When you’re warming up to a big new investment, how do you prepare for that decision?
Pros and cons list?
Maybe you call a mentor?
Or hit the gym?
Personally, I take a nice long shower. Something about the white noise of the water running puts me into an analytical meditative state.
And normally I follow it up with some spreadsheets in Excel to make sure the numbers stack up.
But for a particular British couple — Gina Lyons and Mark Lee — they prefer a dozen glasses of Sri Lankan rum.
They woke up one day in a bed of a Sri Lankan hotel to discover they had raging hangovers, a hefty bar tab, and oh yeah, they bought a hotel.
The couple were backpacking in Sri Lanka for their honeymoon.
They were staying at a little cheap beachside hotel, having their fill of sun and booze, when the owners of the place apparently mentioned that the lease was almost up.
In their drunken stupor, they reckoned it’d be fun. So they signed on to the lease…a decision that cost them about $87,000.
The hotel owner brought in a ‘translator’ to help them sign the paperwork…but the guy didn’t speak English. So Gina and Mark just sat there, drinking more rum, nodding their heads, and signing where the translator pointed.
Now, the unfortunate part is that they weren’t exactly rolling in dough. They had debt from their wedding. A tiny flat. And soon after signing the hotel lease, they found out they had a little one on the way.
But since they took over the hotel, business has actually been good. So there’s that at least…
Do your research
Here at Money Morning New Zealand, we’ve dedicated our entire business to helping investors like you avoid drunken gambles like Gina and Mark.
You see, investing without doing the homework is a lot like rolling the dice.
And odds are that you’re investing based on whatever mainstream talk has slipped into your subconscious…
But if you’ve done this, you’ll know that it’s not very profitable.
You’re picking up the scraps from whatever the early investors left.
You’re chasing after gains that have come and gone.
That’s how the mainstream works, isn’t it? They report what’s already happened. They tell you about companies that have already succeeded. Think Facebook, Amazon, Xero, Pushpay…
But those trains have already left the station.
The big gains have been captured — by investors who did their research. [openx slug=inpost]
Fortunately for you…
That’s what we do.
Right now, our team focuses on connecting the dots between the government, the NZX, the ASX, investors, funds, trends and even macroeconomic developments at an international scale.
In other words, we do our homework…with the goal of equipping you to make smarter decisions with your wealth.
And as you may have noticed, we do it all for free.
You won’t have seen a single ad since you’ve subscribed…nor have we asked for payment of any sort.
And that’s never going to change.
Money Morning New Zealand will always be free and will always be written under the banner of your best interest.
But a few of you have reached out…asking if we provide a service that’s more in-depth — one that not only touches on opportunities but lays out a blueprint for how you can take advantage of it.
There are a few valuable resources here in New Zealand that do something similar.
The team at Forsyth Barr do a wonderful job. But, of course, they also make money by handling your money…something that we find somewhat conflicting.
We believe that we can better serve investors by remaining completely independent.
We’re not going to make a fund…or manage your portfolio…or handle your transactions.
Because, at some point, our goal would be to maximise fees…and nobody wants that.
We want to provide you with the very best research available…and if you don’t like it, then you’re free to unsubscribe, no questions asked.
We want you to be happy and if you’re not happy with our service, then we wish you the best of luck.
But if you are happy with what you’ve been reading…
If you think our analysis is challenging and well thought out…
If you think we’re uncovering the true nature of the Kiwi economy…
Then you can look forward to getting our best content — for free — in your inbox each day.
Big things in the pipeline
If you’re a reader who’s potentially interested in taking your investing prowess to the next level, you’re in luck. I’m working on a new advisory service, designed to provide you with cutting-edge research on up-and-coming stocks on the NZX and ASX.
I hope to keep it much smaller than the current Money Morning NZ readership — an exclusive group of pioneers looking to delve into the furthest frontier of new trends.
It might cost a couple of dollars, but I assure you it will be as illuminating — if not more — than what you’ll find from top-shelf investment advisors here in New Zealand…and for thousands of dollars less.
When I get a bit closer to launching it, I’ll include the details in a future issue of Money Morning New Zealand, if you’re interested.
If not, you can continue to expect the same first-class research from Money Morning NZ as you’ve been getting…and always for free.
Happy investing!
Best,
Taylor Kee
Editor, Money Morning New Zealand
PS: We’ve recently started providing free stock updates whenever we spot a big-mover on the exchange. The bite-size briefings will tell you what’s happening and why it’s happening. Like why a2 Milk may have dropped 2.28%…or why Steel & Tube surged 1.5%. If you want to stay up-to-date on the NZX’s biggest movers like these, check out the feed here.