Morgan Online June 2010
Opinion: Highlights from Fieldays
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It was great to meet so many of you at National Fieldays at Mystery Creek. We had hundreds of people through our marquee over the four days, and hundreds more checking out the bikes from the Andes trip out the front.The most popular seminar was Economic and Investment Outlook, which is really just a free for all Q and A session.
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Here are the questions we were asked over and over again:
- Where do you think economic growth is going in the next couple of years?
- How do you see the NZ recovery unfolding?
- What does this mean for investment markets?
- So how to you translate that into an investment strategy?
Get Gareth's answers.
Economics: Interest rates on the up
The process of weaning the New Zealand economy off super–low interest rates has begun. Alan Bollard pushed the official cash rate (OCR) up to 2.75% (from 2.50%) at the start of June, the first of an expected series of increases aimed at restoring the OCR to a more normal 5% over the next 18 months.
What are these interest rate adjustments really about?
The tweaking of interest rates, and the timing of these tweaks, is the Reserve Bank’s way of responding to and influencing inflation. Think of the economy as a car, the Reserve Bank as the driver, and interest rates as the accelerating and braking system... Read the full article
Travel: Up the Andes book and DVD available mid July
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Up the Andes is the tale of Gareth and Jo’s latest motorbike adventure from North to South and from top to bottom of – you guessed it – the Andes.
Taking the back roads, they discover the unique and wonderful land that is South America. The book is packed with entertaining tales and the DVD gives you a front seat view of the journey. Enjoy the ride. Will be at your local booksellers by the end of July.
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Media: Hackles raised over health spending on the oldies
Gareth and Lesley Soper duke it out over health spending on the elderly.
Watch the Close Up interview.
Investment: Risk understood little by those who profit by it
Most investors are vaguely familiar with the trade off between return and risk. But risk is generally poorly understood by investors, despite it being the dominant factor influencing their returns. The trade off between risk and return is most often illustrated by a straight line sloping upwards from left to right on a graph; that is, as risk rises so do returns.
"Risk" in this sense reflects the volatility or uncertainty of returns. We have ample evidence that people don’t like uncertainty, and it stands to reason, therefore, that they require higher returns to make risky investments. That intuition, coupled with some mathematical trickery, leads to a less obvious result... Read the full article
Charity: Sneak preview–the Kiwi Battler competition
Jo and Gareth’s charity arm, The Morgan Foundation (www.morgancharity.org), is soon to launch a nationwide competition to find and celebrate Kiwis who have overcome crazy odds to make a ginormous contribution to their community.
They can be charity workers, they can be everyday people doing other stuff for their living, they can be whoever–but they need to have the “wow factor” when it comes to making their community a better place. There will be 14 regional prize winners and a grand winner for the whole country– the National Kiwi Battler.
Put on your thinking caps and get ready to nominate a Kiwi Battler whose work hasn’t been paid due homage. Competition launching mid July. Next Morgan Online will tell you how to nominate.
KiwiSaver: Free KiwiSaver seminars
Join us for free KiwiSaver seminars in Whangarei, Kerikeri, Nelson and Blenheim. This is your chance to get face–to–face with the GMI team. We’ll give a short presentation about how we’ve approached markets, but most of the session will be dedicated to questions and answers. Our experience with these is that the questions are lots of fun. Come along and see. Everyone welcome.
- Whangarei, Wed 14 July 5.30pm – Forum North, Cafler Room. Book a seat
- Kerikeri, Thurs 15 July 6.30pm – The Centre. Book a seat
- Nelson, Tues 27 July 5.30pm – Rutherford Hotel, Waimea Room. Book a seat
- Blenheim, Wed 28 July 5.30pm – Copthorne Hotel. Book a seat
Money: GMI Advisors’ travel schedule for July
- Hamilton, Mon 12 and Tues 13 July
- Whangarei, Wed 14 July
- Kerikeri, Thurs 15 July
- Nelson, Tues 27 July
- Blenheim, Wed 28 July
If you have $50,000 or more to invest, and would like to meet to discuss our private portfolio management services, please phone Margaret Mather on (04) 494 6430 to book a half hour appointment.
Money: Free portfolio appraisal
If you want a no–obligation second opinion on your investment portfolio, take advantage of our portfolio appraisal service. No, we don't charge for this appraisal, but it is a no-holds-barred exercise, so be prepared for Gareth Morgan-style brutal honesty! Click here to send us your details.
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