homes, as the residential market continues to improve but at a slower pace. FUTURES AND METALS Look beyond equities to other asset classes where there were great, undiscovered opportunities in 2013. Metals in particular are due for a rebound after last year's sell-off. INVESTING EDUCATION Savvy investors are learning to stop trusting advisors and commissioned brokers and get educated about how the market works. Education also provides self-discipline and relief from the emotional roller coaster of shifting markets. WEALTH Even with a record-setting year in the equities market, "buy and hold" investors are barely ahead of where they were 13 years ago after inflation is factored in. Make this the year you take the blinders off and recalibrate your plan for long-term wealth and a comfortable retirement. CONFIDENCE The rise in the equities markets makes the economy look healthier than it is. The average consumer has not been made wealthier by the stock market boom and unemployment is still high. Shaky consumer confidence is another factor that will create market turbulence throughout 2014. U.S. EQUITIES Now's not the time to jump in, with the market up 150% off its recession lows. Look for volatility, flattening and potential for a selloff as the institutional money goes elsewhere. SHORT SALES Low inventory and low interest rates are indicators of a real estate market rising off its bottoms. The housing recovery is well on its way and future gains will be much less dramatic. IPOS By the time the average investor gets in, the real deals have already gone to institutions and preferred clients. "BUBBLE" STOCKS Stocks Google, Apple, ocial companies, as well as those mutual funds that invest in these equities. The bubble may or may not burst in 2014, but the prices are definitely inflated. Today may not be the best time to take an NOT initial position, as many "retail" investors are doing. ONLINE TRADING • ACADEMY • Contributors from Online Trading Academy: Donovan Lazar and Diana HilI |||||