This week InvestmentLink runs a series of mini-conferences in the three main centres, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
Talk's not enough
Talk's not enough it's time for action: that's the message in the Office of the Retirement Commissioners new advertising campaign.
The office has launched a booklet "Your Retirement Action Planner'' aimed to encourage New Zealanders to move from acknowledge the need to save to actually saving.
"There were now no more excuses to stop those people who are able, from planning for their retirement," Retirement Commissioner Colin Blair says.
Research done by the office shows there are some groups of people which have the ability to save, but have not yet started doing so because of a number of blockages and barriers.
"Our research showed that people knew they should at some stage be making financial provision for their retirement, but some didn't know how to go about it or who to trust. It showed that people were seeking advice that was independent and impartial," Blair says.
"They want simple, impartial answers to questions like 'how much income do I need in retirement; how much do I need to save; and how do I decide the appropriate savings programme?'.
"The research also showed that some people were not confident in dealing with financial intermediaries and were seeking initial advice.
"Some people who were saving already wanted a way to check they were on the right track, and others wanted reminders and prompting, to help them get started.
"It's my job, as the Retirement Commissioner, to help overcome those obstacles, so that people can turn their intention to plan for retirement into action. That's why we've developed the Action Planner," Blair says.
The office has also launched a website to support this campaign.
Terrae Vitae
Strong investor support for the Villa Maria-backed vineyard investment Terra Vitae is so strong that it is likely to close early.
Project manager Alan O'Sullivan says applications for more than 70 per cent of the shares have been received.
"This is well ahead of the projections provided by the sharebrokers and at this stage it appears that we will be closing the float early," he says.
SBS looks at banking
The Southland Building Society says it is considering seeking a banking licence this financial year to give a platform for electronic banking.
Chairman Acton Smith says in SBS's annual report that the society had come under great pressure to become a bank and replace services lost through the withdrawal of trading bank branches in rural communities.
While directors were sympathetic to the requests, satisfying them was not as simple as opening a branch, Smith says.
Chestnuts back on the menu
Chestnuts are back on the investment menu again, with the Chestnut Company of New Zealand seeking to raise $1.8 million to process and pack this country's crop.
The money, if raised successfully, will be used to buy the Top Nut Orchards packhouse business, owned by one of CCNZ's directors Murray Kestle.
The founding shareholders of the business include Kestle, Bryan Old, David Greenslade and David Morrison
The prospectus says Kestle paid $99,104 for the packhouse business and CCNZ will buy it for $250,000 ($105,000 for plant and $145,000 for goodwill).
CCNZ forecasts a $830,200 loss in the March 1999 year and a $194,000 loss in 2000, before an after-tax profit of $229,900 in 2001 and $374,371 in 2002.
The auditors say that the prospectus's financial projections may not be appropriate for purposes other than the share issue. They warn that actual results are likely to vary significantly from projections, even if the events assumed occur.
The minimum investment is $5000. If the subscriptions do not total $1m in four months, investors' money will be returned.
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