Richard Cayne Meyer International Ltd - Investing For the Long Term

Richard Cayne at Meyer International in Bangkok Thailand says volatility in the markets is predictable in that we know there will be volatility so learn to accept and understand it.  As a disciplined saver or investor (whatever you choose to call yourself) you simply must keep a view on investments over a long horizon.  The reason you must keep the long view is not so you ignore the present and put your head in the sand, and it’s not me telling you to “just hang in there”;  it’s so you don’t do what so many other unguided individuals have done in the past: failed to recognize that a well-managed equity portfolio will return 10% or greater on an average annual basis over any 10 year or longer period, and so you don’t guarantee yourself losses by buying high and selling low.  Unfortunately, most people end up buying high and selling low. 

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset management Ltd points out that over various research papers the study of investment results from 1991 through 2010, that the “average equity investor” realized an average annual total return of 3.8%, while the Standard and Poor’s 500 Composite Index provided an average annual total return of 9.1%.  A $100,000 hypothetical investment in the index would have grown to about $575,000 during that time, while this same investment would have grown to about $212,000 for the investor.  The difference in returns is largely attributable to investors getting in when times are good, and selling when times are bad-essentially buying high and selling low.  This “behavior gap” is the reason that during the gravy years for the Fidelity Magellan Fund, when it was under Peter Lynch’s management, the fund increased in value by an average of 29% annually, yet the majority of fund owners lost money.  The reason being is that they responded emotionally to what they saw going on around them; they bought high and sold low.

Of course one still needs asset selection that uses the right funds.  As Richard Cayne advocates all the time, even though we are required in the business to say “past performance is no guarantee of future results”, the reality of investment business is that past performance by a money manager is by far the best predictor of how that manager will do in the future.  Of the tens of thousands of mutual funds in the available universe, a small percentage, in any asset category, meet our standards for consistent, long term performance and capital preservation; and you need both.  There is no rule, no regulation, which says a fund, has to be good to be in business, and many are simply not good.

So hang in there and keep focus on your long term goals and objectives says Richard Cayne Meyer International Ltd. 

Meyer International Ltd based in Bangkok Thailand along with Meyer Asset Management Ltd form part of the Meyer Group of companies which is wholly owned by Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd which is a London UK listed Financial Holding company.  Richard Cayne Managing Director of the Meyer Group has lived in Asia for over 17 years with the majority of his time living in Tokyo Japan consulting high net worth Japanese individual and corporate clients on offshore financial planning, investment and structuring matters.

Article Source:- http://richardcaynes.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/richard-cayne-meyer-international-ltd-investing-for-the-long-term/

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd on RISK Assessment

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd says that risk assessment is an important consideration when choosing investments and conducting financial planning.  Usually, when people define risk as it pertains to financial planning and asset management, the response is that risk equates in some manner to risk of loss of current investment value due to poor investment performance or due to losses incurred as a result of broad market declines.  Risk, therefore being defined as the fear of loosing money.  Richard Cayne suggests, risk be defined more broadly as something you want to happen actually not happen. Risk associated with asset selection is manageable by picking managers who have demonstrated their ability to outperform benchmarks and indices and provide capital preservation over long periods of time usually 3-5 years plus.  In other words, don’t use funds that don’t perform, and don’t use funds that haven’t proven themselves.


Richard Cayne currently residing in Bangkok Thailand says that it is also important not to confuse market fluctuation with risk.  For savers who own mutual funds, whether they own good ones or bad ones, market fluctuation is a fact of life, and it is not a bad thing;  it is in fact a good thing as long as investors behave correctly.  In other words, don’t buy high and sell low.  Market fluctuation is the engine that drives the growth of mutual funds, and when an investor owns a quality fund for an extended period of time, market fluctuation enables larger share purchases at lower cost and accelerates the growth of funds.  For investors who invest regularly, a strategy usually referred to as Dollar Cost Averaging, market fluctuation is being exploited to the investor’s advantage.  When one invests a consistent amount of money on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly or yearly, for example) that investor buys more shares when prices are low and less shares when prices are high.  This results in the average cost per share being lower than the average price per share over the investment period.

There are other, often less considered risks; risks that can be as much or more deleterious than picking a bad fund manager. The risk that you have not quantified your financial goals and priorities, and therefore, have no plan, and no clear picture of your financial “outcome”.  The risk is that you will run out of money during retirement.  The risk that your financial goals and objectives will be derailed due to premature death or incapacity.  The risk that your desired outcomes for the people who are important to you will not transpire due to asset transfer laws and taxes.   Richard Cayne working as Financial Advisor in Tokyo Japan and at Meyer Asset Management Ltd has explained to hundreds of Japanese individuals how important considering the risk of not doing any financial planning for themselves or family that is truly the biggest risk.  Now Richard Cayne at Meyer International Ltd is also helping people in Bangkok Thailand and the region understand and learn how to manage and mitigate risks.

Richard Cayne when in Tokyo Japan said most Japanese feel challenged and wonder how to get the ball rolling and what the first steps should be.   If you have not done so already, start by creating a clear picture of what is important to you and what you want the financial aspects of your life to look like.   This is your life and your life plan after all so be as specific as you can.  Write it down, and then get professional advice on how to accomplish these things that are of great importance to you.  Good advisors, whether financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, or other professionals don’t give you a plan.  They listen to you to understand what you want, then advise you on how you may best accomplish your plan.   Start straight away if you haven’t already done so as waiting for tomorrow is a waste of today.

Meyer International Ltd based in Bangkok Thailand along with Meyer Asset Management Ltd form part of the Meyer Group of companies which is wholly owned by Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd which is a London UK listed Financial Holding company.  Richard Cayne Managing Director of the Meyer Group has lived in Asia for over 17 years with the majority of his time living in Tokyo Japan consulting high net worth Japanese individual and corporate clients on offshore financial planning, investment and structuring matters.

Article Source:- http://richardcaynes.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/richard-cayne-meyer-asset-management-ltd-on-risk-assessment/

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd - Why invest in Mutual Funds

There are a lot of reasons why we use mutual funds in our clients’ managed accounts says Richard Cayne of Meyer Asset Management Ltd.  Broader diversification is important.  For most investors, it is simply not possible to get adequate diversification in a portfolio of individual stocks in order to provide adequate capital preservation.  Negative events adversely affecting one company can have a substantially negative effect on its’ stock valuation.   Most mutual funds hold over 50 different stocks or positions so negative events affecting one company have little, if any, effect on the total fund.

There are more reasons; some of them of even greater importance.  Because mutual funds are required to report their financial results in a standardized manner, we can analyze the actual performance of a manager over long periods of time.  We are required as advisors to remind clients that past performance is no guarantee of future results, but in the end, the best and most important filter we have by which to select funds, is that fund’s historical performance.  If a fund has produced top quartile performance for 10 or 20 years or longer, it is reasonable to assume that there is a reason for that consistency.  Short term results (1, 3, 5 years) are random.  The reality of fund performance is that in the universe of mutual funds in any asset category, there are perpetual top performers, perpetual bottom performers, and a lot of mediocrity.  Richard Cayne who working at Meyer Asset Management Ltd and in Tokyo Japan helping Japanese with portfolio construction and modeling says that its important to look at the funds track record not as an absolute guide of what’s to come but as an indication of the funds performance relative to others in same sector.

Richard Cayne living in Bangkok Thailand says that in addition, mutual funds make money in more than one way.  We expect share value growth over time; an increase in the value of our holdings.  Mutual funds also pay dividends and capital gains.  Funds are required by the regulators to pay to shareholders a very high proportion of the gains realized in any given tax year.  This is important, because with mutual funds, even if there was no share value increase in a given year, there will inevitably be dividends and capital gains that must be paid out to shareholders.  Unless you are taking current income from your fund and spending it (during retirement, for example) you will be reinvesting these dividend and capital gain distributions back into your fund.  The game we are playing with mutual funds is to accumulate more shares.  The more shares you own, the greater your account value, but more important, the greater the earning power of your fund because the next time a dividend or capital gain is paid, you own more dividend and capital gain paying shares.  This dynamic of mutual funds paying dividends and capital gains, which in turn increases the number of shares owned and the earning power of the fund, creates the horsepower to multiply earnings and is an often forgotten reason why mutual funds can be such effective investment vehicles for growing capital says investment advisor Richard Cayne at Meyer.

 Meyer Asset Management Ltd’s Asian based servicing office Meyer International Ltd is based in Bangkok Thailand and form part of the Meyer Group of companies which is wholly owned by Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd which is a London UK listed Financial Holding company.  Richard Cayne Managing Director of the Meyer Group has lived in Asia for over 17 years with the majority of his time living in Tokyo Japan consulting high net worth Japanese individual and corporate clients on offshore financial planning, investment and structuring matters.

Article source :- http://richardcaynes.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/richard-cayne-meyer-asset-management-ltd-why-invest-in-mutual-funds/

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd – Common Investments and Correlation in The Markets

According to Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd, having a well balanced portfolio with investments which compliment each other is quite important. So many investors end up buying assets or investments that are highly correlated and end up performing about the same. Of course this can be good in a rising market but offers no downside protection should the markets experience a severe correction. This article discusses some of the most common types of investments and how they may be correlated with each other.

Stocks
Preferred stockholders have a greater claim to a company’s assets and earnings. This is true during the good times when the company has excess cash and decides to distribute money in the form of dividends to its investors. In these instances when distributions are made, preferred stockholders must be paid before common stockholders. However, this claim is most important during times of insolvency when common stockholders are last in line for the company’s assets. This means that when the company must liquidate and pay all creditors and bondholders, common stockholders will not receive any money until after the preferred shareholders are paid out. That said most people invest in common stock.

Shares & Debentures
Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd in Thailand says the differences are that; SHARES- A Share holder is the real owner of the company and does not have not fixed dividend rate and no maturity period, shares are not redeemable but can be sold. Shares are more volatile and imply a higher degree of risk. A share holder can have high return and share holders have rights on residual income.
A debenture holder is the creditor of a company, they have fixed rate of interest and they have a maturity period but they don’t have any right to vote. Debentures are redeemed, they are not volatile and they have a lower risk and a lower return. Unfortunately over the past few years we have seen a higher correlation of performance tied to both stocks and bonds.

Mutual funds
Mutual funds are also known as open-end-company. These are one of the most popular kinds of investments and provide the investors the opportunity to invest in securities. Though mutual funds involve risks but they also offer two things, that is, the ready diversification and opportunity for the fund manager to outperform the market.

Real Estate Investment
In the opinion of Richard Cayne, Real Estate Investment Trusts are corporations that sell shares for investments in real estate which can be in either residential, commercial or both. This type of REIT (Real Estate Investments Trust involves the buying, management, ownership, sale or rental of real estate properties and mortgages. Again as we had seen during the financial collapse property having taken a nosedive and the equity and bond market went down along with it.

Commodities
According to commodity fund advisor Richard Cayne, a commodity is a product, which is of uniform quality and traded across various markets. There are generally two types of commodities, “hard commodities” and “soft commodities”. Hard commodities include crude oil, iron ore, gold, and silver and have a long shelf life. Agricultural products such as soybean, rice or wheat, are considered ‘soft commodities’ since they have a limited shelf life. These commodities have to be similar and interchangeable or ‘fungible’. Gold as an example had provided an uncorrelated performance throughout the financial crisis up until 2012 and had been a good compliment to any portfolio as it had outperformed most other investments. Now in 2012 Gold seems to be gaining popularity as a mainstream investment pushing up demand for it and as such we are seeing a higher degree of correlation with the equity markets than we used to.

Richard Cayne having lived in Tokyo Japan for over 15 years and at Meyer Asset Management Ltd has ties with over 200 global financial services firms. Richard is Managing Director of Meyer International Ltd based in Bangkok Thailand and is the Asian based marketing arm for the Meyer Group which is owned by Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd listed in London UK

Article source:- http://richardcaynes.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/richard-cayne-meyer-asset-management-ltd-common-investments-and-correlation-in-the-markets/

Meyer International Richard Cayne – Life Insurance Simplified

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd says; In its simplest form, life insurance is financial leverage.  A small pool of money creates a large pool of money, guaranteed and risks free, for the purpose of funding an identified goal or objective.  Term life insurance is what most people think of when they think of life insurance.  Term life insurance provides a guarantee of a pool of money for a specific number of years, at a guaranteed (never to increase) annual cost, as long as the premiums are paid; usually for 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. The expectation is that at the end of the term, the protection will no longer be necessary, and the policy may be allowed to lapse (you may lapse a term policy at any time by ceasing to pay for it).

Replacement of Income
We use term insurance frequently to provide for replacement of income to a family who is dependent on a “breadwinner’s” income for living expenses, college funding, retirement funding etc.  If we plan correctly, we will accumulate assets during the earning years such that at retirement, the client will be able to produce his or her own income from assets when there is no longer income from employment.  Term life insurance guarantees that the “gap” between today and retirement will be filled if income ceases due to death of the income earner prior to fulfillment of planning. Richard Cayne financial planner, at Meyer International Ltd based in Bangkok Thailand, says that Term life insurance is inexpensive, has no internal cash value, and may be exchanged for other types of life insurance which do.

Planning for Certainties in Life
The other most often used type of life insurance is Universal Life.  Universal Life is permanent death benefit life insurance. Universal Life has myriad applications in financial planning, as the death benefit cannot be outlived. Using this financial leverage usually makes fiscal sense when there is a need to create permanent liquidity. Many of my clients use Universal Life to create an estate or to protect an estate.  In case you don’t think you have an estate; you do.  Your estate is all of your “things”, including your financial assets, property, hard assets like art, sculpture and collectibles, your furniture, cars etc… All of it.  Death eventually produces financial liability to the beneficiaries, one way or the other.  Even small estates have expenses, and providing for the extinguishing of these expenses helps to ensure order and facilitate the completion of your plans and aspirations for your beneficiaries.

Richard Cayne Meyer Asset management Ltd having lived in Tokyo Japan for over 15 years can certainly say that Japanese  like other nationalities with larger estates can be devastated by taxes and expenses if advance planning is not good, and I don’t know a single case where the client found it preferable to force the sale of estate assets to pay taxes and expenses rather than have the expenses paid from the proceeds of a life insurance policy which bought those dollars at a deep discount; often a fraction on the dollar. I’m safe in saying that everybody understands that they will have to pay for these inevitable expenses with discounted dollars as opposed to paying for them dollar for dollar.  Some clients want to leave a financial legacy to children, grandchildren, or a charity.  Universal Life allows them to leave a guaranteed, tax free financial legacy which was secured at a deep discount.  Richard Cayne having consulted on many larger Japanese estates says Japanese like other nationalities particularly Asian ones do not like talking about death although inevitable but planning for this earlier rather than later will ensure that your wealth can be passed on in the most cost efficient manner to those you care about.

Richard Cayne is Managing Director of the Meyer Group of companies and based in Bangkok Thailand at Meyer International Ltd.  The Meyer Group has ties with over 200 global financial institutions and is part of Asia Wealth Group Holdings a UK Listed company.

Article Source: - http://richardcaynes.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/meyer-international-richard-cayne-life-insurance-simplified/

Significance of Asset Allocation by Richard Cayne Meyer International Ltd

In the opinion of Richard Cayne at Meyer International Ltd in Bangkok Thailand, the right asset allocation is the key to a portfolio which outperforms. Asset allocation lets you spread your investment into different asset classes and therefore helps in reducing the risk of the portfolio. Asset allocation is not only about choosing investments in different asset classes but also those that are in different geographical regions.

In fact, the concept of asset allocation emerged with the fact that every investment has a different kind of cycle and associated risks and therefore, investing in different securities will not only reduce the risk but will also increase the opportunities of profit for an investor.

According to asset allocation consultant Richard Cayne in Thailand, deciding an asset allocation strategy is a very crucial and important decision for every investor. The right kind of asset allocation strategy will help you balance reduce the risks in your portfolio. During asset allocation, the investor needs to allocate his assets into different asset classes. Some of the most common but important asset classes include stocks, bonds and alternative investments such as hedge funds. Each asset class contains its own advantages. For example, stocks are often considered as the investments that can bring maximum profit to the investors but at the same time has highest volatility and downside risk as well.

An experienced investor knows that information is key to being able to make calculated decisions and financial consultancy firms can be a wealth of information to them. For less experienced investors a financial advisor can help the individual in choosing the right kind of allocation for his assets as well as helping to define the investor’s goals. Contacting a financial consultant is advantageous because he takes complete care of the investor’s portfolio by checking the investor’s risk tolerance level, investment capacity and by choosing the appropriate asset classes for an investor. An experienced and accomplished financial advisor very well understands that every investor expects profit within a certain time frame and so a proper investment strategy should be planned along with an asset allocation strategy. One of the most important tasks for financial advisors is that they help the investors in building a balance between the involved risks and expected profit returns.

Richard Cayne Meyer International in Thailand says that the situation and capacity of every individual investor is different from others and therefore, a different financial investment strategy having its own defined asset allocation strategy may be need.  Markets and asset classes do not move in tandem, what’s hot today may be cold tomorrow. Spreading your investment dollars among different types of asset classes and markets; stocks and bonds, domestic and foreign markets lets you position yourself to seize opportunities as the performance cycle shifts from one market or asset class to another.

Richard Cayne having lived in Tokyo Japan for over 15 years and at Meyer Asset Management Ltd has ties with over 200 global financial services firms. Richard is Managing Director of Meyer International Ltd based in Bangkok Thailand and is the Asian based marketing arm for the Meyer Group which is owned by Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd listed in London UK.

Article Source:http://richardcaynes.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/significance-of-asset-allocation-by-richard-cayne-meyer-international-ltd/