Invest Between the Flags / Ep 170 / Anthony Edmonds
‘Investing between the flags’
So enter in the analogy of investing between the flags. If you visit some of the beaches this summer around the country that you haven’t been to before, what you see on the surface, can often be masking a set of risks. I know from experience that jumping into raging body for a surf when you really can’t swim that well, it can end pretty badly – rips, rocks, sharks sandflies - all can rob you of what would otherwise be an enjoyable day out. These external, macro-risks are often beyond our control, but if it can be made known it should be. Knowing the risks of what you invest in is important, but that’s not the whole story. Can you swim? – if you can, how well? Have you just eaten, have you been drinking? Knowing what you want to achieve before you jump in and the limitations of what you’re capable of can make all the difference when dealing financial markets, and the great outdoors.
While the content today is really awesome – the audio quality is pretty rough - it was recorded in Wellington in a meeting room and not in the studio, but still, I Hope you enjoy the show regardless.
Who is Anthony Edmonds? He's is the founder and managing director of Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS), which manages over $5 billion across three businesses. This comprises of fund hosting, where IIS issues and manages funds for a range of different investment specialists. IIS is also the parent business of the fast growing online investment platform InvestNow. InvestNow enables investors to build portfolios from a wide range of PIE funds, ETFs, and bank term deposits - further, you can now mix you're own KiwiSaver from a selection of 12 leading funds on their platform.
Anthony has deep understanding of investment funds, and the New Zealand investment landscape. Outside of work he is a keen mountain biker, and often ventures into New Zealand’s remote backcountry on multi-day adventures.
This Thursday the 29th of July at 7pm – you need to pop into your diary and register for the Great Debate
Article of interest regarding wholesale investment offers: https://www.goodreturns.co.nz/article/976517918/opinion-wholesale-investor-regime-no-loophole.html.
Article mentioned in this episode around what happens when custody goes wrong: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/124436977/serious-fraud-office-charges-christchurch-finance-whiz-with-fraud-and-forgery
Custody isn’t licensed – if you invest through a platform or fund manager that's somewhat connected to the custodian, should this be of concern? I wouldn’t suggest that you as an investor are taking higher risks by default if this is the case. Custody may not be licensed, but neither are babysitters. In some cases, due to the regulation and best practices around the underlying fund manager, indirectly, the standards they must uphold are set very high already - I'd encourage you to do some due diligence around this for yourself if this is of concern, and have a conversation with your KiwiSaver provider, your fund manager, or your digital platform provider directly. I’m reminded also of the conversation I had with Leighton Roberts from Sharesies in Ep 79 - it may not be possible in some cases to use separate custodians. Regardless, in the spirit of swimming investing between the flags, I still think it's wise to gain clarity around these...