Top picks from Carnival of Investing #46: Learn something new

Personal finance

This week’s Carnival of Investing has been posted at My 1st Million at 33. I contributed last week’s post on REIT ETFs, but becoming an investor is nothing if not an ongoing learning activity, and the investment universe is impossible for one person to cover. So, why not see what others have to say? Below are some other posts that were contributed this week that taught me something I didn’t know:

  • A comparison of : I wasn’t aware of the existence of NYU’s art market index. This brief article does a nice job explaining the two classes and the realities of investing in the latter.
  • How to : A nice explanation of how using a margin account carefully and with discipline might lead to better returns on your cash. I use a version of this tactic with Schwab but hadn’t considered it a “strategy” until now. Most of my money is sitting in a money market account (earning around 4.79%…not great, but it’s convenient), and only after I place a trade order do I move the money into my cash account before the trade settlement date. Schwab isn’t mentioned in the list, but the post lists strategies for other brokerages.
  • A nice anecdotal post about Intuit’s consistently cyclical performance (INTU). I wouldn’t buy a stock just based on the post, but it’s a fast and fun read. Reminds me of Prepaid Legal (PPD), which apparently became the “cash generator” for the Accounting department at school because it, too, had a predictable cyclical performance for a while.
  • Understanding are things I hadn’t really considered. The post contains a couple of useful links to the SEC and a Barron’s article ranking various brokers. I’ll have to re-read that SEC article later this evening when I have more time.
  • For those investing in gold, there might be a better way to structure your tax filing: Yet another post covering a topic I hadn’t considered before today. I don’t own any gold at the moment, though.
  • Plenty more where those came from, so be sure to check out the carnival and see what tickles your fancy and your mind.

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