Uncategorized

There is no doubt that New Zealanders love residential property as an investment.  The reasons why are easy to note: property is a tangible, easily understood investment – you can see it, touch it, manage it yourself (if you choose). …

KiwiSaver, which began in 2007, is undoubtedly a NZ retirement success story, having grown to around $50 billion invested in the 12 years since its inception. There are many aspects of KiwiSaver which make it a no-brainer for most people,…

I often end up discussing the merits of residential property as an investment with clients.  As I am Auckland based, as are most of my clients, this is usually specifically relating to Auckland residential property. There is no doubt that…

Well, its been a wild ride for equity markets over the last quarter of the year.  In fact, a bumpy downhill slide might be a better way of characterising what has happened.  All major markets are significantly down over the…

A rocky month of October for equity markets has come as a rude wake up call for many investors who had become comfortable with several years of steadily increasing returns. How you feel about your investments during the bad times…

I recently returned from a 2 week vacation in the US (it was great to briefly escape the miserable Auckland winter!).  While in the States, I couldn’t help make a few very unscientific observations, based purely on what I did…

Many of the middle aged and retired clients that I see have an understandable desire to leave a legacy for their children – usually in the form of an inheritance of financial assets and/or property.  Often this is a reflection…

For many investors, their preferred investment style is via passive, index tracking funds.  Passive funds are typically characterised by low management fees, as the funds automatically hold all of the shares within the particular index they track, and don’t need…

Many (maybe most) investors are looking for the perfect investment portfolio – the ideal mix of investment assets that will lead to outsized gains, and low volatility, over an extended timeframe. There are many, many factors to consider in designing…

Despite bank interest rates for savings being at historically low levels, term deposits remain popular investments for the defensive part of an investment portfolio.  I also support the use of term deposits; in the current environment of low, but gradually…