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Investing Mistakes

This article is of the writer’s experience and opinion. If you require financial advice then see your bank manager or financial advisor.

Learning from past investing mistakes

By Robert A. Stewart

“He who never made a mistake never made anything,” 

But, there is no need to make a mistake if you can help it. How? By learning from other people’s mistakes.

The most tragic thing of all is to not learn from your own mistakes; here are some tragic examples which have left people with badly burned fingers.

In October 1987 the share market crashed big time; there were horrific stories of mum and dad investors losing fortunes. Leading up to the crash investors would borrow money to purchase shares by using the value of their shares as collateral. As the share values increased, they were able to borrow more and more money. One story I was told was of a man who borrowed money using the value of his home as collateral. 

Many companies were basically called paper shufflers; in order words they were not producing anything tangible but trading in shares.

It took several years before the market recovered.

One should never borrow money to purchase shares which is the first basic lesson of investing.

During the Global Financial Crisis several finance companies went belly up in NZ; these included Provincial Finance, Hanover Finance, Dominion Finance, Lombard Finance, and South Canterbury Finance. There were sad stories with one common one being of investors who had their whole life savings invested in the company. The media’s spin on this is to tell the viewer about the investors who lost everything they invested but that is not the case. The truth is investors were drip-fed money from whatever money the receiver’s could recover.

The investors concerned had a lot to say about all of this but one thing that was never mentioned was the fact that they placed all of their financial eggs in one basket. This is a fundamental mistake. In one case, an investor had NZ$400,000 invested in Hanover Finance. One would have thought an investor with commonsense would have spread their money around. 

It does make one wonder whether someone provided this investor with misleading advice. 

The second basic lesson is to not place all of your financial eggs in one basket.

Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and the like have been very popular during the last ten years. Stories of great wealth have been floating around from time to time of investors who have invested x number of $ and turned it into a fortune worth x. My view of Crypto Currency is that it should be treated as a bit of a gamble where you only invest discretionary income in. Only money you can afford to lose should be invested in crypto currency.

It should be worth remembering that for every person that made a killing of some kind, whether on the share market, cryptocurrency, or other kind of investment, there will be a lot more people who lost their money. What usually happens is that many of those who made the killing will try to repeat the feat and end up giving back most if not all of their gains.

A company called “Cryptopia” which was basically a blockchain which held funds invested in Bitcoin was hacked into and all those with bitcoin invested with cryptopia lost their money. There were some sad stories of an x amount of $ lost.

The third lesson here is to NEVER invest money in cryptocurrency which you can not afford to lose. In other words, only use your discretionary money for Bitcoin.

It is certainly well worth remembering that if there is a chance of capital gain then there is also a chance of capital loss. That is the nature of investing.

The bottom line is this; “It is up to YOU, the investor to take responsibility for your mistakes.

www.robertastewart.com

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Retirement Spending

INTRODUCTION

Spending your retirement years is not all about how you will spend your time but your money also. Ticking off those items on your bucket list becomes your priority. This all takes money. A financial advisor thinks older people should spend their money while they can and travel while they are able to.

Spending your money during your latter years

Written by R. A. Stewart

“Spend your money while you can.”

That is the message of New Zealand Financial Advisor Mary Holm who has recently published another book. 

This message was aimed at retirees. Ms Holm says you should not just leave your money to your children.

She says that she has received letters from people in their eighties and nineties who have said they wished they had done more traveling when they were able to. They were of course referring to when they were in their sixties and seventies.

Holm does have a point but it all depends on how responsible your children are with their money. If they have a house and a retirement plan then you can stipulate that the money can go toward these things. 

Doing stuff while you are able to is probably the best way to live for those who have reached the retirement age and that all takes money.

What Mary says makes sense; helping your children get their foot on the property ladder or through university is one thing but if they are irresponsible with their money then that is another thing altogether. 

This all highlights the importance of teaching your children financial literacy. 

Teaching your children how to invest is just as important as teaching them how to save. Most people are able to save money but most are saving to spend rather than saving to invest.

It is investing which will make life easier in the long-term.

Your priorities will determine how you are going to spend your latter years and there is no law to say that you have to retire at a certain age; a lady in her eighties was still working at our local supermarket. Everyone is on their own I suppose but I don’t see the point of that since our country (New Zealand) is very generous to its retirees. It was only ill health which caused her to stop working and then she succumbed to her illness not long after.

Deciding what is important to you is all about setting goals; Anthony Robbins book, “Awaken the Giant within,” is certainly worth reading. 

In the chapter on “Goal Setting,” he talks about taking the rocking chair test. If you were to sit in your rocking chair at the age of ninety what would you regret about your life?”

“Don’t die wondering,” is a saying worth remembering. It is important to enjoy the stage of life you are at because there may come a day when you regret not having made the most of that particular stage of life.

Planning for the future is just as important; its getting that balance right which is the key. There is no point in blowing your retirement fund during your first year of retirement if it is going to leave you in poverty for your remaining years.

SUMMARY

A work colleague said to us once, “I can’t understand these old people who live frugal lives only to leave their money to someone else.” Making sacrifices in order to save money is understandable when you are younger but not when you are past the retirement age. (unless you are living from paycheck to paycheck). Live your best life now while you can and not just hoard your money for the younger generation to fritter away.

www.robertastewart.com

 

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Who do you turn to for advice during the market slump?

Written by R. A. Stewart

There is advice flowing in all directions on the best way to manage your finances during the market downturn. Who do you turn to for advice? Well, for a start, it is up to each individual to take responsibility for their finances and do their own due diligence. The possibility of a share market crash should have been factored into your plans. How often has it been said that your age and tolerance to risk are two factors that determine where to invest your money. If you are in your 20s then the market slump should not be an issue for you as far as your retirement savings are concerned because you have the advantage of time on your side. It is a different story, however, if you are saving for a house deposit. If this is the case then your money should be in more conservative funds but it all depends on how soon you need the money to purchase a house.

Eight years ago I was doing a mystery shopping assignment for a kiwisaver scheme and was advised to scale back to more conservative funds because of my age. I did not do that but if I did I would have missed out on the gains which occurred during that time. My kiwisaver balance would have been a lot lower than it is even during the current slump.

Personally, I am prepared to just weather the storm. How long this will last, who knows?

There was a financial advisor on TV one night saying, “People need to invest money at a higher rate than the inflation rate,” but she didn’t specify where we are supposed to find such an investment since the inflation rate is higher than fixed term interest rates.

Another financial advisor on TV said “Investors need to think about where they will be in ten years time rather than ten minutes time.” He said, “Investing in the share market is a long term game.”

Investors may be tempted to invest in something offering high interest rates. It is worth reminding people that during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 and 2008 several finance companies went bust leaving a lot of investors out of pocket. In fact some investors lost their entire life savings in some of the company collapses.

A young woman was interviewed on TV last week and she told the reporter that she was in a conservative fund (in Kiwisaver). She wasn’t concerned about the tumbling markets. She was oblivious to the fact that she had missed out on all of the gains which the share market had made over the years and she will miss out on future gains in the markets because it is a good time to invest in the markets right now and this particularly applies to the young ones. The reason why it is a good time to invest is because you will get more units for your money. 

If you are saving for something for the short to long term then it is better to have your money in more conservative funds. These are decisions that need to be made by each individual and not others. It is about taking full responsibility for the outcome and not blaming others.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer’s opinion and experience and may not be applicable to your situation. If you require qualified financial assistance then see your bank, financial, or budget advisor. You may use this article as content for your ebook. Check out my other articles on www.robertastewart.com

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Which shares should I buy in 2022?

Which are the best stocks to take a punt on in 2022?

Here are my tips:

Written by R. A. Stewart

2022 is nearly here and those of you who like to have a dabble on the sharemarket through using those micro investment apps such as Robinhood in the US or Sharesies in New Zealand giving some thought to which shares are most likely to outperform the market. 

It is hard for the ordinary man in the street to pick a stock that is likely to do well for the simple fact is that the same information you are using to base your predictions on is available to everyone else. Still there is no harm in trying. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in making your own selections as there is from selecting your own horses to back in the Melbourne Cup without relying on the newspaper tipsters.

Without further ado, here are my tips:

Fonterra

Despite being blamed for climate change, this is my number one company for 2022 because there is always a demand for dairy products, and with Christopher Luxon being appointed as National Party leader, it has become more likely that National could steal the next general election due in 2023. This current government, led by Jacinda Ardern, has anti-farming policies which is really just biting the hand which feeds us since farming brings in so much export earnings.

Spark

Spark is my second tip. This is more than just a phone company. They also have contracts to televise certain sporting events. 

Genesis

Genesis is an energy company. We all use power so I see no reason why this will not remain a steady stock. Trustpower and Meridian Energy are other power companies worth investing in.

Fletcher Building

A great New Zealand company. New Zealand is in a building boom due to the need for more houses. Problem for Fletcher though is that the demand for timber is outstripping supply.

Ryman Healthcare

The retirement industry is big business and so those companies which provide services to the elderly should flourish in the next decade and Ryan is one of these.

Companies to avoid:

With so much uncertainty in the tourism industry, any company involved in tourism and hospitality is best avoided as are most retail companies as the internet is affecting sales, though one exception could be Wrightsons which is a farming retailer.

Media and TV stations also have challenging times ahead as viewers get their information online.

Sharesies

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

Note: This article is of the opinion of the writer and does not represent financial advice.