by Richard Renfrew | Apr 2, 2020 | Investing
While the impact of Covid-19 on world economies has not fully played out and portfolios have taken a hit; in my opinion, we are not seeing a freefall in share markets. If you look at the US market from its high at the beginning of February to its low on the 23rd March...
by Richard Renfrew | Mar 3, 2020 | Fees discussion, Financial advice
The Financial Services Council surveyed 2,000 New Zealanders in March 2020 and found those people that had received financial advice had 4% better investment returns and had 3.7% higher savings than those who hadn’t. To quantify what 4% better investment returns...
by Richard Renfrew | Jan 17, 2020 | Investing
In this video Dimensional Fund Advisors’ founder David Booth shares his perspective on the limitations of market...
by Richard Renfrew | Jan 7, 2020 | Fees discussion
Beware of the hidden fees charged by banks While banks often disclose for overseas money transfers a transaction fee, what is not disclosed is the exchange rate margin that is used. This is the hidden fee. The exchange rate margin used by banks can be as high as 2 to...
by Richard Renfrew | Jan 3, 2020 | Investing
The folly of chasing returns When you look at world share market returns are there some countries that you should focus on to get higher returns? The video below looks at returns across a wide range of countries looking for patterns that could be exploited. This...
by Richard Renfrew | Apr 13, 2019 | Investing
In 2016 Chris Kacher, MoKa Investors published a graph of the Dow Jones Industrial Average index since 1896. The chart shows the index’s peaks and troughs have reflected the U.S. economy’s triumphs and tribulations over this 120 year period. This chart also...
by Richard Renfrew | Jan 17, 2019 | Investing
The 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Eugene Fama, with two others, for laying “the foundation for the current understanding of asset prices”[1]. Having been (along with our clients) the direct beneficiaries of Fama’s work, we wish to congratulate him on...
by Richard Renfrew | Mar 6, 2018 | Financial advice, Investing
When is the right time to invest? Some investors say they will wait to invest after markets have settled down. The problem is there are always news events which unsettle the share markets. Right now (March 2018) its Trump and trade barriers, previously its been oil,...
by Richard Renfrew | Nov 3, 2017 | Investing
What can we learn from Thaler’s research in attitudes and behavioural finance? Do investors behave rationally or irrationally? Although Dr Richard Thaler sits a few offices down from fellow Nobel Prize recipient, Eugene Fama (Nobel laureate in economics for his...
by Richard Renfrew | Apr 25, 2017 | Newsletter - Quarterly
William Phillips originally an electrical engineer who became an economist in the 1950’s designed a hydro-mechanical computer to demonstrate how money flows through the economy. There is something beautiful and elegant in seeing a mechanical construction...
by Richard Renfrew | Apr 2, 2010 | Insurance
Alison Renfrew was diagnosed with breast cancer on 5th December 2006. The image above is the X-ray, the tumour is the white blob. Doctors refer to this as a ‘back-of-the-room diagnosis’ as it is so distinct. A biopsy was performed on 6th December with...
