Author Archives: Fab T

IFS DipFA Coursework (Due 02/05/14)

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Some pointers…

The IFS Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA®) Coursework due for the beginning of May focuses on the opportunities for tax efficient financial advice available for higher earners.

This is an important area for any existing or aspiring Investment Adviser, and thus the IFS have provided students with a highly relevant topic for this submission.

In preparation for one of our courses, the IFS Study Folders contain an excellent starting point for research on why and how the UK taxation regime operates, and the effects on higher earners.  By combining this knowledge with relevant product knowledge that shows the reader how to legitimately mitigate and reduce tax liabilities, students will go a long way to providing a well researched essay.

It is essential for students to understand the referencing and bibliography requirements, and focus on a good, solid structure.

Further support can be found by booking attendance at one of Futuretrend’sDipFA courses, via the remote support option.

Paul Davis, Dip. PFS, Futuretrend Tutor.

Some pointers for IFS DipFA Factfind Exam 10/10/13

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by Paul Davis

IFS DipFA Exam (date 10/10/13)

Some pointers…

The Fact Find presents us with a fictional scenario for a Mr and Mrs Clark.  In my opinion the scenario and advice requirements in this exam are actually fairly close to many “real life” cases that many Advisers may have seen during their career.  Additionally, the Fact Find presents a number of challenges for students, mainly around the retirement objective and the interest only mortgage, amongst others.

However, regardless of how life-like or not Students may feel the scenario is; it is of course actually there to test your knowledge, and crucially, the application of that knowledge to the client’s circumstances and the suitability of your advice.

This blog summarises some of the key issues students will need to consider for this exam, and some pointers that students may find useful to review and refresh themselves of in addition to other study – this blog is not a comprehensive guide to the exam but should get you started.

As always, a solid understanding of taxation is required.  Anyone not fully clued up on the tax treatment of income and investments should immediately head to the IFS Study Folders (issued by the IFS when they started the DipFA course), and look up the Taxation folder.  This is particularly crucial as Mr Clark is a high earner.

Additionally, in preparation for one of our courses, some of the required subject specific areas to consider for further study are;

  • Mortgage Advice around re-mortgaging and the suitability of interest only mortgages
  • Inheritance Tax Mitigation
  • Retirement Planning
  • Protection Advice
  • Investment and Portfolio Planning

This is most definitely not a comprehensive list, and of course don’t forget, anything in the syllabus can be considered relevant for the exam.  The amendments on the day can cover any issue covered in the Study Folders, or related to these areas.  Students would be well advised to at least review the sections of the Study Folders for areas of advice they are not familiar with prior to the exam itself.  According to recent Examiner’s reports, many students are missing out on marks as a result of not sufficiently addressing the amendments on the day.  If there are gaps in your knowledge compared to the syllabus, you run the risk of being caught out!

Further support can be found by booking attendance at one of Futuretrend’s Dipfa courses, or  requesting info about the remote support option.

Good Luck.

Paul Davis, Dip. PFS, Futuretrend Tutor.

Win a FREE Training course at Futuretrend

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 Do you fancy winning  a FREE Training course at Futuretrend?

 Be one of Five lucky winners to win a FREE instructor-led training course of your choice.
Simply enter by visiting our Special offers page on the main Futuretrend website.

Courses available:

Adobe Dreamweaver: Introduction, Adobe Dreamweaver : Intermediate, Adobe Photoshop: Introduction, Adobe Photoshop Intermediate, Adobe Illustrator: Introduction, Adobe InDesign: Introduction, HTML & CSS, WordPress Essentials, HTML5 & CSS3, PHP & MySQL,CeMAP 1, CeMAP 2 & 3

How to enter:

  1. First See the selected course list to identify which course you would like to win.
  2. Next, use the Widget to make your entry. You will be asked which course you would most like to win.
  3. You can also gain additional entries to the competition by tweeting, liking on Facebook etc

Closing date: 12.am on Friday 12th July 2013

Winner announced: 5pm Monday 15th July 2013

Enter the competition here!

Entry into the competition is free and you can earn bonus entries by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter too.

5 winners will be selected at random. Good luck!

Creating websites with WordPress? 10 excellent tips you must check out

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WordPress is not just the choice CMS for nothing. It is user friendly, easy to build web sites with, easy to navigate and allows you to include thousands of plugins to improve visitors’ experience. Learning to create websites with WordPress can be a little bit more effective if you abide by some simple rules as follows:

Keep it simple

With so many images, graphics, photos and plugins to play with its usually very tempting for you to want to overdo things. Make your WordPress design as simple as possible so it doesn’t look too cluttered or design heavyartificial. Remember people need the information more than the design.

Logins

If you don’t want attackers hunting down your WordPress site then you need to tweak the login details. Delete the default admin account and create a new one; without forgetting to move the old posts. On your blog use a nickname instead of your administrator name.

Choose the right theme
Wordpress sites and blogs are built based on themes.
Whether you are choosing free themes off the many wordpress theme sites or you go to a wordpress training course to learn how to create your own theme to put your site design in the right perspective ensure that you select the right theme. The theme for an entertainment site will be different from that of a business site.

Install the right plugins

With WordPress there is a plugin for everything from managing social network profiles to counting how many people are visiting your site. SEO plugins are very important so don’t forget to add them. Make sure the plugins you’re adding are doing something for you. If not they should be removed.

Use keywords

Every part of your content should have keywords in them. The title, mega descriptions, tags, images, subtitles, article body, videos and URL should all have niche relevant keywords .

Use alt texts for the images

Because the images you upload also counts in search engine optimization you’ll be doing yourself a lot of favours by using alt text to write their description. They appear when the image is not found, but make sure there is no space between the words.

Use SSL

To further protect your WordPress site from attacks try to make use of SSL and force SSL login. This certificate login might cost a little but it will give you peace of mind.

Socialize

Social media is becoming very much irresistible if not indispensable. To make your WordPress site more visible and popular you must integrate it with the other popular social networking platforms including Facebook, twitter and YouTube.

Sitemaps

Sitemaps are great because they help search engines crawlers locate, browse through and index your site. This is good for your SEO ranking and in helping new site users find what they’re looking for, with ease.

Back up

Please understand that no matter how much site security you implement or WordPress training you receive it can never be completely secure. There is no such thing as a 100% secured site. This is why you have to back up all your files right from the start. Depending on the volume of content of your site and your needs you will need a daily or monthly back up plan.

You can get more tips and tricks on  our wordpress essentials  and wordpress advanced training courses

7 Essential Dreamweaver Features that make life a whole lot easier for designers/developers.

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 Dreamweaver (DW) is web development software, made by Adobe, that lets web developers code,

test, run, and preview their programs within minutes. This web development software has tons of features and We’ll explore some of these in this blog.Most of these features are guaranteed to make your Web Development life much easier.

The top 7 features of Dreamweaver IDE:

1. Code Minimization

Whenever you are coding a web page that consists of more than hundreds, and even thousands, of codes, you may get overwhelmed and lost while navigating through different sections of the page. The Dreamweaver code minimization [-] feature makes it easier for you to select a chunk of code and, well, minimize them, so that you don’t have to bother with it until you decide to use (expand) it.

2. Code Formatting

While creating a web project, particularly the bigger ones, it’s not uncommon to see your code and its structure get tangled, disorganized, and clutterred. This clutter may not cause you problems straight away, but later on, especially during code editing and debugging phase, you will definitely wrack you brain because you can’t seem to locate different sections of codes inside the page. But with Dreamweaver’s ‘code formatting’ feature, order is re-established.

Here’s how you format code: Select the chunk of code, and under the ‘Commands’ menu at the top, click on the ‘Apply Source Formatting’ and viola, everything looks clean, organized, and clutter free!

3. Code Navigator

Dreamweaver offers a user-friendly and easy to understand interface development environment (IDE) to code projects, build apps, and create websites. Code navigator, for example, tells you exactly where you are in the site, and above all, styles important elements surrounding it, making it easier for you to navigate around the murky and complex algorithms inside the page.

4. Code Snippets

Web developers frequently use scripts and small programs (code snippets) that intermix together to create a giant working engine. Although coding each of these code snippets would be fun, why not use Dreamweaver’s built-in snippets instead. Not only will you save tons of time, but you’ll also utilize DW to its maximum.

5. Insert Menu

Just like code snippet, DW also offers ‘insert menu’ option that has a bunch of cool pre-written codes to integrate small applications into your web project. For instance, to make your web page SEO-friendly, you can use the meta keyword option, or insert web form and its elements (radio buttons, text fields, hidden fields, and so on) for contact us page, or create a smooth rollover navigation bar. You really don’t have to Google every time you require to use small and simple codes, DW has it all… and its recommended you use ’em!

6. Easily Find Embedded Files

If there are any Stylesheets or JavaScripts you have referenced in the web page, then the new DW IDE will help you access them, easily! This means that you no longer have to open dozens of tabs all at once. Instead, you just have to open the right one, and you’re good to go!

7. Find Replace Tool

During web development, you end up in situations where you might want to add a class to a bunch of list, or remove the class all together from all the files. Instead of opening every single file, all you do is use the Find and Replace tool, select the folder where you want DW to look for the matches, and look…you’re done!

8. Bonus: Live View

Developers often need to see a preview of their coding right away! And opening up the browser and checking for the change would be frustrating sometimes. Don’t worry! DW will let you preview your work live, and also shows the changes right away! Amazing, isn’t it?

To learn more tricks and tips that will make your programming life much easier you can consider joining our Dreamweaver training course.

What’s going on here at FutureTrend Training Academy

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We are Educating People on “Making Money with Dividends“

          part of our Stocks, Shares and Investments Training 
 

One of the ways you make money with stocks is by investing in companies that pay dividends.

Dividends are profits the company distributes to shareholders. The companies don’t do this out of the kindness of their hearts – this is what a company is all about; making money for the owners. Dividends usually don’t represent all of a company’s profits. The company retains some portion for future use – in acquisitions or to retire debt, for example.

Most companies pay dividends in the form of cash, although you may hear of occasions when a company uses stock instead. Many investors are attracted to stocks with a good history of paying dividends.

The company’s board of directors sets the dividend at a quarterly meeting. It is important to note that they are under no obligation to pay a dividend. If the company is hurting financially or the board is concerned about future prospects, it can forego the dividend.

The board sets the dividend rate at a per share basis. For example, the board may declare a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share. This means if you own 100 shares of stock, you will get a check for $50 for that quarter.

Dividends come is two types: fixed and variable. Dividends that pay at a fixed rate go to owners of preferred stock, while variable dividends go to common stock holders.

Dividends offer investors another way to make money, especially if your goal is current income. Many investors find that buying and holding companies with a good history of paying dividends makes good sense for financial goals.

If you would like to learn more in detail then sign up for our new Stock, Shares & Investments course today. Course starts on Saturday 29th March 2014 and now offers a complete practical guided training into trading Spread Betting or CFD’s

Welcome to the world of 21st century Financial Trading Technology

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Most people who begin learning Forex & Commodities or Stock & Shares usually have one question on their mind: what’s the difference between trading strategies and is there a way to learn just one strategy and apply that?

While there are many reasons, today I will only touch upon a basic factor – one that is common between most individual traders. Since markets evolve from time to time, similarly circumstances also vary from trader to trader based upon his/her unique personal preferences. These different factors may be in terms of risk, time, capital, knowledge & education, experience and sometimes even technology.  While I was browsing TE, I came across a simple description of what I’m discussing here, Day Trading vs Swing Trading Click to View. These are one of few trading techniques you will learn in our course.  Hope you enjoy this!

Do not forget to click on the picture below for a future announcement….

Learn Trading Strategies and Trading SystemEveryday our students learn more and more from our advance trading courses (Forex & Commodities Trading) and gain considerable knowledge and expertise on how to trade markets systematically and consistently. The Second part of Forex and Commodities course emphasizes on trading strategies and trading systems to help establish trading rules, methodical approach, risks over rewards, technical and fundamental discipline, old-school(wall street) trading techniques and learning industries latest innovations and getting hands on experience on most advance trading technologies.

A backdrop to what I am discussing here is best illustrated in my upcoming webinar on Trading Financial Markets with 21st century style.  Many of you may or may not be aware of the phenomenon called High Frequency Trading(HFT)- for those who do not know about HFT may also be unaware of Cross Atlantic Fiber-optic cables stretching from Long Island to the UK aka ‘QuanTA‘.

HFT aka Algorithmic or Automated Trading involves the use of computer software which is instructed by a set of configurable algorithms as and when to buy and/or sell products in an electronic marketplace. Considerations can include price, quantities, timing etc. Presently Financial Markets and all its application are evolving; however the question is whether many of us in future will like these changes? Frankly, I’m still not sure myself! But I must admit I do seek its benefits and at the same time recognize it as a potential threat at the minimal capital investor. I will be demonstrating a Two-part webinar on trading GOLD & SILVER using automated trading system. I will be presenting Algorithmic based strategies that my trading system promptly captures and informs me about.  These trading alerts can be traded manually or can be automated to be executed on their own.

The World Money Show London 2012 @ Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

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Invite

Priority Code for FREE Registration: 029045
REGISTER FREE HERE

 

This is great opportunity for all our successful students who have completed their training with us here at FutureTrend to meet top industry participants and join in discussion with some of its panels speakers.

Also, dates for our upcoming November/December classes are now finalized. Please refer to FutureTrend website for Forex & Commodities and Stocks and Share course dates

38 STEPS TO BECOMING A TRADER

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1. We accumulate information—buying books, going to seminars, attending courses and researching.
2. We begin to trade with our “new” knowledge.
3. We consistently “donate” and then realize that we may need more knowledge or information.
4. We accumulate more information.
5. We switch the currencies or commodities we are currently following.
6. We go back into the market and trade with our “updated” knowledge.
7. We get “beat up” again and begin to lose some of our confidence. Fear starts setting in.
8. We start to listen to “outside news” and to other traders.
9. We go back into the market and continue to “donate.”
10. We switch currencies and commodities again.
11. We search for more information.
12. We go back into the market and start to see a little progress.
13. We get “overconfident,” and the market humbles us.
14. We start to understand that trading successfully is going to take more time and more knowledge than we anticipated. Most people will give up at this point, as they realize work is involved.
15. We get serious and start concentrating on learning a “real” methodology.
16. We trade our methodology with some success but realize that something is missing.
17. We begin to understand the need for having rules to apply our methodology.
18. We take a sabbatical from trading to develop and research our trading rules.
19. We start trading again, this time with rules, and find some success, but overall, we still hesitate when we execute.
20. We add, subtract, and modify rules as we see a need to be more proficient with our rules.
21. We feel we are very close to crossing that threshold of successful trading.
22. We start to take responsibility for our trading results as we understand that our success is in us, not the methodology.
23. We continue to trade and become more proficient with our methodology and our rules.
24. As we trade, we still have a tendency to violate our rules, and our results are still erratic.
25. We know we are close.
26. We go back and research our rules.
27. We build the confidence in our rules and go back into the market and trade.
28. Our trading results are getting better, but we are still hesitating in executing our rules.
29. We now see the importance of following our rules as we see the results of our trades when we don’t follow the rules.
30. We begin to see that our lack of success is within us (a lack of discipline in following the rules because of some kind of fear), and we begin to work on knowing ourselves better.
31. We continue to trade, and the market teaches us more and more about ourselves.
32. We master our methodology and our trading rules.
33. We begin to consistently make money.
34. We get a little overconfident, and the market humbles us.
35. We continue to learn our lessons.
36. We stop thinking and allow our rules to trade for us (trading becomes boring but successful), and our trading account continues to grow as we increase our contract size.
37. We are making more money than we ever dreamed possible.
38. We go on with our lives and accomplish many of the goals we had always dreamed of and in return now we are able to help others.

WHERE WILL THE NEW IDEAS IN FX COME FROM IN 2013?

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Bloomberg’s FX12 London Summit
Join me at Bloomberg’s City Gate House for a key gathering of industry leaders, senior executives and top decision makers from across the global FX community to discuss the latest trends, news, strategies, risk management techniques and more.

FEATURING A Q&A WITH:
Jim O’Neill: Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)

Click the link below for details about the Bloomberg’s FX12 Summit in London on 16 October 2012 at 3:00pm: REGISTER Hurry!!! Seat are limited.

Invitation Via,

Umar Dar
FX, Stocks, Futures & Commodities Trainer at Future Trend Training Academy