Is it dumb to diversify shares or property? Diversification is not all it’s cracked up to be, according to a man who read my last column, which praised the spreading-your-risk idea. “Bill Gates didn’t diverse much, and it didn’t do him much harm,” he writes. “The fact remains that the richest people on the planet have become that way because they haven’t diversified.
Q&As: Risky to buy shares while waiting to buy a house; Is the gain on excess shares in an IPO taxable?; Rental property depepreciation and Inland Revenue.
One bad apple — New Zealanders are bad at diversifying. Most New Zealand shareholders are frighteningly undiversified. About 24 per cent of share investors own shares in just one company, and another 36 per cent hold shares in two to five companies, according to recent research by the stock exchange, NZX, and sharebrokers ABN AMRO Craigs.
Q&As: What chattels can be depreciated separately in a rental property?; Share trading and tax on capital gains.
Q&As: Pay off rental property mortgage as you approach retirement; When is a capital gain taxable?
Q&As: When to declare share trading profits; What to do if travel agent charges more for using a credit card; Different Visa rules in Australia, and how Visa operates.
Seize the chance: A great way to boost your savings. Also in this issue: From the Mailbox — Investment as retirement approaches.
House prices should worry reader. I’ve just re-read an email from a reader, and it concerns me — especially in light of a recent Economist cover story. The reader put $80,000 into two rental properties six years ago, and it has turned into $255,000, “with very little effort on our part.”
Q&As: Should you sell your house and buy again after prices fall?; The best way to rebalance your investments after the markets put them out of balance; How to measure inflation.
Q&As: When does tax on capital gains apply to share investors?; When can share investors deduct newspapers and investment reports?; Are shops allowed to charge more if you use a Visa card?; The role of luck in house price rises.