The Investor 23 January 2007
It’s the same old song. New data confirm the same old messages about share investing: hang in there, and diversify.
It’s the same old song. New data confirm the same old messages about share investing: hang in there, and diversify.
Q&As: Are index funds, which I recommend, inferior share fund investments, as Herald columnist Brian Gaynor claims?; A small New Zealand town has it all, a resident claims!
Q&As: A handy rule for quick money calculations; When an ice cream at the movies was a luxury; Insights into the life of a share investor hobbyist; It’s hard to know what goes on behind charity closed doors.
Q&As: Is it a good idea to go back to 100 per cent mortgage on rental and invest the money in a term deposit?; A reader supports gradually building up a share portfolio; Another charity offers Christmas gifts for the needy on behalf of your friends and relatives; Reader wants more info on charities before making gifts; A Sydney minister’s quick-witted response; Prices then and now — and how houses fit into the picture; Cathedral carvings show inflation is nothing new; A reader’s pie and doughnut confession.
Mortgage moves: How you can make the big loans work better for you. Also in this issue: From the mailbox — Is it a good idea to increase your mortgage and invest the money elsewhere?
Look beyond the dividends: In share fund investing, keep your eye on the prize — the over-all return, not just the fees and dividends.
Q&As: Should we get bigger tax deductions for donations to charity? Also — give Christmas gifts to those who really need them; Readers disagree over the price of a 1950s pie; Buying shares company by company, over the years, not the best strategy; Is the new proposed tax on international shares fair?
Q&As: What’s happened to the price of pies over the years?; Would it be good for NZ if Inland Revenue was tougher on rental property capital gains?; When is “income” really “profit”?; Reluctant shareholders worry about their lack of power — How best to hold shares.
An exceptionally unlucky reader. International index funds, a favourite long-term investment of mine, don’t look good to one reader. “I bought about $2000 worth of WiNZ in 2000,” he writes. “They are now 27 per cent lower (have been for quite a while). Fortunately for me it was not a huge amount. “Twenty years is a long time to wait for the fund to claw its way back up. Hopefully all the investors in index funds can wait that long!”
Q&As: A reader finds a flaw in my “avoid the rear-view mirror” argument. Or does he?; Would NZ’s tax revenue actually increase if we all invested offshore?; Inland Revenue says it can’t fix everything at once.