One cool development in the investment landscape recently has been the rise of crowdfunding equity. I first came across this concept maybe 2-3 years ago, and since then it seems to have blossomed into a very common and legitimate way to raise capital. Think of equity crowdfunding as a kind of Kickstarter or Indiegogo, but instead of donating and receiving gifts or rewards, you're actually …
Things I Don’t Like About Bitcoin
I've written a lot of positive things about Bitcoin, so you might think that I've got 80% of my portfolio in it. Actually, only about 5% of my portfolio is in cryptocurrency. That's because while I believe Bitcoin solves a lot of the world's problems, there are a lot of things I'm doubtful about too. Let me run through some of them. Security Bitcoin is secured through a pairing of …
Why It’s Not Safe To Keep Money In A NZ Bank (And What You Can Do Instead)
At the height of the financial crisis in 2009, the financial system of Cyprus imploded. Two of the country's biggest banks were wound up, the country was forced to take on a multi-billion euro emergency loan and bank withdrawals were frozen to avoid a banking exodus by citizens. That probably doesn't sound too outrageous - even the US had banks falling over during that recession. But here's …
Five Industries Where Cryptocurrency Will Flourish
Here's a question for you. What do marijuana, wine, baby food, porn, taxis, bananas, mobile networks, Kodak, video games and casinos all have in common? They're all being put on the blockchain. This isn't necessarily a good idea. Not everything needs to be on the blockchain. Companies launching many of these platforms are just taking advantage of the Bitcoin hype. Of course there's …
I Invested $5,000 Into Harmoney – Was It Worth It?
Last year around July, I decided to diversify my interest investments out of term deposits and into the peer-to-peer market. The peer-to-peer market goes like this: Normally when I have $5,000 to invest, I put it in ASB and they pay me 2-3%. Then ASB goes and lends money to Rangi for 5-6% for his mortgage, or maybe even up to 20% for a personal loan. See how smart the bank is? They take my …
In 2008 I made the best investment of my life. But this one might be even better.
In 2008, I started my career as an accountant. I'd been studying accounting for eight years, since my second year of high school. Yes, I knew the subject well, and I was good at it. When I first started doing accounts at my firm, we used a collection of different software. Most of our clients used MYOB or Cash Manager, both of which were incredibly slow, clunky and looked like they'd been …
Who wins and loses in the next recession?
In 2008, we experienced the global meltdown. The US housing market collapsed, the US banking industry essentially went bankrupt, and the entire world entered a financial winter. Safe to say, lots of people lost money, some their entire fortunes. It was a recession for the ages. The thing about recessions, though, is that they're filled with opportunity. If you want, you can play it safe, and …
The smart governments will embrace Bitcoin, because it’s going to win anyway
There has been a lot of talk recently about the regulation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. New Zealand has held off making any decision yet and the US continues to have a conversation but treads carefully. But some countries, like Japan and the UK, are embracing it. On the other hand, some countries like China have banned it completely. And this China news is the one that stands out, and …
Warren Buffett Thinks Cryptocurrency Is Stupid, But I Don’t Care
Last week, the legendary Warren Buffett went on CNBC and claimed with "almost certainty" that all cryptocurrencies were heading for the pooper. And people always listen to Buffett, because his track record speaks for itself. Or does it? I do love Buffett, and he was a big role model for me when I started my investing career as a teenager. But I want you to flash your memory back to when …