Rabo Funds...

Zascar

I invested in Rabo funds a few years ago. I had great hopes but my timing could not have been worse as it was right before the financial meltdown. They dropped over 60% but they are now almost back to the level I invested at thankfully. I invested in China, World Mining and Emerging Stars.

Now that we are showing signs of a potential recovery, I'm wondering would anyone have any tips as to what might be good funds to switch to that will get the best gains going forward?? Has anyone got any tips on what is likely to be the best performing funds this year, or which ones are best to avoid?

Rabo are recommending this one: http://communication.rabodirect.ie/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=PfRUxM2LPPGP_z5PPPK but I never know whether to trust these type of recommendations

homer911

Like you I'm still recovering losses (8% to go..), but it would be worth looking at their top ten picks - they also include their top 10 picks for 2009 which did well - up about 40% on average

http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/top-picks-2010/default.aspx

Zascar

Great thanks!

So any advice as to how to pick within those 10?

enviro

Zascar wrote: »

Great thanks!

So any advice as to how to pick within those 10?

Risk, risk and then consider risk.

makker

Apologies OP for going off track here a little but i had a question in relation to these funds, and it probably does not warrant setting up a new thread for.

I invested in the India fund back at the top of the market in the Summer of 2008, just before things went tits up. Probably like a lot of people did not do any reseach on what i was buying, just thought that the price could only move in one direction given its returns up until then.

Anyway the fund plummeted, and i remember at one stage the fund was only worth 40% of my initial investement.

The last year or so the fund has made a good recovery. It is still not back to the original price i bought at, but is probably only 10-15% off.

Anyway my question is that if i decide to sell this fund now, am i liably to pay tax on the capital gains made so far this year?

The reason I ask is that a mate of mine says I am, but I think he's wrong as I will still be making a loss overall, as the original price I bought at is less than the current market price

Zascar

I'm no expert but I reckon your mate is talking sh1t

Zascar

Guys can anyone recommend a good place to research these funds and see charts etc? The rabo site is not the best...

RoadKillTs

Guys can anyone recommend a good place to research these funds and see charts etc? The rabo site is not the best...

I use MorningStar a lot. Useful site.

Thargor

Would be interested to hear your picks on this Zascar and anyone else please, thanks.

Zascar

I'm fairly clueless so hoping someone else can point me in the right direction!

Atlantic Dawn

makker wrote: »

Anyway my question is that if i decide to sell this fund now, am i liably to pay tax on the capital gains made so far this year?

The reason I ask is that a mate of mine says I am, but I think he's wrong as I will still be making a loss overall, as the original price I bought at is less than the current market price

Yes you are, even if you make 1 cent of these funds it must be declared and the loss from one fund can't be taken against the profit on another. The tax is declared in October of the year following the sale so any you sell at a profit this year will be payed next year before October 31st. These are offshore funds and different to buying and selling shares, further details here...http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/taxation/revenue-form/default.aspx

If I was picking funds to invest in I would look at performance over the last year, and the last couple of months, then make your decision, look at all the companies in each fund portfolio and check the share price performance of each of those comapnies. This will help you build a reasonable profile of what you are getting in to, it is by no means a full proof way of making money and you shouldn't invest unless you are prepared to make a loss as well as gains.

homer911

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Yes you are, even if you make 1 cent of these funds it must be declared and the loss from one fund can't be taken against the profit on another. The tax is declared in October of the year following the sale so any you sell at a profit this year will be payed next year before October 31st. These are offshore funds and different to buying and selling shares, further details here...http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/taxation/revenue-form/default.aspx

The poster stated that the value of the fund holding does not currently exceed the original cost, and that they were acquired in 2008. He is not liable for CGT unless he disposes of them, and the proceeds exceed the cost. The only exception is the 8 year rule. I'm pretty sure that in the case of Funds, there is no offsetting of profits on the sale of one fund with the losses on another, but I'm open to correction on this.

http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/taxation-faq/default.aspx

Atlantic Dawn

homer911 wrote: »

The poster stated that the value of the fund holding does not currently exceed the original cost, and that they were acquired in 2008. He is not liable for CGT unless he disposes of them, and the proceeds exceed the cost. The only exception is the 8 year rule. I'm pretty sure that in the case of Funds, there is no offsetting of profits on the sale of one fund with the losses on another, but I'm open to correction on this.

http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/taxation-faq/default.aspx

Sorry I misread it, I thought he sold out and rebought and was up this year on a fresh investment, cheers for clearing it up.

Thargor

Can you add to funds like these as a regular saver? Im guessing its just a lump sum?

WooPeeA

Zascar wrote: »

I invested in China, World Mining and Emerging Stars.

I think that's gonna be your best shot so far!

Thargor

Did you pick any new ones in the end Zascar? Im still looking at them but Im nervous as a lot of the top picks seem to be approaching pre-crash levels now and I dont want to invest only for them to plateau and leave me earning less than a high interest saver, I dont know what to do to be honest. Does anyone have an opinion on this please:

http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/details/fidelity-asian-special.aspx

Zascar

Nope I haven't done anything, kinda in the same boat as you...

Anyone here know more than us?

RoadKillTs

I invested in this one at the start of the year. Doing ok .... for now

homer911

Thargor wrote: »

Can you add to funds like these as a regular saver? Im guessing its just a lump sum?

Yes, they have a regular investor scheme, but in my experience you are better to monitor the prices regularly and make your own decision when to invest

Thargor

RoadKillTs wrote: »

I invested in this one at the start of the year. Doing ok .... for now

That was the main one I was thinking of when I opened the investor account last week, Im going to read up all day tomorrow and if I haven't heard anything better by then Im going to put 20k in that, Id like to be in energy some way and I'm too much of a n00b to do anything about it myself.

EDIT: What does the percentile rank on the factsheet refer to exactly?

SomeGuyCalledMi

I bought Henderson global technology fund about a year ago. Its done very well for me. Mainly because Apple inc is the main share in it and it has doubled in that time.

RoadKillTs

EDIT: What does the percentile rank on the factsheet refer to exactly?

From Morningstar

Percentile Rank in Category

Measures, on a scale from 1-100 - with 1 as the top score and 100 as the worst - a fund´s performance compared to the rest of the funds in the same category.

Thargor

Thanks.

How important is the Morningstar rating to people when they're deciding on a fund out of interest? Would a 3 star rating be a dealbreaker for people?

Atlantic Dawn

Thargor wrote: »

That was the main one I was thinking of when I opened the investor account last week, Im going to read up all day tomorrow and if I haven't heard anything better by then Im going to put 20k in that, Id like to be in energy some way and I'm too much of a n00b to do anything about it myself.

EDIT: What does the percentile rank on the factsheet refer to exactly?

I'd spread it out over a couple of funds, maybe 3 funds equally split with your 20k, putting it all in one fund it not recommended.

Wudyaquit

Personally, I'd hold off going into any equity funds for a few months.
There's a strong possibility of a market correction coming soon.

Couple of web articles from today on this - there seems to be an increasing number of articles in this vein online and in the FT Weekend...
http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2010/04/30/the-coming-bubble-of-2010-and-how-to-avoid-it.aspx
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article19155.html
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article19146.html

Thargor

Anyone else agree with that?

Zascar

SomeGuyCalledMi wrote: »

I bought Henderson global technology fund about a year ago. Its done very well for me. Mainly because Apple inc is the main share in it and it has doubled in that time.

http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/details/henderson_horizon_global_tech.aspx
Looks like a decent fund - and in fairness how could you not trust your fund in the hands of a guy with a head this big:

Zascar

Wudyaquit wrote: »

Personally, I'd hold off going into any equity funds for a few months.

So are there any Rabo funds which you think are not so risky?

Wudyaquit

Zascar wrote: »

So are there any Rabo funds which you think are not so risky?

I do problems, not solutions
In general, I think Rabobank's funds aren't great value - I've some money in the India BGF fund and it's done pretty well, but it's been underperforming the Indian market. Considering you're paying entry fees, exit fees and annual fees, you'd expect better than that, but I don't know enough about any of them to be able to recommend anything.
The way the markets have gone the last few days, there's every chance of a short reversal, but personally I'd still hold off getting into equities for a while.

jank

Bought into that Henderson Tech Fund too.
I also bought some
Fidelity Funds - Asian Special Situations A Acc EUR
BGF World Mining Class A2
BGF World Gold Class A2

Fingers crossed they work out.

Seems to me that a lot of these funds are hugely successful in their first year and then reach a plateau. Anyone else think this?

UpAgainToday

makker wrote: »

Anyway my question is that if i decide to sell this fund now, am i liably to pay tax on the capital gains made so far this year?

The reason I ask is that a mate of mine says I am, but I think he's wrong as I will still be making a loss overall, as the original price I bought at is less than the current market price

No

UpAgainToday

Zascar wrote: »

I invested in Rabo funds a few years ago. I had great hopes but my timing could not have been worse as it was right before the financial meltdown. They dropped over 60% but they are now almost back to the level I invested at thankfully. I invested in China, World Mining and Emerging Stars.

Now that we are showing signs of a potential recovery, I'm wondering would anyone have any tips as to what might be good funds to switch to that will get the best gains going forward?? Has anyone got any tips on what is likely to be the best performing funds this year, or which ones are best to avoid?

Rabo are recommending this one: http://communication.rabodirect.ie/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=PfRUxM2LPPGP_z5PPPK but I never know whether to trust these type of recommendations

Hey I know you are looking for advice on funds but tbh in general funds turn out to be expensive bad investments - just my opinion of course. Anyway since your investing your own money im sure you will at least research this.

If I was your independent broker and independent of fund managers I would not be telling you to invest in funds. I think funds target people who are looking to get a ''piece of action in the Stock Exchange'' but are unsure themselves how to do so....Anyway I have a few detractors on this site but take what I said however you want

Wudyaquit

UpAgainToday wrote: »

If I was your independent broker and independent of fund managers I would not be telling you to invest in funds. I think funds target people who are looking to get a ''piece of action in the Stock Exchange'' but are unsure themselves how to do so....Anyway I have a few detractors on this site but take what I said however you want

That aside, they can be the only accessible way for people to get into the stock market - unless you're going to lump all on 2 or 3 stocks (and even at that level), stockbroking fees are going to wipe out your profits. Any funds I've been in have seemed to generally track or outperform the relevant indices, so it's a more cost effective than investing directly.

On the question of which rabo fund to invest in, there are a couple of mining funds on Rabo's book (BGF World Gold Class A2 / BGF World Mining Class A2 ) that I reckon are definitely worth a look. Talk of the Gold bubble are premature - there's at least a year to go and maybe more before we see any kind of a reversal imo.

UpAgainToday

Wudyaquit wrote: »

That aside, they can be the only accessible way for people to get into the stock market - unless you're going to lump all on 2 or 3 stocks (and even at that level), stockbroking fees are going to wipe out your profits.

A €20 trade execution fee is going to wipe out your profits? Nice

Wudyaquit

Nice deal :rolleyes:. Where can I buy a number of stocks and sell them on again for a flat Eur20 with no account management fees in the interim? (even assuming you're not going to trade in and out).

Besides that piece of pure nonsense, Rabodirect offers funds that you can invest 100 euro into, at which level, yes, your profit would be wiped out even with your Lidl stockbroker.

You've offered an unqualified opinion on funds being bad investments, as if that opinion applies to everyone which clearly it doesn't, so no need to get antsy when a counter-opinion is posted.

UpAgainToday

Wudyaquit wrote: »

Nice deal :rolleyes:. Where can I buy a number of stocks and sell them on again for a flat Eur20 with no account management fees in the interim? (even assuming you're not going to trade in and out).

Besides that piece of pure nonsense, Rabodirect offers funds that you can invest 100 euro into, at which level, yes, your profit would be wiped out even with your Lidl stockbroker.

You've offered an unqualified opinion on funds being bad investments, as if that opinion applies to everyone which clearly it doesn't, so no need to get antsy when a counter-opinion is posted.

You can buy stocks on nearly any online broker for €20 per trade execution - so when you learn how to use google it will mean I wont have to type out common sense to you - btw you said broker fees technically speaking account management fees are separate and I never once mentioned anything about NO management fees (PLEASE read my post before you might decide to reply)

An unqualified opinion? Ever traded on a trading floor? And FYI it wasnt a counter opinion

Wudyaquit

UpAgainToday wrote: »

A €20 trade execution fee is going to wipe out your profits? Nice

So, what you were clearly saying was "A €20 trade execution fee for each buy and each sell transaction, for every share you buy along with account management fees is going to wipe out your profits"
Apologies on that - silly me thinking you were oversimplifying, when in fact you're a layered guy and I'd missed it.

Your opinion wasn't qualified in your post with any backup - funds provide efficiency and professional management which benefit retail investors.
There's no empirical evidence to suggest they underperform the indices they invest in, so while you perhaps have qualified your opinion to yourself, you haven't done it here.

UpAgainToday wrote: »

An unqualified opinion? Ever traded on a trading floor?

Ever lost your job from trading on a trading floor? No, you walked I'm sure - bigger fish to fry, eh;)

UpAgainToday wrote: »

And FYI it wasnt a counter opinion

That's that decided then. So was it the same opinion as yours? Or was it an opinion at all?
You sure do make good points.

UpAgainToday

Wudyaquit wrote: »

So, what you were clearly saying was "A €20 trade execution fee for each buy and each sell transaction, for every share you buy along with account management fees is going to wipe out your profits"
Apologies on that - silly me thinking you were oversimplifying, when in fact you're a layered guy and I'd missed it.

Your opinion wasn't qualified in your post with any backup - funds provide efficiency and professional management which benefit retail investors.
There's no empirical evidence to suggest they underperform the indices they invest in, so while you perhaps have qualified your opinion to yourself, you haven't done it here.


Ever lost your job from trading on a trading floor? No, you walked I'm sure - bigger fish to fry, eh;)


That's that decided then. So was it the same opinion as yours? Or was it an opinion at all?
You sure do make good points.

You thought I meant you could buy AND sell a stock for one payment? Man come on I know your trying to wind me up but dont be stupid in the process?

So 20 to buy 20 to sell = 40 in total and your still having issues with that wiping out your profits? What do you do invest €100? If you do just quit what your doing its pointless

Yes there is empirical evidence to suggest this - google is your buddy here

No I have never lost my job on a trading floor? If I had bigger fish to fry I would be a hedge fund manager or a leveraged buyout specialist but im not so I will continue to educate your ignorance and then I will let you continue your english lesson...

Wudyaquit

Right, €40, so you're talking about buying one stock - that's much better than a fund. Thanks for the expert advice.

UpAgainToday wrote: »

No I have never lost my job on a trading floor?

You asking me? No, I think you left, like I said. No-one would get rid of an intelligent young scamp like yourself - you can clearly read the market like Warren Buffett and you put across an argument like Jeremy Paxman.

UpAgainToday

Wudyaquit wrote: »

Right, €40, so you're talking about buying one stock - that's much better than a fund. Thanks for the expert advice.

You asking me? No, I think you left, like I said. No-one would get rid of an intelligent young scamp like yourself - you can clearly read the market like Warren Buffett and you put across an argument like Jeremy Paxman.

It still is better - how much is your fund up? Oh its down? Oh right okay fair enough although since your only investing €100 you wont be loosing sleep

I thought it would be obvious I am not up to WB level - BUT if you think Buffett is the best TRADER in the world you would be mistaken

No I didnt leave either? Can you not tell whats happening?

ixus

Play the ball not the man.

No need to get personal.

Zascar

Dragging this up again... I sold all mine a few months - cash is just sitting in the account untuil I can actually figure out what funds to buy back into. I do like the look of that technology one though - but really I find it very hard to actually do even simple research on them.

How do any of you guys do it, are there other sites you can use? They used to have a few simple charts etc but they pulled them for some reason. Very annoying.

I want to get back in, any tips for what might look decent for the medium term?

poodles

Zascar wrote: »

Dragging this up again... I sold all mine a few months - cash is just sitting in the account untuil I can actually figure out what funds to buy back into. I do like the look of that technology one though - but really I find it very hard to actually do even simple research on them.

How do any of you guys do it, are there other sites you can use? They used to have a few simple charts etc but they pulled them for some reason. Very annoying.

I want to get back in, any tips for what might look decent for the medium term?

Not a fund, but try rrl.l !

Zascar

Bump.. Anyone got any recommendations of the good funds for this year? Any 2c at all...


http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/top-picks-2010/default.aspx

Wudyaquit

Morningstar's website gives a summary of all major fund - risk levels, sectors & regions invested in, and performance over different periods.

Personally would recommend commodities for 2011 - we're looking into a period of high inflation which should serve them well.

http://www.irishlife.ie/uploadedFiles/institutions-content/Commodities%2520Flyer.pdf

Zascar

2011 Top Picks now announced: http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/top-picks-2011/default.aspx



Any thoughts?

Wudyaquit

Zascar wrote: »

2011 Top Picks now announced: http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/top-picks-2011/default.aspx



Any thoughts?

Found a great summary of all the main questions people might have regarding mutual funds:
http://mutualfunds.about.com/od/

and analysing mutual funds:
http://mutualfunds.about.com/od/analyzingamutualfund/Analyzing_a_Mutual_Fund.htm

Not sure about the chart above - hard to read too much into what they're recommending. I think people are better off getting their recommendations from anywhere other than the company selling them (I realise that's why you're asking here, but just to make the point - their motivations aren't necessarily the same as the investors)

irishh_bob

Zascar wrote: »

2011 Top Picks now announced: http://www.rabodirect.ie/investments/top-picks-2011/default.aspx



Any thoughts?

i picked five funds from the rabbo stable six weeks ago and not a single one of them happened to be from this years picks , i did however add the blackrock india fund to my portfolio although my other blackrock fund ( latin america fund ) is the least performing of the lot

robecos agribusiness equity fund from the 2009 picks is soaring for me at the moment , franklin u.s equity doing very well also

homer911

I bought into the Agribusiness fund last year too, and its done well, but it all depends when you buy as there was a poor start to the year

Interestingly I only own two on this list..

The results on their 2009 and 2010 picks speak for themselves...

cillo2000

I'm thinking of setting up a rabbo account, but I just wanted to ask you guys that have already invested in funds a few questions.

1. Looking at the investment tool, it seem to be possile to invest in funds for a minium of one year, is this correct?

2. Once you invest - how often is their an update on the fund? Every month/quater/year?

3. Has anyone invested in a Dividend fund? Would anyone recommend them?

enviro

cillo2000 wrote: »

I'm thinking of setting up a rabbo account, but I just wanted to ask you guys that have already invested in funds a few questions.

1. Looking at the investment tool, it seem to be possile to invest in funds for a minium of one year, is this correct?

2. Once you invest - how often is their an update on the fund? Every month/quater/year?

3. Has anyone invested in a Dividend fund? Would anyone recommend them?

Never heard of having to keep the funds for a minimum of a year.
I have personally bought and sold within a year.

Updates are frequent, If not daily, at least a couple of times a week.