You could also use consumer funds, such as airline or Internet taxes.
Ginger Snyder, senior vice president at Raymond James, suggests using exchange-traded funds such as iShares S&P North America Natural Resources IGEE), iShares Dow Jones US Energy (IYE), SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services (XES), Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (XOP) to get energy exposure in your portfolio.
Create ground rules regarding acceptable use of funds such as maintaining a minimum balance, staying under the spending limit and buying only planned purchases.
If used wisely, EU funds such as the European social fund can be a major source of financial support, together with the European Investment Bank.
In a rising interest rate environment, we also use inverse bond funds, such as Rydex Juno (RYJUX).
And the IRS won't grant a waiver if it thinks you were trying to use those withdrawn funds, such as for bridge financing when buying a house.
The demand for hedge-fund-like investment vehicles is so large that traditional asset managers, such as Blackrock, are busy launching so-called "alternative mutual funds," which mimic some of the characteristics of hedge funds, such as using leverage and selling stocks short.
I would suggest using a fund platform, such as Cofunds, which provides access to a wide range of funds, and recommend saving initially into diversified investment funds, such as Investec Cautious Managed, or M&G Global Basics".
As well as providing concrete fundraising suggestions – including micro-levies on corporations, a voluntary solidarity tax, and increased use of Islamic funding such as zakat religious contributions and Islamic bonds – the experts had sharp words for a system often riven by "turf wars".
In an earlier blog, I discussed this distinction, contrasting Title I (a funding stream for the widely shared value of improving achievement in high-poverty schools) and specific uses of Title I funding (such as specific after-school tutoring programs).
