I’ve Become a Bundles Fan Girl, Here’s Why

Carly Esterhuizen, EasyEquities Brand VP,opens up about her journey with retirement annuities (RAs) and how EasyAssetManagement's investment bundles have become her go-to. Even as she gets closer to retirement, Carly still leans towards higher-risk investments, appreciating the thoughtful and balanced approach that EasyAssetManagement brings to managing these bundles.

Every month I invest in my retirement annuity and although I’m not so young anymore I still want to invest in things that carry a higher risk. It’s a strategy that is working well for me.

I tend to take a slightly more moderate approach with my DIY investments, like the stocks in my US account, but in an RA you can only invest in collective investments. That leaves you with bundles, or unit trusts. I have both, but these days I find myself allocating more of my investment spend to bundles.

A couple of weeks ago our EasyAssetManagement team shared a bit about their thinking and methodology in creating and managing portfolios (bundles). I liked how their approach combined science with fundamentals but was especially impressed by how they approached risk.

They made the point that many people don’t take enough risk with their retirement investments and are left really stuck and limited when the day that they need to access and live off them comes. Risk is par for the course when it comes to investing and while everyone has their own risk barometer, time and time again it’s been shown that if you have a long time horizon, taking more risk could deliver stronger results.

I’m also comforted by the fact that bundles by nature are diversified investments, and that the stocks or instruments in them have been selected very thoughtfully. And I like that my investment is taken care of – with adjustments being made to cater to changing market conditions.

I’ve actually found myself on more than one occasion looking at the stocks in a well performing bundle to see what good options for my stock portfolio might be. Obviously I pair that with my own research and the understanding that past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns, but it’s been a helpful starting point.

As an example, I looked at the EasyAssetManagement Enhanced USD Bundle (you can check how that’s performed by using EasyWealth) and noticed Mercado Libre was included. It’s a stock I’d been considering for some time and the fact that it was included in the bundle was the affirmation I needed to buy it. 

Bundles aren’t just for your RA. The one I mentioned above is available in your USD Wallet and there are others for your TFSA or ZAR accounts too.

 

If you’re like me and it’s taken you a while to warm to bundles I’d encourage you to check them out. Have a look at what’s inside them and read about the manager and strategy.

Who knows, you may just find you’re a fan too.

Look out for some of the stock analysis that EasyAssetManagement bundle creator Shaun Krom shares on our blog from time to time, I’ve found those really helpful and interesting too.

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