Written by R. A. Stewart
Drip feeding money into the share market is made possible for the ordinary man and woman who would not have considered themselves as investors. The advantage is that it increases their financial literacy and their wealth. I have used a strategy for investing; one that works for me; this is it:
Each year I choose one company, a New Zealand one and I drip feed money into this company throughout the year. That way, I will have bought shares at the lower price when they are down as well as when they are up. This is called averaging.
Some folk might be asking, “Isn’t investing in one company putting all of your eggs into the one basket?
That is a fair question!
Investing in Sharesies is just a part of my personal investment strategy. It is basically a string to my financial bow. I certainly would not recommend anyone to invest all of their money in just one company but to at least buy managed funds or as they are called in America, Mutual Funds.
Managed funds allow anyone of any means to diversify their portfolio across a range of industries. This all helps to minimise risk.
As I said earlier, I am using a strategy with Sharesies to drip-feed money into the share market, one company per year. The stocks I have done this with so far are Genesis Energy, Spark, Fonterra, Fletcher Building, and PGG Wrightsons.
For those who are unaware of what these companies do, Genesis is a power company, Spark, is in telecommunications, Fonterra sells dairy products, Fletcher Building is in the construction industry, while PGG Wrightsons is a retailer selling farm and agriculture products.
All of these companies are considered household names in New Zealand.
Fonterra has been the best performing stock this year. They export dairy products to various countries, namely China. PGG Wrightsons is the poorest performer. I would not have normally invested money in a retailer in this day and age of the internet but agriculture is what is known as a recession proof industry. As long as there is a farming industry there will always be a demand for the products that PGG Wrightsons sell.
Fletcher Building has not done as well as I would have liked. They are an iconic New Zealand company.
Spark is a telecommunications company. It was previously called Telecom. They are a sold company.
Which company for 2025?
I was thinking of going for a bank, however, all of the major banks in New Zealand are Australian owned and I want to invest in New Zealand companies. I could invest in another power company such as Contact Energy, Meridian Energy or Mercury Energy.
Restaurant Brands is another option, but I am not too keen on investing in the hospitality industry. Having said that, KFC will always be popular. I could invest in a retirement home. Ryman HealthCare are a retirement home company. This industry has problems attracting staff which has hindered it’s progress. Still, the baby boomer generation are getting to that age when they are moving into these places.
About this article: The opinions expressed in this article are of the writer’s own opinion and may not be applicable to your personal circumstances, therefore discretion is advised.
Start investing on a shoestring
Sharesies makes it possible for anyone to get into buying and selling shares. It is an online share market platform where you have the option of purchasing shares in individual companies or in various funds (managed/mutual funds). You can even start with $5. This is a no brainer because it gives investors young and not so young the chance to improve their financial literacy. There is certainly no substitute for experience when it comes to learning and this is applicable to everything else, not just investing.
Join sharesies here: https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM
