A Random Person’s Random Investments

bloomberg share info for Viridis Clean Energy group - invests in a range of clean energy assets around the world. St George Margein lending GR of 50%.

Some interesting ones I hadn’t noticed before.

APN/UKA European Retail Trust - Shopping Malls in Europe? - St George ML gearing ratio 60%.

Aurora Sandringham Dividend Income Trust The Trust will predominantly trade the largest 30 companies on the Australian Stock Exchange and aims to take advantage of the changes in the market prices of shares around the announcement of their half-yearly and yearly results. This makes the trust different from other listed investments. - St George ML gearing ratio 70%.

The much vaunted rent crisis - being talked up by real estate agents pretending to be distressed would be tenants on the TV news? Is this an attempt by the real estate industry to drive up rents by propaganda methods?

Rental ‘crisis’ could be a myth - The Australian
Who’s Raising The Rent? - Mediawatch

Sydney is full of Elissa Kracjers, young people searching anxiously for a place to call their own, at a rent that won’t send them broke. It’s almost mission impossible.

Elissa Kracjer: My ex is an adviser to (NSW Premier) Morris Iemma and one of my friends who is a (Peter) Debnam staffer thought it would be a
funny way to get back at him if I came out on the Liberal’s side…(Opposition leader) Peter Debnam was making a statement or announcement on it that afternoon or evening so they staged a lot of things for me to say to go with it.

Good local blog with a lot of useful discussion on small picture personal finance and investing.. direct link to personal finance section.

Found this pdf file from Reliance Capital that defines Listed Managed Investments such as Exchange Traded Funds and Listed investment Companies more precisely.. I had been referring to them kind of interchangeably.

Looks like they have some other handy info on their site as well.

Found this natty summary of Listed Managed Investments on the ASX site while googling about, mentions a few I wasn’t really aware about, some wierd numbers in there.. for instance what is NEW PRIVATEER HOLDINGS LIMITED and how did they return 432.26% in the last year?
Pretty amazing for a company that dont appear to even have a web site.

Well the main reason I am looking at these is because since I started dabbling in this investment stuff (and in the case of Bendigo Bank, well before) I have been using the products and services of these companies.. so given the superannuation driven “forced” investment environment in Australia I have a hunch they will continue to do OK regardless.

ETRADE : summary : St George gearing ratio 50%

Australian Stock Exchange : summary : St George gearing ratio 70%
Wether people are going mad buying or selling, these guys will always get a cut.

Hunter Hall International Limited : summary : St George gearing ratio 45%
The company that runs the managed funds, super funds and ETFs of the same name.. as I own chunks of all of them this would be kind of kicking back some of the fees to myself I guess?

Australian Ethical Investment Limited : summary : not on the St George list of shares available for gearing.
With HHL at 45% and these guys not even listed seems the banks consider investment firms a bit of a risk.

Bendigo Bank Limited: summary : St George gearing ratio 70%

St. George Bank Limited: summary : St George gearing ratio 75%
Use a St George margin loan to buy St George shares so the dividends help pay the interest that go back to the dividends.. very underpants gnomes I say.

Found on portfolio tracker site via google this this comparison of a few Australian index funds. What’s curious is the
top200shares product from BankWest. Now BankWests internet banking product is great but it is kind of baffling why they would introduce this when it’s fees are so high compared to the competitors. Natty online web pages to track the fund are nice, but not that nice, when it is just as easy to track a streettracks asx200 portfolio online at a discount broker with a fraction of the fees applying. The nearly 1% MER partly removes a the advantage of index investing I think.

follow up
After some discussion on the ever handy aus.invest though the web design looks cute this product doesn’t really offer anything over the cheaper equivalent product from Vanguard, although either would be better than streettracks for small regular savings deposits as no brokerage fees.

CONTANGO MICROCAP LIMITED (CTN) - The Company is a listed investment company specialising in investment in the microcap sector (i.e. those companies listed on ASX except for the companies included in the ASX 300 Index). Has a St. George Margin lending GR of 50%.

Global Masters Fund Ltd (GFL) - This is a wierd one as it basicly invests in Berkshire Hathaway shares.. i.e. it exists solely to ride on Warren Buffets coat tails, but providing easy access for Australian investors.. less their management fees of course. Has a St. George Margin lending GR of 60%.

Platinum Capital Ltd (PMC) - Has a St. George Margin lending GR of 55%.

Templeton Global Growth Fund(TGG) - Has a St. George Margin lending GR of 55%.

Platinum Capital Ltd and Templeton Global Growth Fund appear similar in overview.

AMP Capital China Growth Fund (AGF) - “.. invests in China A shares listed on China’s Shanghai or Shenzhen exchanges”. Has a St. George Margin lending GR of 65%. Very new so no return results yet.

Hyperion Flagship Investments Ltd (HIP) -Has a St. George Margin lending GR of 60%.

Hunter Hall Global Value (HHV) LIC.. has a St George Margin lending GR (Gearing Ratio) of 65%

Hunter Hall International Ltd (HHL) has a St. George GR of 45%

Australian Ethical Investment Ltd not in the St. George list of acceptable securities.