Investing for the first time? Here are a few tips to help you get started

Investment

Investing for the first time? Here are a few tips to help you get started

Published

1 year ago

January 3, 2023

When it comes to saving or investing, the sheer volume of choices can be intimidating for someone who has accumulated some money, wants to use it wisely but is unsure of where to start.

If someone is debt-free and ready to invest, the most important consideration is timeline: Will the funds be used over the next year, or can they be set aside long-term for a down payment on a condo or to fund one’s retirement?

If the timeline is unknown, I would err on the side of caution and place the funds in a high interest savings account or a cashable term deposit which are currently yielding three to four per cent.

It is also important to “shop around,” as financial institutions will often match their competitor’s rates.

Understanding ‘market risk’

Having too much money in a chequing account isn’t recommended due to the daily erosion of buyer power caused by inflation, which is currently running around seven per cent.

If you have longer-term goals and would like your investments to exceed the rate of inflation, consider speaking to an investment advisor.

Many new investors are hesitant to invest in the stock market because they worry about “market risk,” which is the fear of a market crash, heightened volatility or, simply, the fear of losing money.

“Market risk” is not my main concern as it can be managed with proper asset diversification and time.

I won’t go as far as to say that “time heals all,” but history has shown that well-diversified portfolios and North American stock markets are resilient and recover after an economic downturn.

Finding the right advisor

What I’m most concerned about for Canadians is the risk of them running out of money.

We tend to be overly conservative and, often, emotional investors, who are prone to buying high and selling low — behaviours which greatly hinder the overall long-term returns of a portfolio.

Many new investors are further disadvantaged as it can be a struggle finding a good investment advisor who is willing to take them on as a client.

Finding the right financial advisor can help ease your mind, says Mark Ting. (Worawee Meepian/Shutterstock)

They often lack the minimum amount of investable assets required by many established advisors.

However, for some there is a workaround. Try leveraging the relationships of your friends and family and see if they can help you set up a meeting with one of their trusted advisors.

You probably won’t end up being a client, but the advice is usually free and they can help steer you in the right direction.

Time is on your side

Young investors shouldn’t worry too much about market volatility as they have time — literally decades — on their side.

Unfortunately, the proven “get rich slow” style of investing doesn’t cut it for many, so they gravitate toward the very-risky-but-high-potential strategies.

My advice would be to implement a slow and steady investing strategy, adding to it monthly, over time, no matter what is happening in the markets or economy.

I don’t have a problem with new investors trying something aggressive like crypto or a new tech stock, but the allocation should be very low as these investments will likely disappoint.

That said, I know from experience that we learn from our mistakes, so as long as most of their portfolio is being invested based on proven strategies, I don’t mind if a new investor dabbles in some stock picking as it can be a very good learning opportunity.

On The Coast7:31Our guide to personal finance Mark Ting on committing to an investment strategy

You worked hard and managed to save some money, but what’s the next step? There are so many options such as term deposits, the bond or stock market, even crypto—it all can be very overwhelming. Mark Ting is here to discuss questions you should ask yourself before committing to an investment strategy.

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Investment

Everton search for investment to complete 777 deal – BBC.com

Published

5 hours ago

April 23, 2024

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Shamoon Hafez

BBC Sport football news reporter

@ShamoonHafez

2 hours ago

Everton are searching for third-party investment in order to push through a protracted takeover by 777 Partners.

The Miami-based firm agreed a deal to buy the Toffees from majority owner Farhad Moshiri in September, but are yet to gain approval from the Premier League.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported the club’s main financial adviser Deloitte has been seeking fresh funding from sports-focused investors and lenders to get 777’s deal over the line.

BBC Sport has been told this is “standard practice contingency planning” and the process may identify other potential lenders to 777.

Sources close to British-Iranian businessman Moshiri have told BBC Sport they remain “working on completing the deal with 777”.

It is understood there are no other parties waiting in the wings to takeover should the takeover fall through and the focus is fully on 777.

The Americans have so far loaned £180m to Everton for day-to-day operational costs, which will be turned into equity once the deal is completed, but repaying money owed to MSP Sports Capital, whose deal collapsed in August, remains a stumbling block.

777 says it can stump up the £158m that is owed to MSP Sports Capital and once that is settled, it is felt the deal should be completed soon after.

Warren Buffett Predicts 'Bad Ending' for Bitcoin — Is It a Doomed Investment? – Yahoo Finance

Published

6 hours ago

April 23, 2024

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Currently sitting in sixth on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List, Berkshire Hathaway co-founder, chairman and CEO Warren Buffett is a first-rate example of an investor who stuck to his core financial beliefs early in life to become not only a success but a once-in-a-lifetime inspiration to those who followed in his footsteps.

One of the most trusted investors for decades, the 93-year-old Buffett isn’t shy to pontificate on his investment philosophy, which is centered around value investing, buying stocks at less than their intrinsic value and holding them for the long term.

He’s also quite vocal on investments he deems worthless. And one of those is Bitcoin.

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Buffett’s Take on Bitcoin

Over the past decade, it’s been clear that the crypto craze isn’t something Buffett wants any part of. He described Bitcoin as “probably rat poison squared” back in 2018.

“In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending,” Buffett said in 2018. And his stance hasn’t wavered since. According to Benzinga, Buffett believes that cryptocurrencies aren’t a viable or valuable investment.

“Now if you told me you own all of the Bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25, I wouldn’t take it because what would I do with it? I’d have to sell it back to you one way or another. It isn’t going to do anything,” Buffett said at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting in 2022.

Although the Oracle of Omaha has his misgivings about the unpredictable investment, does that mean crypto is doomed as an investment? Not necessarily.

For You: 10 Valuable Stocks That Could Be the Next Apple or Amazon

Is Buffett Wrong About Bitcoin?

Bitcoin bulls argue that while it’s not government-issued, cryptocurrency is as fungible, divisible, secure and portable as fiat currency and gold. Because they occupy a digital space, cryptocurrencies are decentralized, scarce and durable. They can last as long as they can be stored.

Crypto boosters continue to predict massive growth in the coin’s value. Earlier this year, SkyBridge Capital founder and former White House director of communications Anthony Scaramucci told reporters that Bitcoin could exceed $170,000 by mid-2025, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood predicts Bitcoin will hit $1.48 million by 2030, according to Fortune.

“They really don’t understand the concept and the whole history of money,” Scaramucci said of crypto critics like Buffett on a recent episode of Jason Raznick’s “The Raz Report.” Because we place a value on “traditional” currency, it is essentially worthless compared with the transparent and trustworthy digital Bitcoin, Scaramucci said.

Currently trading around the $66,000 mark, Bitcoin is up nearly 50% in 2024. This means it’s massively outperforming most indexes this year, including the S&P 500, which is up about 6% in 2024.

Although Berkshire Hathaway has invested heavily in Bitcoin-related Brazilian fintech company Nu Holdings, which has its own cryptocurrency called Nucoin, it’s possible Buffett will never come around fully to crypto, despite its recent surge in value. It’s contrary to the reliable investment strategy that has served him very well for decades.

“The urge to participate in something where it looks like easy money is a human instinct which has been unleashed,” Buffett said. “People love the idea of getting rich quick, and I don’t blame them … It’s so human, and once unleashed you can’t put it back in the bottle.”

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Warren Buffett Predicts ‘Bad Ending’ for Bitcoin — Is It a Doomed Investment?

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Ping An Profit Falls as Market Declines Hurt Investment Returns – BNN Bloomberg

Published

10 hours ago

April 23, 2024

(Bloomberg) — Ping An Insurance (Group) Co.’s profit dropped 4.3% in the first quarter as stock-market declines and falling bond yields eroded investment returns.

Net income fell to 36.7 billion yuan ($5 billion) in the three months ended March 31, from 38.4 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Tuesday.

Operating profit, which strips out one-time items and short-term investment volatility, fell 3%.

China’s stock market rout at the start of the year and lower bond yields have weighed on insurers’ investment returns. They hurt profit even as more customers seek to buy savings products. Co-Chief Executive Officer Michael Guo said last month that profitability will recover after a 23% drop in net income last year.

“China’s macroeconomy gradually recovered in the first three months of 2024, but there were still challenges,” the company said in a statement, citing weak domestic demand. “In response to volatile capital markets and declining treasury yields, Ping An continued to pursue long-term returns through cycles via value investing.”

Read More: Ping An Trust Wins First Court Ruling Over Delayed Trust Product

Net investment yield of insurance funds dropped to 3%, the statement said, down from 3.1% a year earlier. Real estate investments fell to 4.2% of the 4.9 trillion yuan portfolio, from 4.6% the year earlier.

The CSI 300 Index slumped as much 7.3% this year through the start of February, before government intervention fueled a rally.

New business value, which gauges the profitability of new life policies sold, rose 21% in the first quarter. That followed a 36% jump last year as the company’s efforts to improve the productivity of life agents started to bear fruit. NBV per agent jumped 56% from a year earlier, the statement said.

Ping An shares rose 3% to HK$33.00 in Hong Kong trading on Tuesday, trimming the year’s loss to 6.7%.

(Updates with company comment in fifth paragraph, more details afterwards)

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