The US debt dominates this issue of Accelerate, just as it has the financial markets and headlines over the last quarter. Our special article takes you through the implications for the world and New Zealand economies blow by blow. Given the current climate, we also consider whether people are losing faith in stock investments, and how it's possible to protect yourself against unnecessary losses. And on a slightly lighter note, whether Bonus Bonds are all they're cracked up to be, despite their Government backing.
This is a milestone edition of Accelerate, as the Financial Advisers Act comes into full effect. With cowboys forced to exit the industry, investor confidence is sure to rise—so we are featuring articles on the costliest personality trait an investor can have and the hardest decision any investor has to make. Now that economic sunlight is beginning to break through the clouds of gloomy headlines, Accelerate helps you ask the important questions about your investment—from how risky is your portfolio to how sinful are your stocks.
Accelerate's cover story applies an unusual analogy to the global and national economies, but it helps explain recent economic events remarkably well. As the pillars of New Zealand's society are shaken – by upheavals in the national property market and in the bedrock of Canterbury – Accelerate presents strategies for keeping yourself, your loved ones and your wealth safe, from a financial checklist for emergencies, through to a handy chart to make sure you don't pay too much tax.
Accelerate's cover story applies an unusual analogy to the global and national economies, but it helps explain recent economic events remarkably well. As the pillars of New Zealand's society are shaken – by upheavals in the national property market and in the bedrock of Canterbury – Accelerate presents strategies for keeping yourself, your loved ones and your wealth safe, from a financial checklist for emergencies, through to a handy chart to make sure you don't pay too much tax.
Starting with an excellent backgrounder on the global and local effects of government monetary and fiscal policy, Accelerate searches for silver linings for today's investors and tomorrow's retirement. Indeed, what will 21st century retirement actually look like for today's "live for the moment" generation? While the desire for wealth is a fundamental human drive, Accelerate explores a foundational question: what does wealth really mean?
Our lead story on Fallout from Greece examines the three capital transmission mechanisms that could turn a regional Eurozone shock into a global phenomenon -- with potential benefits for those who resist the natural instinct to head for the hills. We also focus on the impact of the new Taxation Bill on your life insurance costs, as well as profiling New Zealand's new AFAs: the Authorised Financal Advisers emerging from the most dramatic change in the history of the Financial Advice industry.
In the lead-up to taxation changes in the 2010 Budget, this edition offers a sound backgrounder on property investment. It contains a life lesson that applies as much to New Zealand as a nation as it does to individual investors. Read and consider the possible outcomes for the Kiwi sharemarket -- and how the same factor has driven years of growth across the Tasman. Plus the true value of life insurance, and valuable advice on good housekeeping for family trusts and insurance policies.
As individual markets around the world respond to recovery in different ways, Accelerate highlights the need for investment diversification. From "V"s to backward square roots, we look at the shapes of these diverse recoveries, while also examining New Zealand's own challenges -- and the opportunity for a recovery track that is genuinely sustainable.
This was a time of green shoots. Looking back at this issue of Accelerate, its prediction of a long slow and sometimes volatile climb of recovery now seems prescient. Also, you may be shocked to read about the extraordinary long-term costs of delaying your entry into Kiwisaver. Plus timeless tips on reducing your costs, increasing your wealth and optimising your life insurance. Good advice for everyone, in fact, although economists may not like the Einstein joke.