Investment funds
Conversely, as demand increases, so does supply. Around 10,000 funds licensed in Europe are now competing for investors' favour and money. In view of the growing enthusiasm for the stock market, no prophecy is needed to predict a further expansion of supply.
Of course, the temptations grow with the supply. Magazines are already advertising dream returns of several hundred percent - funds as price rockets. Fund experts, however, warn against too high expectations: Anyone who bets entirely on IT and the internet is taking a high risk, because the initial buying euphoria on the market usually slowly gives way to a more sober view.
Moreover, not every start-up company will survive in the long term. Especially newcomers to the stock market and small savers should therefore invest at most a small part of their money in risky special funds. If the large number of investment funds on offer is divided into different types, orientation in the fund jungle becomes much easier. This is because all funds invest their clients' money in fixed-interest securities (bonds), shares, real estate or in a mix of these investments.
The most important fund types
This results in the most important fund types: Bond funds, equity funds, open-ended real estate funds and mixed funds. Equity funds are the best-selling funds in the industry. They alone account for about half of the money invested in investment funds. The reasons for their success are obvious. With a long-term average return of around ten percent per year, international equity funds, for example, clearly exceed the return on traditional investments.
The only question is: how can the quality of individual stocks be determined, how can one distinguish between good and less good equity funds? Comparison is also the top priority for fund investors. To get meaningful results, you can only compare funds of the same type and investment region. If you want to diversify your investment, you can, for example, focus on international equity funds and scrutinise their respective performance.
The benchmark for success is always an index - for global equity investments the MSCI World Index. If the fund manager outperforms the MSCI World Index, he has done a good job. A look at the statistics shows that this cannot be taken for granted: a large proportion of globally investing funds lag behind the index.
Time factor
Many "fund hit lists" are useless simply because they only look at a short period of time. If, for example, a stock is considered during a pronounced phase of weakness, it is possible that the return to the long-term price trend is already a high performance - or vice versa. On the other hand, short-term outliers become relative in a multi-year analysis (at least three to five years).
Also important in the quality check is the risk taken. A good performance is even better if it has not been bought by additional risk in Exness app download. Micropal, one of the world's most respected fund analysts, therefore always looks at volatility (fluctuation in value) as well.
Candidates for top positions in the annual best list (funds awards) are funds that achieve high performance with relatively low fluctuations in value. On the other hand, value fluctuations in the purchase phase are advantageous especially for fund savers (monthly instalments). Experts point out that in periods of weakness, one receives more fund units for one's contributions, thus reducing the average unit price.
RICE WINE
2 Shanghai brewer’s biscuits
500ml water, boiled then allowed to cool
- Wash and soak the rice over night.
- Next day, steam the rice over a large muslin cloth till cooked and soft.
- Carefully add the 500ml water into the rice, place the whole in a very clean urn and leave to cool further.
- Crush the brewer’s yeast biscuits over the rice and press down on the rice.
- Create a little ‘well’ in the middle of the rice, cover the urn with clingfilm and put the urn’s lid on tightly.
- Allow it to work its magic in 2-3 days in a warm place like an airing cupboard. The fermentation process needs to be allowed to occur uninterrupted, so resist any temptation to open the urn to check on progress. A yoghurt maker or an instant pot with yoghurt making function would be perfect for this mixture at a constant 30°C .
- When the precious wine liquid can be seen gathering in the ‘well’ is when your rice wine is ready.
- Finally, keep the resulting home-made wine in the fridge, for drinking later or for use in cooking.
“Shanghai Brewer’s Biscuits”
CHICKEN, TOFU AND EGGPLANT HOTPOT
450g chicken breast or thigh (skin on)
1 tsp fish sauce
1 box soft tofu
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 salted duck eggs, boiled
2 tsp cooking oil
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
300ml chicken stock
1 tsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tsp water
1 spring onion, sliced
- Dice the chicken and marinate in a splash of soy sauce, Chinese rice wine, cornstarch and white pepper.
- Remove the duck egg yolk and roughly chop the egg white.
- Dice the aubergines into cubes.
- In a hot wok or frying pan, add 1 tsp cooking oil till smoking hot and fry the aubergine.
- Add the garlic and fry.
- Add a teaspoon or two of water to help cook the aubergine.
- When the aubergine is soft and cooked, remove from wok and set aside.
- In the same wok, add the remaining oil and fry the chicken pieces till light golden brown.
- Add the egg white and yolk and the fish sauce and fry with the chicken till fragrant.
- In a clay pot, add the tofu, aubergine, chicken cubes, chicken stock and all the rest of seasonings.
- Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Add the cornstarch water to thicken the sauce.
- Serve hot, topped with some sliced spring onions and a drizzle of glutinous rice wine.
DAIKON AND GREEN TEA BROTH
3g Miya Senchagreen tea leaves
200ml water (for brewing the tea)
salt to taste
- Add the mooli into a pot and add just barely enough water to cover.
- Bring to a boil and cook till soft.
- Season with salt.
- Separately, brew the green tea.
- Pour the tea on to the mooli to make this interesting and nutritious soup.
FRAGRANT TEA STEAM FOR LUNGS
- Choose a fragrant tea, if you can, like Lishan Oolong , or an mellow aromatic one like Emperor Pu Erh 1998 Vintage .
- Add freshly boiled water to 2 or 3 grams of tea leaves in a small cereal bowl.
- Position your face over the bowl and let yourself breathe in the steam.
- Use your hands on the edge of the bowl to keep too much steam from escaping.
- Enjoy this experience for 10 minutes, then you can sit up and drink the tea!
- Don’t forget, with a good quality tea, you can keep adding more hot water and brew the tea again and again.
WARM EXTREMITIES
- Fill a muslin bag, no bigger then the palm of your hand, with some unrefined rock salt.
- Warm the bag in a microwave.
- Lie down on your front comfortably and place the warm muslin bag on your ‘ Da Zui’ (大椎) acupuncture point. This acupuncture point is the slightly protuberant vertebra just below the back of the neck.
- Do this as often as you can, ideally every day.
- You can also aim the hot water flow at the same acupuncture point when you’re in the shower.
FOOT SOAK BEFORE BEDTIME
- Soak your feet in a barely warm water.
- Then do is very gradually add hotter water.
- When the first drop of perspiration appears on the tip of your nose, drain away the hot water and massage your feet dry.
- Then lie in bed with the soles of your feet facing each other.
- Do this in as relaxed a way as you can, staying in that position for about 10 minutes.
- This will allow your Qi energy to flow more freely via the acupuncture point that affects the kidneys.
- After that, let yourself enjoy a night of blissful rest.
RELIEF FOR DRY COUGH
- The ‘ Tai Yuan’ acupuncture point is located on the underside of the wrist, below the thumb.
- Gently massage it 10 times in a clockwise direction.
- Then massage it 10 times anti-clockwise.
- Do this three times.
- Repeat daily or whenever you can.
