Weekly briefs

Good Returns honoured, Playing with the big boys, Colonial gets four stars, Unbalanced investors, New book.

Sunday, November 21st 1999, 12:00AM

by Philip Macalister

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Good Returns has been honoured in the annual Netguide Internet Awards, finishing second in its category.

Overall there were 82 sites entered in the e-zine category, and Good Returns was highly commended by the panel of international judges.

Access Brokerage won the award for the top finance site and Golf Store, which Armstrong Jones is involved with, was declared best e-commerce/shopping site.

Playing with the big boys
Sharebrokers Ord Minnett in Australia are giving retail investors the opportunity to play with the big boys.

The company has launched a new product, eCapital, which lets small investors participate in the book building process in its float of healthcare, Internet and software group, Health Communications Network.

Book-building is the process used to set the offer price in floats, where investors bid for shares on a price and volume basis. The end price is the weighted average price of all the offers.

Until now retail investors have been left out of the process.

The Healthcare offer has now closed, but you can check out the book building website at http://ipo.hcn.com.au

 

Colonial gets four stars
Colonial First State Investment Managers has been given a four star rating by Morningstar.

In Morningstar jargon the rating means that CFSI is a "very good quality organisation". The ratings of its 11 funds ranges right across the spectrum with Global Bonds having five stars, and two other funds having one star each.

CFSI has not previously been rated by Morningstar. The company made some significant changes to its business two and a half years ago and wanted to wait until those changes had been bedded down before seeking a rating.

Other companies to have four stars include BNZ Investment Management, BT Funds Management and Tower Managed Funds.

NEW book: Making Money
Making Money on the New Zealand Sharemarket is now available through Good Returns book store. The book runs to 358 pages and is considered the most comprehensive book ever written about the New Zealand sharemarket.

The book takes the reader through all learning stages, from a beginner's guide to advanced topics.

Unbalanced investors
New Zealanders are not pursuing a balanced approach to their retirement savings and are going to run into problems when they need to call on their funds, Armstrong Jones managing director Paul Fyfe says.

AJ has just done a survey that shows that New Zealanders are still in love with property, particularly residential property, at the expense of a balanced, less risky higher growth strategy.

The survey also says that 40 per cent of full time workers say they do not engage in any retirement savings, and only 29 per cent engage in regular savings.

The group most likely to be engaged in regular savings is the 40-50 year olds, of whom only 36 per cent save regularly.

People on higher incomes are generally less inclined to save on a planned, regular basis for their retirement. Some 42 per cent of those earning $20,000 - $30,000 pa claim to save regularly, while the percentage drops steadily to less than 20 per cent for those earning in excess of $120,000 pa.

 Fyfe says there is room for a great deal more education, especially in light of New Zealand's changing economic picture.

"We've moved on from the quarter acre paradise," he says, "but out retirement attitudes are still back there. We think that if we own a house we'll showhow be alright and we always think we can save enough just before we retire. Those days are over."

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