John Symond reveals his personal investment portfolio
Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond is laughing all the way to the Commonwealth Bank. Symond, who took on the big banks in the cut throat home lending space, recently sold a 33 per cent stake in Aussie to the CBA for what is believed to be about $100 million. The sale leaves a sweet…
Check out the investment portfolios of the nation’s heavyweight finance experts
Are stocks going cheap? And what about the property market – should we be selling out before it’s too late, or buying on the dip? Everyone has an opinion on current market conditions, making it difficult to discern what’s fact and what’s fiction. So let’s get to the heart of the matter: where are Australia’s…
Stockmarket courses can be pricey, but do they offer the secret to investing success?
How do you become a great trader or investor? Must you shell out thousands on a course, or can you learn the art by going it alone? Talk to anyone in the investing world, and they’ll surely give you a different answer. While some investors praise the merits of attending a structured course, others recommend…
Top places to invest $500, $1000, $3000 and $5000
It’s not a bad time for novice investors to risk their arm in the sharemarket. For relatively small amounts, they can buy good Australian companies at possibly bargain-basement prices, courtesy of the credit crunch. The sharemarket may not have bottomed, but, unless you fluke it, it’s almost impossible to pick the peaks and troughs of…
Where the wealthy stash their cash
Think mega wealthy, seriously cashed up, an embarrassment of riches and the elite and exclusive world of private banking, add to that investment strategies for tens, hundreds, thousands of millions of dollars. Are you visualising brilliantly conceived systems of complex, sophisticated asset allocation schemes? From the outside looking in there is a distinct notion of…
Two market crashes later – Robert Kreft, a story of a full-time trader
It took the loss of a massive $300,000 during the bear market of 2001 to cause Robert Kreft to come to his senses. Declaring that from experience he has learned that human nature will usually overlook the risks in favour of the rewards, he confesses that greed drove his second foray into trading in 1999….
The ultimate starter strategy for building wealth
Instalment gearing is fast becoming the ultimate starter strategy for the capital-challenged, novice investor focused on building wealth. Buzz words such as ‘set and forget’ and ‘user-friendly’ sum up its marketability. “Instalment gearing can be done very cost effectively and has an amazing application for a wide range of people,” says Peter van der Westhuyzen,…
Investment clubs: is pooling resources good for your wealth?
When picking stocks, or choosing funds, do you make better investment decisions by going it alone – or in a group format, where investing ideas are put to the crowd? Investment clubs are big believers in the latter: a group of investors can be more successful than a single investor, but there is disagreement in…
What is the ideal mix of companies?
There is no such thing as a universally ideal share investment, because all investors are different. In particular, different investors have different attitudes to risk, liquidity and investment horizons. Brokers often try to help their clients choose stocks by producing lists of companies classified in various ways – for example, growth companies and value companies….
The Travails of Larry Williams, Futures Trader
In May 2006 Larry Williams was arrested in Sydney by federal police. Up until recently Williams was confined to the Sydney CBD awaiting possible extradition to the US on tax evasion charges. He can now go anywhere in Australia, so long as he posts his movements to police. Karin Derkley speaks to him from his…
