Securities Market Line

The following is a quick list of some of the really good small investments which you can make as of today. A very quick overview of the significant pros and cons, and some of the really good features of the options have also been discussed. Take a look…

1. Government Bonds and Other Treasury Bills
One of the best ways of stowing away small amounts of money for shorter time periods is into treasury bills and bond. Treasury, bills, notes, bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), I Savings, EE/E Savings are some of the best channels, most of which require about only $100 minimum investment. The advantage of such an investment option is that you can pay off the investment and wait till it matures, whereupon you can enjoy the returns. Some of these bonds and State government bonds and municipal bonds are some similar investments.

2. Common Stock, Corporate Bonds and Debentures
There are three types of contributions to the capital of a company. Common stock, corporate bonds and debentures are some of the common ones. All the three can be traded freely, and bonds and debentures also have a certain maturity or expiration dates upon which a certain accumulated interest is also paid off as a return on the same. The bonds and debentures are perfect investments, all you have to do is invest into them and wait for the returns. On the other hand, stocks or rather shares are the investments where you need to keep a tab on the prices of shares in which you have invested.

3. Systematic Investment Plans and Collective Investment Schemes
The Systematic Investment Plans (SIP) and Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) are professionally managed plans, such as mutual funds wherein you need to invest small sums of money periodically in the fund. In case of SIP, the amount that is to be invested, is not specified or mandatory, in fact for certain years, one may not even invest anything. The Collective Investment Schemes on the other hand have a certain mandatory investment is to be invested every year. Read the rest of this entry »

Before we get started, do you know who discovered the mere exposure effect? It was Robert Zanjonc, a social psychologist, who advocated the effect of a stimuli on a person that he was repeatedly exposed to. He said that when someone was exposed to a stimuli, with every exposure, the person was liable to become more familiar with the stimuli and fear it less than before, until a point is reached when the person does not react negatively on being exposed to the stimuli. It may also be said that the subject starts exhibiting positive reactions to the stimuli. This theory was applied more universally, than being specific to the effects of advertising, and pointed towards the cognition and affect relationship between the subject and stimuli. An experiment conducted by Professor Charles Goetzinger, in 1968, at the Oregon State University affirmed this theory. The experiment showed how human psychology works and reacts when an external stimuli is introduced in the environment. It starts with hostility and soon turns to inquisitiveness, eventually encouraging the subjects to adopt a more positive attitude towards it, following repeated exposure. When you have more face time with a product, prompted through advertising, you become familiar with it even before you have bought it. Constant exposure through television advertisements, print advertisements in journals and magazines, billboard advertising and even online ads create the effect that advertising is aiming for.

One of the best examples of the mere exposure effect is, as a matter of fact, advertising. However, take the example of online advertising itself, when you are surfing through a website and stop by at a particular web page, there is a high probability that there is at least one ad on it. It may be a flashy banner or a simple text ad of a few words. However, you cannot negate the fact that you are aware of what that ad is advertising. You cannot ignore an ad when it suddenly pops between the text that you are reading. In fact, the more attractive the online ad is, the more you are likely to get distracted by it and spend time viewing it. Over time, as a person repeatedly views the ad, he will expectedly show more inclination to the product that was advertised as compared to other products that he may not be familiar with at all. However, the mere exposure effect in advertising is not all that rosy. It comes with its cons. Although, advertising may successfully expose the product or service to more prospective buyers, it brings with it more associations which may or may not always be favorable. You ultimately end up buying what you really liked about the product, based on your perception of its advertisement, your need for the product and/or reviews from other sources. This is not totally contradictory to the previous statements. Advertising can indeed only entice you to make a purchase and in the end, it is up to the consumer’s buying decision to take that step. Read the rest of this entry »