Articles of Interest

Wealthy & Wise
The New Year is traditionally a time for reflection and resolution. At the risk of being at odds with one of the key government messages of the day, i.e. that you must save for your retirement, perhaps this is a good opportunity to reflect on what it is that will really make you wealthy. Many people will define being wealthy as rich and affluent [more] [View PDF]
Monday 1 November 2010

Is Cash King?
A total of NZ$1.7b is being paid out to South Canterbury Finance investors by the Government under the retail deposit guarantee scheme. The bulk of these funds will flow back to retail investors who are now faced a decision about what to do with the cash. [more] [View PDF]
Friday 1 October 2010

Fear and Greed
If there is one thing that the collapse of so many finance companies has confirmed it is that bad investment decisions are almost invariably based on some combination of fear and greed. Whether it is company management more concerned with lining their own pockets, or investors chasing high returns with no regard for risk, or the NZ Governments ill-advised intervention by way of the retail deposit guarantee scheme. [more] [View PDF]
Wednesday 1 September 2010

What is the key for KiwiSaver?
As KiwiSaver continues to grow it is naturally attracting more attention from investors, the fund management industry and media commentators. This will only intensify as investor fund balances get larger. One example was the recent report comparing KiwiSaver providers and funds at the end of June. The report compared performance, estimated costs and how much money was in each fund. [more] [View PDF]
Sunday 1 August 2010

Give while you live
Two of the worlds richest men recently launched a campaign to attract more than US$600 billion in pledged donations from US billionaires. Such eye-watering sums seem inconceivable even if it was Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett doing the talking. Regardless of whether they attract others to their cause or not, it is a sign of a growing trend amongst those who can afford to donate to worthy causes to do so while they are alive rather than waiting until death. [more] [View PDF]
Thursday 1 July 2010

Independent Advice
New government legislation is designed - to promote the sound and efficient delivery of financial advice and to encourage public confidence in the professionalism and integrity of financial advisers -. Yes that might be the sound you can hear of the stable door being shut but it is a useful starting point before the next financial disaster posing as a sure thing comes along, as it inevitably will. [more] [View PDF]
Saturday 1 May 2010