Initial Thread

First, do some research at your local bank, through your retirement investment firm, or by reading articles on stock analysis. This can be done virtually. Investigate the financial terms of several investment options. What interest rate is being offered? Is the interest compounded daily, monthly, or yearly? Do your best to find out the financial details for at least two different investment options. You will be citing your references in APA style.

Second, do some investment calculations. You may use a scientific calculator. For your investment:

Choose an amount between $5,000 and $500,000 of extra capital for principal, P, the initial amount of money to invest.
Choose between 5 and 30 years for t, the number of years you will let the account grow.
Based on your research findings:

Use the rate for r, the investment growth rate per year.
If using the compound interest formula, use the appropriate value for n depending on if the compounding is performed on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis. If compounding is continuous, then you will use a different formula called the continuous compounding formula.
Compound Interest: Continuously Compounding Interest:

Two formulas: 1. Compound interest formula: A equals P times the quantity one plus r divided by n raised to the n times t power. 2. Continuously compounding interest formula: A equals P times e raised to the r times t power.

Third, reflect on your calculations and present your financial guidance in a project report. You will make two different plans based on an aggressive and conservative forecast of the market. (You may also make a combination of the two rates, allocating different investment amounts that total your initial capital.) Your project report should contain the following:

Introduction: One paragraph describing how investment could be beneficial to the company.
Three body paragraphs addressing each of the following:
Explain how compound interest works in your own words.
Explain the two different forecasting plans with pros and cons for each.
Present your calculations for each plan. Be sure to state the formula and outputs.
Conclusion: One paragraph summarizing your financial considerations and findings and their significance to the company.
Project Report Guide
Professional written reports should have an introduction, body, and conclusion. A good way to plan this project report is to write an introduction to the report. Next, write at least three body paragraphs and address each of the points listed above. End your report with a conclusion paragraph tying all of your ideas together. The report should be at least five paragraphs in length. A title page and reference page are also required.

You are expected to use at least one outside source for this report. Cite outside sources in proper APA format. You can find numerous APA resources in the Writing Center Writing Reference Library on the Research, Citation, and Plagiarism page.
Using Sources

Your report should include a highly developed purpose and viewpoint; it should also be written in Standard English and demonstrate exceptional content, organization, style, grammar, and mechanics. There should be no evidence of plagiarism. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, please review the plagiarism policy.