601 Beach Crescent by Pinnacle – Prices, Availability, Plans

 

At a Glance

• located at 601 Beach Crescent, Vancouver BC adjacent to the Granville Street Bridge
• 52-storey Tower
• approximately 300 market homes within the tower
• a total building height of 535 ft
• 152 non-market housing units
• a podium with an 18,000-square-foot retail space
• second-floor amenities for the affordable housing residents
• extensive amenities with a pool on the podium rooftop for the market unit residents
• The twisting lines in the proposed tower’s cladding echo the twist of its neighbour Vancouver House. Images: JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International

The design for the podium at the bottom of the tower includes retail space on the ground floor and separate amenity spaces for the market and non-market housing residents. Images: JYOM Architecture/Pinnacle International

Vancouver Views

The site is intended to form the other side of the ‘Gateway’ with Vancouver House on the West side of the Granville Bridge.  The Pinnacle tower was designed by JYOM International of Shanghai, China, co-founded by Vancouver native Kandice Emmie Kwok. GBL Architects is the architect of record.  High-rise on east side of Granville Bridge designed to balance and echo Vancouver House.

“Our site is asymmetrical to Vancouver House,” Kandice Kwok, founder of Shanghai-based Jyom Architecture, told Daily Hive. The firm, which has a Vancouver office, is the lead architect of the project, and locally-based GBL Architects is the architect of record.

“The irregular shape of the site was one challenge, and another challenge was to create a massing that can not only stand out by itself but also complement, contrast, and work with Vancouver House as a gateway into the city.”

She said her team’s own interpretation of Vancouver House, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, is a “masculine shoulder,” with its “triangular broad shoulders of a man.”

They responded to this unique interpretation by creating a tower design that replicates the elegant character and movement of a dancing female wearing a veil dress.

Glass coupled with varying high-quality materials for the facade create the contrasting yet smooth curvaceous lines of the building.

Be A Presale Condo VIP!

Find Out About New Presales & Get Access to VIP Openings & Special Promotions!

Are you a realtor? Click here

• First/Last Name *
• E-mail *
• Phone
• *
  Select A Region * Vancouver Downtown Vancouver East Side Vancouver West Side Vancouver South North Shore Burnaby/New West Coquitlam/Tri Cities Richmond Langley/Surrey
• I Am Interested In *
  New Vancouver Presale Condos Buying a Condo Selling my Condo
• Realtor Status *
  I already have a Realtor I don't have a Realtor yet
• Comment/Notes
• Page Label
• Type
• Receipent
• Security Code *
  

  
• Should be Empty:

Pricing for 601 Beach Crescent
This project is in its development application stage. Prices have not yet been established. Sign up to our VIP list above for priority access to 601 Beach Crescent updates.

Floor Plans for 601 Beach Crescent by Pinnacle
This development will offer the following mix of residences:

• approximately 300 market homes within the tower
• 152 non-market housing units

Amenities at 601 Beach 
A podium with an 18,000-square-foot retail space, second-floor amenities for the affordable housing residents, and extensive amenities with a pool on the podium rooftop for the market unit residents.

Parking and Storage
TBA

Maintenance Fees at 601 Beach
TBA.

 

Developer Team for 601 Beach Crescent

Pinnacle International is one of North America’s leading builders of luxury condominium residences, master-planned communities, hotels and commercial developments. Based in Vancouver, BC, Pinnacle has been involved in the development, design, construction and management of their projects for over 40 years. With this experience and expertise, Pinnacle has completed over 10,000 residences to help create and enrich neighbourhoods in Vancouver, Toronto and San Diego. Pinnacle has development plans for an additional 10,000 residential suites located in various master-planned, mixed-use locations throughout North America

At GBL, we believe that success in form isn’t simply defined by a strength to endure, but through an ability to surprise over time. We design with the belief that form plays a vital role in defining experience through an ever-changing dynamic between sculptural artistry and social responsibility.

The design, by Chinese architectural firm JYOM Architecture with local firm GBL Architects, makes clear reference to the building’s iconic neighbour, with fluid lines on its façade that echo the twist in the tower opposite.

Expected Completion for 601 Beach Crescent
TBA.

 

Are you interested in learning more about other homes in Yaletown or Downtown Vancouver?

Check out these great Downtown Vancouver Presales!

The post 601 Beach Crescent by Pinnacle – Prices, Availability, Plans appeared first on Mike Stewart.

from Blog – Mike Stewart https://ift.tt/2xxwawS

DollarBird Review – Budgeting With a Twist

Budgeting for the birds? Put a new spin on it with this app. We’ll show you how tracking your money daily could beat your old budgeting ways in our DollarBird Review.

About Dollar Bird

DollarBird is a budgeting application, but with a twist. It uses a calendar system to track your spending. This is very different from other budgeting apps that track spending by categories. The basic concept of DollarBird is daily cash management. That can make it the perfect solution if you’ve tried using budget apps before, but without much success.

DollarBird is a cloud-based platform that’s available for iOS and Android, as well as the web. Not only does it allow you to track your income and expenses, but you can also forecast cash flow. Another interesting departure from the norm for budget apps, no bank account information is required. All data is manually added to the app by the user.

DollarBird is also in the middle of a transition. They’re going from the original version to DollarBird 3. It will be an upgraded version, however you can migrate from the original version–currently being referred to as DollarBird Classic–at any time.

DollarBird, with its calendar based budgets and its manual inputs, differs from other budgeting apps. For example, Personal Capital also offers both a free and paid version. But both versions center strongly on investing, with budgeting only as a secondary service (mainly through the Cash Flow Analyzer feature). Mint, on the other hand, is a pure budgeting app. It has only one version, and it’s free. It also enables you to import your information automatically. The other major competitor, YNAB, offers only a paid version. But it has more innovations, like its “Age Your Money” strategy of setting up your budget so that you live off of last month’s salary. It also offers the choice of both manual or automatic input.

How DollarBird Works

DollarBird is available through the App Store for iOS, and on Google Play for Android.

Once you download the app, you use a three-step process:

Step 1. “Check your pockets and bank accounts”

In this step you enter how much money you have in your bank and other sources of income.

Step 2. Enter your salary and other recurring transactions

Next, set your salary and usual monthly expenses to be recurrent so you don’t need to add them again. At this point, you’re ready to project your cash flow. You can add income and expense categories even after the initial setup.

Step 3. Follow through

In this step you develop a habit of adding your transactions as you make them. Or more specifically, you have to confirm that your recurring transactions actually happened (see “Unconfirmed Transactions” below for an explanation as to why this is necessary). Once again, the DollarBird app is completely manual, so you will have to do this on an ongoing basis. You will also need to correct variances on transactions that vary from the expected amounts.

The app has an AI-based auto capability that will sort your expenses into categories. But if you don’t agree with where an expense has been placed, you can always override the automatic system. You can even add new categories, and delete ones you don’t use, as you deem necessary.

Unconfirmed Transactions

This is where you’ll find planned expenses and income items in the DollarBird app. Once you set up a transaction as recurring, you simply confirm the transaction each time an income source is received, or an expense is paid. The change will then be reflected in the actual balance of your bank account.

Exporting Data

DollarBird also enables you to export your data. A CSV file will be sent to you by email.

Budgets

This is a bit of a contradiction. There isn’t a way to set a cap for categories yet, but it is being considered for the near future. Users are still able to see their average spending on categories each month, but are not able to allocate a dollar amount in advance. So at the moment, DollarBird is a budgeting tool without the option to manually set a budget. Though this is largely offset by the Projected Balances feature (more on that below).

DollarBird Calendars

This is a central feature of the app. When you’re in the calendar view, you can swipe to the month of your choice (current, past or future). An overview of your spending will be displayed on the dashboard. It will include expenses by category, and also provide comparisons with past month averages. You can expand each category to pull a list of transactions within that group.

But perhaps on a more practical level, each calendar will give you a projection of your likely month-end income and spending based in the latest month-to-date trends. The month-end projection will change a little bit each day as you adjust transactions.

Projected Balances

By tapping on a future date, you’ll create projected balances. You can get projections for all 12 months of the year. The projections will be based only on confirmed transactions. If they’re unconfirmed, you should either confirm them as paid, or delete them. The confirmed transactions will form the basis of projected balances for whatever future month you want to pull up.

Teams

This is part of collaborative finance management. Under the paid version of the app, you can create an unlimited number of teams, up to three members, each of whom can be part of any one of those teams. Team members are able to share and contribute to your calendars, which means they should also be members of DollarBird. But even if they aren’t, you may still be able to add them on your team.

Notifications

Like the missing budget capability, DollarBird currently does not allow for reminders and alerts. However, DollarBird does indicate it may add them in the future.

Customer Service

This seems to be another weak spot in the DollarBird app. Customer service seems to be extremely limited. Meaning it’s limited to the “Submit a Request” page, which presumably is email contact. The company is also based in France so it’s reasonable to suspect that responses will be delayed by at least several hours.

No information is given on the website in regard to contact by phone or live chat, nor is a direct email address listed. Even a search on the Help Center page failed to produce any further information.

DollarBird Plans and Pricing

DollarBird offers three different plans:

The Free Plan

There’s no charge for this plan, but you can upgrade to the Pro or Business versions at any time. The Free version comes with one calendar. It’s an excellent way to see if the app works for you before committing to purchasing the paid plan.

The Pro Plan

This is the advanced collaborative option for partners, families, freelancers, and just about anyone else. This version comes with 20 calendars, and you can have three team members. The annual fee for this version is just $25.99 per year, or $2.17 per month.

The Business Plan

This version offers collaborative financial tracking and planning for businesses and enterprises. It provides unlimited calendars, and allows you to add unlimited team members. No price is specified for this plan, as it will depend upon the type of business and the number of users and calendars required.

DollarBird Pros and Cons

DollarBird Pros:

• The price is right on this app. They have a free version with somewhat limited capability, but even the paid version is reasonably priced at just over $2 per month.
• A business app is available for small businesses, that’s readily expandable with unlimited teams and calendars. It could be a useful tool to help a small business track their finances.
• The DollarBird Calendar feature will work better for people who prefer daily tracking to longer terms. It also may serve as a valuable visual presentation of your financial situation.

DollarBird Cons:

• DollarBird lacks a budget-setting capability, which is most peculiar for a budgeting app. But they seem to work around this missing link with future projections.
• All transactions have to be added and confirmed manually. There is no capacity for automatic populating of transaction activity, so this app appears to be a bit labor-intensive.
• No alerts are provided when a bill due date is coming up.
• There seems to be a lack of simple customer service capability. Contact is limited to the “Submit a Request” page.

Should You Sign Up for the DollarBird App?

DollarBird is one of the simpler budgeting apps available. The use of calendars is especially intriguing. They can be a real advantage for people who are more comfortable with visual presentations, and the simplicity of small, day-to-day transactions. The app avoids overwhelming the user with a lot of numbers, charts and graphs.

The downside of this app is that it requires a lot of attention. You’ll likely need to use the app every day, so that you can manually confirm and/or modify your transactions. It gives you the ability to enter recurring transactions for both income and expenses. But even when those transactions are entered upfront, you must still confirm that they actually took place. In addition, if your transactions vary even a little bit from the projected amounts, you’ll be making a lot of corrections as you use the app.

The lack of a budgeting capability is curious, but it looks like that is largely overcome by the future projections capability.

Probably the best strategy with DollarBird is to work with the free version, and determine your comfort level. If you like the format and the features it offers, and it works for you on a personal level, you can then go on to the paid version. And at just over $2 per month, it’s a solid deal.

To sign up for the app, check out the DollarBird website.

Topics: Money Management

The post DollarBird Review – Budgeting With a Twist appeared first on The Dough Roller.

from The Dough Roller https://ift.tt/2L8kIK0

Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) Online Discount Broker Review 2018

{#TransparentTuesday} Women Policing Women.

 

Last week I wrote an email called
Eliciting Male Desire: The Legacy of Female Power

and received tons of feedback from women who had experienced a similar amount of pressure and drive– especially throughout their younger years– to make themselves sexually desirable to men.

A while back I spoke with several gay women about the phenomenon of feeling pressure to be attractive to men, despite not even being interested in men. That speaks to how this is less about sexual attraction and more about power.

Gay women are just as susceptible (especially when they’re young, when we’re all the most susceptible) to the messages that a woman’s job is to be desirable to men, and that her worth comes from how well she performs this job, because we intuitively know who has the power in our culture, and who doesn’t.

Which brings me to the question of the role that “other women” play in the perpetuation of female beauty standards. After last week’s post, many women were quick to point out the fact that they care way more about what other women think of them than about what men think of them, and I get it.

Women are taught that we are in competition for male attention, so we are constantly evaluating each other and sizing each other up. In this way women are often MUCH harsher critics of each other than men could ever be, and a lot of the female beauty standards are set and enforced by women, not men.

Women methodically study the behaviors and appearance of other women, of what works and what doesn’t, how we rank against each other, what category and type we are, what’s expected of us, and how we can each capitalize on our assets and hide our flaws. Women are constantly looking to each other for this information, following the cues of our female peers and trying to stay on top.

This is a huge reason why women so often struggle to connect with each other– because we’re taught to see each other as the enemy.

We tend to view all new women as potential threats or competition, or we get so used to the cold/catty/judgey behavior that arises when we’re sizing each other up and cutting each other down that we stop trusting other women altogether. When this happens, women leave our walls up around each other, guarding against the judgement and attack we expect, and making it nearly impossible to connect.

The original oppression might have been men oppressing women (I mean literally, we had zero human rights and men owned us), but at a certain point, the competitive mindset around a woman’s ability to earn male attention turned us against each other.

At this point we women technically have the majority of human rights, but we still ferociously police each other’s behaviors and bodies, enforcing the expectation of impossible beauty standards that keep us all insecure and distracted for our entire lives.

Men have told me that the main way they assess each other as competition is according to physical strength, power, and masculinity.

Basically, many dudes are constantly sizing each other up to decide whether or not they could “take” the other guy.  A man might walk into a bar and instantly assess all the other dudes there as either “I could kick his ass” or “he could kick my ass,” as a way of determining if anyone poses a threat to him.

In short, for men, the assessment of each other as a threat is based around physical safety in a fight. How about women? We assess each other, too. We size each other up in an effort to decide if the other woman poses a threat to us.

The big difference is that the “threat” another woman poses is the ability to steal our man, or steal male attention in general. When women walk into a bar, we immediately look around and decide if the other women there are hotter than us.

Our version of “can I take her?” is really “which one of us would a man choose?”

This means, basically, that while male power and status come from being physically safe, female power and status is based on how sexually desirable we are to men.

The very measuring stick women use to assess ourselves and others is based on the opinion of men, even if we are the ones who are now enforcing it for each other.

Think about the way many women experience the emotion of jealousy when viewing a gorgeous woman. Jealousy is an emotion that arises when there is a threat of losing something precious to us. Even if we are single, we might experience jealousy upon seeing the kind of woman who effortlessly elicits desire, because we view male desire as a zero sum game, meaning the more attention she gets, the less there is left for us.

No wonder we women compete with each other, hold each other at arm’s distance, and cut each other down!

I don’t know exactly how to wrap this up except to say this: every single woman I work with feels judged more harshly by other women than by men.

We worry that other women will notice our cellulite, our belly fat, our blemishes, and the bags under our eyes. We dress to ward off the insecurity of other women deciding we don’t stack up, or other women trash talking our decisions, of other women stealing our partners.

Which is actually kind of amazing and empowering. Because it means that WE have the power to change this. WE have the power to shift the way we show up around other women.

If every single woman reading this shared it with 10 other women and we all made a commitment to stop policing or judging other women— if we all pledged to show up as our warmest, most open, and most accepting selves around each other– than maybe this impossible female beauty standard bullshit would finally turn a corner.

Yours in female power,
<3

Jessi

The post {#TransparentTuesday} Women Policing Women. appeared first on Jessi Kneeland.

from Jessi Kneeland https://ift.tt/2J0OzDp

Best Fuel Rewards Programs – How to Save Money on Gas

Hitting the road this summer? Don’t drive off before reading this. These are the best fuel rewards programs that will save you money on gas.

When it comes to saving at the pump, it seems like there’s only so much you can do. You can drive less, sure. But you still have to get to work or run errands. You can shop around for lower prices but gas stations tend to swing up or down together.

One excellent way to easily save on the gas you need is to join a fuel rewards program, or potentially more than one. These programs are similar to store rewards programs. The more you frequent one particular gas station, the more you can save through points, discounts, or cash back.

Finding the best fuel rewards program can take a little digging. You need to be sure the program is worth your while and won’t cost you more than it saves you. You’ll also need to sign up for programs that work with gas stations where you often fill up your car. It doesn’t do you much good to sign up for a fuel rewards program from a gas station you only visit once a quarter.

Check out this list of the best fuel rewards programs we could find. Then choose one at a gas station that works well for your needs.

Circle-K Rewards

This excellent rewards program gets you 10 points per gallon at the pump plus 20 points per dollar spent on eligible products at the gas station. When you earn 2,000 points, you’ll get two dollars in cash back. The Circle-K Rewards program also offers other member benefits, like clubs and special offers.

Speedway Speedy Rewards

This program is similar to the Circle-K Rewards program. It gives you 20 points per dollar spent in-store plus 10 points per gallon at the pump. You can choose monthly perks each month, including coupons for food or drinks at Speedway. Points are also redeemable for Speedway coupons. You can sign up for this program here.

BP Driver Rewards

With this cash-back rewards program, you’ll get 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 you spend on BP fuel. The BP Driver Rewards program is flexible, too, because you can also choose to add the points to your MileagePlus miles. Plus it offers 200 bonus miles when you make your first transaction after you link your debit or credit card.

Shell Fuel Rewards

The Shell Fuel Rewards program is somewhat unique in that it has a tiered approach. The more you fill up at Shell, the better your rewards. When you have a Silver status, you’ll save three cents per gallon automatically. If you shop more and get to Gold Status, you’ll save at least five cents per gallon. These savings apply on the first 20 gallons of fuel.

Shell also offers rewards for shopping in their stores and filling up or even buying gift cards online. But they aren’t completely clear on their website about how much each type of spending will get you. They say that each store can treat things a little differently, so this is something to be aware of.

Your Local Gas Station or Grocery Store

The above fuel rewards programs are all for larger national or semi-national gas station chains. But there might be local or regional gas stations in your area with even better rewards programs. It’s always worth checking out their websites or asking in person about the rewards programs they offer.

Remember to check with your favorite local or regional grocery store, as well. They often offer a pump in front of the store where you can use your grocery store points for fuel rewards. This can be a better deal if you don’t often stock up on gas station snacks but instead do most of your grocery shopping in one store.

Add in Credit Card Points, Too

The great thing about gas rewards programs like the ones above is that they aren’t typically tied to a specific credit card. So you can stack your rewards when you use a gas rewards credit card along with your chain-based fuel rewards program.

For instance, you might get 10 points per gallon from your fuel rewards program plus two percent or more cash back on your credit card. Those rewards can add up quickly, especially if you drive a lot or have a gas-guzzling vehicle. If you don’t already use a gas rewards credit card, check out our list of the best gas rewards credit cards.

One of the best options is when you can link your gas station fuel rewards program to your credit card. With some of these programs, you can enter your credit card information online. Then whenever you swipe that card at the appropriate gas station, you’ll get the points. You don’t even have to keep an extra rewards card in your wallet!

Use More Than One Program

Chances are you don’t fill up at the exact same gas station all the time. So the key here is to find two or three, or even more, programs that work well for your needs and habits. Since it’s free to sign up for these fuel rewards programs, you should sign up for any that you typically use. Then just remember to take the time to swipe that extra card before you fill up!

Topics: Smart Spending

The post Best Fuel Rewards Programs – How to Save Money on Gas appeared first on The Dough Roller.

from The Dough Roller https://ift.tt/2sncGW4

Fixed Versus Variable Interest Rates

The post Fixed Versus Variable Interest Rates appeared first on Team RRP.

from Team RRP https://ift.tt/2ITWYIV

PeerStreet Review 2018 – Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform

Crowdfunding is everywhere now, even in real estate. Find out if this investment platform could work for you in our PeerStreet Review.

PeerStreet is an online, peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdfunding platform for real estate transactions. Some real estate investors come to the platform looking for financing, while others come looking for above average returns on their money.

If you’re familiar with other P2P platforms, like Lending Club, Prosper and SoFi, then you already have a general idea of what PeerStreet is all about. The difference is that while other P2P platforms provide personal loans to individuals, PeerStreet supplies financing for real estate transactions. The purpose of the platform is to make these sophisticated investments in commercial real estate available to ordinary investors.

Related: Prosper vs. LendingClub SmackDown–Who has the best interest rates?

PeerStreet Features and Benefits

A variety of accounts are available including taxable accounts and self-directed traditional, Roth and rollover IRAs. The minimum initial investment is $1,000.

Automated Investing

Similar to other P2P lending platforms, PeerStreet offers this feature to allow users to build a portfolio of loans. Once you set your investment criteria, you will receive an allocation based on PeerStreet’s algorithm.

30-Day Notes

Short-term investments offer investors greater liquidity. It enables investors to take a position in a given loan for a term of just 30 days. PeerStreet generally charges a liquidity premium on these loans in exchange for bearing the obligation of repaying principal and interest at the end of the 30-day term. The fee typically ranges between 3% and 8% of the note. These investments are currently operating as a pilot program.

How PeerStreet Works

PeerStreet works a bit different from other real estate crowdfunding platforms. They don’t necessarily originate new loans on the site. Instead, they source loans from existing private real estate lenders, then make those loans available to individual investors.

Unlike a real estate investment trust (REIT), where your investment is a representative share of the trust itself, you can select individual loans for investment with PeerStreet. The platform performs an extensive vetting process on each loan, before making them available to investors.

As an investor, you are free to choose the loans you want to invest in. You can do that based on property types, loan maturities, and even certain geographic regions. In short, PeerStreet enables you to select and control the investments you will hold.

PeerStreet Vetting Process

Loans are subject to a screening process also referred to as a due diligence process. PeerStreet investigates both the lenders who make the loans and the loans themselves.

PeerStreet reviews the lender’s track record, financial statements, licensing and adherence to state lending laws, legal and underwriting processes. They also conduct background checks on the principals.

To verify loans, PeerStreet reviews an independent valuation (appraisal) of the underlying property, legal documentation, and ensures each loan complies with PeerStreet’s underwriting guidelines.

General Loan Parameters

The loans are generally short-term, between six months and 24 months. They also have conservative loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, of not more than 75% of the value of the underlying property.

Types of loan investments include:

• Single-family residential buy-to-rent properties
• Single-family refinances
• Single-family Value Add (This is a property that is purchased then renovated for sale, sometimes referred to as a fix-and-flip loan.)
• Bridge loans

When you invest through PeerStreet you purchase notes that represent slivers of whole loans. This enables you to invest in a large number of loans with a relatively small amount of money. Whole loans are available, but only to institutional investors.

Interest and Principal Distributions

Interest payments on notes are typically dispersed twice each month, on the first and the 15th. Principal is distributed as it is received.

PeerStreet Investment Returns

PeerStreet advertises investment returns ranging between 6% and 12%. That puts them in the range of higher-quality loans available on other P2P lending platforms, such as Lending Club and Prosper. However, PeerStreet loans have one major advantage over those other lending platforms–their loans are secured by real estate.

With other P2P lending platforms, the loans are almost always unsecured. Should the borrower default, there will be no property to seize in satisfaction of the loan. Plus, with PeerStreet’s LTV typically below 75%, there’s an excellent chance you’ll get back at least most of your investment in the event of a default.

PeerStreet Pricing

Service fees apply ranging between 0.25% and 1.00% and will vary by loan.

IRA Fees

PeerStreet has three fees associated with a self-directed IRA:

1. Account set up fee – $50
2. Annual account fee – $100
3. Processing fee – $50

PeerStreet will make a one-time reimbursement for the above fees for a self-directed IRA account with an initial balance of $5,000 or more.

Loan Defaults and Foreclosures

These is always a risk when it comes to real estate lending. However, PeerStreet has processes in place to mitigate that outcome. If the loan defaults, they will set up a workout process to protect investor interests and may even seize the property to pay the loan.

PeerStreet does not guarantee full protection for investors. In a standard uncontested foreclosure located in a nonjudicial state, PeerStreet estimates the foreclosure costs to be between 3% and 7% of the loan balance, though those fees relate only to legal and administrative costs. There may be additional losses due to unpaid property taxes, insurance, property management fees and disposition costs. Those costs may be even higher in a judicial foreclosure state, or if bankruptcy is involved.

PeerStreet Investor Requirements

Real estate crowdfunding is a high-risk investment. Traditionally, it was an investment class for commercial banks and private equity lenders. Because of the higher degree of risk, PeerStreet and other real estate crowdfunding platforms are required to accept only investors who qualify as accredited investors.

To qualify, an investor must meet one of the two following requirements:

• An annual income of $200,000 individually (or $300,000 jointly) for the past two years, with a reasonable expectation of earning at least that much in the future
• A net worth over $1 million, excluding your primary residence

Presumably, those who invest in real estate crowdfunding loans or equity investments must have large enough investment portfolios to absorb the losses that can occur.

Pros and Cons

PeerStreet Pros:

• Low notes are secured by the underlying real estate. If the loan defaults, there will be an asset to seize in satisfaction of the loan.
• PeerStreet’s underwriting guidelines are tighter than most other platforms. The LTV requirement of 75% or less provides strong protection for investor capital in the event of default.
• The loan minimum investment of $1,000 makes it possible to diversify across many different loan notes with a relatively small amount of money.
• Very low interest rate risk. This is the risk all investors assume on long-term fixed income investments, like loans. For example, if you invest in a 10 year loan paying 10%, and interest rates go up to 15%, you’ll be stuck with the lower rate for the duration of the investment term. PeerStreet loans are no more than 24 months, minimizing this risk.

PeerStreet Cons:

• You must be an accredited investor to participate on the platform, which virtually eliminates new and small investors, and even a lot of mid-level investors.
• Real estate crowdfunding loans always present the possibility of the loss of some or all of your invested principal.
• Investments in loan notes are not liquid. There is no secondary market where you can sell your notes. But this is generally true of all real estate crowdfunding investments.

Should You Invest With PeerStreet?

The real estate crowdfunding platform is not for everyone. Again, this type investing is higher risk than more traditional investments. This is specifically why there is a requirement for accredited investors.

But if you are an accredited investor, PeerStreet is an excellent choice. The average returns on investment are comparable to other P2P lending platforms, and even many mutual funds. Also, just as important, PeerStreet uses conservative underwriting for the loans they offer to investors.

The $1,000 minimum investment per note enables you to diversify across a large number of loans, with a relatively small amount of money. For example, with a $20,000 investment, you can hold positions in as many as 20 individual loans.

Remember, real estate crowdfunding is risky. You should invest only a small portion of your portfolio in the asset class. Traditional investments should dominate your portfolio.

To sign up for the platform or to learn more about it, check out the PeerStreet website.

Topics: Investing

The post PeerStreet Review 2018 – Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform appeared first on The Dough Roller.

from The Dough Roller https://ift.tt/2ISP6eQ

Twine Savings App Review – Saving and Investing for Couples

Couples that save together, stay together. And saving today is even easier than ever with the right tools. Find out how you and your significant other can use technology to power up your savings account in our Twine savings app review.

About Twine

Twine is an app that empowers people to save more, save better and save together. In fact, they describe themselves as “an app for saving and investing. Built for two”. Insurance giant, John Hancock, offers the service. The app simplifies savings, allowing you to link accounts with your spouse or partner for the purpose of achieving shared financial goals. This can include saving money for the down payment on a house or a car, planning for a wedding, or taking a vacation.

Twine can be downloaded from the iOS App Store and enables you to save in cash, or invest in customized portfolios while moving toward your goals.

Headquartered in Boston, John Hancock Financial is a financial services company, specializing in insurance and retirement savings. Founded in 1862, it’s one of the most well-established insurance companies in America. As of December 31, 2017, Twine/John Hancock Personal Financial Services, LLC (JHPFS) had $927 million in assets under management in the program.

How Twine Works

You can use Twine from a mobile device or the web. The app functions as a goal-based advisory program aimed at enabling the user to achieve specific financial goals. Unlike robo-advisor type platforms, the user has substantial control over the investment process. For example, the user is responsible for determining whether to allocate investment assets to a specific goal, or to hold the position in an interest-bearing cash account. That’s important when saving for shorter term goals where there may not be time to recover short-term losses.

As a client, once you agree on a savings goal, you authorize the automated transfer of funds from your linked bank account into the Twine account.

Algorithms generate advice and account management instructions and will even recommend changes in asset allocations and specific investment selections. Twine will also automatically rebalance your account.

There are three investment portfolio types:

Conservative

Most of the investment is in bonds and cash. Conservative portfolios will contain 94% money market funds and bond ETF’s, and 6% stock ETF’s. If you are within five years of reaching your goal, this is the recommend investment type. It’s also a preferred choice if household liquid net worth or annual income is less than $50,000, or if you are more cautious toward financial risk.

Moderate

Moderate portfolios balance growth with capital preservation. The majority of the portfolio–90%–is in money market funds and bond ETF’s. The remaining 10% is stock ETF’s. If you are within five years of reaching your investment goal and willing to take on a bit more risk for higher returns, this is the recommended option.

Aggressive

Aggressive portfolios are higher risk/higher reward. Money markets and bond ETF’s make up 70% of the portfolio. The remaining 30% is ETF’s. However, if you have at least 15 years to reach your goal, the mix might be 80% stock ETF’s, and 20% in bond ETF’s and money market funds. This portfolio is generally recommended for those with longer term goal achievement, household liquid net worth or annual income of greater than $200,000, or a higher financial risk tolerance.

Twine Features and Benefits

Twine Investment Mix

Users invest in a mix of ETF’s and open end mutual funds. The one exception is the Emergency Fund goal, which must be held strictly in the cash account. Investments are in funds provided and managed by John Hancock Personal Financial Services, LLC (JHPFS).

This includes a long list of mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). There are scores of funds in both categories, and the company is not specific about which will be used for a particular investment goal.

Account Clearing and Custodian

Apex Clearing Corporation serves as both a clearing agent and custodian for Twine accounts. Apex is one of the largest investment custodians and clearing agents in the industry, and a member of both FINRA and SIPC.

Cash Account

This account is administered by Apex, and is interest-bearing. ACH contributions to the account are subject to a five-day holding period before withdrawals can be made. The cash account may be swept into one or more participating banks, unless the investor elects otherwise.

Dividend Reinvestment

Dividends earned on the investment portion of your account are deposited into your cash account. Once the cash balance exceeds its targeted allocation, funds will be moved into an appropriate ETF or mutual fund.

Account Protection

The cash portion of your Twine account is fully protected by FDIC insurance for up to $250,000 per depositor. Your investments are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) for up to $500,000 in cash and securities, including up to $250,000 in cash. However, be advised that SIPC coverage protects only against broker/custodian failure, and not losses in your portfolio due to declines in market value.

Minimum Initial Deposit

There is no minimum initial deposit to open an account, but you must have at least $100 in the plan in order to invest in ETF’s and/or mutual funds.

Account Withdrawals

Withdrawals taken from your cash account typically take 2-3 business days to post to your bank account. Withdrawals taken from an investment account will generally take 7-10 business days, to allow for the sale of investments for the withdrawal.

Customer Support

Support is provided by both email and phone at 800-721-0111.

Signing Up for Twine

In order to sign up for Twine you must be over the age of 18, and be either a US citizen or a US resident alien.

Twine uses a four-step sign-up process:

1. Goal Setup
2. Create Account
3. Link Bank
4. Confirm Details

Goal Setup

You may choose one of six goals: an emergency fund, general savings, children (not set up for college savings yet), vacation, a new home, or a large purchase. There’s also a custom goal category that allows you to set your own specific reason for saving and investing.

After you select the goal, you’ll choose either Twine for One, where you make deposits and withdrawals to and from an individual account, or Twine for Two, where two people make deposits and withdrawals to and from a joint account. The next screen asks How much do you want to save for your goal? You’ll then provide the target amount, your monthly contribution, and your partners monthly contribution. The app will tell you the estimated completion date on achieving your goal:

Create Account

Once you’ve completed the Goal Setup process, you can move on to creating your account. You’ll provide your email address and generate a password. Once you do, Twine will email you a link that you can download enabling you to access the app from your computer and mobile device.

Link Bank

With this step you link the bank account(s) you will be using to fund your Twine account.

Confirm Details

This the review phase, where you make sure all of your information is correct, and confirm your account. Once you set up your account, you will then do the same for your partners account.

Twine Pricing

Twine keeps pricing simple. You can invest for $0.25 per month ($3 per year) for every $500 you invest. That gives it an annual cost of $6 per thousand, or 0.60% of the amount of money you have invested.

However, you can save in cash for free. You can also deposit and withdraw money at any time, with no additional fees.

Other fees may include transfer taxes, fees charged by exchanges on a per transaction basis, fees required by law, or any fees charged by Apex.

Twine Pros and Cons

Twine Pros:

• The ability of a couple to jointly fund investment accounts for very specific goals.
• Creating specific goals often provides greater motivation to save money.
• Availability of both cash-only and investment options.
• Conservative investment options.
• The backing of a well-established financial organization in John Hancock.

Twine Cons:

• The investment fee of 0.60% is high compared to other micro savings apps, like Acorns that charges $1 per month, or 0.24% on a $5,000 account, or a robo-advisor like Betterment that charges 0.25% on all balances. (For basic plans with each platform.)
• No retirement saving capability or goal.
• No live financial advisors in the investment process.

Should You Sign Up for Twine?

Twine sits in the territory somewhere between micro savings apps and robo-advisors. But rather than emphasizing micro savings–saving small amounts of many different transactions–you actually contribute specific amounts on a monthly basis enabling you to reach your goals faster. The investment option operates like a robo-advisor. Your only job is to contribute money to the plan.

The primary advantage is the ability of two partners to contribute to the plan at the same time. This not only allows faster accumulation of savings, but it also turns goals into shared experiences. This is an important aspect of saving money for any goal, particularly when it involves saving for a wedding, the down payment on a home, or expenses for children.

The major downside of Twine is that it doesn’t offer a retirement savings option. Instead, the focus is on shorter-term goals. This despite the fact that retirement plans are one of the primary lines of business of John Hancock. This can be a welcome addition to an investment universe where most brokers and platforms do focus on retirement.

Twine may stand head and shoulders above the competition in the often-overlooked realm of short-term savings goals. As well, the app may be the perfect motivator for couples to get on board with mutual savings goals. It’s a real opportunity to put savings plans into motion.

For more information and to sign up for the app, visit the Twine website.

Topics: Money Management

The post Twine Savings App Review – Saving and Investing for Couples appeared first on The Dough Roller.

from The Dough Roller https://ift.tt/2IQfL7K

TD Ameritrade 2018 Review – Cash Bonus and Free Trades

You can’t beat a cash bonus and free trades, right? We’ll cover that and more in our TD Ameritrade Review.

TD Ameritrade is one of the largest and most diverse investment platforms in the industry. It provides the full range of self-directed trading, along with managed portfolio options if that’s your choice.

It may be the perfect brokerage firm if you’re looking to combine both self-directed investing and professional portfolio management. In addition, TD Ameritrade also has its banking affiliate–TD Bank–giving you an opportunity to bank with the same institution you invest with. TD Bank has more than 1,200 branches, most open seven days a week.

About TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade was founded in 1971, which makes it about middle-aged as large investment brokerage firms go. The investment firm is based in Omaha, Nebraska, but the company has its origins in Toronto Dominion Bank, which is the source of the abbreviation “TD.”

Since its founding, it has grown to be one of the largest investment brokerage firms in the industry. As of September, 2017, TD Ameritrade has over 11 million customer accounts, with more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management. It functions primarily as an online trading platform for self-directed investors. But it also offers managed portfolio options.

Investing with TD Ameritrade Self-directed Brokerage Services

One of the biggest advantages of investing with TD Ameritrade is the size of the organization, and all the options and tools it puts at the investor’s disposal. Here are some of the highlights:

Accounts Available

Individual and joint taxable accounts; traditional, Roth, rollover, SIMPLE and SEP IRAs; Solo 401(k) plans; trusts, annuities, and custodial accounts; Coverdell ESAs and 529 accounts.

Minimum Initial Investment Required

$0, which is perfect for new and small investors.

Customer service

Available 24 hours a day, seven days per week, by phone, live chat, email and text. TD Ameritrade also offers more than 360 branch locations in major metropolitan areas, if you prefer face-to-face contact.

Trading fees

TD Ameritrade trading fees are about average compared to other online discount brokerage firms. Their fee schedule looks like this:

• Stocks and ETFs: $6.95 per trade
• Options: $6.95 per trade, plus $0.75 per contract
• Mutual funds: Free for load funds, $49.99 for no-load funds
• US Treasury securities: $25 flat fee
• Bonds and certificates of deposit: On net yield basis
• Futures and options on futures: $2.25 fee per contract, plus exchange and regulatory fees

Be aware that these are the trading fees for online transactions. They’re higher on assisted trades. For example, broker-assisted trades are $44.99 per trade, while trades conducted on the interactive voice response (IVR) system are $34.99 per trade.

FOREX Currency Trading

You can trade over 70 different currency pairs. Currency pairs trades in increments of 10,000 units (without the “#” symbol) are commission-free. (TD Ameritrade earns its fee on the spread.)

Currency pairs trades in increments of 1,000 units are subject to a commission of $0.10 per 1,000 units, with a minimum fee of $1.

Maximum leverage on Forex trades is 50:1 on major currency pairs, and 20:1 on exotic currency pairs.

TD Ameritrade Current Promotion Offer

To attract investors, TD Ameritrade is offering a promotion worth up to $600 if you open a self-directed brokerage account. The offer is tiered based on the amount of your deposit. It can include 60 days of commission-free trades, a cash bonus, or a combination of both.

TD Ameritrade Investing Tools and Features

TD Ameritrade’s self-directed investment brokerage platform provides tools and features for investors at every level of experience. Some of the more interesting ones include:

Overnight Trading

TD Ameritrade offers what they refer to as “24/5” trading. That means you can trade 24 hours a day, during regular business days, excluding holidays.

TD Ameritrade “thinkorswim”

This feature offers professional level trading technology, elite tools and insight generation. It provides streaming real-time data, customizable charts, and integrated one-click trading.

TD Ameritrade paperMoney

This is a virtual trading account, that lets you test trading strategies before committing real money. It provides you with a virtual margin account and a virtual IRA, each funded with “$100,000”.

Advanced Trading

This feature enables you to set rules to automatically trigger orders to help you manage risk. The feature is available for equities, ETFs, options, futures, Forex, and options on futures.

Investor Education Tools

TD Ameritrade offers a wealth of educational resources. This includes SwimLessons, instructional webcasts by former floor traders. You can check in every day to learn new technology tips and tricks to enhance your trading strategies. They also offer The Learning Center, providing tutorials, demos and how-tos to help you learn the ins and outs of the TD Ameritrade trading platform.

Technical Analysis

TD Ameritrade gives you access to more than 400 technical studies, ranging from resistance to candlestick and profile. You can also customize your charts by adding visuals, as well as build your own algorithms.

Mobile Trader App

TD Ameritrade’s Mobile Trader App is optimized for iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and Android smartphones and tablets. It offers the same features that are available on the desktop version, including analyzing trends, monitoring your positions, viewing real-time streaming quotes, and providing access to charts and technical analysis. You can even transfer cash to and from other accounts, as well as make free check deposits of up to $10,000 from your mobile device.

Now let’s take a look at TD Ameritrade’s managed portfolio options.

TD Ameritrade Essential Portfolios

Essential Portfolios is TD Ameritrade’s robo-advisor platform. If you’re not familiar with robo-advisors, they’re professionally managed low-cost, online, automated investing platforms. A portfolio is designed for you, based on your investment goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. The portfolio is periodically rebalanced to maintain target allocations.

Your only responsibility in the mix is to fund your account. It’s perfect for investors who want a well-diversified investment portfolio, but either lack the expertise, the time or the willingness to go the self-directed route.
TD Ameritrade Essential Portfolios offers the following features:

• Minimum initial investment: $5,000
• Accounts available: Individual and joint taxable accounts, trusts and traditional, Roth, rollover, SIMPLE and SEP IRAs
• Dividend reinvestment: Not provided; instead, dividends are swept into a cash account to assist with portfolio rebalancing
• Tax-loss harvesting: Available on all taxable accounts
• Advisory fees: 0.30% of assets under management

TD Ameritrade Essential Portfolios Investment Allocation

Essential Portfolios is managed through TD Ameritrade Investment Management, LLC. There are five different portfolio types, Conservative, Moderate, Moderate Growth, Growth and Aggressive. Each portfolio includes varying degrees of the following six asset classes:

• US Equity
• International Developed Equity
• Emerging Markets Equity
• US Bonds
• Non-US Bonds
• Cash

Each asset allocation is represented by one or more low-cost ETF’s. The funds are recommended by Morningstar, and are comprised primarily of those offered by Vanguard or BlackRock iShares. The portfolios do not use any of TD Ameritrade’s own proprietary funds.

The asset allocation for each portfolio is currently as follows (as of May 2018):

Asset Class	Conservative	Moderate	Moderate Growth	Growth	Aggressive
US Equity	13%	22%	29%	41%	51%
International Developed Equity	5%	9%	12%	18%	22%
Emerging Markets Equity	3%	5%	6%	9%	11%
US Bonds	70%	56%	46%	27%	13%
Non-US Bonds	8%	7%	6%	4%	2%
Cash	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%

TD Ameritrade doesn’t disclose the specific ETFs used to create each of the five portfolios. But unlike most robo-advisors, they do disclose the annual performance of each portfolio. You can find that information on the TD Ameritrade Essential Portfolios Performance Page.

TD Ameritrade Selective Portfolios

TD Ameritrade Selective Portfolios is a hybrid managed investment portfolio. When you participate in this portfolio, you have the option to work with a financial consultant, or you can select a portfolio that’s consistent with your investment goals, time horizon and risk tolerance.

TD Ameritrade Selective Portfolios offer the following features:

• Minimum initial investment: $25,000
• Accounts available: Individual and joint taxable accounts, trusts and traditional, Roth, rollover, SIMPLE and SEP IRAs
• Dividend reinvestment: Not provided; instead, dividends are swept into a cash account to assist with portfolio rebalancing
• Tax-loss harvesting: Available on all taxable accounts
• Advisory fees: 0.75% to 1.25% for the first $100,000

TD Ameritrade Selective Portfolios is actually comprised of four different portfolios:

• Core Portfolios (Core ETFs and Core Mutual Funds): A diversified portfolio made up of both mutual funds and ETF’s
• Supplemental Income Portfolios: Invested primarily in fixed income assets, with limited exposure to equities
• Opportunistic Portfolios: For investors who seek a tactical investment approach that seeks to exploit opportunities in changing market conditions
• Managed Risk Portfolios: Designed to produce moderate and consistent returns with low volatility

Each portfolio may also have a different allocation, depending upon your needs as the investor. For example, the Supplemental Income Portfolios have Conservative and Moderate allocations. The Conservative allocation has no exposure to equities, while the Moderate portfolio contains 17% equities.

By contrast, Opportunistic Portfolios offer only Moderate Growth and Aggressive portfolio options. Both allocations are invested primarily in equities, both domestic and international.

In the same manner as Essential Portfolios, TD Ameritrade provides investment results on the Selective Portfolios Performance Page.

Again, while TD Ameritrade does provide the asset allocations for each of the Selective Portfolios, they don’t provide the specific ETF’s and mutual funds that are used to represent those allocations.

TD Bank

One of the major advantages of working with a large, well-diversified financial institution is the availability of related services. If you open an account with TD Ameritrade, whether it’s for self-directed investing or for managed portfolio options, you will also have access to banking services through TD Bank.

TD Bank provides all the services you would expect out of a full-service bank. What’s more, they not only offer personal banking, but also both small business banking and commercial banking. If you’re self-employed, that will give you access to business loans and lines of credit, merchant solutions, payroll services and even a small business resource center.

For personal banking, TD Bank offers online banking, digital wallets and bill pay. In addition to checking and savings accounts, money markets and certificates of deposit, they also provide a full range of loan services that includes mortgages, home equity loans and lines, personal loans and credit cards.

TD Bank has more than 1,200 locations in 15 states in the eastern US. Branch operations are available from Maine to Florida. What’s more, TD Ameritrade has pioneered weekend banking. At most branches, they’re open on both Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, many branches also provide a financial consultant, who can help you with your investments.

TD Ameritrade Pros and Cons

TD Ameritrade Pros:

• TD Ameritrade provides you the choice of self-directed investing, managed investing, or a combination of both.
• Self-directed investing has no minimum initial investment, which is perfect for new and small investors.
• The wealth of tools and educational resources makes the platform suitable for all investment experience levels.
• 24/7 customer service availability.
• The additional availability of more than 360 local branches, as well as more than 1,200 bank branch locations.
• Tax-loss harvesting is available on all taxable accounts. There is no account minimum balance to qualify.
• You can bank where you invest, through TD bank.

TD Ameritrade Cons:

• Fees. TD Ameritrade isn’t the absolute least expensive investment platform, either for self-directed investing or for managed portfolios. It’s basic trading fee of $6.95 per trade is in the middle of the range. The Essential Portfolios advisory fee of 0.30% is slightly high for robo-advisors. The maximum fee of 1.25% on Selective Portfolios comes close to that charged by traditional investment managers.
• The minimum initial investments of $5,000 for Essential Portfolios and $25,000 for Selective Portfolios will be prohibitive for new and small investors.
• TD Ameritrade does not offer automatic reinvestment of dividends, though this does essentially happen through the rebalancing process.

Should You Open an Account with TD Ameritrade?

Considering all its advantages, and despite the cons, TD Ameritrade is one of the best overall investment platforms in the industry. They offer full-service investment capability, and discount broker price levels.

The ability to shift back and forth between self-directed investing and managed options–or to maintain both–is a major advantage. So is the tie-in with TD Bank, enabling investors to bank with the same company you invest with. The availability of hundreds of branches, in combination with 24/7 customer service is another major advantage. And let’s not forget about that promotion offer for new accounts.

If you’re looking for an investment platform that provides the widest range of services and features, at a reasonable price, TD Ameritrade needs to be considered.

For more information and to open up an account, check out TDAmeritrade.com.

Topics: Investing

The post TD Ameritrade 2018 Review – Cash Bonus and Free Trades appeared first on The Dough Roller.

from The Dough Roller https://ift.tt/2CuKXWZ