When investing in bonds, it’s important to:

1. Know when bonds mature. The maturity date is the date when your investment will be repaid to you. Before you commit your funds, know how long your investment will be tied up in the bond.
2. Know the bond’s rating. A bond’s rating is an indication of how creditworthy it is. The lower the rating, the more risk there is that the bond will default – and you lose your investment. AAA is the highest rating (using the Standard & Poor’s rating system). Any bond with a rating of C or below is considered a low quality or junk bond and has the highest risk of default.
3. Investigate the bond issuer’s track record. Knowing the background of a company can be helpful when deciding whether to invest in their bonds.
4. Understand your tolerance for risk. Bonds with a lower credit rating typically offer a higher yield to compensate for higher levels of risk. Think carefully about your risk tolerance and avoid investing solely based on yield.
5. Factor in macroeconomic risks. When interest rates rise, bonds lose value. Interest rate risk is the risk that rates will change before the bond reaches its maturity date. However, avoid trying to time the market; it’s difficult to predict how interest rates will move. Instead, focus on your long-term investment objectives. Rising inflation also poses risks for bonds.
6. Support your broader investment objectives. Bonds should help diversify your portfolio and counterbalance your investment in stocks and other asset classes. To make sure your portfolio is balanced appropriately, you may want to consult an asset allocation calculator based on age.
7. Read the prospectus carefully. If you’re investing in a bond fund, be sure to study the fees and analyze exactly what types of bonds are in the fund. The name of the fund may only tell part of the story; for example, sometimes government bond funds also include non-government bonds.
8. Use a broker who specializes in bonds. If you’re purchasing individual bonds, choose a firm that knows the bond market. Use FINRA BrokerCheck to help find trustworthy professionals that can help you open a brokerage account.
9. Learn about any fees and commissions. Your broker can help break down the fees associated with your investment.

What are the benefits of investing in bonds?

Bonds offer a host of advantages:

• Capital preservation: Capital preservation means protecting the absolute value of your investment via assets that promise return of principal. Because bonds typically carry less risk than stocks, these assets can be a good choice for investors with less time to recoup losses.
• Income generation: Bonds provide a fixed amount of income at regular intervals in the form of coupon payments.
• Diversification: Investing in a balance of stocks, bonds and other asset classes can help you build a portfolio that seeks returns but is resilient through all market environments. Stocks and bonds typically have an inverse relationship, meaning that when the stock market is down, bonds become more appealing.
• Risk management: Fixed income is broadly understood to carry lower risk than stocks. This is because fixed income assets are generally less sensitive to macroeconomic risks, such as economic downturns and geopolitical events.
• Invest in a community: Municipal bonds allow you to give back to a community. While these bonds may not provide the higher yield of a corporate bond, they often are used to help build a hospital or school or that can improve the standard of living for many people.

What are the risks associated with investing in bonds?

As with any investment, buying bonds also entails risks:

• Interest rate risk: When interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and the bonds that you currently hold can lose value. Interest rate movements are the major cause of price volatility in bond markets.
• Inflation risk: Inflation is the rate at which the price of goods and services rises over time. If the rate of inflation outpaces the fixed amount of income a bond provides, the investor loses purchasing power.
• Credit risk: Credit risk (also known as business risk or financial risk) is the possibility that an issuer could default on its debt obligation.
• Liquidity risk: Liquidity risk is the possibility that an investor might wish to sell a bond but is unable to find a buyer.
• Stocks tend to earn more money than bonds. In the period 1928-2010, stocks averaged a return of 11.3%; bonds returned on average 5.28%.
• Bonds freeze your investment for a fixed period of time. For example, if you buy a 10-year-bond, you can’t redeem it for 10 years. This creates the potential for your initial investment to lose value. Stocks, on the other hand, can be sold at any time.

You can manage these risks by diversifying your investments within your portfolio.

References:

1. https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/education/how-to-invest-in-bonds

Building Wealth, along with good health and emotional well-being, can be viewed as an important component for a happy life.

However, it is important to remember that wealth cannot by itself buy or guarantee happiness or love, but it can help us get peace of mind. It can offer us the freedom to do what we enjoy (which can lead to happiness), and let us take care of our physical, emotional and mental well-being.

Wealth means having enough personal capital to achieve financial freedom, to do what you want, when you want.

Here are three keys to successfully building wealth:

• • Wealth Building Mindset: Life is measured by the value we create for others –our family and friends, stakeholders, and society at large – and the useful things we do in life. For instance, Warren Buffett still makes a lot of personal wealth each year but donates 99 percent of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Wealth gives us the freedom to make the world (or even a tiny portion of it) better. It enables us to let our family members live a life of comfort. Yet, creating wealth is not an end in itself, but a means to an end, which is to make life better for ourselves and others and for making an impact in the world.
  • Continue to learn and grow (know your “circle of competence”): Just because you invested in the market doesn’t mean the market is obligated to generate wealth for you. It’s your duty to improve yourself continuously. The best ways to do this are to study the history of investing, to learn the strategies of successful investing and to sharpen your circle of competence. The market functions to an extent like Nature does – according to its own rules, regulations, laws and sentiment. It’s your duty to build the required skills to succeed in the market and build your “circle of competence,” a term coined by Warren Buffett. In his 1996 letter to shareholders, Buffett explained: “You don’t have to be an expert on every company, or even many. You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence. The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital.” A circle of competence is a subject area that matches our skill or expertise. To be successful, we must leverage it, which means we must focus on depth in specific areas that we understand well instead of superficial breadth. Understanding your circle of competence helps you avoid problems, learn from others, and make better decisions. That’s when the market yields to you and lets you generate wealth.
  • Mindset, Focus, Patience and Discipline are quintessential traits: The market is volatile and will always remain volatile. And, you won’t last in it ifii you cannot handle the market’s volatility and manage your emotions. Doing this means reining in knee-jerk reactions and instead, building long-term perspectives and sticking to them. This is why mindset, focus, patience and discipline are your best friends if you want to generate long-term wealth. You must become immune to impulsive emotions of fear and greed, learn to temper the craziness around you, and to focus on the long term. When you learn to rein impulsive emotions, you build: 1) The astuteness to identify valuable businesses worth investing in, 2) The discipline to buy them at attractive prices, and, 3) The wisdom to stay the course when the majority of the market changes direction impulsively.

It’s been the patient, disciplined and focused on the long term investors that has had the best success building wealth over the long term

References:

1. https://www.smevalueadvisors.com/blog/index.php/wealth-creation/

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a coenzyme found in every living cell in your body.

Nicotinamide riboside fuels your body from within.

Your health starts with your cells. Everything you do in life depends on the constant cycle of using and regenerating energy throughout your cells. Scientists have known for decades the importance of a coenzyme (a molecule that binds with proteins) called NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) plays a vital role in the processes of your body. NAD+ helps create cellular energy and support cellular repair throughout your trillions of cells—and organs—throughout your body.

Your NAD+ supply declines with age as well as in response to stressors on your body including alcohol consumption, intense exercise, and lack of sleep. However, in 2004, Dr. Charles Brenner discovered a naturally-occurring vitamin in milk called nicotinamide riboside. This micronutrient increases NAD+ levels by 40-50%.

While nicotinamide riboside can be found naturally in certain foods, you cannot get anywhere near the amount you need through a normal diet to effectively increase NAD+.

A coenzyme is a small non-protein molecule that works with an enzyme to speed up a specific chemical reaction.

Coenzymes and enzymes are like two peas in a pod. You have thousands of enzymes in your body, each working as a catalyst for a different biological function.

For example, amylase (saliva) breaks down carbohydrates into smaller molecules in order to be easily digested by your stomach and small intestine.

However, enzymes don’t just break down molecules. They help build molecules as well. You see one of the best examples of this in cellular energy production, where important enzymes work alongside NAD+ to help produce your body’s energy.

Why is NAD+ important?

NAD’s primary function is in your cells’ mitochondria. Mitochondria are often called ”the powerhouse of the cell.” They earn this nickname because of their ability to produce energy for all of your cellular functions. 90% of your body’s energy is made from your mitochondria.

NAD+ is the ignition to these continuous power turbines, the mitochondria. They help kickstart your “cellular engines.”

Without it, cellular energy production would come to an abrupt halt. You need NAD+ to keep you breathing air into your lungs and pumping blood into your heart.

How does NAD+ help in energy production?

There are several ways your cells and mitochondria produce energy. However, the most efficient way is a process called the electron transport chain.

NAD+ loosely binds with the mitochondrial enzymes through covalent bonds.But this bond is temporary, breaking after NAD+ transfers electrons with the enzymes.

These electrons help catalyze a chemical reaction, triggering the production of cellular energy. It’s called a chain because multiple enzymes work together like an assembly line, passing the electrons down to the following enzyme.

NAD+ participates in this process by acting as a delivery mechanism, donating and accepting negatively-charged electrons to and from several enzymes that sit patiently in the mitochondrial membrane.

NAD+ essentially powers your mitochondria. Without it, the electron transport chain would not start. Like an abandoned factory, the enzymes in the mitochondrial membrane would remain unused and barren.

How does NAD+ help in cellular repair?

NAD+ has other roles with other enzymes in the cell as well. For example, sirtuins and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) are classes of enzymes that require NAD+.

Sirtuins are the regulators of the cell, while PARPs play an active role in DNA repair.

Things like overeating, drinking, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, can all cause damage to your cells. Your sirtuins and PARPs are vital to repair the damage.

How do we get NAD?

Coenzymes are either naturally created in the body or provided in the form of vitamins. However, not all vitamins are treated the same.

Some vitamins, like folic acid and vitamin Bs, help the body produce coenzymes by providing the building blocks to construct them.

Other vitamins like Vitamins C and E require no assembly; they act on their own, in this case, as antioxidants.

NAD+ is naturally produced by every cell in your body. Methods such as fasting and exercise can increase the production of NAD.

But NAD+ gets its primary building material from foods with vitamin B3. Cow’s milk, mushroom, fish, green vegetables, and yeast are all sources of vitamin B3 that can help construct more NAD+ in your body.

NAD+ is not a great standalone supplement.
Direct supplementation of the molecule NAD+ is only modestly effective due to its inability to enter cells directly.

A paper in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology shows that your body breaks orally administered NAD+ down to smaller molecules in order to be used.

Once in the cell, they will need to be reassembled again. This breakdown and reassembly require extra energy and time, making direct supplementation of NAD+ an inefficient way to boost your body’s NAD+ levels.

Taking vitamin B3 is the best way to boost NAD+ levels.

The best way to increase your NAD+ is through vitamin B3 supplements. Vitamin B3s are NAD+ precursors, meaning they are smaller molecules used as building blocks to create NAD. There are three main forms of vitamin B3: niacin, nicotinamide, and nicotinamide riboside (NR).

• Niacin (NA), the earliest form of vitamin B3 used for commercial purposes, is the easiest to find and is most commonly found. However, niacin isn’t the most favorable vitamin B3 because it can cause the unwanted side effect of flushing (redness of the face) at high doses.
• In contrast, nicotinamide (NAM) has no visible side effects. But a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows nicotinamide inhibits sirtuins, an important class of enzymes that promote cellular repair.
• Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is the latest addition to the vitamin B3 family. Although related, NR is structurally and biochemically different from niacin and nicotinamide.

NR’s novel discovery as a vitamin became a critical turning point in NAD+ research because of its unique property of elevating NAD+ levels far more efficiently than its vitamin B3 predecessors.

To date, NR reports no attributable adverse effects during published clinical trials.

References:

1. https://www.truniagen.com/science/
2. https://www.truniagen.com/blog/science-101/what-is-nad/
3. https://www.truniagen.com/blog/our-ingredient/is-nicotinamide-riboside-really-an-anti-aging-supplement/