Inside Consumer United :: Daniel Weaver

Daniel Weaver joined Consumer United after moving from Kentucky only months ago. He works full time as a Consumer United advocate and feels great about working for a company that honestly cares about helping people out. Weaver believes he has found a job that fits.

Starting at Consumer United during its infancy has definitely been an excellent educational opportunity for Weaver. "Consumer United is full of bright and talented people. More than any other place I've worked," he says. "Everyone at Consumer United works as a team in order to accomplish our objectives. As we continue to grow, we face a lot of challenges and we are meeting those challenges."

Weaver enjoys getting home from his job and feeling like he's put in a full day. "Working for a start-up company is very rewarding!"

How does Weaver save money? "My personal financial advice is not to pass up any opportunity to earn easy money and save that money. It may seem silly, but I always seem to find spare change while walking around town."

Weaver saves this money and treats himself to something nice when it amounts to something. He's pleasantly surprised when his change jar is worth more than $75. Weaver cooks at home as much as he can and enjoys a great deal of free activities. "They're everywhere!"

Weaver loves to cook and is an avid music collector. He spends a lot of time digging through boxes of records, researching music online and going to shows. He is always trying to find an undiscovered gem. Weaver moved to Boston from the Midwest without ever visiting. He needed a change, and felt New England would be a welcomed change. "I was right!" he says.

How does Weaver believe Consumer United will help the average consumer? "Consumer United will help the average consumer by limiting the unnecessary costs of business. Many consumers don't take the time to research better deals. By doing the research and negotiating better deals, we pass those benefits to the consumer."

$12.3 billion fund closed by Boston-based Putnam

Boston-based Putnam Investment just closed its $12.3 billion market fund to limit losses to its investors according to a Washington Post report.

Officials at Putnam say that they would transfer assets to a fund managed by Pittsburgh-based Federated Investors Inc.

An interesting point to note is, the money-market fund is open only to institutional investors with a minimum commitment of top dollars. The current financial turmoil triggered jittery investors to reign in their investments.

As an offshoot of that effort, it caused a large number of redemptions. Putnam thought that it was in the best interest of all the stakeholders to, spread the losses equally, thus forcing them to close the fund.

The cause for concern is that the money-market fund is considered by many to be a safe bet, akin to holding a secure bank account. Putnam may not be the only money-market fund that is surprised by these development.

The article mentions that by mid-September there were many investors who pulled-out about $80 billion from these funds. So there may be many other fund managers who are fretting over their assets. This would indirectly effect the banking sector and other industries, as they depended on the money-market fund to raise easy capital.

Historically, money-market funds have always attracted highest rating from bodies like Standard & Poor and Moody's. So much so that this is only the second time in history that money-market funds have caused losses to investors.

Though the independent investor has little to worry, it might be a cause for concern for the investment community at large.