Blogs & News

The 2018 World Cup kicked off and is expected to be one of the most watched sporting events in the world.

What is unexpected are the results and performances of some of the top teams; four of the top five pre-tournament favourites failed to win their first match and continue to perform unconvincingly so far.

It may not be immediately obvious, but the role of a football manager offers a topical analogy for the skills required and challenges faced by an investment manager.

Bitcoin is the world’s most popular digital currency. having drawn millions of investors across the world, its value rocketed to nearly us$20,000 at the end of 2017, although its value has since dropped dramatically to c.$7,000 (at the time of writing in April 2018). 

Bitcoin is the best known of the 1,800-odd cryptocurrencies.

Its meteoric rise has drawn many investors, with some believing that the underlying blockchain technology (blockchain is a digital ledger in which transactions made in cryptocurrencies are recorded chronologically and publicly) could become one of the most powerful tools ever given to civilisation. But do investors understand the risks and does the underlying technology even matter ?

The following article written by Michel Perera CIO of CGWM outlines their views.

Expat Medical Insurance policies will generally all have a policy excess (sometimes referred to as a policy deductible) applied in the event of a claim.

The type and wording of a policy excess will have a significant impact on how a claim is treated and the claim reimbursement that is made.

Learn the differences between a 'per annum' and a 'per claim' plan excess.

February was certainly one of the worst months for stock markets since 2008.

A profound inflation scare led to US equity markets plummeting over 12% in just two weeks before rebounding strongly.

The drama is not over and we remain firmly in the grips of these wild swings with markets falling again during the final days of the month.

Are we heading for another recession or simply a period of heightened market volatility?

So much news and information is broadcast every day on financial markets and investments that it can make you feel as though it’s never the right time to invest, or remain invested.

Intrinsic carried out a useful statistical comparison that delivered clear results The comparison took data from investors using Intrinsic’s most popular diversified fund over a period that included significant market fluctuations and negative media coverage.

It shows the returns for investors who stayed invested throughout compared to the returns for investors who felt they should sell and missed out on the best month, five best months and ten best months

Further to an earlier blog post entitled 'Securing your digital assets' - another article , this time authored by the Drake University, takes the issue further.

What will happen to your Facebook account when you die?

What about all your photos shared on social media, your texts with loved ones, or documents on cloud-storage systems?

In just the two-year period from 2012 to 2014, humans produced more data than in all of human civilization before that – and the pace is only accelerating.

It’s not clear what people’s digital presences will look like in years to come, but it’s sure that an increasing number of people will be creating and accumulating growing reams of data until the day they die. But then what?

For nine years we have enjoyed a steady, if not rampant, Bull market.

The disaster of 2008 seems long gone...and it is.

For almost six years now, it has been a story of almost unquenched, steady growth in financial assets and benign volatility.

Many investors have been lulled into an almost catatonic state of assuming consistent and steady gains, month after month.

Indeed, with equity markets constantly setting new highs with little or no drawdowns it is understandable why. But, as we all know, there is no such thing and markets will always be at the vagaries of buyers and sellers. The real world has returned...investment is simply not that easy!

Graham Briar, a Thailand based video blogger has suffered a critical illness and urgently needs a triple heart bypass operation.

However with no medical insurance and not enough money to pay for surgery he finds himself in a nightmare situation in a Chiang Rai hospital.

Graham, who has been broadcasting about his current situation live on YouTube, says that doctors have told him surgery will cost at least half a million baht (USD 16,000) or as much as one million baht (USD32,000) - this needs to be paid upfront.

Watch and listen to Grahams plea for help …