An Stock option is the right to buy or sell a security at a guaranteed price for an agreed upon period of time. 

The two types of stock options, puts, which give the holder the right to sell the stock at guaranteed price; and, calls, which give the holder the right to buy the stock at a guaranteed price. Provided that the option isn’t granted as a term of employment, you have to pay to purchase a stock option. The owner of the  stock in question sells the option. If the option is exercised then the stock must be sold to the option holder if

Generally, after a person leaves the employment of a company, they are given the option to rollover their 401k into a new company’s plans, or, if available, or into a Rollover IRA. or Roth IRA Rollover.

Frequently, the choice is made to roll into an IRA because of the flexibility and vast array of investment choices available. Once in an IRA, the owner is no longer restricted to the investment choices offered by their employer plan, nor is the participant subject to any potential future restrictions imposed by the new employer, if any. 

Bond ladders are a valuable retirement planning strategy because of the ability to reinvest the principal from the maturing bond (bottom step) into a longer term bond with a higher yield. The new bond will then become the new top step of your ladder.

Every investor has their own individual investment goals, such as meeting future money needs or developing a strategy for retirement income. In creating a bond ladder, the selection will also take into account such things as your tax rate, desired rating of the underlying bond, and frequency of bond maturities.

There are several different types of mutual funds, which mainly differ in their particular style or investment philosophy. Each particular fund may be a fit for a portion of your portfolio, and depends on your risk tolerance, investment horizon, and suggested asset allocation. In this entry, we will review the value style of mutual fund investing.

Mutual funds that tend to focus on safety rather than growth, and often choose investments providing dividends as well as capital appreciation are known primarily as value mutual funds.  The fund managers tend to invest in companies that are out of favor, primarily due to changing investor sentiment, a poor recent track record, or an industry that isn't in the limelight

A convertible note is a type of bond that the holder can convert into either shares of  stock in the issuing company or cash of equal value, at a pre-determined price. Convertibles are widely considered as a hybrid of stocks and bonds, and typically have a low coupon rate when compared to ordinary bonds.

To compensate for the lower coupon, the bond gives the holder the option to convert the bond to stock, which gives the investor the ability to receive equity-type returns if the underlying security does well over the duration of the conversion period. Like all bonds, their value depends on the level of prevailing interest rates and the credit quality of the issuer.