Managed Funds Investment plan.

Well we've certainly given Compleks something to think about!

 

My brain hurts.

 

Hey guys.

I've filled out the application form for the CFS MIF Property Securities Fund. It's sitting on my desk while I ponder a few things and try to come to a decision.

I know I will probably look back in a few years and wish I had done things differently etc... etc... but I'm sure that's just part of the learning process. I know I would definitely look back and regret not doing anything at all, or leaving it too long (I already regret not starting sooner).

So I will most likely drop $5000 into this fund, and then move onto looking for a good international share fund. I like crc's advice about dividing up my funds across the different asset classes. I will probably invest in 4-5 funds through CFS/FirstChoice, and just use this as my foundation before moving on to bigger and better things (hopefully).

So, I currently have a fund for Australian Shares, which I'm very happy with at the moment (452 - Australian Geared Share fund). Next will probably be the CFS property securities fund. Then I will look for an international share fund, and international property. Then lastly I might look into a small company fund, or something a little 'riskier'.

Thanks to everyone here, I couldn't have done any of this without you guys.

 

Second regret:

You have probably missed out on the best three months of education (about yourself) you could get.

I started my MF investments exactly three months ago yesterday. Told the wife this morning that we are about back where we started from monetarily (but I know so much more about myself (and my MIL which was not pretty)!!!!)

Thank goodness I didn't use a margin loan....

Now if I can just find some more money.....

Tailcat

 

Good stuff Compleks - you're slaying the procrastination demons...

 

I actually made my first investment (452 - geared Aus. share fund) a few days before things went sour.
It was interesting, because I really didn't care as much as I thought I might. Even though I checked my balance almost daily (I know, I know... long term investment), it didn't phase me to see it withering away.
That said, the fund has recovered, and is performing quite well at the moment.

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

 

Thanks for an informative thread guys.

I am in a fairly similar situation to Compleks (having just invested into a CFS Geared Fund), and have been considering the next step. I'll take the points above on board and perhaps next look at diversifying funds-ie property, international, small companies etc.

I also mean to look further into ETFs. I'll keep you posted.

 

This is excellent! Well done, the best thing you have done is doing SOMETHING! My first investment was $5000 into a "Bank of Melbourne 5 month Spring special Term Deposit!" Do I regret doing this? No, it was all part of my learning process and finding out what investments I like and dont like. 10 years later there are far more investment options avaliable to us, and great sites like this one to help our education process.

The only thing I regret is not been more focused, and investing MORE.. I wasted lots of money on 'toys' which really should have been invested.. but I didn't see the bigger picture back then..

What I also suggest, which is most important, is set yourself some goals.. where you want to be in 12 months time... 2 years time... 5 years time... 10 years time.. Without a goal in mind, then you can loose focus as well.

Get a spread sheet together.. punch in some figures, contribution amounts... time frame compounding etc... interest rates etc and get a feel for where your going.

If your not very good at excel, then prehaps use a compounding calculator like ING DIRECT - Calculators and see what effect time has, what a extra $50 a week means etc.. Punch in 5-7-10 year time frames and you will be suprised what effect compounding has during those times.. Seeing those figures, you might thing twice before wasting money on something you dont need!

I'm also glad to see you didn't cry about your investment over the recent market correction... It shows that your mature about your investment... and you learnt a good lession.. Now you see we are back to records and will now start making money!

Also set your self a reward.. say you save/invest well over the next 12 months.. reward yourself with something special..

 

I think SIM is in the colonial first state australian small companies fund quite big.. he has enjoyed 40%PA returns!

So I think its good to have these in your portfilio... I also have a international small companies fund in my portfilio.. which I invested in 3 weeks before the correction lol..

Compleks, Freeman fox has a market update coming up in the next month or so.. its $48, tax deductable for a investor!.. its worth attending.. may give you some ideas.

 

lol.. dont worry about the complex stratergies... your already on the path to improving your financial situation Just KISS! (Keep it simple stupid!)

 

You should be able to do this via the internet now.. get your firstnet login details, and you can make new contributions to new and existing funds via the net..

 

Thanks mate, your posts are always very useful.


I had a quick search for some international share funds (InvestSmart) and noticed that the returns were all fairly low. Is that expected with international share funds?
Maybe I entered the wrong search criteria. What sector/asset class would I be looking under? (I think I entered 'equity region world large growth and value).

Anyway, I was wondering where a Global Resources Fund (In particular the CFS GRF) would fit into the 40/40 'rule'? Does this fund count as an international share fund?

Cheers

 

Thanks.
Any opinions on that specific fund? It seems to fit my criteria relatively well.

I'm not sure if I should be looking for more of a straight forward international share fund?
Is there anything I should be aware of with resource funds?
Should I continue to search for some sort of blue chip global share fund?

I actually first came across that fund a few days ago, and then noticed while I was filling out the application for the property fund that it (the global resources fund) was also on the list. I'm thinking that I could kill two birds (Funds) with one stone (application).
But I don't want to rush it for the sake of saving time, if it's not the right fund for me.

 

Ta.
Does the risk with resource funds decrease if you plan to hold onto them as a long term investment?
I don't mind taking some risks in my investing, but I would like to have a comfortable foundation to support any riskier investment.

What sort of returns do you guys look for in an international share fund?
All the funds I've seen so far that aren't investing into resources seem to have relatively low performance. In fact they all appear to be returning less than half of what the CFS global resource funds are returning.

All the FirstChoice approved funds appear to be poor performers aswell.

This is about the only fund which seems to be doing well, that isn't invested in resources.
Fund Details - CFS FC Inv - AXA Global Equity - Value - Colonial First State Investments Limited - Direct Access Australia


Decisions, decisions...

 

There are two global resource funds, I just noticed. One is a CFS MIF, the other is a FirstChoice Investment.

CFS - Fund Details - CFS MIF - Global Resources Fund - Colonial First State Investments Limited - Direct Access Australia

First Choice - Fund Details - CFS FC Inv - CFS Global Resources - Colonial First State Investments Limited - Direct Access Australia


If I do decide to go with a global resource fund, I'm probably leaning towards the FC option because it's returns are higher in growth than the CFS fund.

Is there anything else (differences) with these two funds I should be aware of?

 

Distribution is every 195 days for both funds, and the FC MER is fractionally lower than the CFS fund.
All the other stats appear to be pretty much identical, according to DirectAccess page. But I'm probably neglecting to check certain things.