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.

How Wealthy Are You? What its the Average UK Wage?

Cheque

The media is constantly reporting on stories of other peoples incomes, whether its bankers bonuses or benefits claimants there’s scarcely a day when there isn't a story about someone else’s income.  However, apart from these high profile stories, income tends to be a shy topic of conversation in the UK and the reality is that most of us probably don’t have a clue what our neighbors earn or where we fit on the grand scale of income.

What is the UK National Average Wage?

Unfortunately it’s not that simple, the first question to ask is what do you mean by the term average salary?  Here we can use the mean or the median and not surprisingly this results in two separate answers:

Average Mean Income – This is the average income taken by adding up all the salaries of those in the sample and then dividing the answer by the number of the sample population.  The problem with mean income is that the figures are skewed by those at each end of the spectrum who earn exceptionally large or exceptionally small amounts.  At the end of 2010 HBAI data put the UK mean income at £519 per week or £26,988 pa.

Average Median Income – Most prefer to use the median as a way of measuring the average income.  The median income represents the figures at which exactly half of the population earns a figure either side of this level.  In 2010 HBAI data put the UK Median income at £414 per week or £21,528 pa.

So depending upon what you mean by average, if your monthly income is £2,249 (Mean) or £1,794 (Median), congratulations you’ve hit the national average.

What do Other People Earn?

OK so now you know the national average, here are some other average earnings just for fun:

Annual Salaries

·         Office Administrator - £16,296

·         Retail Store Manager - £21,392

·         PA - £24,250

·         General Manager - £35,325

Hourly Wages

·         Retail Assistant - £6.06

·         Admin Staff - £7.64

·         Dental Nurse - £7.96

·         Electrician - £10.99

So there you have it, for better or for worse if your income is in the £21k-£27k band, you’re probably doing just about average. 

Reasons to Refinance Your Mortgage

Sold Sign

OK so the home mortgage market and home ownership path has been anything but fun over the past few years, those looking to get on the property ladder have seen reductions in the availability of mortgages in the first place and need for larger deposits.    On the other hand, those of us already on the ladder have seen stagnating prices at best and a lot have suffered a loss.  However, not all is doom and gloom, now may be the time to save some cash and refinance your mortgage.

Why You May Benefit From Refinancing Your Mortgage

Interest Rates – If you financed your mortgage in the days before the crash, you probably also financed at rates of interest which were far higher than they are now.  If this is the case moving to a mortgage financed at today’s rates is likely to be much more attractive.

Equity – Many people when financing their first home would have saved only the bare minimum deposit, around 10%.  If this was the case you probably got a mortgage at a rate which was higher than would have been available with a larger deposit.  However, if it’s been a few years since you financed and the equity has built up in your home, this could make you much more attractive as a borrower.  Even a small increase in the equity (say to 15%) can make a difference and make a change worthwhile.

Credit Ratings – Having repaid a mortgage over a number of years is a great way to improve your credit rating.  Even just the fact that you have had a mortgage for a number of years may now make you more attractive to banks and mortgage issuers thus making those monthly repayments lower.

Things to Watch Out For in Refinancing Your Mortgage

Type of Mortgage – Make sure you are comparing like with like.  Tracker rates are usually lower than fixed rates, although if you’re coming to the end of a fixed rate, to get a fair comparison you need to consider the rate on the same kind of mortgage even if you do end up opting for a tracker rate.

Fees – While refinancing may result in considerable cost savings, there are also some costs too look out for.  These include exit costs from your current mortgage provider and product fees charged by the prospective new provider.

Valuation – In moving to a new mortgage provider you may also need to get a valuation on the property, this can again add costs to the operation.

So while the current mortgage market isn’t great, if you’ve been in your existing property for a number of years or are coming to the end of a fixed rate period, now could be the time save on those monthly repayment by shopping around for a better deal.

Writing for Money – Is the Content Farm Dead?

Writer at Work

Since mid way through 2009 I’ve earned a considerable part of my income from writing in various forms including writing for the web.  In 2010 I dedicated a proportion of my time to writing for so called “content farms.”  For those not familiar with the concept, a content farm is simply a website which allows members to publish material in return for some form of financial gain usually linked to the clicks on adverts placed in close proximity to the article.  While the term content farm is usually used in a derogatory way, like all web content there exists the good the bad and the dam right ugly.

Content Farming in 2010

I quickly found my experiment in 2010 to be quite profitable, I registered with a number of sites including Suite 101 (my main site), Triond and Infobarrel.  Within a few months I’d built up an article based and was making what I would consider to be reasonable “bonus” money, nothing that was going to let me quit the day job but certainly enough to make a real difference to my monthly bottom line.

In short, from a personal perspective content farming was certainly worth the effort in 2010, every month I wrote new articles and every month my income grew.  The advantages of the content farm in 2010 were obvious, the average writer could gain a reasonable income by publishing articles on a pre-existing platform without a great deal of knowledge of search engine optimisation (SEO) or web marketing.  Content farms generally held a high ranking in the search engines and this lead to steady traffic and with it a steady stream of add clicks and income.

Content Farming in 2011 – Year of the Panda

Unfortunately starting in February 2011, Google implemented a major set of changes to its algorithms which affected the page rank of many sites.  The algorithm updates referred to as “Panda” while hitting many sites saw those sites classified as content farms hit the worst.  The results for content farmers like myself were devastating, articles which had previously been on the first page of Google search results now languished in the back waters and with the death of traffic also came the death of revenue.

While many content farms responded with changes to editorial policy, the large culling of poor quality content and various cosmetic changes in order try to gain favour again with Google and the search engines.  The fact remains that at the end of 2011, few if any of the content farms had made a significant impact in restoring traffic volumes to pre-Panda levels.

Content Farming in 2012 – Year of the Dragon

2012 and the Chinese year of the Dragon is now upon us, but what’s the future for content farmers?  Since the Panda algorithm changes I have seen little evidence that any of the major content farms has the ability rise again in the Google search ranks.  While there are always those eternal optimists, only a change in the bottom line will see me returning to the content farm model. 

As such, in 2012 it may be better to focus on writing for your own websites and blogs, personally the reason for writing for the content farms before was due to the high ranking such sites enjoyed in the search engines.  However, with that gone and no sign of it coming back, far better to maintain editorial freedom and 100% of the revenues generated from own branded websites and blogs.  

Look After the Pennies and the Pounds Will Look After Themselves?

George C Scott as Scrooge

I remember hearing this phrase as a kid and never really understood it, surely if you want to look after the big things in life then look after the big things right?  Ok so this is not the place to launch an attack on the penny pinching brigade, for some it’s necessary and yes a lot of small frivolous spending will add up to, well a lot. However, if there’s a choice between tackling the mortgage or the morning cappuccino, go for the mortgage.

Why Focusing on Big Ticket Items Pays Dividends

If you’re really looking to save money the best place to start is the big ticket items, consider what do you spend the bulk of your money on, home mortgage, car finance, utilities?  These are the items which you are most likely to be able to save the most money on and there probably the items in all reality that can be fixed relatively quickly.  A single switch of the mortgage could save you thousands or years off your payment schedule and changes in insurance and utility providers can often save hundreds in a few phone calls.

The other great thing about switching big ticket items is that you often won’t suffer from any downside other than the hassle of switching.  I promise your house will not bear a grudge if you switch mortgages and your lights will be as bright with NPower or Eon.

The other great thing about big ticket savings is they often come in lump sums, if you save £100 on your annual insurance premiums that's a £100 saving today, not spread over a year in a way that is neither here nor there.

The Problem With Saving the Pennies

On the other hand, you could focus on saving the pennies, cutting out all the small and unnecessary things in life over a year saving quite a bit of money.  The problem however is that small savings take a long time to add up, yes cutting out a coffee three times a week will save you £300 a year, but that’s taken you a whole year to achieve what you might of done in a few hours working on the big ticket items.  In addition, would you have really put that £2 a time in jar and then spent it at the end of the year or would you have just spent it on something else and not really have saved anything?

The other problem with small savings is that they often have a noticeable impact on one’s lifestyle, you won’t notice the difference between one company’s gas and another but switch from a decent set of coffee beans to the cheapest instant stuff, sure you’ll save a little money but you’ll also have bad tasting coffee.

As such, there’s nothing wrong with saving money and trying not to waste your resources.  However, to reap the maximum benefits, focus on big ticket items and items were there is truly no difference between alternatives.  If you want to save big, think big.