http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz RSS Feed en-us http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/articles.xml http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/145277.html Investors should be entitled to trust the information provided in an investment statement. After all directors have signed and certified the truthfulness of what has been presented, and there is information signed off by auditors and the accountant. Investment statements were only introduced a few years ago. Someone during the reign of the last Labour Government in their supposed wisdom decided that investors only needed to be presented with an investment statement. Steven Barton 05 Mar 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/145185.html You may have been dating someone for over a year and things are going really well so you’ve decided that you want to move in together. All you need to do is sell your house, move into his/her’s and book the moving truck. It sounds easy, but it’s not quite that simple if you want to protect your finances. Steven Barton 26 Feb 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/145111.html This week saw the depositions hearings begin in a case being brought against the former directors of Bridgecorp. While investors will not benefit from the outcome of the case, they will undoubtedly take delight in the images of former directors sweating it out in the courtroom. These directors lived the high life, and obviously took great delight in living off the proceeds of what effectively was a Ponzi scheme, the scale of which had never before been seen in New Zealand. Steven Barton 19 Feb 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144983.html As many people are remembering the life of New Zealand Polynesian pop star, Pauly Fuemana, perhaps it is time that we looked at some recent events which could be termed “bizarre”. Steven Barton 12 Feb 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144889.html Over the next few months finance companies will need to obtain credit ratings as part of the government’s steps to improve the sector’s very tarnished image. There is no doubt that some finance companies managed to survive the credit crisis by virtue of the safety net provided by the Crown Guarantee. The test for their survivorship will come once the Crown Guarantee is removed. It will then come down to how good their management is in terms of managing th Steven Barton 05 Feb 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144801.html Over the past couple of weeks, electricity consumers in the Eastern Bay of Plenty have been asked to vote by the Eastern Bay Energy Trust (EBET) on their proposal to take over the publicly listed Horizon Energy (HED). The Eastern Bay Energy Trust already owns 77.29% of Horizon Energy, so it already effectively owns it. Steven Barton 29 Jan 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144774.html At this time of year, many people have either been on holiday or are about to go on holiday. Often they holiday at the beach or lake. They then start thinking. If only we could have a slice of paradise. They then start looking as they go for an evening walk, maybe search the property section of the paper. Owning a holiday house may seem like a great idea. But it is not straight forward, hassle free, and can be financially draining. Steven Barton 22 Jan 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144633.html The Retirement Commissioner has brought annuities back into the news recently. This is because of concerns as to how people will control their spending when they reach the age that they can access their KiwiSaver savings. Buying an annuity is one of the options available to investors as their KiwiSaver investments mature when the investor is aged sixty five. Steven Barton 15 Jan 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144607.html So you have decided to sit down and look at how your portfolio has performed over the past year. You will invariably see that shares, particularly Australasian shares have performed very well. If you have direct shares, the performance of these will most likely be all over the place. Steven Barton 08 Jan 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144574.html We have made it past Christmas and the ‘silly season’ has almost finished. For many of us, the break provides us time to unwind and refresh, once the bustle of Christmas is over. It is also a prime time to reflect over the past year, and consider how we wish to approach the coming year. While New Year’s resolutions tend to focus on our physical health and wellbeing, it is also a great opportunity to review and plan your financial wellbe Steven Barton 01 Jan 2010 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144528.html s we write this, the year has all but finished, with markets gearing up for the Christmas New Year break. In New Zealand and Australia there is normally a virtual shut down, however the USA and European markets do not slow up as much. Their hiatus is in the July/August period. Steven Barton 25 Dec 2009 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144456.html We are really looking forward to catching up with you on Christmas. Hasn’t the year gone by quickly? I hope all is well with you and Mrs. Claus, and of course the little ones. Your reindeer must be getting really excited about this coming Thursday’s great big trip. Steven Barton 18 Dec 2009 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144402.html The results of a survey carried out by CoreData amongst investment advisers in Australia makes some interesting observations. The Australian finance industry is currently much heavier regulated than it is in New Zealand. The Australian regulator is the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), whereas the NZ one is the Securities Commission. New Zealand is moving more towards the Australian model. Steven Barton 11 Dec 2009 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/144301.html In Australia there have been moves to make commissions on investments illegal. The reasoning for this is that someone who is paid by commission can be unduly influenced by the rate of commission being received.Recently it was announced that the AMP in Australia would stop paying its investment advisers commissions. They have been very coy about making any such commitment for their New Zealand advisers. Steven Barton 04 Dec 2009 http://www.pascoebarton.co.nz/archives/143963.html It is an extremely difficult time for investors who want income with a high degree of safety. Interest rates continue at virtually all time lows, and the Reserve Bank is unlikely to increase the official cash rate for some time. Banks promote specials, but they certainly do not look attractive to investors who were typically receiving 7% plus for term deposits. Steven Barton 27 Nov 2009