Over Achiever Christopher Best Shines in Academia

Christopher Best is working toward his Master of Science in Finance at Florida International University in Miami.  

Christopher Best has earned his Master of Science in Music Education and his Bachelor of Science in Music Education.  Always a high achiever, he took his undergraduate degree with a 3.3 GPA, his Masters of Science in Music with a 3.55 GPA, and his current GPA average as he works toward his Masters of Science in Finance is at 3.53.

Christopher Best - What You Need to Know about Problematic Market Practices

Christopher Best is very interested in finance, stocks, portfolio management and market practices.

Some individual investors choose to purchase stocks through brokers who make a living from the commissions they get from selling the stock. Such brokers will usually tell you that they have an extensive in-house research department and that their recommendations to buy come from the department. While it may sound good, in reality this model has significant flaws.

The biggest problem is a huge conflict of interest. If a broker makes money from selling you stock, they are interested in selling you as much stock as possible, not in you reaching your financial goals. In many cases, brokers do not have to disclose such conflicts of interest. You want to research the laws of your state to find out about different categories of brokers and advisors that you are dealing with. Some brokerage companies may have very impressive names, when in reality, the names mean nothing. Oftentimes such companies are not liable for the advice they provide. They also do not have to get certified or tested to provide their recommendations. This is why it is always a smart idea to know who you are dealing with, what kinds of certifications they have and what they are liable for.

Sometimes a business can hire a brokerage or an investment bank to help sell its stock. The brokerage then needs to create an aura of positivity around the company and its offerings. Many studies of brokerage companies show that their research isn’t worth anything. If you are looking for reliable research just like what Christopher Best gets while earning his degree in finance at Florida International University, find companies that just do research and do not make a commission from selling stock.
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Christopher Best - Different Kinds of Stocks

Christopher Best is studying graduate-level finance at Florida International University. This article explains different types of stocks that finance students learn about.

                                            

Blue Chips

Blue chip stocks are the stocks from well-established, giant, most prestigious companies with stellar reputations. Many of these companies are household names. These stocks include Intel, General Electric, Visa, Wal-Mart, and McDonald’s. Many blue chip companies have been in business for over twenty-five years and have been the leader of their industries for decades. These businesses are a great investment for people looking to stay conservative in their stock picks.

Growth Stocks

Growth stocks consist of businesses that show growth potentials. Many enterprises in this category have sales, growth or market share that are growing extremely fast. Companies that fall in this category usually invest heavily in research and development. Growth stocks are riskier than blue chips, but they also come with potentially bigger rewards. These stocks perform best when stock prices are on the rise. 

Income Stocks

Just like growth stocks, income stocks do exactly what the category name suggests. They provide a stable income for investors. Income stocks come with regular payments of dividends that do not depend on the stock price. Sometimes the dividends are big enough so that the investors can completely cover their living expenses with dividend checks. Many of the stocks in this category also fall in the blue-chip category. 

Preferred Stocks

These stocks are very similar to both stocks and bonds at the same time. Usually, a preferred stock has a dividend and a redemption date. Investors get their dividends regardless of how the company performs. When a company is underperforming, preferred stock holders get paid first. When a company is doing extremely well, certain preferred shares may get more than one dividend payout. However, preferred stock owners usually do not have the same rights as common stock owners. 

 

If you want to learn more about other types of stocks, you can do so by studying multiple books on the subject just like Christopher Best of Miami did.

Christopher Best - Pros and Cons of Mutual Funds for Portfolio Management

Christopher Best is pursuing his Master of Science in Finance Degree at Florida International University.

Great investors, such as Warren Buffet, recommend very strongly investing only in the stocks and companies that you know a lot about. If you are very busy, have no time to research businesses, and are unwilling to take unnecessary risks, you may want to look at mutual funds.

Investing in mutual funds is very easy. You can do it from your computer or from your phone. Mutual funds pool together the money that they receive from ordinary working people. They then invest this money in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Because there is a pool of money, mutual funds can hire investment professionals to manage the money. Some mutual funds invest primarily in stocks. Others specialize in bonds. There are also certain mutual funds that have a combination of stocks, bonds, and other investment vehicles.

Mutual funds provide a lot of advantages to investors. They can afford to diversify the stocks that they buy. Diversification is quite expensive for individual investors because of their transaction fees. These are only worth it if you buy, on average, more than one hundred shares of a stock. In the latter transaction, size may become a problem. If an average stock price is fifty dollars and you want to invest in a dozen companies, you’ll need over sixty thousand dollars to buy one hundred stocks in each company. This is not something many individual investors can easily afford to do, yet for mutual funds, this issue is not a problem.

If you invest on your own, you have to spend your own time researching businesses and markets. Mutual funds hire professional full-time management for that. Mutual fund managers research financial statements, competitors, business strategies, and market positions before deciding on making an investment decision. The best managers have graduated from the top schools in the world, work long hours and have a lot of experience in the field. While some mutual funds do charge high maintenance fees, these funds usually have an impressive reputation and track record. There are also a lot of funds that operate using a commission-free structure and may charge somewhere between twenty and one hundred dollars to manage ten thousand dollars or even more.

As with most things in life, mutual funds come with their own drawbacks. The first drawback is the matter of funds control. When you invest in a mutual fund, it may seem like a black box to you. You will have managers investing your money and they will not ask you for your permission or opinion when choosing companies to invest. If you invest in a mutual fund outside of your retirement allocation, you may end up with a relatively high tax bill. Students of finance such as Christopher Best learn a lot about money management and tax implications during their years in school.
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Christopher Best - Tips for Financial Professionals in the Field

Christopher Best is a musician, a teacher, and a business owner who has been working hard for his future. He is currently earning his Master of Science degree in Finance from the Florida International University, and he hopes to graduate later this year. He already has experience in the financial field, is optimistic about his career. Here are some tips for financial professionals.

 

You need to be organized. As a financial professional, organizational skills are a must if you want to be successful. Financial professionals, especially those at the executive level, will be dealing with a variety of numbers and figures that can be overwhelming at times without a system in place. Make sure you develop an organized system in order to stay ahead of your responsibilities.

You also need to understand the business world, as well as the financial world. In order to be successful working for a major company as a financial professional, you need to have a firm understanding of what it is your company does so that you can work more easily. Understanding how your job fits into the company as a whole will make it easier to be successful.

Learn from the people who have been there before. When you’re working in finance, experience is essential for success. Learn from the higher ups that are willing to give you advice, show you the ropes, and even help you out when your workload gets to be heavy.

Christopher Best is on track to becoming a successful financial professional, and his Master’s degree in the field will certainly contribute to that success.
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Christopher Best - Tips for Musicians Learning the Saxophone

Christopher Best is a music instructor who is currently operating his own tutoring business out of his home office. He has been teaching students how to play the saxophone for eight years, and he understands what it takes to be a successful music teacher. Here are some useful tips for new players looking to learn the saxophone.

 
If you have the means, find a good teacher. Learning an instrument on your own is difficult, especially if you can learn more easily through auditory instruction or demonstration. When you’re trying to learn the saxophone, which requires certain breathing techniques to create specific tones, it’s much easier if you have an example who can show you what you’re being taught.

Try to focus on your breath. Instruments like the saxophone are based on a player’s breath, and how well they are able to control it for future notes. Part of learning the instrument means learning how to anticipate certain notes, and controlling your breath in the process. Work on breathing techniques on your own or with your instructor in order to improve.

You also need to work on your finger movements. Like most other instruments, the saxophone requires the ability to move your fingers to different positions at the same time, and quickly. You need to work on your dexterity, and your ability to do multiple things with your fingers at the same time.

Christopher Best is a dedicated saxophone teacher who has been teaching students for nearly ten years. He also has a Master of Science degree in Music Education from Florida International University, which he received in 2014.
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Christopher Best - Tips for Budgeting Your Finances on Your Own

​Christopher Best is a business owner who has a knack for understanding and working in finance. He operates his own business out of his home as a saxophone instructor, but he’s also going to school full-time in order to earn a Master’s degree in Finance. He understands that taking control of your finances can be difficult, but here are some tips to help out.

 A great way to start managing your finances better is to take an accurate account of how much you make, how much you spend on essentials each moth, and what you have left over for savings and other expenditures. Taking a frim account of your current financial situation will give you a better understanding of how you need to handle your money.

Another good way to handle your finances is by saving receipts from all your purchases. This will allow you to keep track of how much money you spend every week or month, and it will keep you from being surprised when you get your next credit card bill. This could help you catch discrepancies between your purchases and you statement, which could end up saving you money.

In addition, limit yourself to only a couple credit cards. Although it is good to have multiple cards in your arsenal in order to boost your overall credit score, it’s easy to get lost in the ease of making charges on your cards. This is dangerous because it could keep you from remembering your personal budget.

Christopher Best is well on his way to a promising career in finance, and he already has professional experience in the field.