Talking about investment styles almost always culminates in the age-old debate around growth or value, and which is the most profitable. Many analyses of investing approaches rest on the inherent duality – or perhaps dichotomy – between the two. Investment managers are often firm believers in one or the other and rarely a mix of both or somewhere in between. Jack Plotkin, a former investment banking strategist with Goldman Sachs, describes the differences between value and growth stocks and why one would choose one over the other.

Growth stocks are those that the investing public believes can outperform the market because of their potential for growth over a period of time. For that to happen, a company either has to have a product or a line of products that are expected to do well on the market, or it appears to be run better than their competitors. “It’s in the name,” says Plotkin. “Growth stocks are growing quickly, meaning the underlying companies are ramping up revenues, grabbing markets, innovating products. We see growth in rapidly evolving sectors, like cloud technology, digital entertainment, and biotech.”

Value stocks, on the other hand, are those that analysts feel have been undervalued by the market, being traded at the prices below their intrinsic worth based on fundamental ratios and benchmarks. Jack Plotkin, who worked at Goldman Sachs for nearly a decade, notes that those are usually larger, mature companies that either have a slow anticipated growth trajectory or have fallen out of favor. They may have reached critical mass or are part of a low growth industry. Still, value managers are ready to bet that the market has overestimated the severity of their setbacks and that they will bounce back. “Value stocks tend to be in sleepier industries, like utilities and consumer staples, and they tend to throw off a dividend,” says Plotkin. “Value stocks is what growth stocks typically turn into once their industry matures and settles down into more predictable financial patterns.”

Growth vs. Value; two sides of the same coin

Jack Plotkin notes that growth and value are two opposing poles of the investment world. Growth stocks generally have high price-to-earnings multiples because investors expect explosive growth moving forward and are willing to pay a premium for that anticipated growth. By contrast, value stocks have low price multiples that reflect their slower growth trajectories and that may be representative of an undervaluing by the broader market.

In addition, growth stocks are usually linked to higher volatility as they depend more on the overall health of the economy. “It’s like the tortoise and the hare,” says Plotkin. “The hare generates all that excitement, but the hare is unpredictable and therefore risky. That’s your growth stock. By contrast, the tortoise is slow and steady, it has done this a hundred times before and will do it a hundred times again. It’s not as fast, not as sexy, but it’s more of a sure thing. That’s a value stock.”

If an investor cares about stability, in terms of both appreciation and dividends, value stocks are a safer bet. By the same token, growth stocks provide the best opportunity to quickly realize a significant gain. “A growth stock can appreciate in six months as much as a value stock appreciates in six years,” says Plotkin. “But it can also lose more in six months than a value stock ever does. That’s your trade-off, in a nutshell.”

The performance difference

As far as comparative performance, growth stocks tend to do better during economic expansion while value stocks perform better during recessions. “Buy growth for the upside, value for the resilience,” says Plotkin. “Also consider your time horizon. Value does better over multiple decades, but growth can be a rocket over 5-year horizons if you time it well. But these are just rules of thumb. I can show you winners and losers in both value and growth over any time horizon.”

In recent times, growth has outperformed value. Over the first half of 2020, Morningstar U.S. Growth and U.S. Value indices have had contrasting returns, namely a 14.9% gain versus a 18.5% decline. This highlights a paradigm shift, whereby a pandemic-induced crisis upended conventional wisdom as growth stocks, powered by tech giants who had little or no issues with lockdowns, easily shook off the March losses. Value stocks, on the other hand, took a fall as many traditional industries sharply declined as a result of the virus. Even over longer terms, growth stocks have been doing better even over a longer term. One study, conducted over the last 25 years by UK-based Brewin Dolphin, has shown growth beating value by a 1,072 to 624 score in terms of percentage return.

“The problem with historical analyses is that they are not always the best predictor of future returns,” says Plotkin. “Growth has outperformed value over the last couple decades, in part because you had two massive bull markets and tech booms, first with the internet and then again with mobile. Moving forward we may well be staring into the teeth of a protracted downturn and value might do better than expected.”

Jack Plotkin and the bottom line

In general, investors tend to be drawn toward either value or growth. Some people like the risk and thrill of trying to pick the next star in an emerging industry while others prefer the certainty of steady growth and consistent dividends. “The most accomplished investors know how to pair growth and value strategies for a balanced portfolio and strong returns across the range of market conditions,” says Plotkin. “It’s the equivalent of being ambidextrous. Regardless of the volley the market sends your way, you can take it on either the backhand or the forehand.”

Sales tax is tax that is paid to a governing body, for the sales of certain goods and services. It is collected by a retailer when the final sale in the supply chain happens, with only the end consumers paying the tax most of the time (businesses get resale certificates for any in-between stages).

Sales tax makes everything anyone buys a little more expensive, and it’s not just state sales taxes you need to keep in mind when looking at which states have the most or least. Some counties and cities also charge sales tax, which needs to be added on to find the overall amount. Some states have cut out sales tax entirely.

Lowest sales tax states

There are 5 states that do not have any statewide sales taxes, being:

• Alaska
• Delaware
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• Oregon

While these states don’t charge any state sales tax, Alaska does allow localities to charge local sales taxes, but the average state rate is still relatively low – at 1.76%. 

Rounding up the top 11 states with the lowest tax rates, all under 5%, are:

• Colorado
• Wyoming 
• Alabama
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• New York

Colorado has a 2.9% state tax, while all the rest are joint at 4% state sales tax.

States with the highest sales tax

In some cases, these rates get so high that shoppers will go out of their way and drive across state lines in order to shop somewhere with lower sales tax rates:

• California: 7.25%
• Indiana: 7%
• Mississippi: 7%
• Rhode Island: 7%
• Tennessee: 7%
• Minnesota: 6.875%
• Nevada: 6.85%

What items get taxed?

Most states exempt essential household items, such as food, clothing and prescription items, from being taxed, to be fair to all citizens. But, many states have taxes for certain purchases such as tobacco, alcohol, beverages and gasoline. Taxes on tobacco and alcohol, as well as gambling, are often referred to as sin taxes. New Hampshire charges a hefty amount on tobacco products – a pack of 20 cigarettes equates to an extra $1.78, and a pack of 25 cigarettes is an extra $2.23. Wyoming is great for sin taxes, though – with the lowest beer tax in the whole of the U.S., at half a cent per litre.

Local state sales taxes

Thirty eight states allow local counties and cities to impose their own additional sales taxes. While California does have the overall highest states sales tax rate, the combined state and local sales tax rates for Tennessee reaches 9.53% in some areas: the highest combined rate in the country, which is why it’s so important to look at sales tax rates overall, and not just state sales tax, although those do give you a good idea of which states have lower and higher sales taxes. Not far behind are the following, as of 2020:

• Arkansas: 9.47%
• Louisiana: 9.52%
• Alabama: 9.22%
• Washington: 9.21%
• New York 8.875%

Don’t base decisions solely on sales taxes

Many people only look at certain taxes when considering where they would like to relocate to, or live in retirement. If you’re looking at state and local sales taxes, while it is true that they can take a bit out of your income, often the states with lower sales tax rates have other ways of taking money from individuals. States with lower sales tax can have very high income tax rates, and this is the case with Oregon. On the other hand, Tennessee has the highest state sales tax but no wage income tax, so it depends on you personally.

TRUiC has a useful sales tax calculator to help you work out taxes. Visit this site for more.

What is an EIN?

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a nine-digit number assigned to businesses by the IRS. It is used to identify taxpayers who need to file tax returns. Though the primary reason for getting an EIN for many people is for tax purposes, it can help you to do so much else. For your business, an EIN is just as important as having an SSN for yourself. 

To learn more on ‘what is an EIN’ and how to get one, visit TRUiC’s site; they have a range of useful information.

Do I need an EIN?

For some businesses, an EIN is a tax requirement. If you don’t get it, you are endangering your business and could face hefty fines, which could even end up impacting your personal life. If you fall into any of these categories, you’ll need to get an EIN:

• You have employees
• You’re a corporation/LLC taxed as a corporation
• You’re a multi-member LLC
• You bought or inherited your business
• You have a Keogh plan
• You need to file for bankruptcy

Even if you don’t meet any of the above descriptions, there are good reasons to get one anyway. In fact, you could face many disadvantages from not getting an EIN. And the good thing about getting an EIN is that it’s completely free anyway.

Tax penalties

If you don’t get an EIN and you’re required to, as mentioned above, you could face tax penalties. It’s a good idea to do your research beforehand, and not wait until the last few days – the IRS can take up to five weeks to give you an EIN. 

Furthermore, if you don’t have an  EIN, for certain types of tax deductions, such as home office deductions for businesses, your chances of an IRS audit decrease if you have an EIN. 

Identity theft

If you don’t have an EIN, you will be more susceptible to identity theft. An EIN separates your personal finances from your business finances. If you have an EIN, you won’t need to provide your own SSN to clients or vendors – instead you can give them your EIN. This means your SSN stays more private, lowering chances of a thief stealing it and getting access to your possessions. The problem of stolen SSNs affects millions of people every year in the U.S.

Loss of potential customers and business

For many small businesses the loss of even one potential customer can make a huge difference to a business. Having that customer could even be the difference between whether or not the business goes under. 

You might be thinking, how does having an EIN affect this? Well, having an EIN gives your business a sense of credibility, and signifies that you have a serious business going on – not just some side gig. Sometimes having just an SSN can even make business owners seem as though they are not really official, and can quit at any time. Having an EIN tells customers, as well as yourself, that you are doing serious business – more than just a hobby, especially if you’re a sole proprietor doing something like freelance writing. 

Piercing the corporate veil

A corporate veil is a legal concept that metaphorically symbolises the distinction between the company you have, as a separate legal entity, and the shareholders who own shares in the company. If you have a business in which the business is a separate legal entity – for instance an LLC or a corporation, not having an EIN could mean you end up piercing the corporate veil. This means that the shareholders, rather than the company, are liable for anything the company does. So, your limited liability instantly vanishes. Having an EIN is a great way to prevent this. This means you can open a business bank account and also build up business credit and take out business loans. The key word here is business – even filing business taxes is easier when all spending is in one place. If both finances are in one place, you can easily confuse the two and lose limited liability.

Finding the right person to list your home or help you on a search to buy a new one can be daunting. There are dozens of real estate agents in any community, and since your decision to buy and sell can be lifechanging, you definitely need to pick the right agent for the job. Here are some hallmark identifiers of a successful real estate agent.

Local Experience and Knowledge

If someone is new to town, they aren’t going to know all about the school districts or where the closest communities are to transportation hubs. You don’t want a beginner helping you find your dream home. A local agent will experience may grab your attention through real estate prospecting postcards. This local form of advertising may be worth a second look.

Strong Organizational Skills

When you speak to an agent, you want to know that they are truly listening to what you say. They could drag you around from house to house, but if none of these homes have the details or designs that you are looking for, it is nothing more than a waste of time. A successful real estate agent will note the wants and needs of the client when looking at properties, sorting them into priorities and affordability.

Reliable Connections

When you fall in love with a home, you want to know that your agent is going to get the job done. Whether it be the negotiations with the listing agent or arranging for signing at a title company, your agent should have reliable connections and a strong reputation in the field among his or her peers. Agents that can work well with others get the job done faster and with less headache.

Don’t launch your dreams of a perfect home to a real estate agent without checking them out beforehand. You want a partner in the process, not a stressor.

The start of 2020 not only brought a new decade, but it also brought a new mysterious pneumonia-like virus outbreak known as the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). With the number of cases continuously increasing daily, the World Health Organization declared the novel COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. Millions of people worldwide have been affected in one way or another by this outbreak. With over 4.2 million+ confirmed cases around the globe, it’s apparent that the outbreak is moving quickly and spreading rapidly. 

Some countries are currently experiencing a rapid rise in new cases. Meanwhile, in others, the rate of growth has slowed after leaders have instituted nationwide lockdowns, leading to a battered world economy. As a result, many businesses around the world were forced to change their working conditions and some even had to shut down. However, that doesn’t mean things will be like this forever and it doesn’t mean your marketing and creative engine has to grind to a hault.  By engaging a company to help with your work on an outsourced basis, you save financially while consistently moving your marketing engine forward.  Flocksy is the premier outsource creative, content and marketing platform, that engages only professional creatives. With this service, you can not only create a game plan, and utilize various marketing strategies, but also support your business while it is in a transition of any kind.  Re-opening takes planning, time, effort, and the proper deployment of both inbound and outbound marketing.  By utilizing a custom service on a retainer-basis, you can engineer your growth, remain consistent with your customers, and reap the rewards from your hard work. 

The main goals of a successful re-opening digital marketing strategy should be to build consumer confidence through clear communications that set and manage expectations related to your business operations. Best customer communications practices include:

• Use multiple communication channels to ensure your message is widely received and reinforced.
• Create and share a FAQ document to address the most common questions regarding your health and safety practices and other important changes to your daily operations.
• Be prepared to listen and respond to customer comments and inquiries quickly.

Develop a reopening digital marketing strategy that addresses each of your online channels such as your website, your social media, online advertising, and your Google My Business profile(s).

Step 1: Optimize Your Google My Business Profile

Over 5 billion search queries are performed daily on Google search. Google specifically built its Google My Business platform to help local businesses attract customers. A properly optimized Google My Business profile is proven to help achieve a top Google search rankings and directly attract customers. Therefore, optimizing and maintaining your Google My Business profile should be pivotal part of your re-opening strategy.

Step 2: Update Your Website in Key Places

After seeing your Google My Business page and your recent Google Posts, your customers should have the confidence that your website has the same information to match. On your website, you can offer expanded content pinpointing specific operational shifts your customers may expect.

For critical operational updates or promotional offers, consider adding copy where it’s most likely to be seen. Review heatmap or clickmap data to determine what sections of your website maximize exposure of your message. Consider adding a pop-up message to capture attention and eliminate confusion. It may mean the difference between more revenue or less.

Finally, if you have specific and developing information about your business, whether this is health and safety-related or new reopening guidelines, an important digital marketing strategy tip is to create a separate page or section on your website and direct visitors to it.

This can be accomplished through a pop-up, a link on your main navigation, or a link or banner from critical pages. This grabs customers’ interest and makes sure they know all the details when it comes to your reopening. If the information is health and safety-related, this gives you the chance to make your customers feel comfortable about returning to your business as you reopen.

Step 3: Update Your Social Profiles

Today, customers expect a business’ social media to be the most accurate and up-to-date resource for operational changes. Your social media profiles may very well be the “front door” for customers online because each channel serves content in a chronological timeline. The date of your most recent update shows your level of activity to keep customers informed through your reopening.

To implement a strong digital marketing strategy, first, audit your social profiles – make sure you know what profiles represent your business online. Consider:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Yelp

Not only is it important to be prepared, but it’s also important to learn how to adapt and make changes where necessary. As a business owner, you need to be able to respond and adjust your strategy accordingly. Flocksy can help you update your digital marketing materials quickly and affordably. They offer web development, graphic design, copywriting and video production.

Normalcy is not going to happen overnight. In fact, “normal” for you moving forward may look very different from what it looked like before the coronavirus pandemic. Your journey back to the volume of customers you had before may take time, but all your business can do is keep learning, growing, and evolving as new information becomes available. It’s important to continuously research, learn, and adapt so that your business can be the best it can be.

Traveling is one of the most enjoyable things you can do by yourself, with friends, or with your family. You create memories, see new places, and experience activities that you can’t at home. However, it can be dangerous at times. 

For tourists, the most common crimes experienced are theft by pickpocketing, scams or being overcharged, credit card fraud, and physical assault. To avoid these issues, use our tips on ways to travel safely. 

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Be Mindful What You Post 

Going on vacation is a once a year event for most of us. It’s natural to want to post all your amazing photos on your social media, but you could be putting yourself at risk. 

One online blog article explains that you’re vulnerable to getting your home broken into and robbed when you do this. It might be a better idea to save your pictures and post them when you return. 

Whether or not you post before you leave for vacation, make sure your house is secure. Leaving one light on while you’re away is an excellent way to make potential burglars think there’s someone home. 

Don’t Draw Attention to Yourself 

We’re all guilty of buying new clothes before we travel. You pack your bags with your favorite pieces and things you might not normally wear. 

However, when you go out dressed to impress, it makes you a target for theft. If you have children and they bring their most up to date devices with them, this can also draw attention. 

It’s better to dress more casually and leave anything you’d be seriously upset about losing at home. 

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Don’t Trust Public Wifi

Restaurants or stores use free wifi signs to get you to come in. Although this is convenient when traveling, it can be a hotspot for an identity thief to attack.  

When you log in on public wifi, hackers can access your phone and can see your banking app, including your account information and your social security number. Any other important work or personal information that’s on the device can be stolen too. 

Trust Your Feelings 

Intuition can save you from bad situations when traveling. Whenever you go somewhere, and you don’t like the vibe, you need to leave immediately. There’s a reason why you feel this way, and you should trust it. 

Try to stay in places that are well lit, and with other people around. Never go somewhere alone with someone you just met because you never know their intentions. Be mindful of how much alcohol you’re drinking because it can impair your judgment. 

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Invest in Travel Insurance 

Even if you’re only going away for a week, travel insurance can come to save the day when something terrible happens. Depending on the plan you buy, you’ll be covered if something happens with your flights, you’re robbed, you have to go to the hospital, or your bags are lost at the airport. 

It’s normal to go on a trip and never have to use your travel insurance. However, it’s better to be protected than have something go wrong and have to sort it all out on your own. 

The Bottom Line 

Traveling is one of the best things in life, but you need to remember to stay safe. You want to come home with memorable stories that you can continue telling for the years, not nightmares that will haunt you. 

Use our tips to travel safely, and you’ll be all set for your next big trip. 

The use of third-party logistics has become an increasingly important part of the global economy as the world becomes more connected through the use of the internet. This has become especially relevant with the modern explosion in online shopping, which relies on a well-connected network of shipment and storage logistics in order to move goods from manufacturers to customers. To gain a better understanding of this important field, we turned to information from Freight Hub Group, a leader in third-party logistics. Look to the below information to better understand how goods make their way along a typical supply chain.

Order fulfillment

One important part of many supply chains is order fulfillment. Since many goods are housed at warehouses operated by third-party logistics companies, these companies are often involved in the process of delivering goods to customers. Otherwise said, it is not typical for a representative from a company that sells a product to visit a third-party warehouse whenever a customer order is placed. Instead, it is often expected that the warehouse operator will receive the order and handle the process of retrieving the item from storage and passing it along the supply chain to the customer.

This process relies on robust communication between a third-party logistics company and its clients. For instance, when a relationship is first established between these companies, a client will often fill out documentation detailing how goods should be handled and the process that will be used for delivering goods to clients. That way, when an order is placed, there is already an established system for how such an event will be carried out. As such, a warehouse operator can simply follow the pre-established guidelines and work to make a delivery that will be in line with the quality standards expected by both the client and the customer making the order.

Role of technology

Of course, the above process is helped greatly by technological development in the modern era. These types of customer fulfillments are commonly handled automatically thanks to such pieces of technology, which often involve the use of web platforms that are directly accessible by clients. These platforms allow clients to easily set up their preferences for fulfillment processes and make changes when necessary. They also help clients track a myriad of important statistics related to their orders, such as warehouse supply levels, transportation locations, and delivery details.

One of the reasons that Freight Hub Group has been able to excel in its field is its early recognition of the importance of technology in the third-party logistics industry and the need for implementation of such platforms into their business operations. The company’s innovative system, TruckHub, offers its customers direct control over numerous stages of the supply chain. This includes a focus on both communication and automation to ensure orders are handled seamlessly. The goal of the platform is to provide clients with an “Uber-like experience” that provides flexibility and inspires trust that storage and shipping logistics will be handled as expected.

Shipping details

As touched upon above, storage is merely the first part of the fulfillment process. After an order is placed by a customer, and a specific good is retrieved from a warehouse, the next phase of the journey is centered around transporting that good to the customer. This is typically handled through less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping options. LTL shipping is often utilized in last-mile shipping because it is a cost-effective way to ensure goods are delivered in a timely and efficient manner. Since warehouses are often strategically located in a variety of locations to enable short delivery distance at the end of a supply chain, this shipment method can typically be utilized directly from a warehouse.

LTL shipping stands in contrast to full truckload (FTL) shipping, which is often utilized when a collection of goods is large enough to completely fill a truck bed or other shipping container. It can also be used when a client wants to ship goods by themselves, even though they do not completely fill a shipment method, such as in a case where special considerations must be undertaken during transportation. While FTL is an oft-used shipment method for delivering goods to a warehouse or across long distances, LTL is typically the favored method when a fulfillment process is seeking to deliver goods from a warehouse to a customer.

Company background

The information provided in this piece stems from the extensive background of experience provided by Freight Hub Group as it serves customers from its location in South Florida. The company was founded by CEO Luis Lopez after his own early experience in the third-party logistics industry taught him there was an opportunity for improvement. By utilizing an approach with a strong focus on technology, he’s been able to advance the quality of typical offerings, such as the transportation of hazardous materials. This has helped clients achieve a level of agility and flexibility in their planning that was previously difficult to find.

At present, the company is known for the quality of its offerings through its four main subdivisions, known as Dray Hub, FTL Hub, LTL Hub, and WHSE Hub. With its location near both the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, the company is able to offer these services in a customizable fashion that takes into account its clients’ needs for drayage, storage, and transportation options that work on their own terms. This collection of resources has helped set the company apart as a leader in the field of third-party logistics and a reputable source of related information.

Though the need for adequate storage, transportation, and fulfillment services has become more pronounced with the increased popularity of online shopping, many individuals and organizations still have gaps in their understanding of the field. The above overview, created with information from Freight Hub Group, can help to fill in those gaps and provide a more complete understanding of how a product can move from a manufacturer to its final destination. Utilize this information, along with other resources on the subject, to help improve the quality of your business plan and your ability to deliver goods to customers.