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GOALS AND YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Your goals and investment strategy

The type of investment you place your savings in all depends on your goals and the timeframe for achieving your goals. Investing in low interest accounts is not the best strategy for long term goals while investing in growth funds in the sharemarket is not necessarily the best option for achieving your short term goals. Your investment platform has to be tailored to suit your goals. This table will give you better idea of what I am going on about.

SHORT TERM GOALS

A short term goal is any goal which can be achieved within a year. This may be for a holiday to the West Coast (if you are from another district) or saving up for a car (if it is cheap enough).

MEDIUM TERM GOALS

A medium term goal takes between a year to 5 years to achieve and can be saving for a house deposit or an overseas trip.

LONG TERM GOALS

A long term goal may be saving for your retirement or paying off your home mortgage.

Lets look at some investment options.

SHORT TERM GOALS.

If you already have the money saved up but won’t be needing the money for 3-6 months then investing in fixed term accounts with one of the high street banks is a good option but if you are actually saving up the money then opening up a special account for this is one but not ther only option. I understand that one is able to drip feed money into bonus bonds and it is easily accessible. Investing in Sharesies may be another option worth taking a look at

MEDIUM TERM GOALS

Investing in Sharesies is a good option I believe because your savings has potential for growth while you are saving but another option is to use an everyday savings account to save and once you have saved a certain amount invest in a 90-day investment with a high street bank. 

It should be pointed out that if you are saving for your first house deposit then joining kiwisaver is a must because you are able to withdraw part of your kiwisaver for a first home deposit providing you have been in the kiwisaver scheme for at least three years.

LONG TERM GOALS

Investing in kiwisaver is your best option here irrespective of the date of your birthday because even if the  retirement age of 65 is just around the corner, you can scale back the type of funds you are in from growth/balanced to more conservative however people may have 20 years or more left after they retire so this may not necessarily suit some people. Once one reaches 65, those in kiwisaver are able to withdraw their retirement savings in one hit or whenever they need it. 

There are so many investment options available to you and you do not have to be rich to get involved but you do need to invest to get rich, one investment I am in favour of is Sharesies;

If you would like email updates from me, you can sign up here;

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www.robertastewart.com

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YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RICH TO INVEST

A Mum and Dad share market investment (New Zealand only)

Investing directly in the sharemarket is an option not available to the ordinary Kiwi because broker fees makes purchasing small parcels of shares uneconomic; then there is the question of diversification, the strategy of purchasing a number of shares from different industries; this is out of the question for small investors.

The best option is to invest in managed funds where everyone’s money is pooled together to purchase funds. It is just like a retail chain being able to purchase in bulk in order to purchase goods at a cheaper rate. Kiwisaver, the New Zealand retirement scheme is a perfect example of this.

A person on the minimum hourly rate working 40 hours per week would have $27.50 going into kiwisaver every week if they were paying 4% of their gross wages into KIwisaver. 

This is a terrific way to build up your retirement funds!

There are other options available for Mum and Dad investors; the one I am going to talk about is Sharesies.

This is a managed fund just like Kiwisaver but where it differs from that scheme and other managed funds is that you are able to choose which companies to invest in. 

It is a terrific way to build up your financial literacy with a minimum of outlay.

Check out these features of Sharesies;

1 Just $30 to join and $30 per annum thereafter

2 Start the fund with just $20

3 Invest as little as $10 in shares.

You will be given a reference number which is used when you deposit money in the sharesies bank account.

Think of money as a seed, if you sow seed in enough places it will reap you a nice harvest at a later date.

Money can really grow when you invest in a number of places and sharesies is an excellent addition to an investor’s financial portfolio; you can check it out here;

https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM

If you would like to receive email updates from me then you can sign up below;

https://forms.aweber.com/form/72/892285272.htm

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HOW TO ADD ANOTHER STRING TO YOUR FINANCIAL BOW

Sharesies makes investing accessible to all!

Do you have some discretionary dollars to spare and are wanting to invest in a fund with growth potential then look no further than Sharesies; a managed fund which is proving popular among all ages, particularly the young. Sharesies is an excellent investment vehicle for Mum and Dad investors who are looking to add another string to their financial bow but don’t have much money to start with. Even if you have only a spare $50 to start with, it is a start, and Sharesies a great way to invest and at the same time increase your financial literacy.

What is Sharesies?

It is a managed fund, much like kiwisaver but the difference is with Sharesies you are able to choose which companies to invest in. 

How much does it cost to join?

$30 per annum, but you do have the option of having monthly payments debited from your account. Payment can be done by a visa debit card or whatever means you choose.

What is the minimum amount to start off with?

You can start the fund with as little as $20 and make regular deposits to the fund (minimum $5) after that; this can be done by making direct credits to the sharesies account or just simply transferring money into the Sharesie account regularly.

How do I make deposits into Sharesies?

You will be given a reference number which is used each time you make a transferal online; you will also be given the Sharesies bank account account number. It also pays to place your username in one of the slots where you write your deposit details to help Sharesies track you if something goes wrong. (I once left a number out of the reference number)

How do I join Sharesies?

Go to the site by clicking on the link below;

https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM

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YOUR FINANCIAL RISK PROFILE

Your risk profile-what is it?

Your risk profile is the level of risk you are willing to take when you make an investment! The higher the potential return on your investment, the higher the risk but the catch 22 situation is that just parking your money in low risk low return investments will inhibit your potential returns and could end up costing you in the long run. Taxation and inflation will eat away your profits so investing needs to be a balance between risk and reward. 

Your risk profile is a big factor when deciding how you are going to invest and that has several parts to it so lets examine them.

1. YOUR AGE

When you are young, you are able to take more risks because you have more time to recover from financial setbacks but that is not to say you cannot be on the conswervative side if your circumstances warrant it. 

It also does not mean that you cannot take risks when you are approaching retirement because chances are that you could live long after you retire. 

2. YOUR GOALS

It would be madness to invest in high risk (growth investments) if you require the money in the short term, say within the next 6 months to pay for a wedding, new car, or whatever because the markets may be losing ground and you may end up with less money than you intended. Therefore for money you require in the short tern, invest conservatively. 

3. PERSONAL MAKE UP

If the prospect of losing your money is going to cause you to lose sleep then lean towards more balanced investments. These are a combination of growth and conservative investments. 

Your potential return will not be as much as it could be but at least you will sleep easy, albeit, at a cost.

4. YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION

If you are up to your eyeballs in debt then clearing that debt has to be your number one priority and staying out of debt is priority number two then you can think about saving for whatever reason. Investing in the kiwisaver scheme is a very good investment for the reason that there are tax credits of up to $520 per annum and you are entitled this providing you invest a minimum of $1040. That equates rto 50% return on your investment, tax free. Where else will you get a return like that?

At the end of the day, it is your money you are investing and it is you who will bear the consequences for any financial decision make.

If you would like email updates from me then you can sign up here;

https://forms.aweber.com/form/72/892285272.htm

www.robertastewart.com