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���We have high-frequency trading systems so at the push of a button so much can change so much faster than the days where the stock exchange was literally a room full of men waving papers around making transactions.��� personal affairs such as her most recent home purchase. While regarding much of the publicity as unwelcome, Carmel acknowledges that it just comes with the territory. "I���ve developed a profile and I���ve done that deliberately because when you���re looking after peoples' money they like to know who it is they���re dealing with. They like to be able to come in and tell a person who they know when you have or haven���t done a good job." Through various media channels including a weekly newspaper column and regular radio appearances, Carmel explains, in a language a '10-year-old can understand', how the world of investing is continually changing. "You could do months of research and find the best investment in the world and then something can happen in New York or China and it can have a huge effect on your little investment here in New Zealand. That wasn���t the case 20 years ago. The world has become more interconnected therefore we need to work with a global perspective. We have highfrequency trading systems so at the push of a button so much can change so much faster than the days where the stock exchange was literally a room full of men waving papers around making transactions. There is a lot of short term volatility which makes it a scarier market than it was 20 years ago, but the way you make money hasn���t changed and if you get the fundamentals right then you���ll be set." While New Zealanders have been particularly guilty of excluding ourselves from the international markets, Carmel believes our lack of financial education excuses some of our poor attitudes around investing. "Kiwisaver is definitely helping. This generation of Kiwisavers will be better than the last generation who didn���t have exposure to the kind of financial education that has accompanied Kiwisaver." Carmel says that we are criticized for having a love affair with the property market and every time we get a bit of extra money we���ll buy a second house rather than diversifying. "A lot of people have bought investment properties thinking that will be a passive income because they can rent them out and that rent can be a nice income while they carry on doing their day job. It doesn't work out that well because if you lose your tenants for even a month, that passive income over a year compared to the amount you���ve invested can equate to just 3-4%. You might as well have put your money in a bank account and saved yourself the stress of managing tenants. There are lots of share market investments that you can simply set and forget. You put them in your bottom drawer while they pay you a dividend yield of 5-6% every year. That's beautiful. Particularly if those stocks, while they give you 5-6%, they can also grow in value by 1-3% every year (because they���re successful companies). After five years, you find they���re worth more than you paid for them so you can sell them and make a capital gain. That's as attractive as it gets. You don't have to find the next Trade Me or the next Apple to make good passive money, you just invest wisely and it's relatively easy to do." Nakita Ardern www.fisherfunds.co.nz Carmel's top tips for investing 1. Start saving and investing as soon as you can. Don���t wait until you think you can ���afford it��� ��� no amount is too small to start saving. 2. Take the time to research, enquire and talk to others. If you don���t understand what you are investing in, don���t do it. 3. Set reasonable expectations from the outset. Give yourself a timeframe and understand how much volatility you will tolerate. 4. Spread your funds over several different investments so that you���re not vulnerable to just one investment performing. 5. Use a managed fund to start. This allows instant diversification even with a small investment, and your funds are managed for you 24/7. www.h e rmagaz in e .co.n z | 13