NZ Herald 19 April 2014
Q&As: Gold plan will make us all rich — or will it?; Do Chinese buyers of NZ houses get cheap mortgages?; How KiwiSaver works for the self-employed.
Q&As: Gold plan will make us all rich — or will it?; Do Chinese buyers of NZ houses get cheap mortgages?; How KiwiSaver works for the self-employed.
Q&As: A company that promises way too much. Steer clear!; 2 Q&As about how reverse mortgages might affect government residential care subsidies.
Q&As: Foreclosed property seminar reminds me of investment warning lists; Government’s proposed changes don’t affect current KiwiSaver decisions; Do banks lend more than their total deposits?; Am I brainwashed, and perpetuating myths about family trusts?; Fair enough that housing is not cheap here, says American who moved to NZ.
How not to be ripped off. There’s no denying that some fraudsters are clever. Bernie Madoff — the American now serving 150 years in prison for probably the biggest rip-off of all time — didn’t promise investors 20 or 30 per cent returns, which would have looked highly suspicious. Instead, it was a steady return of around 10.5 per cent a year. While you can’t get returns that high on a steady basis, it obviously sounded possible to thousands of Americans.
Q&As: Executives of failed finance companies can’t get away with wearing the dunce’s hat; Beware “investment houses” offering 20-per-cent-plus returns; Why did long-term investment go backwards?
Q&As: Tax cutting scheme likely to bring much more wealth to the company than to a reader; How recipients of below-market share offers can get their own back; A reader shows her bank just what she thinks of it; How is our gold price forecaster doing?; Some help with finding a good financial adviser.
Q&As: Reader’s sad story about racing tips company; Horse breeder and racer gives his perspective on tips companies; When is a KiwiSaver cash fund not a cash fund?
Q&As: Steps a middle-income family can take towards buying their own home; Scams not always easy to spot; The presence of family trusts could prevent governments from means testing NZ Super; Has the worst already happened for kids in KiwiSaver?
Q&As: Several signs that company offering racing tips is not the path to riches; Managers of Westpac’s poorly performing KiwiSaver cash fund ask investors to be patient; Happy investor says “KiwiSaver rocks” — even though he’s too pessimistic over the future of NZ Super.
How would you have done in financial knowledge survey? It’s question time. How would you have answered the following in a recent survey: “Which is generally considered to make you the most money over the next 15 to 20 years: a savings account, range of shares, range of fixed interest investments, or a cheque account?”