Bitcoin is a digital (electronic) currency. It’s stored on-line and used to settle transactions. Where we once used dollars and cents, we can use Bitcoin. More often it is known as a cryptocurrency. Of which there are many – it just happens that Bitcoin was the first to be created, in 2009, and therefore has become the best known. Others include Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin. If Bitcoin has been in conversation in recent years, likely the focus has been on the opportunity to make money, but that it is speculative at best. There is now increasing discussion of Bitcoin as a serious investment option, over and above its core task of settling transactions. Particularly now there has been a drop in fraud concerns and increased safety in on-line storage options. It is even possible to buy insurance against Bitcoin theft and hacking. Gold meanwhile has been regarded as a store of value for centuries. Currencies, countries and investments have periodically collapsed but gold...

As 2020 draws to a close I thought it would be helpful to reflect on the year that was, and what specific financial lessons COVID-19 has taught us. I had hoped to create a clever acronym with the headings, but this proved to be well beyond my literary skills so, true to type, I have resorted to numbers. 1. Family. It is interesting to note that when confronted with an existential threat like COVID-19, our core values tend to be revealed. For many people those prized things were family and relationships. The simple truth is that these things don’t have to cost a lot. For those of us who stayed employed during the lockdown (and that was most of us) we generally saved money. Some of these savings related to reduced commuting costs but much resulted from less frivolous spending. One question to ask yourself is: have any of these improved spending behaviours been embedded in your ongoing savings habits? 2. Beware of alarmist experts. Conventional wisdom does ...

On 27 March New Zealand was two days into a four-week nationwide lockdown, China had closed its borders to all foreigners and the United States had recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases globally while approving an historic US$2 trillion of spending in response. In our 27 March 2020 | Market Update Four we wrote that “there is no better time to buy shares.” Share markets were priced at levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis. Given low interest rates coupled with economic stimulus, we expected a three- to four-fold gain in shares over the next five years, just as we saw post-February 2009 and following the 2000-2002 tech crash. Given the health consequences suffered by millions of people around the globe and the economic burdens faced by people and businesses, it was to some unthinkable that financial markets would now be trading at record highs. This highlights the relentless forward-looking nature of markets. It is not just the sharp drawdo...