Investment Companies

Anyone had anything to do [good or bad] with companies the likes of Craigs etc

Not a thing Naki .. :)

must be too many experienced experts of their own portfolios and adept at performing
their own research here, that some of these Investment Companies at times fail to
warrant much of a mention here ;)


Note: No advice of a financial nature is given by anyone on here - only opinions :)

I have had some in Milford, they have a number of different funds u can invest in. They were going really good about 6-9 months ago (20%) but have since dropped to (10%). Nice easy app to use and also the added bonus of a few business desk articles for free. I’m prob goin to stick it out with them as I like having a mix of investments.

I use ASB Securities online service, but have been considering looking into a full service broker as I don't put in the time to invest successfully.

I would be interested in anyone's opinion on full service versus online do it yourself. Fees, success etc. etc

Mr B might comment on this and you can also do both if you find somewhere.

Dont forget options like Milford as mentioned above and track historic performance.

a mix of ETF's over a 10 year would also be something to look at.

Warren Buffett's advice is to just go into ETFs. Even though he runs a managed fund. Go figure

he has connections to invest in early starts and other venture capital options.

He can get in much earlier and target his invertments like soros used to with QTUM.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aaron

I use ASB Securities online service, but have been considering looking into a full service broker as I don't put in the time to invest successfully.

I would be interested in anyone's opinion on full service versus online do it yourself. Fees, success etc. etc

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This may not be any help as all people are different and circumstances are different but my opinion and advice would be to make the time to become a successful investor.
Learn the skills through education plus trial and error then do it yourself using online brokers. (I use both but mainly online for "uncomplicated" buys and sells)
I had been a hobby investor since my teens but took the plunge over 15 years ago when in my late 40's and set up an investment company with my own and borrowed money, resigned from a well remunerated work
situation and supported our household by part time investing through the company plus managing personal portfolios whilst essentially being in early retirement and enjoying life.
Because of higher management and brokerage fees, nimbleness of being small etc. I've done much better than if I'd used a manager.
In fact for three years I gave a sum to a well known manager to invest in a universe of listed stocks and put the exact same amount in to the same universe of stocks myself. (NZ Smaller Companies)
My return was more than double that of the well known manager for the time period. Since then I have never used someone else to manage share market funds when it can be done yourself.

Just quickly, because I have to get my morning walk in...one of the very best investments is in your own health.
There is no one size fits all solution here.

Brokers these days are increasingly moving to a wealth management model wherein you place your money in a custodial service and they invest it across a very broad range of diversified assets, both locally and internationally. Typical fees I have seen are about 1% on $1m,a bit higher for $500K or thereabouts and a little bit less for more than $1m, I have seen about 0.8% for $2m for example. declining slightly after that.

Apart from that many still offer a traditional advisory model and will typically clip the ticket at around 2% brokerage for retail investors but there are deals to done for volume and size of transactions.

The rise of ETF's has been quite notable in the last decade and people can achieve broad diversification using them.

Managed funds like Fisher Funds, Harbour Asset Management, Milford to name just three of the bigger ones are also a good option.

Now turning to the old chestnut, does an advisory firm add sufficient value such that they earn their fees ?
That's probably the most loaded question in the entire investment industry and the subject of massive debate the world over.

My 2 cents is that it all depends on a number of critical factors including but not limited too:-
1. How much investment experience do you have ?
2. How comfortable are you selecting your own stocks ?
3. How much time are you prepared to spend monitoring them yourself ?
4. What investment analysis skills do you have ?
5. Do you enjoy "the hunt" for market outperformance and all the work that goes with that ? (If not just buying a bunch of ETF's makes sense)

One really has to decide for themselves how involved they want to be in managing their own wealth.
I am most comfortable managing my own money at this stage...but as I get older and more lazy its inevitable I will allow a reasonable proportion to be managed for me. Increasingly I realise that no one person has a mortgage on all the good idea's out there and there is real value in broad diversification in terms of peace of mind.

In a few years when I retire I will probably manage half my money myself and leave half or thereabouts to be managed by others and spend more time on holidays and boating.

I use Craigs.
Excellent service,and easy buying/selling in both NZ/Aussie.
As the share market is my hobby,I select the shares I want to hold,and do my own research.
I know two people you have had Craigs' brokers advise their portfolio holdings.
Both portfolios have preformed very well.Both portfolios have a mix of growth and income stocks.
If you are an investor either Craigs or Jardens will serve you well.Jardens have the best research in NZ.
The main thing is to tell your broker what your objectives are,and which level of risk you are prepared to take.
The main brokers will only recommend companies they research,which gives an added level of safety.
If you want to be a trader,and do your own research a full broker will be an expensive waste of time for you.Go instead to ASB orDirect Broking [Jardens].
I have not mentioned Forbar.I know two people who use them and speak highly of them.