Short/long term investments/retirement policies etc advise

[pugboy]

I been using WISE over 15yrs.

Stocks are a fairly decent investment,
I usually buy some once a year, usually at the start.

Some good stocks for me have been Neal/Massy, Republic, RBTT and lately Witco.
Busts have been TCL and Guardian Insurance.

Unilever and Witco were outstanding last year.

After you build up a critical mass the dividend checks are a good paycheck every quarter instead of the pittance you get from UTC.

Some stocks have gone up a bit so far for the new year.

anyone knows a good stock broker ?

[geodude]

i was also confused by all this retirment stuff,
then i decided to do something I understand best,
so I plant an acre of teak,
i serious
so in 20 years cut tress, sell tress and use money to do something else, might even sell zee land

sort term, i use my back yard to plant cash crops, i did some hot peppers last year, and now i am gonna do Paw Paw,

[Chimera]

whats your backup plan if your acre of teak burn down in 10 years tho?

[geodude]

that would indeed suck,
back up plan would be the money I have in the bank,
and obviously I plan to take the normal preventative measures such as ensuring that I have a wide fire track on each side of the land, the area that I have planted the Teak on is not that much of a bushy area as in there are houses in the vicinity and agricultural land on each side on which very soon i foresee ppl building houses on thus further reducing the chances of run away fires, so the changes of a huge wild fire in the area is very low, but it can happen, if it does then I pick up the pieces and move on.

As a sort term also I was thinking about Forex and I still have not abandoned the idea, just not motivated enough to do it right now.

[pugboy]

important advice,
shoulda tell that to the clico policyholders

i decided to do something I understand best,

[Chimera]

e Teak on is not that much of a bushy area as in there are houses in the vicinity and agricultural land on each side on which very soon i foresee ppl building houses o

not really sure thats a good thing

other agricultural land = other farmers lighting fires to clear their land that can easily spread to yours
people building houses = malicious people setting your investment on fire because they eh want no big teak field next to their house or simply cuz they dont like you

anyway thats for a next thread






back on track, was i wrong to say that unless your investment is yielding more than the inflation rate, that you are in fact losing money?

[DVSTT]

Guys, what bank gives the best interest rate for their money market account or savings account? Getting 1.8% out of a fixed deposit and wondering if I should move the money out of the fixed deposit when it matures later this year.

[nismoid]

i have TISP from Republic it help reduce my taxes and it is an annuity plan..
But imho the rate of inflation is sometimes so high that your money might be devalued the time u retire.

i also have TISP, but remember the banks are not registered to pay pension, so they gonna have to take a hefty sum when its time to pay out

No trac...
If the policy matures you dont have to pay taxes or menial taxes..

WRONG
The TISP is a Tax Incentive SAVINGS plan, it is NOT an annuity and therefore CANNOT pay you a pension for life.
This is where the banks has been pulling the wool over consumers eyes for years, Upon the maturity of a TISP, while the interest earned may be payable to you, the balance left in the TISP MUST be used to purchase an ANNUITY FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY.
At that point in time the purchase price for the immediate annuity is significantly higher to buy than if the said person was to buy an annuity from an Insurance company in the first place.
not to mention that your pension has to be declared as income when you collect it.

What this means is that when the proceeds from the TISP is used to purchase an annuity, the monthly pension payout to the customer is lower, so if they had purchased the annuity from the Insurance company they would have still gotten the 25% lumpsum but an increased pension for life or 10 years whichever comes last.

In a nutshell, you get better long term payoff buying an annuity from an Insurance Company

[Redman]

Dvstt
If that money is for the long term I would buy a stock. I like GHL long term
Or the UTC 1st scheme in that you get a dividend and you have upside from the equity component
And a principal guarantee after 3years.

No fixed deposit or mma is paying anywhere close to the inflation raie
So you make 1.8% in interest and lose 10%in inflation

[DVSTT]

Dvstt
If that money is for the long term I would buy a stock. I like GHL long term
Or the UTC 1st scheme in that you get a dividend and you have upside from the equity component
And a principal guarantee after 3years.

No fixed deposit or mma is paying anywhere close to the inflation raie
So you make 1.8% in interest and lose 10%in inflation

How old must I be to buy stock? My main concern wrt stock is investing and losing my money. That's why I would prefer a less risky option of gathering interest.

[francis1979]

For long term investments ( 3 years or more): Unit Trust Growth & Income Fund

http://www.ttutc.com/mutual-funds/growt ... e-fund.htm

The reason I like this fund is because the risk of trading:
(1) Returns of an equity fund ( stocks)
(2) Has a capital guarantee after 3 years
(3) 100% access and flexible contributions

The risk of trading stocks is balanced with the capital guarantee.

[AllTrac]

how solid is the IRUA?

[Redman]

Dvstt
If that money is for the long term I would buy a stock. I like GHL long term
Or the UTC 1st scheme in that you get a dividend and you have upside from the equity component
And a principal guarantee after 3years.

No fixed deposit or mma is paying anywhere close to the inflation raie
So you make 1.8% in interest and lose 10%in inflation

How old must I be to buy stock? My main concern wrt stock is investing and losing my money. That's why I would prefer a less risky option of gathering interest.

I dunno whats the age minimum if there is one.
If you young enough for age to be an issue, the worst thing you can do is to have interest bearing investments.Right now your REAL RETURN is negative-so you losing purchasing power while your nominal value remains the same.
Inflation erodes your purchasing power faster than the measly 1.8% your investment is growing by.

Its like walking up a down escalator-you need to move faster than the escalator to make progress.
Right now that is not possible in a interest bearing investment

If you own a equity you buy a share that represents piece of a company.The company is not static and is being managed by competent people.So the Company (all things being equal) evolves to adapt to the changing environment.The goal being inc mkt share,higher earnings per share and therefore higher share prices.

A deposit /interest bearing FD is static. you renting your money to the bank (at 1.8%)for them to lend it at 20%

Equity investments-management will be working to provide better profits and larger market share and a better dividend. So with the same effort you can own a piece of them and benefit from that.

Yes shares go up and down however you are highly likely to beat the 1.8% and inflation over the long term.

Make no mistake breds you are losing in the FD/MMA type investments.

[DVSTT]

Dvstt
If that money is for the long term I would buy a stock. I like GHL long term
Or the UTC 1st scheme in that you get a dividend and you have upside from the equity component
And a principal guarantee after 3years.

No fixed deposit or mma is paying anywhere close to the inflation raie
So you make 1.8% in interest and lose 10%in inflation

How old must I be to buy stock? My main concern wrt stock is investing and losing my money. That's why I would prefer a less risky option of gathering interest.

I dunno whats the age minimum if there is one.
If you young enough for age to be an issue, the worst thing you can do is to have interest bearing investments.Right now your REAL RETURN is negative-so you losing purchasing power while your nominal value remains the same.
Inflation erodes your purchasing power faster than the measly 1.8% your investment is growing by.

Its like walking up a down escalator-you need to move faster than the escalator to make progress.
Right now that is not possible in a interest bearing investment

If you own a equity you buy a share that represents piece of a company.The company is not static and is being managed by competent people.So the Company (all things being equal) evolves to adapt to the changing environment.The goal being inc mkt share,higher earnings per share and therefore higher share prices.

A deposit /interest bearing FD is static. you renting your money to the bank (at 1.8%)for them to lend it at 20%

Equity investments-management will be working to provide better profits and larger market share and a better dividend. So with the same effort you can own a piece of them and benefit from that.

Yes shares go up and down however you are highly likely to beat the 1.8% and inflation over the long term.

Make no mistake breds you are losing in the FD/MMA type investments.

Makes sense. How does one purchase shares though? And does reselling stock mean that you have to have a buyer lined up for it or does the company buy the shares back from you at market value?

[dougla_boy]

in this thread.....

question, are there any short courses you can do to understand investing and what not?

[francis1979]

in this thread.....

question, are there any short courses you can do to understand investing and what not?

Yes there are courses / seminar which provides knowledge on investing; however the problem is that these companies do not provide unbiased information. The reason I say this is because the courses are usually hosted by companies who are trying to sell you a product at the end of the presentation.


Some good advice can be found at:
(1) Unit Trust: http://www.ttutc.com/how-to-invest/investment-guide.htm ( I find UTC advice is a lot more unbiased that other companies)
(2) Trinidad Guardian Business Section ( Thursday)
(3) Trinidad Express Business Section ( Wednesday)
(4) Money 101: A step by step guide to gaining control of your financial life ( some of the recommendations are not applicable to T&T) http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag ... F_PF_River

[Country_Bookie]

dougla_boy,
I don’t know of any short courses on investing that are offered by itself, but you can start by attending some seminars that are free to the public. One of them is Central Bank’s Financial Literacy seminar, the other is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Education programme. There was an investor education programme held yesterday in UWI. U can check their facebook page or their blog for the next seminar :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trinidad-and-Tobago-Securities-and-Exchange-Commission/329035427173421http://ttsec.wordpress.com/
You can also try using some of the open educational resources on the web, such as Khan Academy on utube or reading a book on personal finance and investing.

[Rx2]

As we on the topic, can anyone recommend a "reputable" certified financial planner? In my case, preferably one in south.

[DVSTT]

http://www.stockex.co.tt/controller.php ... tent&id=53

Good info on stock market.

[Country_Bookie]

As we on the topic, can anyone recommend a "reputable" certified financial planner? In my case, preferably one in south.

http://www.ttsec.org.tt/registration.php?mid=16

Select investment advisers from the menu for Registrant role.

[Rx2]

Thanks countrybookie. I did go through the list and there are 3 planners listed in south but i'd still prefer if someone can personally vouch for a planner they have worked with before.......

[pugboy]

exactly what do you mean by "vouch" ?

[AllTrac]

unit trust growth and income estimated interest on lump sum investment looks pretty good

[Premera]

fellas / Ladies, i am reading alot of info and ask a question ?

we all looking forward to retirement BUT, are we protected enough for illness and disabilities between now and our retirement ?

I am a Guardian Life Agent and have seen lots of people plan and start contributing towards retirement and have had to cancel same policies to fund critical illnesses treatments. Not old persons, from as early as 39 years and up.

PM your email address or call me at 740 - 3666 and i would gladly assist in answering any questions you may have.

I can also email you guys some claims statistics that Guardian compiled for the past 10 years for us to review. It is alarming how much was paid out for Cancer, Heart and Stroke for men and women between 35-50 years.

Whilst i agree retirement is good to plan early, we also need to protect ourselves to ensure we reach to a healthy retirement.

Thanks

[AllTrac]

i have group life and group medical offered to me by my job with guardian life, i also have maritime admed, so im pretty set wrt to critical illness.

How about posting some info here on what retirement or investment policies you all offer so we can all discuss it and critique it.

[Premera]

i have group life and group medical offered to me by my job with guardian life, i also have maritime admed, so im pretty set wrt to critical illness.

How about posting some info here on what retirement or investment policies you all offer so we can all discuss it and critique it.

No probs.....

At Guardian we have registered and unregistered annuities :

Registered Annuities pros & cons :

pros - tax break on contributions made
long term investment so positive performance is pretty much guaranteed
Registered with BIR so funds are insured.
1% minimum guaranteed rate ( some competitors offer ZERO )
cons :

Not registered with BIR so no tax break
25% charge if policy is surrendered before maturity
No access to funds, unless surrendered or matured.
Charges on payments made for the first few years

UNREGISTERED ANNUITY

pros - not registered with government so no taxes on monies
again, long term product so good performance is pretty much guaranteed.
Conservative, Moderate and Aggresive funds to choose from when investing ( can split premiums in all three funds and switch as seen fit )
No penalties for surrendering after 5 years
Access to monies before maturity ( after 5 years )

Cons - no tax break since not registered with BIR
No minimum guarantee rate.
Penalties if surrendered within first 5 years

We also have an investor portfolio attached to our Life Evolution product. Same concept as an annuity except, no penalties at all for withdrawals, no minimum guaranteed rate, no charges at maturity ( 65 or older if you choose ), full access to 100% of funds, no tax break as not a registered pension product. Pretty good performance over the past year, over 6% growth, despite economic downturn

I can email you guys our monthly growth statistics and information on our other products, its too much to post here.

Trac, one question for you ? What formula was used by the Agent to calculate how much Life and CI coverage is sufficient for you ? The reason i ask is because, out of every 5 persons i meet, 3 of them are vastly under-insured and are unaware till the calculations are done for them.

Feel free to pm me your address ok.

Information and analysis is FREE

[Premera]

i have TISP from Republic it help reduce my taxes and it is an annuity plan..
But imho the rate of inflation is sometimes so high that your money might be devalued the time u retire.

i also have TISP, but remember the banks are not registered to pay pension, so they gonna have to take a hefty sum when its time to pay out

No trac...
If the policy matures you dont have to pay taxes or menial taxes..

WRONG
The TISP is a Tax Incentive SAVINGS plan, it is NOT an annuity and therefore CANNOT pay you a pension for life.
This is where the banks has been pulling the wool over consumers eyes for years, Upon the maturity of a TISP, while the interest earned may be payable to you, the balance left in the TISP MUST be used to purchase an ANNUITY FROM AN INSURANCE COMPANY.
At that point in time the purchase price for the immediate annuity is significantly higher to buy than if the said person was to buy an annuity from an Insurance company in the first place.
not to mention that your pension has to be declared as income when you collect it.

What this means is that when the proceeds from the TISP is used to purchase an annuity, the monthly pension payout to the customer is lower, so if they had purchased the annuity from the Insurance company they would have still gotten the 25% lumpsum but an increased pension for life or 10 years whichever comes last.

In a nutshell, you get better long term payoff buying an annuity from an Insurance Company

100% CORRECT....NO BANK CAN ISSUE PENSIONS, THEY MUST BUY INTO ONE FROM AN ISURANCE COMPANY.

Why pay fees and commissions to a Third Party from your hard-earned monies that are being invested ?

[AllTrac]

Premera, sending you a pm now

[Premera]

Premera, sending you a pm now

No probs.....was now gonna copy and paste a snapshot of our asset mix so all can see how stable Guardian truly is


LIFESTAR FUND Market Value % Of Fund
$'000
Commercial Mortgages 11,073 0.99%
Government Bonds - TT$ 388,764 34.85%
Government Bonds - US$ 107,299 9.62%
Corporate Bonds 65,968 5.91%
Real Estate 12,150 1.09%
Short Term Deposits - TT$ 209,554 18.79%
Short Term Deposits -US$ 52,625 4.72%
Equities 229,032 20.53%
GAM TTD Mutual Funds 2,883 0.26%
GAM USD Mutual Funds 22,232 1.99%
Accrued Interest 13,893 1.25%
Total Fund value as at Feb 15, 2013 1,115,472

[AllTrac]

so word on the street is that Maritime is up for sale at US650M. Anyone in the industry got wind of this rumor and can confirm?