Geoff Noble's Blog, page 3

Productive assets

What a week. From an investment viewpoint, we must focus. I want to share a blog post (here) recently on exactly that. It probably says it better than I can…

The reason I get to largely ignore the exchange rate is because I keep as little money as possible in cash, and as much as possible in productive assets. Things that are actually doing something valuable. The waves still impact me, but it becomes about shifting my stuff up the beach to stop it getting wet, rather than being tossed around...

What’s going to happen?

 

We just don’t really know.

This is the answer to any question we ask about the future. In times of trouble, a lot of experts rise to the surface and they certainly don’t agree with this answer. Many people seem to know exactly what is in store for South Africa in the next couple months and even years ahead. Sho, these are some talented individuals (I get the irony that I send my own weekly email

Can you hear anything in this racket?

Talk about being lucky. I just got back to South Africa before JZ opened his mouth. I could have been a lot poorer if he spoke up sooner.

Regulation Overkill

This week, I am writing from London. I have been thinking about regulation. In theory, regulation is a good thing so far as it protects investors. The problem is that most regulations add cost. Put regulated financial advisors to one side for a minute. Even just to buy shares in a company, you need to buy them from a regulated stockbroker who buys them on a regulated stock exchange. Sure, nothing is for free in this world but current costs make it prohibitive for the average investor. For exa...

Irish Update

Hello from Ireland. I don’t have much to report on this week other than lots of dividends – 8 companies to be precise. You can see more in the Dividend News section of the update.

I read an interesting piece on “Active Decisions” in investing. These are quite distinct from “Active Management” (which you know I am not a fan of). The link to the article is in my update below. A summarised version is that while active investment management should be shunned, there are many “active” decisions to...

Moving day and a Cheetah

Whew! I just managed to finish the Sunday Update before it is Monday. It has been a busy week for me. I moved house and then was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in a game reserve. I have attached a picture from one of the game drives so that you will forgive me for my tardiness.

I did discuss a little bit of investing on this trip. Again, the same story as always. People in their 30’s know they should be investing but don’t know where to start nor do they trust the financial services...

Can I help you?

I always knew investment costs were high but I was surprised at how high. Without any advisor fees, many “low-cost” options are well north of 1.50% (ex VAT) per annum. If we add advisor fees and then add platform fees the costs become very concerning. Cost ratios of 3% and above are not unheard of.

Why is this a problem for Forget The Noise?

I love dividends. I like portfolios with a dividend yield of 4% to 5%. If I subtract costs of 3%, then I am left with practically nothing. I am not happy...

Primed for disruption

I spent the weekend in Johannesburg celebrating my brother’s engagement. I met a whole new bunch of new people. The conversation turned to investments. They all had some form of investment. These were either through the usual suspects (Think Old Mutual etc) or a provident fund (Alexander Forbes). I felt that no one really knew exactly what they invested in. All they knew is they got pretty rubbish customer service and believe they pay excessive fees. This talks to my theory it is better to be...

My Sharpe Ratio is better than yours…

The recent Raging Bull awards got me thinking about active fund management again. For those, of you who don’t know the Raging Bull awards are South Africa’s version of the Oscars for active fund managers. It is a back-slapping, pointless exercise and is at odds with a fund manager’s fiduciary responsibility. I.e. managing money is about the client, not the manager, buddy! In true marketing machine style, the winners shower the market with press releases about their “achievements”. I say, “Tha...

We never learn

Happy Sunday. There is still no new dividend news. If anything, it has been interesting being a spectator of world affairs. One piece of news caught my eye.  I chuckled when I saw President Trump wants to review the Dodd-Frank Act (Dodd-Frank). The Dodd-Frank Act was enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis and regulates American banks. Apparently, Trump has signed an executive order (he likes those) to scale back the provisions of the act. I am not an expert on the actual act but it...