2008年ESL之商务英语 16 Investing Your Money

16 Investing Your Money

GLOSSARY 1

seminar – informational session; class for a small group of people; class on aspecific subject* Hercilia went to the university last night to attend a seminar on China’s growingeconomy.

to invest – to buy something with one’s money with the expectation that it willincrease in value so that one can sell it later to make more money* I wish I had invested in Google when the company was just beginning!

to maximize – to make something as big as possible; to have as much ofsomething as possible* As the company’s vice-president of marketing 2, his goal is to maximize sales.

holdings – something that a person owns, especially shares (stocks) in acompany* The company’s holdings are worth three times as much as they were five years ago.

market trend – the way that a specific part of the economy is changing over time* Right now, the market trend in the United States is that home prices aredecreasing.

to get in on the ground floor – to become involved in an activity as early as possible, at the very beginning* Grace got in on the ground floor when that business first opened, and today sheis a millionaire.

appreciation 3 – an increase in the value of something over time; an increase inhow much something is worth* Thanks to the appreciation on their home, they were able to make a lot ofmoney when they sold it.

to divest 4 – to sell something, especially an investment* When our son was ready to go to college, we divested 5 many of our stocks sothat we would have enough money to pay for his education.

warning sign – a signal that something bad might happen or will happen;something that one sees or hears that indicates something negative in the nearfuture* Chest pains are warning signs of a heart attack.

savings 6 – bank accounts where one puts money to use in the future; money thatone has saved * Salina puts 50 dollars into her savings every week.

rate of return – interest rate; the percentage of money that one earns on aninvestment over a specific period of time* When we calculated how much money we would need to save for retirement 7,we assumed a six percent rate of return on our investmentsto speculate – to buy things because one hopes and believes that their valuewill increase greatly, so that one can sell them later to make a lot of money* Ulysses is speculating in the gold market because he thinks the price of goldwill increase in the next few years.

to diversify 8 – to increase the number of different types of something that onehas, especially when talking about investments* The Richardsons have invested a lot of money in power companies, but nowthey want to diversify their investments by purchasing stocks in other types ofcompanies, too.

portfolio 9 – the group of stocks that a person or company owns; the variety andtypes of investments that a person or company has* The value of her portfolio has decreased a lot in the past year.

risk – the possibility that something negative, bad, or harmful will happen* If we don’t wash our hands before we eat, there is a risk that we will get sick.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  What does “getting in on the ground floor” mean?

a)  Maximizing one’s holdings.

b)  Investing in something as early as possible.

c)  Taking the elevator from the first floor.

2.  How can one increase the value of an investment portfolio?

a)  Read the road signs.

b)  Look for a better rate of return.

c)  Eliminate appreciation.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

holdingsThe word “holdings,” in this podcast, means something that a person owns,especially shares (stocks) in a company: “Do you have any holdings in energy companies?”  A “holding” can also be land, buildings, or other things that aperson or company owns: “The company is expanding its land holdings in theSouthern United States.”  The phrase “to hold off” means to wait, or to decide todo something later: “They decided 10 to hold off the wedding until after her motherrecovered from her illness.”  Finally, the phrase “to be left holding the bag”

means to be the only person who has to deal with a difficult situation, eventhough other people helped to create that situation: “Caroline was left holding thebag at work when her co-worker left the company before their project was finished.”

appreciationIn this podcast, the word “appreciation” means an increase in how muchsomething is worth over time: “There has been a lot of appreciation of homes inthis neighborhood because many strong companies have come into the city,helping to build the economy.”  The word “appreciation” also means thankfulness, or the feeling of being grateful to someone: “I’d like to take you outfor dinner to show you my appreciation for the way that you’ve helped me look fora job.”  Finally, the word “appreciation” can mean the feeling of liking 11 somethingbecause it is good: “He developed a strong appreciation for classical music at anearly age.”  Or, “The company shows its appreciation to its best employees bypaying them very well.”

CULTURE NOTEIn the United States, there are many ways to invest money, especially to save for“retirement” (the period of time late in one’s life when one no longer works). Some of these investments are for individuals, and others are “employersponsored” (the employer provides some or all of the money) “retirement plans”

(organized ways to save money for retirement).

One of the most common ways to save for retirement is to put money into a401(k).  An employee can choose to put part of his or her “salary” (the moneythat a person makes by working in a job) into a 401(k) investment account eachmonth.  That employee does not have to pay any taxes on the money in thataccount until it is “withdrawn 12” (taken out of an account) years later, when he orshe is ready to retire.  Most employers “match” some or all of the employee’s “contributions” (the amount of money that one puts into an account).  This means that if an employee puts in 200 dollars each month, the company where he orshe works might put in 50 percent or 100 percent of that amount.

An Individual Retirement Account, commonly known as an IRA, is a way for asingle person to save for retirement, with or without an employer’s assistance. As with the 401(k), money put into an IRA is “tax-deferred,” meaning that theinvestor does not have to pay taxes on that money until it is withdrawn years later.

Finally, a “pension” is an arrangement for a certain amount of money to be givento a retired 14 person every month by his or her “former” (previous) employer. Pensions provide a “steady” (reliable and unchanging) retirement “income”

(money that one receives), but they generally do not provide as much money as 401(k) retirement plans or IRAs do.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers:  1 – b; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 388: Investing YourMoney.

This is ESL Podcast episode 388.  I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming toyou from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles,California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com.  You can download a Learning Guide for this episode to help improve your English even faster; we suggest you take a look atthe Learning Guide.  We also have an ESL Podcast Store and an ESL PodcastBlog, where you can go and get additional courses in English and additional helpeach week on a variety of English language topics.

This episode is called “Investing Your Money.”  It’s going to be a speech, really,by someone who is trying to tell people – instruct people – how they shouldinvest their money – how they should keep their money so that they can makemore money.  Let’s get started.

[start of speech]

Ladies and Gentlemen,Thank you for coming to today’s seminar.  We’re going to talk about how toinvest your money and how to maximize those holdings.

First, we’ll talk about market trends and where to find the best opportunities rightnow.  Getting in on the ground floor and getting the highest appreciation is whatwe all want.  A good investor 13 also knows when to divest, and we’ll talk about howto read the warning signs.

Many of you have money in savings, but you want a better rate of return, andyou’re willing to speculate a little to get it.  We’ll discuss how to diversify yourportfolio to minimize risk while maximizing your return.

Are you ready to make some money?  Let’s get started!

[end of speech]

This episode is about making money.  A man is giving a presentation – aseminar.  A “seminar” is a class for a small group of people on a specific subject.

Usually we use this expression when talking about work classes – classes thathelp you do better at your job, for example. So he begins by thanking every one for coming to his seminar.  He says, “We’regoing to talk about how to invest your money.”  “To invest” means to buy something with your money with the hope that it will increase in value so that youcan sell it later to make more money.  So you buy something today, hoping that itwill increase in its value, and then you sell it two years or five years or 10 years later and you make more money.  You could buy property, like a house or abuilding; you could buy stocks, which is partial ownership in other companies. There are many different things you can buy as investments. This seminar is about how to invest your money, and how to maximize thoseholdings.  “To maximize” means to make something as big or as large as possible.”  Your boss says, “We want to maximize sales,” he means we want tomake as much money as possible.  “To maximize your holdings” means to makeas much money on the things that you own as possible.  Your “holdings” arethings that you own, especially stocks in a company, where you own part of thecompany.  This is a word that has a couple of different meanings; take a look atour Learning Guide for some additional explanations.

The seminar introduction continues with a description of what they are going totalk about today.  He begins by saying, “First, we’ll talk about market trends.”  A“market” is a general word for a place to buy and sell things.  You can go to thesupermarket to buy food, for example.  In this case, the “market” is referring moreto the economy, to things like the stock market where you buy and sell stocks.  A“trend” is the direction something is moving over time.  So, you can have a trendgoing up, a trend going down, or a trend staying the same.  “Market trend,” then,is the way that the economy and the stock market are moving over time.  Arethey going higher – getting better, or going lower – getting worse? He’s also going to talk about the best opportunities right now.  He says, “Gettingin on the ground floor is what we all want.”  “To get in on the ground floor” means to become involved in an activity as early as possible, at the very beginning.  So,a company is just starting and you want to get in on the ground floor, you wouldget involved in the company right away, as soon as it gets started.  The “groundfloor” is the bottom floor of a building.  Here, though, the expression means to getin at the beginning.

“Getting in on the ground floor is what we all want,” getting the highestappreciation is also what we all want.  “Appreciation,” in this case, means anincrease in the value of something over time – an increase in how much something is worth.  So, if you buy a house in Los Angeles for 500,000 dollars,10 years from now you hope that it will have a good appreciation, maybe it will beworth 750,000 dollars.  “Appreciation” has a couple of different meanings; take alook at the Learning Guide for some more explanations.

“A good investor also knows when to divest.”  “To divest” (divest) is the oppositeof invest.  “To divest” means to sell something – to sell some investment, such as a stock or some piece of property.  He says, “we’ll also talk about how to read thewarning signs.”  The “warning signs” would be indications, or signals, thatsomething bad is going to happen.  For example, you come home and you seeyour wife with a very angry look on her face, and she has a frying pan in onehand.  This is probably a warning sign that you are in trouble!  “Warning signs,”

then, are signals – indications – that something bad is about to happen.  For thestock market, there may be warning signs that things are going to get worse.

He continues by saying, “Many of you have money in savings.”  “Savings” refers usually to a bank account where you put money into.  It’s not exactly aninvestment usually.  Sometimes savings accounts will give you interest on yourmoney, meaning you will get some money back on your money, as like aninvestment.  But often, a savings account is just a place to keep your money thatyou need in the future to take out to spend on the things you need to buy.

He says, “you want a better rate of return.”  Once again, savings accounts in theUnited States don’t pay very much money.  The “rate of return” is the percentageof money that you can earn, or make on your investment in a specific period oftime.  The interest rate, for example, is a rate of return; it’s the amount of money that you will get back – the percentage of your investment.  So for example, ifyou have 100 dollars and you invest it in a stock – the Center for EducationalDevelopment, Incorporated stock.  One year later, your investment is now worth105 dollars; your rate of return was five percent for the year. If you want a better rate of return than what you can get from a savings account,you need to speculate a little.  “To speculate” means to buy something becauseyou hope or believe that the value of that thing will increase greatly, so that youcan sell it later and make a lot of money.  To speculate means, in this case, tobuy something.  There are other meanings of the word “speculate.”  Tospeculate, in general, means to give your idea about something, even thoughyou’re not really sure or don’t have all the facts.  In finance, in talking aboutinvestments, to speculate means to buy something thinking you’re going to getrich very quickly.  Usually that doesn’t work out very well; it doesn’t happen thatway, usually!

Finally, he says, “We’ll discuss how to diversify your portfolio to minimize risk while maximizing your return.”  “To diversify” means to increase the differenttypes of the thing that you have, in this case, the different kinds of investments. So maybe 25 percent of your money is in stocks, and 50 percent of your money is in land – in real estate, and 25 percent of your money is in gold; that would beto diversify, to take your money and invest it in different kinds of things.  Your“portfolio” is the group of stocks that you own; the kinds of investments that youhave, in general.  So, your entire list of investments would be your portfolio. “Risk” is the possibility that something negative, or bad, will happen.  “Tominimize risk” (“minimize” is the opposite of maximize, meaning to make smaller)means to make sure that you won’t have something negative happen in thefuture, to try to reduce the possibility of that negative outcome.

Now let’s listen to the story, this time at a normal rate of speech.

[start of speech]

Ladies and Gentlemen,Thank you for coming to today’s seminar.  We’re going to talk about how toinvest your money and how to maximize those holdings.

First, we’ll talk about market trends and where to find the best opportunities rightnow.  Getting in on the ground floor and getting the highest appreciation is whatwe all want.  A good investor also knows when to divest, and we’ll talk about howto read the warning signs.

Many of you have money in savings, but you want a better rate of return, andyou’re willing to speculate a little to get it.  We’ll discuss how to diversify yourportfolio to minimize risk while maximizing your return.

Are you ready to make some money?  Let’s get started!

[end of speech]

The script for this episode was written by a woman who maximizes youropportunities to learn English, Dr. Lucy Tse. From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan.  Thank you for listening.  Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 2008.