Thousands of small business owners will be facing a huge dilemma over the coming weeks. Should they close their business or keep going? To what extent should they pour more of their own money into the business to prop it up? It is normal to have economic cycles which result in a ‘weeding out’ of weak businesses. When times are good, it is easy to make money. Bad times deal a cruel blow to those who havenâ€...

  In times of great change there are both threats and opportunities. In fact, you could argue that every threat, looked at differently, can be turned into an opportunity. The loss of a job is an opportunity to start a new career. The closure of a business is an opportunity to start a new venture. A drop in asset values is a chance to purchase assets (property, shares, businesses) at a low price. There are numero...

  The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown has seen many people’s incomes significantly reduce. The uncertainty of how long this situation will last and whether the worst is yet to come is causing huge financial stress for some families. Lessons are being learned the hard way. Those who have lived life on the edge with no emergency funds and high levels of short-term debt will suffer the most. Living from pay-day t...

  KiwiSaver investors are panicking and changing their funds from Balanced or Growth funds to Conservative. Their motivation is to reduce losses. However, the outcome will likely be the opposite. What these people fail to understand is that there is a big difference between a loss and a drop in value. KiwiSaver funds are made up of units. The value of the fund is the number of units multiplied by the price per u...

  If there is one upside to a market upheaval, it is the demise of the weak. In the long run, we need strong, efficient markets. The Global Financial Crisis is the most recent and memorable example of a shake-up that in due course, left the world’s financial systems in much better shape than they had been before. There were many casualties throughout this strengthening process. Every now and then we need to be sh...

  When the share market drops suddenly it’s only natural to feel uneasy. Investors feel confident when markets are rising, while falling markets uncover those who are risk averse. The fact is, it’s completely normal for markets to fall. Typically, markets recover quickly and over time, the rises outweigh the falls. A rising market is called a Bull market, while a falling market is called a Bear market. Over the...

  The sudden change in the share market over the last few weeks triggered by Coronavirus fears has caught many inexperienced KiwiSaver investors by surprise. It is clear that many people still don’t understand how KiwiSaver works, nor do they understand investment risk. KiwiSaver funds are locked in until retirement age unless you purchase a first home, leave the country permanently or suffer financial hardshi...

  We are in for a bumpy ride in investment markets. These are the times when experienced investors make money while others lose. Being able to understand volatility and how to use it as an opportunity is a key skill that will bring financial rewards. It comes from being a confident investor who is prepared to see things objectively rather than being swayed by emotion. When markets are volatile, logic goes out the w...

  Becoming a parent for the first time, is one of life’s highlights. Parenthood comes with a mixture of emotions ranging from joy to fear, with a dash of physical exhaustion thrown in. It is a tumultuous time, but the toughness of it all is offset by overwhelming love and a desire to do the absolute best to give a precious new being a good start in life. For many parents, and even grandparents, making provisio...

  It wasn’t until the Global Financial Crisis that the term ‘Black Swan Event’ came into popular use in financial circles. A Black Swan Event is one which catches people by surprise and which has a major impact. The term originates from the discovery of black swans, which were thought not to exist. They were discovered in Australia by Dutch explorers in 1697. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was certainly...