Supermarket Credit Cards Are They Value For Money?

Tesco Supermarket

There isn’t much you can’t buy in the supermarkets these days and this includes financial products and services.  However, despite all the inducements to take out a store branded credit card with the promise of extra reward points and promotional offers the real question should be, how do such cards compare to the market?

Example Supermarket Credit Card APRs

Sainsbury’s Bank – This supermarket offers one of the lowest costing credit cards in the market with the Sainsbury’s Low Cost Credit Card having an APR of just 6.9% making it one of the few cards to have an APR less than10%.  However in order to qualify for the card you will need to be an existing Nectar Card holder and have a good credit rating.  The supermarket also issues a number of other cards at the 16.9% APR level and a Gold Card with additional benefits at 20.1% APR.

Tesco Finance – This supermarket issues its own Tesco Clubcard Credit Card with a representative APR of 16.9% making it comparable to most standard cards offered in the supermarket sector.  As with all supermarket offering, the card it heavily linked to in store offers and the supermarket’s Clubcard loyalty scheme offering shoppers the chance to earn additional points on purchases.

M&S – The standard M&S credit card come in slightly cheaper than the standard offering of both Tesco and Sainsbury’s at 15.9% APR.  In addition, shoppers also receive an extended interest free period of 55 days assuming previous balances have been paid in full.  Additional benefits include the ability to collect “M&S Rewards” and card holders can upgrade to receive additional features for a monthly fee.

How Do Supermarket Credit Cards Compare To The Market?

In shopping around, don’t just compare supermarket credit cards with one another, here are some examples of typical rates which may be received on a range of credit cards from cards for poor credit to credit cards designed for online use:

• Mastercard Aqua (Poor Credit) 35.9% APR
• Visa Granite (Poor Credit) 34.9% APR
• RBS Your Points (Standard Card) 17.9% APR
• Capital One Click Card (Specialist Online Card) 9.9% APR

Overall, one can see that the supermarket offering come in pretty middle of the road with rates slightly cheaper than some high street banks but not in all cases offering consumers the best deal.

So if looking for a credit card, the supermarket offering is certainly worth a look.  However, in making you decision, think about the cost in terms of APR and consider carefully the real value of those extra points and promotional offers.

Roller Coaster Funds: Neptune Russia and Greater Russia

Balakhani Oil Wells Russia

I won’t personally be investing in this fund in the near future, it’s far too risky for my strategy.  However if you want a bit of excitement in your portfolio and some exposure to Russia as an emerging market, then check out Neptune Investments Russia and Greater Russia fund run by Robert Geffen.

Neptune Russia and Greater Russia Fund: What’s in the Package?

OK, so the clues in the title, the bulk of the investment in this fund is in Russian equities (96.5%), as such this is a great way for investors to get an exposure either specifically to Russia or to what may be considered as one of the key emerging markets.  As for what specific sectors are covered in the fund, the bulk of investment is in companies which are linked to Russia’s natural resources with 31.6% of the fund invested in energy (oil & gas), and 19.8% in materials.  Other large investments go into consumer staples and financials.

So as well as being an emerging markets fund, large exposure to the energy and materials sector also make the fund an effective way of gaining a large exposure to natural resources within the country.

Fund Performance: How Has Neptune Russia and Greater Russia Performed?

The performance of the fund over the past five years has been anything but boring, this is not a fund to invest in if looking for long term steady returns.  Since the funds launch in 2004 investors have received and incredible 186.7% return with 107.9% return being seen over the past five years.  However, discrete data shows a rollercoaster ride for investors, while the fund nose dived by -60.69% in 2007/08 an incredible bounce back was seen in 2008/09 yielding a whopping 116.03%. 

If its sector performance that interests you, then the fund has consistently outperformed both the IMA sector average and the relevant benchmark index over the past five years by a considerable margin.  Of course, such levels of performance do not come for free, the fund has an initial charge of 5% and annual management fees of 1.75% making the fund much more expensive in comparison to an index fund.

So if looking for a fund that casts caution to the wind and will add a bit of excitement to your portfolio of investments, Neptune Russia and Greater Russia may just be the place to put a few quid.  If low risks and stable returns are more your think, give this one a miss.

Funds That Perform: L&G Global Health and Pharmaceutical Index

Pfizer World HQ New York City

The past few years have been anything but easy for equities investors and the performance of funds in 2011 hardly inspired confidence.  However, as well look into 2012, here is one fund that I’m really keen on, the Global health and pharmaceuticals index fund managed by Joseph Molloy of Legal and General.

Legal and General Global Health and Pharmaceutical Index – Past Performance

OK so the golden rule is that past performance is never an indicator of future potential in investment.  While this may be true, a strong five year record of consistent growth despite difficult market conditions is what attracted me to the fund in the first place.

The fact is over the past five years the fund has delivered an overall yield of 35.45% against the sector average of 5.85% in the same period.  The key successes of the fund may be seen as the avoidance of losses in 2008 and 2011.  Here when the sector suffered a 24.28% loss in 2008 and 9.45% loss in 2011, L&G’s fund managed to grow by 7.67% and 9.15% respectively.

L&G Global Health and Pharmaceutical Index Fund Trust: Charges and Tax

A further feature which attracts me to the fund is the relatively low level charges, here costs include a 1% annual management charge and a 0.15% additional extras charge.  However, there are no initial charges, exit fees or performance management fees levied on the fund.  This is a good cost structure compared to some of L&G’s other funds which carry an 5% initial change and much higher annual management charges.

In addition, the fund can also be held in an ISA so the tax man will not be eating away at capital gains or dividend payments thus making the fund all the more attractive for those who still have some of their ISA allowance to use up.

Global Health and Pharmaceutical Fund Holdings

The fund is a good way to gain an explore to a wide number of large scale corporate in the health and pharmaceuticals sector with the fund holding 135 companies including GSK, Novartis, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson. 

The fund it also quite well diversified from a geographic perspective with holding mainly spread between North America and developed parts of Europe.  The two largest parts of the fund are invested in the US (56.91%) and in Switzerland (11.83%).  As such, it may be seen that the fund offers a level of diversification without investing too much in politically unstable regions.

So whatever the world holds for funds and equities this year, I’m hoping a strong record over the past five years will see the L&G Global Health and Pharmaceutical Fund deliver some real results for me in 2012.

Why Canadian Polar Bear Diamonds Are a Good Investment

Polar Bear Diamonds

When it comes to spending your money, you could do worse than making an investment in good quality jewellery.  In the long term, such hard assets rarely lose their value and besides that what’s more attractive a nice solid diamond or as pile worn out bank notes?  Not only that, with the banking sector in its current state, it might just be safer keeping at least a little of your wealth close to hand.

However, if you’re looking for a piece that may beat the market in the long term, lookout for Canadian polar bear diamonds, here are a few reasons why:

Limited Availability – While there are many brands of Canadian diamonds, the polar bear brand has only been available since the late 1990’s.  Unfortunately at the end of 2010 the two companies with the rights use the signature polar bear engraving on the girdle of each diamond ceased operations.  Due to legal wrangling, the rights to use the polar bear brand have remained in dispute and simply put polar bear diamonds are extinct for now.

Prices – Due to the stop in production prices of polar bear diamonds have grown relatively faster than other brands.  Some suppliers have reported a 10% rise in the premium over that seen on other Canadian diamond brands.

Ethics – As a product of the Northwest Territories of Canada, polar bear diamonds are produced in conditions which are deemed as ethically acceptable.  This is likely to make polar bear diamonds a better long term investment in comparison to “blood diamonds” obtained from other parts of the world.

Celebrity Status – Celebrity ownership of items has always helped to add long term value to an object, when it comes to diamonds, there can be none more fashionable than the polar bear.  Reputed owners of the brand include Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Sahara Jessica Parker.  Most recently, Prince William and Kate Middleton were given some of the last polar bear diamonds ever to be produced as a wedding gift giving the brand that regal touch.

So if you’re looking to park your money in jewellery with some serious growth potential, it may be worth looking into getting your hands on a few Canadian polar bear diamonds, that is if you can still find any at a reasonable price.