ETF Starting an ETF portfolio

Well with Prime you'll only pay $20 brokerage (which is the cheapest you'll get for $5000). Commsec will charge you $30 unless you open an special account with them.

Plus with Prime you get a high interest account as well (RBA cash rate) compared to the low rate earned on the Commsec one.

 

Good points.
I guess I have to invest through a broker anyway, and if Macquarie has cheaper fees then it wold make sense.
I currently have my money in a Westpac account, which has a decent interest rate if left untouched. But I'm not sure how good their brokerage service is.

Cheers.

 

I'm such a procrastinator.

I'm not sure how to go about this. I don't have alot of money to invest, so I'm not sure how I should enter the market.
I know it's probably smart to plan my portfolio and invest into different ETF's for diversity and market exposure. But I'm not sure what areas to include in a portfolio, and how to allocate my funds. Then I have to find the right ETF for each area.

Since I only have limited funds, I'm not sure if I should spread myself out and get my portfolio set up initially (which would cost more in brokerage). Or if I should just stick with one or two funds and invest a larger amount, then worry about diversifying later.

I need to take action!

 

I second Sim's recommendation - you need to start somewhere!

Once you have invested some money (even if it's a small amount), you'll find that you take much more interest and are naturally drawn to learning more about investing.

Don't stress yourself about about diversifying in to every possible area to begin with - if you start with something like STW, you've got a good base to build on.

 

I have heard both STW and IOO mentioned quite alot, so I was thinking of checking out these two funds first.

Thanks guys. I'm thinking I should just open an account with macquarie prime and get started there.

 

Alright, time to do something.

I'm going to apply for a Macquarie Prime/Cash account. I'll put my savings in there to earn higher interest for the time being.
Then I will invest in STW and/or IOO...

Can someone pat me on the back and tell me I'm doing the right thing?

Unless of course I'm making a big mistake, in which case I would appreciate a smack across the head and a kick in the right direction.


Wish me luck!

 

I have a few questions which came up in the application process.

What is a CFD account? There is the option for me to open this account aswell as a macquarie prime and cash account. I don't know if this would be of any benefit to me?

What's the difference here?

I don't understand what this is.

Is this in reference to any shares you may already own? I have no other share investments, so this won't apply for me will it?


Lastly:

What the?

 

First of all, can I recommend you read the MQ Prime Product Disclosure Statement. It's a lengthy document, but it's all a good read! It will answer your questions, and perhaps freak you out a bit, but since you are putting money in, you need to do it.

Don't open the CFD account. All you need is MQ Prime Shares and Cash.

Loss limiter demands that every share transaction you place has a predetermined Stop Loss. The standard account lets you place Stop Losses as you choose. Since you are buying to hold, I suggest a standard account - you can put the SL or GSL in yourself.
(I expect that the Loss Limiter account is for frequent traders, who insist on a SL on every trade, and don't wish to inadvertently put through an unprotected trade).

Get the lowest level, maybe $50k. This will have no effect on you. You are not planning to trade on margin, and you don't need any such limits.

Correct.
If you owned shares through another broker ('broker sponsored' with a 'HIN') then you could transfer them into MQ Prime (very simple process, costs nothing). If you owned shares from a float (eg CBA or Telstra) then they might still be 'Issuer sponsored' with a 'SRN' - you could transfer these into MQ Prime as well.

The consumer credit code does not apply if you hold the shares for investment purposes (which I assume you are!) It means that you have read and understood any applicable PDS, accepted the risks associated with investing, and taken the plunge. Nobody will come to your rescue if the investment turns sour.

 

You can buy gold on the ASX by buying GOLD.

 

It seems the 'risk limit' is a bit of a problem.

I set it to $50,000 (for no reason in particular. I still don't fully understand how the risk limit works).
Anyway, I didn't give them an annual gross income, because I'm really not sure what it is. I'm a personal trainer and my pay has been quite volatile. Plus I'm relatively new to the field.

So I got a call from Macquarie and they can't approve the risk limit without more information. So I need to fill in a change of risk limit form, and provide the relevant information. The guy I spoke to told me to take my monthly income and simple times it by 12.

I did this (turns out to roughly $16,000pa). How does this figure effect my risk limit?

I'm not even sure what I'm talking about anymore...

Any thoughts?

 

Anyone?

Sorry to be a pain, but I want to finish up my application before I procrastinate any further.

 

http://www.riskglossary.com/link/risk_limits.htm

 

Thanks.

I'm not sure what would be an appropriate risk limit to request, given my low income.

 

http://www.riskgrades.com/retail/rghelp/

 

The lowest selectable limit was like $100,000 or something. I put down $50,000 as my risk limit, but don't really plan to borrow at all. I was just going to invest using my own money at this stage, but it was required that I fill out that section.

 

If you are not planning to borrow, why don't you put your risk limit at $0.00 ?

 

Well, I guess that makes sense.

I warned you guys that I'm learning disabled.

 

So, it turns out I should have applied for a 'loss limiter' account if I didn't want the margin loan facility.
But one of the guys at Macquarie has been very helpful, and I think I've filled out everything I need to in order to set up the right account.

I really do know how to make a simple process very complicated.