Maxim Blog

The 2020 Best Countries Report
Having just returned from three weeks in South Africa visiting family and friends, my eye caught the fifth edition of THE 2020 BEST COUNTRIES REPORT from US.News and World Report (an American media company that publishes news, opinion, consumer advice, rankings and...
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Changes to the Property (Relationships) Act of 1976
As part of my continuing professional development I recently attended a workshop run by Matt Hay, the principal of Succeed Legal who, among other things, specialise in estate and succession planning. Of particular interest is the recommendations made by the Law...
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Why The Obsession With Interest Rates?
If you have been following the financial media you will have noted a laser like focus on interest rates. In simple terms, an interest rate is the cost that someone pays to use someone else’s money. For an investor, an understanding of the relationship between interest...
read moreResponsible and Ethical Investment – Can you afford to be uninformed?
Responsible and ethical investment has become a major part of the investment landscape across Australasia, and I had the pleasure to attend a conference run by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia recently. Responsible investing is becoming more and...
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The Impact of a slow-down in the Chinese economy
I was reading an article in Bloomberg about the impact of slowing growth in China on the rest of the world. I found it fascinating and thought I would share some of this with you. At face value, the fact that economists are forecasting a 6.2% growth rate in China this...
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Why Kiwis need an enquiry into the Financial Services sector?
It is imperative we have a finance industry that Kiwis can trust, so yes I believe an enquiry into the Financial Services sector in New Zealand is necessary and overdue. If you follow the financial news out of Australia you will be aware of the Royal Commission into...
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Volatility – The Unavoidable By-Product of Investing in Equities
This week so far ,investors seem to have brushed aside fears of rising inflation (which triggered last week's volatility) and tried to put last week's worst performance, which was the worst in two years past them. The first few days of February have resulted in a long...
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Investors, Gamblers and Bitcoin
I thought I would make a few observations on Bitcoin, the highly topical cryptocurrency which has enjoyed phenomenal growth. First things first, a cryptocurrency is a digital medium of exchange. Unlike a traditional currency it is not issued by a central bank. It...
read moreInvestment Professionals Need To Be Awake
Disruptive technology will have far reaching consequences and all investment professionals will need to be tuned in to this so as to not be left behind. I recently attended a Workshop hosted by Ark Invest which had as its focus the investment opportunities arising...
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