Finance Tips

Even though one does not start a business with the intention of closing in mind, it is helpful to have a strategy on how to officially close it, if and when need arise. There are many issues that may push an entrepreneur to close down a business, some are social, others are legal, while others are finance related. Whatever the reason for the closedown, there are steps that one must carefully consider before declaring the business officially closed.

Much of what needs to be done may depend on the type of business ownership. This is because, when there are more stakeholders, decision making may be biased and may bring up a lot of protocol. One of the most important things to do is to vote for the close of the business. If the enterprise involves more than one overseer or director, minutes of the meeting in which it was decided that the business would be closed should be taken and filed as well as presented to the major stakeholders.

This will show that it was decided without controversy that the venture would head down that road. If your business is registered with the Small Business Development agency, you have to inform them that you are officially closed. The next thing is to cancel or to go back to your books of accounts and see which creditors need to be paid, the pending bills as well as all other dues that need to be taken care of. These will include taxes and all outstanding debts. Continue reading ‘What It Entails To Close Business Officially’ »

Investment securities have come a long way and they have a very long history. Mutual funds in particular have been in existence for such a long time that there is now only speculation about their date of inception into the stock market. They are believed to have been launched in 1822 by King Williams in the Netherlands.

King Williams is believed to have begun a pool of funds with the aim of bringing business people together to enlarge their investment prospective. His idea was right and it has now given birth to so many types of securities under mutual funds. They have performed well over the years and more is yet to come because more and more people are investing in them each day.

The idea of pooling resources spread across Great Britain and France in the early 1840s. Close to the end of this century, the mutual funds had become a common phenomenon in Scotland, Switzerland and the United States. In the US, the growth of the funds was propelled by the establishment of The Boston Property Trust, which was formed in 1893. With time, modern ways of investing and managing the pool came up and this is when the Alexander fund was formed. Continue reading ‘Mutual Funds History’ »