Finance Question

1. As part of your planning, how can you estimate what you can expect from Social Security as a contribution to your retirement income? 

Find this answer by going to http://www.ssa.gov/retire2. Using the menus at this site, find out your retirement age. How many credits toward Social Security do you have now? How many do you expect to accumulate over your working life? Use one of the benefit calculators to find your estimated Social Security benefit. How much could you receive monthly? Would you be able to live on your Social Security alone? How much more would you need to save for? What would happen if you continued to work or went back to work after taking your retirement benefit? What would happen if you took your benefit before your full retirement age?

2. What is a venture capitalist? Watch noted venture capitalist (or VC) and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1etQC2-Vg_s.  What three top pieces of advice does he give to new ventures seeking equity investment? According to http://www.investorwords.com/212/angel_investor.html , what is an angel investor?

3. Compare and contrast equity investment opportunities in relation to market capitalization. Start by reading Forbes Magazine’s article on the “Best 100 Mid-Cap Stocks in America” at http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/25/best-midcap-stocks-07midcapscx_bz_0925midcap_land.html . Click on one or more of the “top 10” and read about those companies. According to Forbes, what is the advantage of investing in mid cap stocks? Now go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) page on micro cap stocks, also known as penny stocks, at http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/microcapstock.htm . How are micro cap stocks traded? Why might investors be attracted to micro cap stocks? According to the government, what are four reasons that investors should be wary of micro caps? What is a “pump and dump” scheme?