Painting by investment numbers
ASSESSING an investment can feel like painting by numbers. In trying to assess anything, we strive for a simple measure which makes sense, quickly! Dudley Moore did it for Bo Derek in ‘Ten’, BMI tries to do it for health and fitness, the Gini coefficient did it for economic equality, SAT scores didn’t do anything […]
Investment and pension diversification
WE all have our investment or pension portfolios and we want the best from them as that’s what brings us the security and the ability to do the things we want. It is often believed, incorrectly, that investment/pension funds are fully diversified when they are not. Read that again please. Some are also over diversified […]
Are you being targeted by a financial scam?
IT’S back to financial scams again. I will just preface this column and all scams with this super sandwich quote from two bright young lads: Einstein: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough,” and Warren Buffet: “Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.” Put those together and you wouldn’t […]
Preparing investors for storms and potential losses
FOLLOWING on from last week’s introduction to investment risk, and still using the maritime metaphors, I will cover the other risk measures investors should be considering, to ensure you know the true risk of your investments and how to check them. Last week I covered volatility (standard deviation), or the size of the waves, alongside […]
How do I know if I’m taking too much risk with my investments?
HOW do you know if you’re taking too much risk with your investments?If there’s one thing better than learning from your own mistakes, it’s learning from others. In over 20 years of writing this column I have reviewed many readers’ investment portfolios/pension pots/ISAs. We have trust in institutions and advisers and hope they are well […]
Beware of the crypto conmen who are out to get you
I THOUGHT three columns on crypto currencies would do it, but it’s ran on and on and this week I’m writing about the crypto conmen who are out to get you. We have had numerous calls regarding fraud, and they will grow. Some are six figure numbers, police and fraud are involved, and intelligent people […]
So, how should we ‘value’ Bitcoin?
In what is the penultimate of my crypto and Bitcoin coverage, I’ll answer the question of its ‘valuation’. You only need to look at the wildness of its price to see that no-one knows the answer to that – other than the market makers creating it probably. There can clearly be no efficient pricing structure. […]
Common investment mistakes and useful tips
THIS week I am writing about common investment mistakes and providing you with some useful tips. Whether it’s your pension, ISA or general investments, there can be some tough times when reading your investment reports each year. This can lead to an understandable response, and a biological hijack of your thoughts and subsequent decision-making with […]
Investment queue jumping – is your investment strategy correct?
I TYPE a similar column to this one perhaps once a year. It’s normal. Markets are crazy. They often are, and investors begin to think their age-old strategy of investing may be wrong. They jump from the food queue they have been in, only to see the new queue close for a break. The key […]
Two cool ISA tips… before the rush ends
IN a final ISA column before the rush ends, here are some useful tips. Many people put off investing into an ISA for fear of loss. Instead, they wait until the markets are sounding buzzy, everyone feels great, and the TV is telling us all about how much the markets are rising. Like every party, […]
The brutality of tax on your investments
ISA season is upon us, so let’s look at their benefits. The basic, but very important benefit is that of tax-free growth on your money. How important is that? Two reasons: You don’t have to manage the money in and out of where it’s invested to take care of annual tax allowances. This can cause […]
Watch for the April 5 investment tax change
IT’S coming up to that time of the year again for the last-minute ISA rush. This year takes on a slightly extra bit of urgency, however. Given that you are allowed to invest up to £20,000 per person per year, this tax break is one you just cannot afford to miss, particularly because of the […]