KaChing! KaChing!

It only makes sense to call a company a sound you like to hear. This is exactly what CEO and co-founder Andy Rachleff must have had in mind. His new company -- kaChing, of course -- is backed by Marc Andreesen (a name often associated with that sound) and Jeff Jordan, the CEO of OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN), two guys who usually do a solid job of backing winners. But, they've taken on a challenge by backing a company in the financial services industry.

We've watched stock market numbers bounce around for two years. Unemployment stats have served as unpleasant reminders that, for some, leading indicators haven't translated to reality. We look for so many ways to understand the brutal economic environment with which we've had to contend, and all the choices can make your head spin. So, let's make it simple. Here are eight ways to tack a label onto the financial world in which we live.

1. Lost market value
Total stock market losses from October 2007's top to March 2009's bottom: $11.2 trillion
Total gains in the stock market since the bottom: $4.6 trillion
Lost ground: $6.6 trillion

2. Bad days
Percentage of the 10 worst days in history for the Dow Jones Industrial Average that happened in 2008, by point drops: 60%
Percentage of the 10 worst days in history for the DJIA that happened in 2008, by percentage drops: 30%

3. Mutual funds
Value of mutual fund assets at the end of 2007: $6.5 trillion
... and a year later: $3.7 million
Lost value: $2.8 trillion

But, it got a little better at the end of August 2009: $4.5 trillion (value of assets)

To bolster its capital base and get more focus, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) has been in the process of unloading noncore assets. And, we got the latest deal today; that is, the company has agreed to sell its long-term asset management unit, Columbia Management, to Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP). The price tag comes to roughly $1 billion.

Columbia is certainly a nice business, with a wide assortment of stock and bond mutual funds. One of its standout funds is the Acorn Fund, whose manager is Charles McQuaid.

One of the most valuable commodities in the world is water -- without it, mankind can't survive. While more than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but 97% of it is saltwater and only 1% of the remaining 3% is readily available for consumption. Water is becoming scarce, and upcoming water shortages are emerging as the population of the world increases, particularly in emerging markets like China, India, and Mexico.

A great way to include water as part of your portfolio's commodity allocation is by buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF). An ETF is a basket of stocks that allow you to invest in a single asset class, sector, country, or theme with one stock. In one ETF, you'll own not only water utility companies but also related businesses, like those that help build the infrastructure for making water suitable for drinking. You won't have to pick a single stock, rather you can own the most important stocks in the water industry -- worldwide. ETFs are perfect building blocks for building a diversified portfolio using an asset allocation strategy.

Most investors got slammed last year, down 50% or more in their investments. Didn't matter if they owned stocks or real estate, they got hammered. Many have to start over. And if they're near retirement, it's scary. Years of patient investing wiped out, gains that were made over a long time disappeared frighteningly fast.

But now it's time to begin fresh, to rebuild. What's the safest way to regain some or all of the losses without suffering another wipeout?

Money market accounts and certificates of deposit are safe, but they provide very little return on your investment. This fact, and the invigorated stock market, provoked one of my bankers, Dobrinka, at the local Santa Monica Wells Fargo branch, to ask for advice on how I would invest $25,000 if I was just starting out.

This is a common question although the starting point in terms of cash varies. It certainly makes a difference how old the person is, their general knowledge about investing and finance, and the particulars of their financial statement.

Here is what I suggested sticking to regular themes I have written about before and broadly speaking would be a conservative approach emphasizing safety, diversity, liquidity, dividends and the potential for growth far exceeding cash in the mattress or in a money market account. I also think that it is important for beginners to educate themselves so my suggestions include an educational aspect.

All of a sudden, investors don't seem to have a care in the world. The market is going up and up, and complacency has set in. One way investors measure this complacency is through an index called the "VIX." VIX measures the implied volatility of a basket of options on the S&P 500 index. The more investors are willing to pay for puts and calls, the more there is an implication that they are "nervous."

If you are a contrarian investor, the way you read the VIX is: 1) if you buy stocks now you are moving with the momentum of the market; and 2) the market could get really "choppy" soon, and 3) if you wait patiently to buy stocks after fear has returned to the market, you will likely enjoy a substantial gain when volatility returns to the market.

As you read stories about victims of the Madoff fraud, aren't you glad that you weren't one of them? Why are you so sure that it will never happen to you? How do you know its not happening to you now?

In academic financial research, there's a concept called "agency risk." Agency risk occurs when someone who is acting as your agent has a set of interests that conflict with yours. In investing, agency risk is rampant because one party can often gain from an action that will cause a loss to the investor without the investor even knowing it! Bernie Madoff was an agent of the investors who hired him to manage their money and he was crooked for years until his scheme ended. But investors face plenty of legal, yet sometimes equally dangerous forms of agency risk. It is important to understand them and find ways to mitigate these risks.

Has your broker repeatedly sold you on the "safe" investment vehicle, the mutual fund? Investing in a wide variety of prominent companies, with solid, long-term track records, mutual funds have been an easy-to-understand and popular investment choice for decades.

Mutual funds are hugely diversified, holding large stakes in recognizable names such as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM).

With President Obama at the helm it seems as though the light might be shining on the economic horizon. If you're of this opinion then now might be a good time to invest some of your hard earned savings in the banking industry.

But what banking firm do you decide to go with? Rather than selecting just one bank, how about hedging your bets by investing in many diverse banks from all over the country? An exchange traded fund (ETF) is a great way to do just that. By investing in the ETF PowerShares Dynamic Banking (PJB) you get shares of several different banks. PJB seeks to replicate the Dynamic Banking Intellidex index and invests at least 90% of assets in common stocks that comprise that index. Among their holdings in the PJB ETF are BancFirst Corporation(NASDAQ GS: BANF) BancFirst's holding company, Capital Federal Financial(NASDAQ GS: CFFN) the holding company for Capitol Federal Savings Bank, and Northern Trust Corporation(NASDAQ GS: NTRS) Northern Trust Company's holding company.

"Our favorite US stock market fund is Vanguard Dividend Growth (VDIGX); in 2008, it lost less than just about any other large-cap fund," says Mark Salzinger in his The No-Load Fund Investor.

"In 2008, Vanguard Dividend Growth lost 25.6%, vs. 37.1% for the S&P500 Index. Over the longer term, manager Donald Kilbride has proven his mettle with good stock picks and nimble application of his strategy.

"He looks for stocks with histories of rising dividend payouts along with the wherewithal and intention to continue increasing dividends into the future. Plus, he likes to buy these stocks when they appear relatively inexpensive.

Once there were two mutual funds. Now look how many. So goes capitalism. Create a product people need or, through a massive advertising campaign, suddenly discover they want, make a ton of money off that product and suddenly you have imitators. Suddenly, there are three mutual funds, four, five until today there are over 7,000. The mutual fund like everything else "free market" capitalism produces has become a commodity, bought and sold like grain.

How do you make money off a commodity? Either become the low-cost producer or find a way to differentiate yourself. The commoditization process always means profit margins get squeezed because if you won't offer your mutual funds for a low price someone down the block or in India or China will. And then you will be forced out of business. The birth of Vanguard's low-cost S&P 500 index fund in 1976 marked the ultimate commoditizing moment in the history of mutual funds.

One of the buzzwords that is currently in vogue in the investment community is biotechnology. This is a broad-based field that covers technological applications in any biological system, meaning humans, animals, agriculture, and medicines. This is a booming science and the investment field offers many opportunities for wealth accumulation.

If you don't want to spend countless hours trying to understand not just financials, but scientific and technical jargon that biotech companies harbor, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may be the better choice for investing in the biotechnology industry.

An ETF is similar to buying a share of a company, but instead of getting one particular company you're investing in a bundle of companies within a particular field or specialty. It's a great way to invest in something you believe in while still hedging your bets and having a bit of diversity.

The color for this age is definitely green as eco-consciousness is sweeping the country. For those of you who are worried about the environment and doing your share to save this planet in the future, how about letting the green movement make you earn more green.

Making the right choices for the environment seems to finally have taken hold and with the new Obama administration it should only pick up speed. If you see the value in investing in environmental services you can divest your funds by selecting an exchange traded fund (ETF). Exchange traded funds let you purchase stocks in a particular field but within that stock you own several different companies.

One environmental services ETF that may be worth researching is Market Vectors Environmental Services ETF (NYSE: EVX). EVX uses its investments to replicate the price and yield performance of the AMEX Environmental Service index. Some of their holdings include Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WMI) who provides integrated waste serviced in the U.S. and internationally, American Ecology Corporation (Nasdaq: ECOL) who uses subsidiaries to provide hazardous waste collection and management, and Calgon Carbon Corporation (NYSE: CCC) who works to purify water and air in the United States and internationally.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

Leading fund expert Ron Rowland looks to a conservatively managed mutual fund as his favorite investment play for 2009. In his All Star Investor, the advisor takes a look at Gateway Fund (GATEX).

"Gateway Fund is a conservative fund that has shown equity-like returns with bond-like volatility for over 20 years.

"From inception in 1988 through November 2008, GATEX had a +7.6% annual return -- slightly behind the S&P 500 but with a fraction of the volatility.

"More recently, the fund's steady returns are beating the market by a mile. Gateway pioneered the 'buy-write' strategy of owning stocks and selling call options to earn income.

"The fund is at its best in choppy, sideways markets -- which makes it an excellent choice for risk-averse investors who don't want to abandon equities entirely in this uncertain economy."

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.