with Alex Fowler
alex@fassociates.co.nz
Download a copy of Alex Fowler's disclosure statement
2012
What follows are a few thoughts on diversification that might spark a conversation about money in your home or office.
Wealth management’s aim is to help you make smart, rational choices about your finances so that you can control your destiny and build the life you want for you and your family.
Just like the weather we have had this summer, financial markets are unpredictable. If you set your investment portfolio only for warm, sunny days, you can wind up with exposure should the investment climate turn cold, wet and miserable.
While every investor may think he treats himself as the number one priority with his personal investments, local and international research proves that sadly this is not the case.
As a topic of conversation, investment is like sports. Everyone has an opinion and the strongest opinions often come from those who spend more time in front of the TV than out on the field.
2011
It’s a difficult pill for many of us to swallow, but sooner or later we need to realise that the biggest obstacle to enjoying investment success often is not the market itself, but our own behaviour.
The majority of investors hold bonds within their investment portfolio to ensure they have reliable income streams and adding diversification. This is because bonds behave differently to equities or property.
It is always disturbing to observe in periods when the media is forecasting doom and gloom, to often see the profits of banks rising and at the same time observe the returns on fixed interest deposits at very low levels.
The current renewed volatility in financial markets is reviving unwelcome feelings among many investors – feelings of anxiety, fear and a sense of powerlessness.
Working with markets, understanding risk and return, diversifying and portfolio structure – we’ve heard the lessons of sound investing over and over. But so often the most important factor between success and failure is ourselves.
The new rules affecting financial planners, brokers and people in banks offering financial advice took effect on July 1.
Over the last 60 years, financial economists have identified many types of investment risk.
For many years I have met many investors who have made the following statement: “I am a low risk investor and believe only in bricks and mortar”; or “they don’t make more land, so scarcity will make it valuable in the future”.
A wise man once said that to profit without risk and to experience life without danger is as impossible as it is to live without being born. That all may be true, but which risks are worth taking and which are not?
Recently the McKinsey Global Institute produced an excellent paper headed ‘Farewell to Cheap Capital? The implications of long term shifts in global investment and savings’.
With the start of the New Year it is a sensible time to evaluate in a simple way the efficiencies of your family trusts investments, and if you are a professional trustee it is even more important.
2010
“Far more money has been lost by investors in preparing for corrections, or anticipating corrections, than has been lost in the corrections themselves.”
A list of 10 investment mistakes to avoid.
We are still constantly reading in the media the sad reality of investors losing billions of dollars and more recently listening to the contentious opinions of why the Government has bailed out investors who invested their capital with South Canterbury Finance.
A successful retirement, like a successful life, rarely happens by accident or default. It happens by design.
Transparency is one of the most essential aspects of investing and yet very few investors know the need for transparency.
The global financial crisis and a series of recent scandals have turned a critical light on much of the investment industry and lead to public questions about the role and value of financial advisers.
With March behind us, it is time to check the returns investors should have had over the past 12 months. I will first outline the risk with each option and then show the returns that each asset class has produced.
A Securities Commission appointed Code Committee has recently released a draft code of professional conduct for Authorised Financial Advisors.
At times like these, when markets are hugely volatile and unpredictable, the patience of even the most disciplined investor can be tested. The good news is that there is a better way.
It is very rare for any individual aged 60 years or above not to have a regular health check with either a competent GP or even a specialist.
In the last 18 months we observed many investors lose their hard-earned capital and I feel for the thousands of hardworking New Zealanders who suffered this distressing experience.
With the New Year beginning, the crystal balls will be getting a workout as media and market prognosticators publish their considered opinions and forecasts for 2010.
