Sunday 22 July 2012

Discover the immense advantages of Hedge Funds with Richard Cayne via Meyerjapan.com

Hedge funds can be referred as skill based investment strategies which get returns from the exclusive strategies/ skills of the trader. These privately offered investment vehicles involve high net worth individuals who invest in a portfolio of diverse assets which can include along with traditional investments into stocks and bonds, commodities futures contracts and derivatives.   

As hedge funds offer the ability to make money in both a rising market as well as a falling market they offer an uncorrelated to equity or bond market return advantage. In these funds, trader skill plays a very important role as the Hedge funds need to be managed regularly and actively.  It has been observed that Hedge fund returns are also widely actuated by changes in credit, market volatility or other market factors. Therefore, one’s returns can be referred as a blend of manager skills and return based on their strategy.

Investors should remember that every hedge fund return series follows its own approach for manager selection, investment style and performance target. According to Richard Cayne in Thailand, one of the important advantages of Hedge funds is that it provides returns which are NOT based on equity market direction.   This can be a very attractive way to reduce volatility in ones portfolio and increase the return of it at the same time.  

There are immense benefits of Hedge funds and writing them all in one short synopsis is nearly impossible. However to begin with, let us say that Hedge funds possess the capability of reducing risk of portfolio volatility and provide for potential portfolio returns in those economic conditions where bond investments or traditional stocks provide confined opportunities. Hedge funds can help their investors participate in a wide array of newer financial products and markets.   Richard Cayne having worked in Tokyo Japan for over 15 years and as financial advisor at Meyer Asset Management Ltd comments how Japanese have a strong liking to hedge funds.  While it is true that hedge funds can make money in falling markets they can loose as well and so Richard cautions investors both Japanese and international alike to really understand how that respective fund will make money and under what conditions.

Hedge funds can be open-ended and that’s why the investors are able to invest with a certain amount of liquidity which may vary depending on the type of fund or investment pool.  For example a hedge fund with investment into real estate should be less liquid than one that invests into foreign exchange which is a much more liquid asset class.  Hedge funds can have lockups that range from monthly to yearly or longer so investors must look into if this fits into their liquidity needs.

Meyer Asset Management Ltd.’s Asian based servicing arm Meyer International Ltd in Bangkok opines that the most significant benefit of using Hedge funds is that these funds possess the ability of providing positive and profitable returns in different market environments regardless of equity of bond market returns. Another important reason behind popularity of Hedge funds is that these funds have the potential of decreasing the long term portfolio risk with the help of additional asset classes. That’s why those looking for low risk and high returns can always take help of Hedge funds.  

According to Richard Cayne Meyer International in Bangkok, adding Hedge funds to a financial investment portfolio results in more robust diversification to a traditional stock and bond portfolio. Hedge funds also provide much greater flexibility and ability to benefit from various global markets.

Richard Cayne Meyer International On Basic Tips For Newbie Investors

All of us have witnessed the constant volatile state of the global economy over the last couple of years. The same capricious economical state has kept back many investors from investing.  One must question if waiting for that perfect time to invest is the correct method for investors to take or if the risks of missing the best days in the markets while waiting has a greater impact. Richard Cayne, Managing Director of Meyer Asset Management Limited’ servicing operation Meyer International Ltd in Bangkok says there are better ways.

Since risk is a part of life instead of trying to avoid risk which is impossible one should try and learn about risk management.  Investing is all about understanding the risks inherent to each investment and how to evaluate them as to whether they are a good risk reward or a poor risk reward investment.

Richard Cayne has been teaching Japanese clients on risk evaluation and financial planning for the past 17 years and can say firsthand after living in Tokyo Japan while working at Meyer Asset Management Ltd that Japan based investors have a somewhat biased outlook on market recovery theories as the Nikkei 225 the main index in Japan has been on a loosing streak for over 25 years.  This is far greater a cycle than traditional model cycling of 3-5 years before recovery.   A few  basic tips can be key to understanding risks.

Acquire Knowledge & Be Information Resourceful

The primary fear that arises into the mind of a first-time investor is lack of appropriate financial knowledge. Those who have got a passion for learning and a hunger for information will definitely acquire knowledge from every possible source. Having wide financial knowledge and being resourceful has its own advantage. So ideally get well informed in terms of financial basics.  Thankfully these days information can be gathered easily off the internet but it is not all to be relied upon as there is much misinformation out there as there is good information.  Richard Cayne at Meyer International Bangkok can certainly confirm this point as for example Japan based investors search for reliable consultants there is much disinformation put out on the web by competing companies who try to confuse individuals into believing what they want them to believe.

Offshore Consulting


According to Richard Cayne Meyer International, and particular for Japan based residents there are no consulting firms in Japan who are legally allowed to advise on intermediate or sell offshore funds which are not registered for sale in Japan.  It is a non authorized business by the Japanese regulators because in order for any licensed financial firm to be able to sell or arrange investment to an investment that investment must be registered for sale with the Japan FSA through a Japanese securities firm.  There is no Japanese financial licensing that permits a sale of an offshore non Japan registered investment and so many agents who are Japan based may try and have you believe that they are authorized to do so because they have a financial instruments exchange license from the regulators.  This does NOT give them permission to sell or intermediate any offshore fund non registered in Japan under any circumstances and the regulators are very clear on this point.

As in similar way private Swiss banks offer a world of choice in investments but there investments are not registered in Japan for sale and as such this is one reason ALL Swiss private banks who used to have an office in Japan have since over the past few years pulled out.  Of course they all still have their Japanese desks to service Japanese clients in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore to name a few as this way they can assist clients without contravening any laws.

It’s not easy to get good advice off the web these days as so many firms pay big money into online advertisements and blogs that don’t offer an objective and always truthful view.

Richard Cayne Says Stay Objective and Don’t Follow the Herd

Investing your hard earned money is an important part of your financial planning and your family’s future relies heavily on your ability to intelligently access the world of choices out there.   Therefore access to good information is the most important first step you can take for your financial plan.  Meyer Asset Management Ltd via its servicing arm Meyer International in Bangkok Thailand has been offering solid consulting with accurate and in depth information to help clients make the right choices for their financial future.

The Meyer Group of companies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia Wealth Group Holdings ltd which is a listed company on London UK’s PLUS stock market.

Meyer’s Richard Cayne Comments on Simple & Effective Tips to Capitalize in the Falling Market

According to the observation of some great present day economists, the markets can stay as volatile as they have been over the past few years for the next few as well. The financial markets are quite irrational and we never know what lies in store for us tomorrow. When there is economic crisis or when the market falls many of us feel extremely discouraged and the urge to liquidate investment holdings take a hold.   This is the wrong way to look at it says Richard Cayne of Meyer Asset Management Ltd

Richard Cayne at Meyer International the Asian based servicing operation for the Meyer Group emphasizes that there are certain simple and effective tips which can help you survive in the worst economic crisis situation and in times of market downturn.

Keep Your Fears Away

The first tip for any investor who is going through a market downturn is to keep emotions out of it and stay confident and clear minded so you are best able to evaluate what to do next.  For example it may be time to add more to existing positions and average a lower cost basis for those holdings.  Think buy on sale and that you are really getting a discount if you believe the investment has good long term potential. 

Save As Much As You Can

For many people it might sound too difficult or nearly impossible. But the experienced financial consulting company, Meyer Asset Management Ltd via Meyer International in Bangkok consults people to save as much as they can especially in the time of economic downfall. When the asset prices go down, saving money will help you out in the long term as you benefit from the double down effect of buying more of that investment with the same amount of money.

Understand That Occasional Market Draw Downs Are Normal

Do not overreact when an economic slowdown occurs or when a market falls suddenly. Just as an experienced and intelligent investor or businessman would do you should always remember that such situations are parts of the normal business cycle.  Try and take advantage of the declines in the markets instead of hoping they don’t come.  Richard Cayne having lived in Tokyo Japan for over 15 years has been telling Japanese investors to embrace market downturns as a buying opportunity.  Consider if you had invested just after black Monday in 1987 or more recently the financial crisis in 2008 bottom you would be in significant gains even in today’s relatively depressed market environment.

Keep Some of Your Powder Dry

For those who kept some of their assets in cash reserves waiting for the financial markets to get really depressed and then deploy this cash this is a great strategy and one which more people should follow.  Instead most people sell low and buy only when the markets look all positive and at their heights again.  Everyone knows buy low sell high but most investors end up buying high and selling low as they let their emotions take control.  Richard Cayne having worked at Meyer Asset Management Ltd in Tokyo Japan has firsthand recollection of how most Japanese invest and has been consulting them on strategic investing ever since.  Japanese take a little too long to decide on an opportunity and sometimes miss it.  On the other hand they don’t panic as much as many other nationals and are not so quick to sell out of a position just because market influences force it down as they know it may be temporary and could very well soon rebound to new heights.

Invest In the Good Times and Bad

Therefore Richard Cayne Meyer International suggests a well thought out financial plan and sticking to it is extremely important.  Understand that markets will gyrate and learn how to capitalize on such movements keeping sight on your overall goals and objectives at all times.

Richard Cayne is Managing Director at Meyer International in Bangkok Thailand and like Meyer Asset Management Ltd is also part of Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd a listed company on London UK’s PLUS stock market.

Monday 16 July 2012

Why You Should Invest in Mutual Funds, explains Richard Cayne at Meyerjapan

Let us start by explaining what a mutual fund is. A mutual fund can be defined as a company, which invests in a diversified portfolio of securities. Saving & investing become simple and easier with mutual funds. The owners of a mutual fund are those people who buy the shares of a mutual fund. The investments of these people provide money for a mutual fund to purchase securities. The fund can make money from its securities through two methods. Either the dividend/interest is paid by security to the fund or the security itself rises in value. It is also possible that the fund drops in its value or loses money. According to Richard Cayne, there are many reasons why investing in mutual funds is advantageous.   

Provides automatic diversification

Experienced investors value diversification because they understand very well that diversifying a portfolio reduces the risks & adverse effects of single investment, says Richard Cayne Meyer International. As mutual funds hold different types of securities, they provide automatic diversification to the investor’s portfolio. In addition, it is a beneficial point that you get a much better and wider diversification (that is rarely expected when you manage at your own) because you combine your assets with other investors of mutual funds and therefore more money to spread around.  

Liquid Investments

Mutual fund shares are a form of liquid investment and therefore, can generally be sold anytime. This liquidity lets you access your money in an investment in a quick and timely manner.   That said many funds have restrictions such as monthly, quarterly or yearly only liquidity points. 

Availability of choice

Mutual funds provide you a wide variety to choose from various options. The availability of classes like money market funds, stocks or bonds provide different investment options to the investor. The investor can select the one which is most suitable for his requirement. 

Portfolio managed by experienced professionals

As per the view of Richard Cayne in Bangkok, an experienced and insightful investor always chooses his investments only after performing due research and in depth consideration to what he/she is trying to accomplish as per his/her investment goals and objectives. Any kind of investment demands continuous observance and one would be advised to seek assistance from experienced and trustworthy professionals to help manage your portfolio. These professionals continuously monitor your investments and analyze that which investments are worth buying or selling.

Low cost involved

According to Meyer International in Thailand, since mutual funds or collective investment structures can hold various assets and managed by a team of professional fund managers who will normally charge fees for such services it is important to look to minimize these fees as much as possible as play directly impact the performance of ones portfolio.   This is one reason Richard Cayne Meyer Asset Management Ltd prefers offshore registered mutual and hedge fund structures as their overall fees can be lower than their onshore counterpart funds due to lower costs of compliance and service management, not to mention they make more money as they do not have the same tax obligations.  It certainly makes sense to reason that if you paid less tax you would be able to save more money and same with fund structures.

Richard Cayne has been in offshore fund consulting and having worked in Tokyo Japan Meyer Asset Management Ltd for 15 years as investment advisor to some of the most respected securities firms in Tokyo he is also well positioned to consult with high net worth individuals and security firms around the world on offshore investments and structuring.  Richard Cayne now Managing Director of Meyer International Ltd the Bangkok Thailand servicing arm of Meyer Asset Management Ltd is also a Director of Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd which is listed on the PLUS market in London UK.

Richard Cayne at Meyer International Bangkok on Useful Tips for Offshore Investment

Offshore investments offer some of the best and most innovative investment solutions, according to Richard Cayne Meyer International. In simple terms, offshore investing is all about depositing one’s money or investing in structures incorporated in low tax jurisdiction. There are many places in the world which do not have taxation withheld at source for non residents of the area  and that is one reason why many people consider investing offshore. In other words, certain jurisdictions act as tax havens for people and let the wealthy investors invest freely without any worries for hefty tax payment.  Some people may be surprised to know that the USA may be considered a tax haven area for those that are non US national and non resident and as long as these people or companies invest and complete all reporting requirements there is zero tax withheld says Richard Cayne who via Meyer Asset Management Ltd` s Asian based servicing arm Meyer International Ltd based in Bangkok Thailand has been consulting on several US as well as offshore structures.

Richard Cayne who worked previously for 15 years in Tokyo Japan had via Meyer Asset Management Ltd`s Investment advisory arm helping Asian based clients with offshore fund and hedge funds.
According to Richard Cayne in Bangkok, there are many benefits that offshore investment has to offer but still the thought of investing overseas sounds risky and complicated to first time beginners. However, there are certain useful tips, which can guide you well about investing via a tax haven area or offshore territory. Even if you aim at adding a small allocation in offshore investments to your existing portfolio, it will bring beneficial returns to you in the long term.

Research is essential before you move ahead into any investment. However, you would be advised take others’ help in this regard but its a good idea to conduct research on your own too. Detailed research is vital to achieve great and profitable results.  Speak with those who have knowledge in the area you are researching. The next tip is to choose among local brokers, online services or financial advisors. It is a clear-cut fact that the local brokers charge their brokerage fee and the online services thought provide you with required help but cannot be completely relied upon. Therefore, the best option is to take help of experienced financial advisors like Meyer Asset Management Ltd`s Bangkok based servicing arm Meyer International in Thailand. Once you have decided to take advice from some experienced financial advisors, you can now look together as to how best to create your portfolio. 

As per Meyer International in Bangkok, you can choose to handle your offshore investment account directly or you can take help of a consultant.  You would also be advised to work with consultants who are authorized to consult on offshore products as many jurisdictions no longer allow for the selling, mediation or helping to arrange offshore funds to residents of that jurisdiction.  For example in Japan offshore non Japan registered fund sales to residents is not a permitted business by the regulators or FSA there.  Local brokers or advisors whether licensed or not if the offshore funds are not registered for  sale in Japan then no Japanese based financial institution can legally help.  Therefore in such case the individual would be better off consulting with an overseas firm authorized to help them.    Richard Cayne has had much experience in Tokyo Japan and currently consults both individuals and financial institutions based in Asia on offshore based structures and investments

Asset Allocation - Points to Ponder by Meyer International Bangkok Thailand

According to Richard Cayne, one of the most significant decision for an investor is how to choose an asset allocation model for his/her portfolio. Asset allocation plays a major role in determining the investment performance of an investor. Following a proper asset allocation plan can result in successful returns while following a poor plan or deviating from the plan can result in investor’s underperformance and overall, poor returns.   

Asset allocation is a diversification strategy and investors need to decide wisely upon how to position his/her portfolio as per the given options. Considering the plethora of choices available for the investor, creating an asset allocation portfolio looks very complicated and confusing. However, it is very important to choose appropriately when deciding which assets to hold, says Richard Cayne Meyer International Bangkok Thailand.

Risk is the first point that should be considered extensively by any investor when deciding upon asset allocation. The investor should be well aware of how much risk can he handle. As per Meyer Asset Management Ltd`s Bangkok based servicing arm Meyer International Ltd, every investor should always remember that the market is capricious and therefore he should be ready to face volatility. While an investor can expect stability when investing in fixed income investments it is also a clear fact that these fixed income investments have lower returns. So assessing your tolerance for risk is very essential before you allocate your assets and invest. Once you have identified your risk tolerance levels, it is time to look into equities, mutuals, hedge funds, fixed income, alternative investments, and bonds. During this stage, you need to find an appropriate balance and mix between return and volatility.  A discerning and smart investor chooses the right investment mix as per his own needs and risk tolerance.

According to Richard Cayne Meyer International in Bangkok, the investors often get confused as to which investments and asset classes to consider during asset allocation. However, the answers to this question vary widely as not all investors share the sale risk tolerance levels.   Indeed someone looking at a product with a 20% per annum target return on their portfolio would have a very different risk tolerance to an investor looking for a 5-7% target return.  Richard who worked in Tokyo Japan for over 15 years can certainly attest to the understanding of risk tolerance levels as being extremely important when managing client expectations.  While Japanese based clients for instance would all like double digit returns few have the to stomach to accept the volatility that comes along with such return.  Japanese clients in general would like bank account like volatility with higher than the near zero return banks offer these days.

It is also worthwhile to mention that age is an important factor to be considered while deciding upon asset allocation. Every investor needs to revise his asset allocation as when his age or objectives change. Consider age a factor at an early stage while planning for asset allocation. In basic, young investors have enough time and they can plan investments that result in long-term profitable returns. On the other hand, those who are elderly perhaps in retirement  should choose options, which provide less volatile returns of a more fixed income nature.  

Indeed, there are some other points too that need to be considered while deciding asset allocation for your portfolio but understanding your own risk tolerance will help you make a good start with your asset allocation.

Richard Cayne of the Meyer Group currently lives in Bangkok Thailand and consults individuals and corporations alike on offshore funds and offshore structuring.  Meyer international Ltd is based in Bangkok Thailand and is the servicing arm to Meyer Asset Management Ltd which is a wholly owned entity of Asia Wealth Group Holdings Ltd which is listed on the PLUS stock market in London UK.