14 October 2013

Should you listen to the Experts and Investment Analysts?

When two reputable investment experts have diametrically opposed views on the same day (here, here)you have to wonder whether or not you should pay any attention to their opinion. News media as well as brokers and investment advisors constantly have to fight for the attention of current and prospective customers and can also rely on the fact that after a few days hardly anyone will remember what they said on a given day. Investors therefore are advised to stick to a well-thought-out investment philosophy based on their personal circumstances and requirements. They should focus on eliminating any avoidable risks as well as containing the annual costs and fees associated with managing their wealth.

12 October 2013

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The return on the time you invest when watching this course might approach infinity as the course is free!

Tweets - a better mousetrap or another hype?

Trying to outrun other market participants with quicker access to news may be the Holy Grail to investment success ever since Rothschild reputedly scored a major investment coup when he got information about the outcome of the Battle of Waterloo before others. So it comes as no surprise that someone would try to mine Twitter for useful and timely investment signals. But be under no illusion - SOME tweets may contain useful information, but which ones, that is the question. This may well be just another momentum-chasing fad - it will be interesting to test the performance record of this approach after a number of years....in the meantime let us remember the old adage: There is a sucker born every minute!

2 October 2013

Stock Accumulators - stay away!

The skill of financial product salespeople - often disguised as financial 'advisers' - does not seem to know any limit. Even the majority of experienced finance professionals will never have heard of these derivative products and investors brave enough to have a close look will require an advanced maths degree (and a strong drink) if they want to get their heads around this 'structure'.