Posted on

Share Tumble Scenario

INTRODUCTION

The share market has enjoyed a great run since the Global Financial Crisis. Will it continue or will a major fall in the markets put an end to it all? No one knows therefore, it is important to set proper financial goals and use strategies to factor in scenarios which may or may not occur.

What to do if the share market crashes

The 1987 share market crash known as “Black Monday” wiped out fortunes as many investors lost their life savings. Those of a generation who were around back then will be well aware of what can happen when you place all your eggs in one basket as many investors did. I mean there were stories of investors borrowing money to purchase shares using the value of their shares as collateral. When the markets went down, the value of their shares were a fraction of the money owed on the borrowed money.

The 1987 crash was the worst crash since the 1929 Wall Street crash. There were almost 60 years between 1929 and 1987 so investors need to reassure themselves that another crash may not fall within their lifetime.

So what should investors do when the markets are falling?

Here are my 5 tips:

1 KEEP CALM

Do not fret, markets go up and down like a roller coaster. Treat the markets as a long term investment. If you are young then you have time on your side. There is time for you to recover from financial setbacks. Even if you are say 50 you still have another 15 or so years before you reach the age of retirement so you do not really need to be too conservative, however, someone who cannot stomach the thought of rapidly falling markets would disagree. It all depends on your temperament. 

A financial adviser is likely to steer you to more conservative investments if you are approaching what is termed “The retirement age.” 

2 STICK TO YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN

It is important to stick with your original plan despite all of the negativity in the newspapers which will no doubt arise after a crash. When planning your financial strategy your plan needs to factor in the possibility of a share market tumble. Shares can take investors on a roller coaster ride which reward persistence.

3 DON’T TRY TO TIME THE MARKET

It is time, not timing, which rewards share market investors. Few investors have the knowledge to predict the movement of a share price and those who do and take advantage of it are breaking the law because it is known as insider trading. Investors should do their homework first and trust their own judgment when deciding on which shares to buy. 

4 KEEP SAVING AND INVESTING

The markets reward consistency. Investing into the markets when there is so much negativity which will follow a crash will pay off. As they say “Fortune favors the brave.” The advantage of investing when there is not much negativity and uncertainty in the markets is that you will be able to snap shares up at bargain prices and as the market recovers, investors will gradually jump on the bandwagon and in doing so will give it a shot in the arm.

5 LISTEN TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

A share market crash will dominate the news for weeks and all of a sudden there will be financial experts coming out of the woodwork with advice on what you should do with your money. A smart investor will be able to discern between good, bad, or downright stupid advice.

www.robertastewart.com

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Feel free to print this article for easy reading. You may use this article for content for your website or ebook. Visit my site www.robertastewart.com for other articles.

Posted on

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

Posted on

7 Ways that Emotional Spending can ruin your financial plan

7 Ways that Emotional Spending can ruin your financial plan

Written by R. A. Stewart

The best financial plan can be undermined by emotional spending; unless you have the right mindset all of your self discipline and planning can be undone by a moment of madness. 

Here are 7 Emotional Spending Habits can hurt your finances:

  1. Pets

Pets can be very costly and unless you are able to keep your emotions in check they can cost you an arm and a leg. A perfect example of this is when a dog or cat lover will spend a grand or more on a vet bill for their pet moggie when the practical thing to do is to just have the thing put down. Keeping pets can be a drain on one’s finances so it is not surprising that the SPCA are inundated with unwanted pets during the cost of living crisis. The money spent on keeping these pets could have gone toward a rainy day fund which would have enabled the people concerned to weather any financial storm which came along. Personally I think that spending $1,000 on a cat is stupidity.

  1. Expensive Gifts

Buying expensive gifts is another drain on one’s finances. The recipient may appreciate the gift but it is not the same as liking you. What I am saying is that if the only reason why they like you is because you are spending a fortune on them then they like you for the wrong reasons. People who are always buying gifts for others are approval seekers. They seek approval from others and gift giving is their way of achieving this. Giving expensive gifts will drain your finances and is not worth it because it will add up to a fortune in the long run.

  1. Alcohol

Spending too much on alcohol has put paid to many promising careers not to mention being a drain on their finances. Problems with alcohol are usually brought on by emotional needs. Whatever issues you have will be made worse by alcohol therefore it is better to deal with whatever problems you have rather than trying to forget them with alcohol.

  1. Sales (Boxing day, Black Friday, etc.)

You have seen all of the sales advertised on the TV and the internet. Black Friday and Boxing Day sales The sales frenzy on these two days is unreal and it is generated by advertising which appeals to the “Fear of missing out” emotion. 

  1. Lotteries

Gambling is a harmless bit of fun if you are sensible about it but it is when you start placing sizable bets that are affecting your budget that when there is a problem. If that sounds like you then it is time to take stock and find a less expensive hobby.

  1. Cars

Some people are not satisfied with just a vehicle which is adequate for their requirements; they have to go out and spend a lot more on something which is flash in order to impress their peers. Your ego has to be kept in check otherwise it will cost you a fortune over your lifetime. 

  1. Manipulation

Having a strong will and self-discipline will help you become wealthy because there will be people who you have to deal with on a daily basis who have differing views to you as far as finances are concerned. People will try to get you to conform to their values in order to make you just like them. Some will try a tactic known as manipulation by guilt. This is when you are made to feel inadequate or guilty because you won’t do as they say or conform to their value system.

The bottom line is, “They will play on your emotions.”

Don’t try to reason with these people because that type of individual tends to contradict everything you say.

About this article

You may use this article as content for your blog/website or ebook. The article is of the opinion of the writer and may not be applicable to your personal circumstances.

www.robertastewart.com

Posted on

Investing for seniors

Investing for seniors

Written by R. A. Stewart

 

Your age is a crucial factor in establishing your savings and investing strategy. Your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s are your savings years. It is these years when you build up your assets. 

Your 60s and 70s can be considered your spending years. It is when you tick off items on your bucket list while you are able to.

That does not mean that you do not have to work, a lot of older people are taking this option, not because they cannot make ends meet on their pension, but because they enjoy what they are doing.

In New Zealand, retirees will have access to their kiwisaver account once they reach the age of 65. Money invested in kiwisaver will be in growth, balanced, or conservative funds. Most people during their working life opt for growth or balanced funds.

It is time to decide whether to stay with the status quo or invest in more conservative funds. 

Your age and your health are the two most important factors in deciding which fund to invest your money in. 

Older people do not have time on their side to overcome financial setbacks such share market falls and so forth, therefore if you are 60+ it is a good idea to lean toward more conservative investments but still retain some exposure to risk.

It is worth mentioning at this point that New Zealand financial advisor and writer Frances Cook has a formula for calculating how much exposure you should have based on your age, and it is this…

Subtract your age from 100.

If for example you are aged 60 then only 40% of your portfolio should be invested in the share market.

I do not necessarily agree with this formula and my exposure to the share market is more than her formula suggests I have.

However, that is a personal choice; one that I do not necessarily recommend to you because your circumstances will be different as they are for different people.

If you are connected to the internet and you have a lot of spare cash in your account then I suggest that you place most of your money into an account that is not connected to internet banking. This is to reduce your chances of becoming a victim of internet scammers. 

With internet banking being the norm, this could be difficult in the future though.

In any case I still believe that it will pay to arrange your finances so that if you fall victim to a scammer then not all of your money will be lost. 

Don’t leave all of your money in the one account for goodness sake as some victims of scammers have.

If you are traveling then make sure you don’t have access to your life savings because if you do then so will be a scammer if they manage to get hold of your login details. What I am trying to say is you should leave your entire life savings in an account which you use to do your daily spending. Keep it in a separate account from the account you do your day to day banking. The 

Scammers have all kinds of ways to trick people into handing over their login details.

Anyone can be a victim so don’t be proud by saying “I am not that stupid.”

As you get older you will have to invest more conservatively; that does not necessarily mean transferring from growth to conservative funds but investing some of your current savings into low risk accounts. The deciding factor is your timeline. How soon you need the money and funds which are going to be used within 12 months are best invested conservatively.

 

www.robertastewart.com

 

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

This article is of the opinion of the writer and may not be applicable to your personal circumstances. Feel free to share this article. You may also use this article for your website/blog or as content for your ebook.

Posted on

Beginners Guide to the share market

You do not have to be rich to get involved in the share market these days with online share market platforms such as Sharesies and Hatch which provide a gateway to novice investors.

If you are from a country other than New Zealand or Australia then Robinhood from the States is a share market platform which you can use.

Here are my tips to follow if you are a complete beginner.

Tip 1: Shares go up and down

The value of your shares will fluctuate; that is the nature of the markets. It is important not to focus on your shares but rather on saving and letting the markets take care of itself because if you are strategic with your investments then falling markets will not scare you. 

Tip 2: Know why you are investing

Have a clear plan on what the money’s for. Is it for your retirement, a mortgage, a vehicle, or as a rainy day fund. 

Tip 3: Invest money you can afford to lose

Money which is invested in the share market should only be money which you can fully afford to lose because of the volatile nature of shares, however, you can choose a conservative funds when investing in managed funds. It all depends on your time frame. If the money is needed in the short term then investing in conservative funds will be your best option. 

Tip 4: Know your risk profile

Your risk profile is the level of risk you are prepared for or are willing to take. If you are young you are able to take more risks because you have more time to recover from financial setbacks.

Tip 5: Not a substitute for kiwisaver

Online investing  platforms such as Robinhood, Sharesies, Hatch and the like should not be a substitute for your retirement fund, in New Zealand that is called Kiwisaver)

Tip 5: Not a get rich scheme

Investing in the share market is a long term game; it is not a get rich quick scheme. Don’t be taken in by the stories of those who have made a share market killing because you never get to hear about the losses and it is likely that people who made that killing will spend years trying to make another killing and lose all their gains.

Tip 6: Patience is a virtue

It is time and not timing which is the key to making money in the share market. Patience investors are rewarded handsomely if they stay onboard rather than jump ship during stormy seas.

Tip 6: Do your homework

It is important to do your homework on the various companies you plan to invest in and not just invest haphazardly. The alternative is to invest in managed funds; the fund manager will choose the companies for you.

Tip 7: Take responsibility

Don’t blame anyone for your mistakes, take responsibility for them and learn from them; that way you will become a better investor.

Tip 8: Get right advice

Listen to the right people. Prior to the Global Financial Crisis, some financial experts were saying “The high interest rates do not reflect the higher risk investors of finance companies are taking on.”

Well guess what happened? A number of them folded.

www.robertastewart.com

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

Disclaimer: I may receive a small sign up bonus if you join sharesies.

Posted on

5 Industries not to invest in

Coal is still being burned in New Zealand and a lot of other countries.

5 Industries not to invest in

We live in a changing world; industries which were once thriving will likely see a decline but those that are able to adapt to a changing world will thrive, but there are some industries which I would think twice about investing in for various reasons. It is up to each and every investor to do their own due diligence when making their investment choices.

Here is my list of industries to avoid:

  1. Fossil Fuel industries

It is no secret that coal is the scapegoat for climate change and all of the weather related events which take place around the world with monotonous regularity. As a result, it is risky to be investing in anything which is being blamed for climate change, coal being one of these. 

During the GFC, the New Zealand government privatised many state owned companies to pay it’s debts, Solid Energy who were involved in the mining industry was one of these. Just a few years later, Solid Energy collapsed with debts of 400m. Falling coal prices were given as the reason for it’s demise.  About the same time, the Pike River coal mine blew up killing 29 miners. It too collapsed. Both were listed on the NZ share market. Investors got their fingers burned. Need I say more?

  1. Manufacturing

Manufacturing is another industry which is vulnerable to changing economic conditions and government policies. During the GFC, Feltex carpets collapsed. It was listed on the NZ Stock exchange. Investors lost their money. I do not know the reason for the demise of Feltex but do know that whatever is manufactured in the West, it is likely that it can be made in China at a fraction of the cost.

  1. Airlines

The lock downs around the world taught us how Airlines can be easily affected by a pandemic. Air New Zealand were greatly affected as were Airlines around the world. The government bailed them out and it was not the only time that Air New Zealand was rescued by the government. In 2001, they were saved from going under by the NZ government. The shares went down 14 cents per share before they recovered but never returned to their original price. The NZ government ended up owning 51% of the company.

  1. Retail

Internet shopping has made retail shares risky. I just saw on the news recently that Australian Post has an aircraft which will be used solely for parcels. The seats were taken out of this former passenger plane. Trends which take place in Europe and America are ahead of Australia and New Zealand so high street retail firms need to adapt fast or be left behind.

  1. Property Developers

There have been several companies involved in property development which have gone to the wall in the past decade. Slowing economic conditions, staff shortages, and material shortages are problems which hinder progress. 

During the Global Financial Crisis, Lombard, a finance company in New Zealand went bust. They loaned money to property developers and when their creditors were unable to service their debt it affected Lombard. Their glossy brochure stated that the loans are secured by property but the problem came when the value of the properties were worth less than the debt.

Learning from Experience

Experience is the best teacher and I admit that I lost money when I bought shares in Air New Zealand and Feltex Carpets. I also lost money when I invested 5k in Lombard Finance at compound interest. When Lombard went belly up that 5k had over to over 6k. At least I did receive some money back and this was deposited into my retirement fund which in New Zealand is called Kiwisaver. 

As for Coal; the Pike River mine is around 13 or so miles from where I live. I did think of buying shares in Pike River before the explosion just for an interest. I suggest that if you are buying shares in something for the same reason then do so with discretionary spending money.

Special note

Any industry which relies heavily on the discretionary dollar is always going to be vulnerable to changes in the economy. 

www.robertastewart.com

Lake Mapouriki near Franz Josef Glacier. A tourist hotspot which was hit hard by covid lock downs.

Posted on

Diversification and what it is

How to diversify 

Written by Robert A. Stewart

Diversification is a term we often come across in the investment industry but what does this really mean for the Mum and Dad investor and how can the ordinary investor profit from diversification? Here is an article written in simple language which everyday investors can understand.

Diversification in the share market

What it is and how you can make it work for you

Diversify, diversify, diversify are terms you will come across in the world of investments so what does it mean and how can you make it work to grow your wealth?

When someone says you should diversify your investments what is meant is that your investments are spread out among different companies and sectors in order to reduce your risk.

An investor may have shares in a phone company, a power company, a bank, an insurance company and so on.

This kind of diversification was once beyond the means of the average investor because one had to purchase at least $3,000 worth of each share just to make it viable because of the broker’s commission on each buy and sell transaction.

Not any more!

Online share market trading platforms such as Sharesies in New Zealand and Robinhood in the US have opened the way for anyone of any means to get involved in the markets. These platforms enable anyone to build up their financial literacy on a shoestring. There are lots of other online investment platforms similar to Sharesies and Robinhood which gives you a wide choice. 

With sharesies the minimum investment you can make is $5 but with Kernel Wealth, another online investment platform in New Zealand the minimum investment is $100. This is just an example of different rules for different companies.

Mum and Dad investors can buy into a range of diverse companies on a shoe string with sharesies and robin hood which in the long term is good for those astute enough to participate.

Investing in individual companies is not the only way to build up a diverse portfolio; the other way is investing in managed funds or as it is referred to in the States, Mutual Funds. 

When buying into these funds you are combining your money with other investors to purchase units  in the funds. Fund managers will purchase shares in a range of companies on your behalf.

The level of risk can vary depending on the industry which the fund manager invests your money.

These investments are generally referred to as Growth Funds which has the potential to grow your savings but at a higher risk. 

Those investors who want a mixture of high risk and low risk funds will invest in what is called Balanced funds. This is a combination of growth and balanced funds. Investors may have the option of choosing which percentage of their investment they would like in growth or conservative funds..

Diversification is an excellent wealth building strategy for the average investors who wants to create a nest egg for the future. It is a matter knowing what you want to achieve with your investments and investing accordingly.

About this article

This article is based on the writer’s experience and may not be applicable to your personal circumstances therefore discretion is advised. You are welcome to use this article as content for your ebook or website. Feel free to share this article. 

www.robertastewart.com

Prevent Spam Comments

For those website owners who want to know how to stop spam comments on their wordpress sites, try this:

Installing WP-recaptcha

Here is how to prevent spam comments on your wordpress site.

1 Log into your WordPress Dashboard

2 Click on Plugins, then click add new.

3 In the search box type wp-recaptcha and hit enter. Click install now next to the WP-reCaptcha plugin.

4 On the next screen click the Activate Plugin link, and the WP-reCAPTCHA plugin will be installed and enabled

Posted on

Investing with online share market platforms

Share market tips for the Mum and Dad investor

Written by R. A. Stewart

I think it is fair to say that a lot of people dream of hitting it big on the share market and some do but for everyone who has found a pot of gold in the markets there are countless others who entered the markets blindly without doing their homework or having a strategy in place; this article is to give you some pointers if you have some money to spare and are looking for somewhere to invest your hard earned cash.

In the share market, as in real life, if you are able to reduce your number of bad decisions then you will be better off; not that there’s anything wrong with making mistakes.

You are sometimes better off by learning a lesson the hard way if that is what it takes for you to get the lesson. 

Here then are my share market pointers.

1 Investing directly into the share market is beyond most small investors because their ability to diversify their portfolio is limited therefore the only option is to invest all of their funds in one company which leaves them open to disaster. If that particular industry which the company is involved in suffers a downturn, value of the share heads south. It is similar to a horse racing fan attending the track and betting all of their money on the one horse instead of dividing their bankroll between several horses.

Small investors are able to invest in the markets, however, and enjoy the same benefits of larger investors by investing in managed funds; this is where your savings are combined with other investors. You do not have the choice of which companies to invest your money in as that decision is left to the trust manager, however, you can choose which type of fund to invest in whether growth, balanced, or conservative.

2 Investing in the markets is a long-term game, therefore, if you require the money in the short term then you may be better off leaving your money in fixed term interest bearing accounts however, having said that, investing in the markets can increase your savings if you give it enough time. Young people have the advantage of time on their side; they are able to take more risks with their money because they have more time to recover from financial setbacks than their parents.

3 Don’t try to time the markets! It is time and not timing which is the key to making money in the share market. If you are waiting until the markets dip before investing you are missing out on plenty of opportunities to increase your capital and this is particularly true in a rising market. 

4 Decide whether the money is required in the short term, medium term, or long term before deciding on where to invest your money. 

Money needed in the short term or on standby is money which may be needed for car repairs, a holiday, household expenses etc

Medium term funds is money needed for a new car

Long term funds are savings for your retirement such as your superannuation funds.

Short term is not money which should be invested in bank deposits where you are able to have easy access to it.

Medium term money can be invested in managed funds where you are able to have easy access to it but still have the potential for it to grow.

Long term money is money invested in a retirement fund such as kiwisaver in New Zealand.

Conclusion

Think of money as “seed,” it will reap a nice harvest if you give it enough time, therefore you need to sow enough seed in order to increase your wealth; the share market is an excellent investment and managed funds makes it easier for the ordinary person to get involved in the markets. My site www.robertastewart.com has articles to help you increase your wealth. CHECK IT OUT!

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

 

Note: This article is of the opinion of the writer and may not be applicable to your personal circumstances

#sharesies #kiwisaver #savingmoney #sensibleinvesting #sharemarket 

 

Posted on

Share Price Consolidation

Share consolidation-what is it?

Written by R. A. Stewart

One term you do not hear very often is share consolidation. It is a term seldom used because not many companies have used this as an option. This article sheds more light on the term. Hopefully I have explained it well enough in terms that even the novice investor will understand.

Share market price increase may be misleading

If you are a casual share market follower and notice a particular company’s share price has jumped up in price suddenly and you are thinking, “What have I missed out on,” then it all may not be as it seems.

Let me explain.

Years ago around 2001 I think, I owned some shares in Air New Zealand. The company almost went broke. The company almost went bust. It was the government who bailed them out. The share price went from about $1.95 per share down to 14 cents per share. The share price increased a little but still only a fraction of what I bought them for.

What the company then did was increase the share price but you owned fewer shares.

This is how it works:

For the sake of simple mathematics, let’s assume company xyz’s share price is 20 cents per share.  xyz then decides to increase the price of the share to $1. 

If an investor owned 1000 shares at 20 cents, they will now own 200 shares worth $1 each.

Unless you are a follower of the share market you may be unaware of this actually happening. 

I don’t know how often this situation occurs but it may pay to do your homework if a particular share increases dramatically for no apparent reason.

What I have just tried to explain is known as reverse stock split or share consolidation.

This makes the company more attractive to investors. They may hold fewer shares but the real value of the total shares in that particular company is the same. It is just that now they hold proportionately fewer shares.

Share consolidation can be viewed negatively by investors as a company in trouble and this could impact the share price.

One reason why a company may choose share consolidation is that if it’s shares fall below $0.50 for 30 consecutive days then it will be de-listed. This is applicable to the New York Stock Exchange and there may be different rules for other countries. 

Another benefit of share consolidation is that it will mean fewer share certificates will need to be printed which will reduce costs.

It is always a good idea to check the history of a company’s share price before you invest in it. If it has been the subject of a share consolidation it may show up or at least give some indication that it has. Only a small percentage of companies will have been the subject of share consolidation, therefore, you are unlikely to come across this situation.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

You may use this article as content for your ebook or website/blog. The information may not be applicable to your personal circumstances therefore discretion is advised.

 

www.robertastewart.com

#share consolidation

#shares

#mutualfunds

#share market

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

Disclaimer: I may receive a small commission if you join sharesies.

Posted on

Making career choices

So you want to be a sports star

What do you want to be when you grow up? An All Black, an Olympian, a rock star, a world champion in some other field?

It is wise to look at the percentages and see what the odds of achieving such lofty heights in your chosen field are.

Let’s use the sport of rugby as an example. There are 116,000 people who play rugby every weekend in New Zealand. How many of those will eventually play for the All Blacks?

There are fifteen players in a rugby team plus reserves. I think you should look at the mathematics and ask yourself “What chance have I got of playing for the All Blacks based on these numbers?”

That is not to say you should not aim high but rather you should have a backup plan, one which involves gaining an education of some kind. The life of an All Black or any sports star is a very short one, therefore having something to fall back on is going to prove very helpful to you.

If you are at High School and are contemplating your future, playing professional sport is no substitute for getting a good education. 

The life of a professional sports player is very short and having something to fall back on is important. One of my ancestors said, “Always have another string to your bow.” She was good at art but she was better known as the “Aunt who was a nurse.” Some artists do make money from their talent but there is no guarantee that a particular artist will be the next Banksie, though thousands hope to.

Life is like a pyramid, at the top there are those who have reached the peak of their chosen sport or career, and the further down the pyramid you go the more people there are. Using New Zealand rugby as an example; At the elite level are the All Blacks, these are the players who play for New Zealand. Next level down is the Super rugby, there are five teams in Super rugby, next level down is the National Provincial Champs which have more teams and participating players. Further down at ground floor level or as it is called in New Zealand “Grass roots level,” you will have the most participating players.

Those youngsters who desire to be a sports star need to have some kind of backup plan because the life of a professional sportsman is rather short.

To put it in plain language; “Having some career outside of sport will be an advantage to you.”

This involves education and upskilling of some kind. Gaining qualifications at school will provide the platform for further learning after you leave school.

Learning does not end when you leave high school, it is a lifelong process.

As technology advances, your IT skills must keep up with this technology.

When I was at school the talk was always about getting a job. I never had a specific job in mind about the type of job I may be interested in. I did have some far flung dreams about being a harness racing driver but there was never a plan in place as to how I was going to achieve that goal so it just became a daydream rather than a serious career intention.

The one mistake that a high school student makes is to not make any kind of plans for the future; a school teacher cannot do it for you, he or she can only advise their students of options available to them and they can only do that once they know what your interests are.

Your resume or CV can be the difference between getting the job you want or having your application ignored. If you need help with writing out your resume then check this out

www.robertastewart.com