Dale Gillham - How To Beat The Managed Funds By 20%

How to beat the

Managed

Funds

by 20%

Using simple DIY sharemarket strategies

2nd Edition

DALE GILLHAM

Dale Gillham 2010

First published in Australia in April 2004

Reprinted October 2004

2nd Edition published in April 2005

Reprinted March 2007

Reprinted April 2009

Reprinted December 2010

Published by Stonehenge Publishing Pty Ltd

Cover design by Zeno Kobica, Yellow Consulting

Printed by BPA Print Group

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher in writing.

Gillham, Dale, 1962

How to beat the managed funds by 20%

Includes index

ISBN 0-646-44639-8

1. Investments Australia. 2. Stocks Australia.

4. Portfolio management. 4. Finance, Personal Australia. I. Title.

332.6322

Typeset in Arial 10.5/12

Disclaimer

The information contained in this book is not intended to be taken or relied upon as specific investment or financial advice. The author and the publisher shall not be liable in respect of any claim arising out of any reliance on the information in this book. At the time of writing, all information, including prices and interest rates, is, as far as the author can ascertain, correct. Readers should always obtain independent or professional advice before acting on any information in this book.

What others say

The title might lead you to think that this is a book about using managed funds to do better than fund managers do, but it is much more than that. It is a guide both to designing portfolios, and to selecting the strategies and tactics to use within these portfolios.

If you are new to trading, think of this book as a good foundation on which you can build your personal wealth-creation strategies. If you are more experienced, think of this book as a keystone, the stone at the top of an arch that holds all the other stones in place.

Garnett Znidaric, Your Trading Edge Magazine

If you havent previously had the confidence to take it upon yourself to invest in the sharemarket and have always sought outside advice, then Dale Gillhams How to Beat the Managed Funds by 20% may just be the book to give you the confidence to go it alone.

Much like Mark Tiers The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffet & George Soros: What You Can Learn from the Worlds Richest Investors, Gillham puts forward more practical strategies that have worked for some of the worlds most successful investors. The book contains excellent information with simple, yet workable strategies to help your future.

Wealth Creator

Just brilliant! I couldnt put it down.

Jennie Houston, Private Trader, Melbourne

As managed funds are becoming more crucial to investment plans, more Australians are seeking guidance. This practical and simple to use book, shows you how to gain the highest returns without the need to seek professional help. This book offers a comfortable launching pad into the world of investing.

Hayley Maynard, Charter Magazine

I started reading your book about beating the Managed Funds this week, even though Ive had it for a couple of months. I wish I HAD read it earlierit could have saved me a lot of money! Congratulations Daleits great, simple to read and understand, very compelling and great common sense!

Mariette Blackmore, Private Trader, Sydney

The book begins by helping you do a reality check on your investments, debunks some myths about managed funds, shows you how to take back control of your money and gives you tips on how to build your portfolio, all of this in an easy to understand, actionable style of writing.

Perrie Croshaw, Australian Womens Money

Contents

Acknowledgements

Writing a book is always a major task and I would like to express my appreciation to the many people who I have received support from to complete it.

To Lea Zerbes, my life and business partner without whose dedication and commitment, neither our business nor this book would have been possible.

To our clients, who have put their trust in our integrity, and given us the privilege to support them to achieve their financial goals in the sharemarket.

To Craig Watson and Janine Cox who have dedicated many hours to ensure the accuracy of the content in this book.

To Arthur Naoumidis of Praemium Portfolio Services, for the use of his web based portfolio management services, which ensured the accuracy of the portfolio returns presented throughout this book.

To my friends and family, who have supported and encouraged me over the years to achieve my dreams and goals.

This book is dedicated to you all. Thank you.

About the Author

I was introduced to investing when I began my career at the age of 19. After talking to an insurance broker, I was excited at the prospect of investing in a managed fund for two reasonsfirstly, because it encouraged me to save a percentage of my income and, secondly, because it meant I would have a sufficient deposit in years to come to purchase a house. Given the potential gain the insurance agent claimed I would make, I felt it was all too easy to achieve my goals.

Unfortunately, some five years later I had less than half of the funds I had initially invested. While this distressed me, what I thought was even more ironic was the fact I had been paying so-called experts annual management fees to invest my money only to lose. What a wake-up call.

At this point I realised I had two choices. I could either continue down the same path and hope things changed or I could take a more disciplined approach to actively educating myself to achieve my financial goals. Of course, I chose the latterwhich in hindsight has paid off tenfold.

So two decades later when I reflect on my journey I can honestly say that while it has not always been easy, it has been interesting and, in most cases, exciting. In reality, self-education requires both commitment and work; however, what I have discovered and what I share with you throughout this book is that you dont have to be a genius or a rocket scientist to achieve consistently profitable returns in the sharemarket. Although many of the so-called professionals in the financial services industry would have you believe otherwise.

Throughout my career I have been fortunate enough to be involved in supporting thousands of people achieve their financial goals. However, a common theme that became apparent in the early days was that most people did not know where to begin their journey towards financial freedom. Interestingly, in my experience little has changed despite the enormity of information available on this subject.

The irony is that most people seek out quick fixes to achieving their financial goals with the mindset that short term gratification will fulfil their long term needs. This is often spurred on by the proliferation of seminars available, with each one claiming to have the answers to creating your fortune. Whether the strategies presented actually work for you or not is usually of no concern once a sale is made. Indeed, many people have lost their capital or a substantial portion of it attempting to implement these supposed wealth strategies.

It was for these reasons that I began my own business of supporting ordinary Australians to achieve their financial goals in the sharemarket. My goal has been to create a culture that provides the ongoing support and assistance that traders and investors require to directly invest in the sharemarket to achieve consistently profitable results. No bells, no whistles, just safe profitable returns. And I have to proudly say that the majority of our clients have achieved thatalthough I give full credit to them because, as the saying goes, the teacher arrives when the student is ready.