Our Digital Gold / Jerome Faury
What’s your most valuable asset – your car? Your house? Your sock puppets? What about your self, and more specifically, what about the digital version of your self, or your image. Here’s one of your assets currently already out there benefitting a handful of a few very powerful companies in the world.
One of the ways you can grow your wealth is to own your SELF.
Jerome is Group GM at Centrality + Co-Founder of Centrapay. He’s also been on a number of Boards, either as a non-exec Director or Advisor.
Previously, Jerome was a founding member of Payment Express, where he helped grow it into one of the largest processors in the Asia-Pacific region, processing more than $40 billion per year across more than 15,000 merchants. He then became Executive General Manager at Orion Health where it reached $1 billion on its IPO listing and in 2014 received Hi-Tech Company of the Year Supreme award.
Jerome is an interesting character, who’s been in difficult and challenging circumstances. This is the first of a two-part recording with Jerome. In this episode you’ll hear about how he was left in the desert by his parents, he survived by eating dried noodles and wearing socks on his hands to a point where he sold his Falcon at the airport to buy a ticket back home. That kind of background builds resilience. This and his work experience has set him up supremely well for the difficult and challenging task before him, to usher in a future where value is transferred as easily and efficiently as information… ‘Where the possibilities for what we constitute as currency are infinite; where consumers, brands and businesses can engage and transact directly with each other’.
Here are a couple of points to take home from the episode:
The internet was the democratization of information. There was one ingredient missed out when the internet was being baked, however – identity.
Data is the new oil/gold, but it’s being controlled by only a handful of companies.
New Zealand is positioned perfectly to take on the Goliath of the corporates in an attempt to free ourselves from their tyranny. Why, because our values are conducive to innovation using the blockchain tech.
Regarding the growing gap between the rich and poor, it’s not about how to redistribute the wealth, it’s about decentralization.
This isn’t your typical episode of the NZ Everyday Investor but hey, what is?
How to get in contact with Jerome? 021 Jerome
How to get in contact with Darcy? – darcy.ungaro@nzeverydayinvestor.com
Jacinda Ardern lectures other countries, Labour goes soft on criminals, ACT launches Firearm policy
In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences, David, Brooke and Ruwan discuss why Jacinda Ardern is overseas lecturing other countries when our economy is in trouble. Also, why did Andrew Little call ACT’s three strikes law “fascism”, and will he give prisoners the right to vote? In contrast to this Muldoonist approach, ACT has consulted the community to generate a new firearm law.
Listen now, or Subscribe free:
ACT’s Campaign for Freedom of Expression: https://freespeech.act.org.nz/
ACT New Zealand: https://www.act.org.nz/
Who’s Next After Lydia Ko? – On The Tee Golf NZ Podcast 9
Lydia Ko remains New Zealand’s number one professional golfer but chasing her for that esteemed spot is 25-year-old, New Zealand-born Munchin Keh, who earlier this year came within one shot of qualifying for the Evian Championship and the Women’s British Open. She talks to our hosts about her game and her hopes for the future.
Listen now:
The Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut.
This week, Ruwan and David are joined by former Reserve Bank Governor and ACT Leader Dr Don Brash to discuss yesterday’s decision by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates. What does this mean for borrowers and savers? How should the Government respond in terms of fiscal policy?
Listen now, or Subscribe free:
ACT’s Campaign for Freedom of Expression: https://freespeech.act.org.nz/
ACT New Zealand: https://www.act.org.nz/
The Future of Educational Freedom in New Zealand.
This week, Ruwan, Beth and Villa Education Trust’s Alwyn Poole discuss ACT’s Partnership Schools and Student Education Accounts and the Government’s plan to take control away from community-run schools.
Listen now, or Subscribe free:
ACT’s Campaign for Freedom of Expression: https://freespeech.act.org.nz/
ACT New Zealand: https://www.act.org.nz/
Irish Eyes – On The Tee Golf New Zealand Podcast 8
Irishman Shane Lowry winning the recent Open Championship held in Ireland was one of the most popular major golf wins in some time, because it was the first Open to be played in Ireland in a very long time. To recap, our hosts invited Irishman Brian Gaynor, better known as the business investment columnist for the NZ Herald, to sit down and have a chat about the amazing event that was Shane Lowry winning the Irish Open.
Listen now:
Jacinda Ardern’s “Wellbeing” philosophy and the Resource Management Act.
This week, Ruwan and David sit down with Chris Simpson from the Waikato Chamber of Commerce. Why does good government matter? Jacinda Ardern was in Australia last week and tried to answer that question. Is there anything to her philosophy of “Wellbeing”. And is she doing anything to improve wages for working New Zealanders or is she too focused on trendy issues like banning plastic bags? The Government has signaled it will overhaul the Resource Management Act. What does it mean for people who want to own a house and why has it taken so long to cut planning red tape?
Listen now, or Subscribe free:
ACT’s Campaign for Freedom of Expression: https://freespeech.act.org.nz/
ACT New Zealand: https://www.act.org.nz/
Psycho / Logical Investing: Mike Taylor
Psycho… or logical? You can choose your adventure when it comes to investing.
Ruling out emotions, or only bringing your rational mind to the table with making investment decisions, is a bit like shopping for a partner based on a list of requirements. It works great in theory until you find the one ‘that’s meant to be’. Investing is about bringing all of who you are to the markets – ignore who you are emotionally at your peril. Understanding how emotions and psychology drive the masses can also give you an edge.
Today we’re covering the exciting area of psychology and investing with guest Mike Taylor of Pie Funds.
Before we start this two-part recording, let’s clear up a bit of jargon:
Note that most of these definitions can be found on Investopedia.com, a great online resource to break down the jargon:
Fundamental analysis: Fundamental analysis is a method of measuring a security’s intrinsic value by examining related economic and financial factors. From macroeconomic factors such as the state of the economy and industry conditions to microeconomic factors like the effectiveness of the company’s management. The goal here is for the investor to have a tool to assess whether a company is over or undervalued.
Technical analysis: Technical analysis is a trading discipline employed to evaluate investments and identify trading opportunities by analyzing statistical trends gathered from trading activity, such as price movement and volume. It’s all about looking at patterns of price movements, trading signals and various other analytical charting tools to evaluate a security’s strength or weakness.
Bull market: A bull market is the condition of a financial market or a group of securities in which prices are rising or are expected to rise. The term “bull market” is most often used to refer to the stock market but can be applied to anything that’s traded, such as bonds, real estate, currencies and commodities. The term “bull market” is typically reserved for extended periods in which a large portion of security prices are rising. Bull markets tend to last for months or even years. Check out this link to an article that talks about the last 12 bull runs in the stock market – the current bull market in which we are in has lasted almost 124 months – this is the longest in history!
Bear market: A bear market is a condition in which securities prices fall 20% or more from recent highs amid widespread pessimism and negative investor sentiment. Typically, bear markets are associated with declines in an overall market or index, but individual securities or commodities can be considered to be in a bear market if they experience a drop of 20% or more over a sustained time period – typically two months or more.
Share buybacks: A buyback, also known as a share repurchase, is when a company buys its own outstanding shares to reduce the number of shares available on the open market. Companies buy back shares for a number of reasons, such as to increase the value of remaining shares available by reducing the supply or to prevent other shareholders from taking a controlling stake. This is a good one that we’re only briefly touching on today but will no doubt explore more this year.
Melt-up : A melt-up is a dramatic and unexpected improvement in the investment performance of an asset class, driven partly by a stampede of investors who don’t want to miss out on its rise, rather than by fundamental improvements in the economy. Gains that a melt-up create are considered to be unreliable indications of the direction the market is ultimately headed. Melt ups often precede melt-downs.
Now two parts of mind we should really talk about at this stage also (according to Google)…
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the cerebral cortex covering the front part of the frontal lobe. This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviour, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behaviour.
The amygdala (Latin, corpus amygdaloideum) is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain’s medial temporal lobe. This part of the brain plays a key role in the processing of emotions. The amygdala forms part of the limbic system.
It’s important to understand how your psychological state affects your investment decisions. The rule we should have to ‘Never go shopping on an empty stomach’ applies when investing: ‘Never invest using your primal gut instincts alone’. Don’t discount feelings entirely though, especially what you perceive to be the aggregated feelings of other investors. Fear can often be more motivating as it’s drawing on our primal mind, and its origin is instinct rather than well thought out strategy using rational thought.
Other key points to finish up with:
–The herd is to be respected – being a contrarian and betting against the trend can pay off big time, but it can also lead to pretty big losses: The trend is your friend.
– Just because the parties getting out of control, doesn’t mean you can’t stay a little longer, just stay dancing as close to the exit as you can.
– You don’t have to subscribe to just one paradigm. For example, passive vs active, fundamental vs technical – there’s a time and place for everything with investing. For eg, if you looked at the fundamentals too much, you’d miss out on a lot of the action we’ve seen over the last two years.
– Confirmation bias – seeking out info that supports your underlying belief system. This can also play out in our paradigms of understanding financial markets. Interest rate direction used to be a predictor of asset markets – this has clearly changed with the extension of the longest bull run in history.
Other Links to check out:
Check out Mike Taylors ‘origin story’ here. you’d like to hear more of his ‘origin story’, check out episode 25 – it’s a good listen.
Fear and greed index insert link CNN
Book: Fear, Greed & Panic: The Psychology of the Stock Market. This is the book that Mike mentioned by David B. Cohen .
If you’d like to learn more about Pie Funds or check out Juno Kiwisaver, visit https://www.piefunds.co.nz/
The Government’s gun ‘buyback’ and ACT’s alternative
ACT Leader David Seymour and Kiwi Gun Blog’s Mike Loder discuss the Government’s gun ‘buyback’. Has it been a failure, how many guns will go underground, and will this make us less safe? Our guests also discuss whether the Government should instead be targeting gangs and criminals. And with more firearms legislation on the horizon, Seymour and Loder consider whether a gun register can work. After two recent cases of missing firearms, we ask whether Police are equipped to carry out the gun ‘buyback’. We also look at ACT’s firearms policy.
Listen now, or Subscribe free:
ACT’s Campaign for Freedom of Expression: https://freespeech.act.org.nz/
ACT New Zealand: https://www.act.org.nz/
Non-truths about Non-banks: Simon Paris
Mainstream financial institutions serve the needs of the mainstream – makes sense right? What about if you’re not quite as straight forward as the majority – how do you gain access to financial markets then?
Non-bank lenders, who are subject to less red-tape than the banks, only make up about 1% of the market in NZ. They exist because there is a need to provide solutions to those of us who may be ‘financially excluded’ from time to time, or for people who ‘need an opportunity.’
Trends in NZ banking are forcing mainstream lenders to leave more opportunities on the table though. More people with aspirations of building wealth through property or business are being turned down as a result. This isn’t ideal.
When these facts are against a backdrop of falling interest rates, I can see non-banks becoming a little more mainstream in terms of popularity.
Simon Paris from Merchant Banking Group (MBG) joins me this episode – hope you enjoy!!
MBG operates in the ‘Non-Bank’ sector and can assist those Applicants who require ‘industry expertise’ to facilitate desired outcomes where funding difficulties are being experienced with existing banking relationships, or where their requirement does not meet the criteria of mainstream funding providers, or perhaps your Advisor has been unable to arrange an acceptable solution.
MBG can assist in identify financing structures, refinance existing facilities, or negotiating an outcome with existing funders on your behalf when things don’t go according to plan and you find yourself ‘up against it’.
Free speech, a new car tax, and the gun buyback
Brooke van Velden reports back from a recent debate on criminalizing free speech in New Zealand. The Government targets cheap, reliable cars with a new tax. What happened to Labour’s promise of no new taxes? And two recent incidents call into question Police’s ability to carry out the gun buyback. Has Parliament thrown the cops a hospital pass?
Listen now, or Subscribe free:
ACT’s Campaign for Freedom of Expression: https://freespeech.act.org.nz/
ACT New Zealand: https://www.act.org.nz/
Three Miners Wine – NZ Wine Podcast 55
Kirstin & Paul Wright came to Three Miners in 1984 without wine making experience and have since added their own direction to the rich history of the land in Alexandra.
Listen to the Podcast Here:
Music Track featured on this podcast: ‘Kuaz’ – courtesy of Brent Page.