New Star Heart of Africa

Murphy_The_Cat

The nice people at H-L have sent me details of a new fund from New Star, the 'Heart of Africa' fund. They describe it as being very high risk and only for the adventurous.

Has anyone any thoughts about the fund, or have taken the plunge themselves ?

tipsychick

There was an interview with the fund manager in The Times a couple of weeks ago:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/funds/article2702010.ece

The last paragraph of the article suggests you should only be considering it if you've got a portfolio worth £500K, which unfortunately rules me out.

It sounds like a good idea but I'm so inexperienced that everything sounds like a good idea to me!

(Also I wasn't sure if the fees seemed excessive? I could see how Jamie was going to get rich but not necessarily me!)

Murphy_The_Cat

tipsychick wrote: »

There was an interview with the fund manager in The Times a couple of weeks ago:

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/funds/article2702010.ece

The last paragraph of the article suggests you should only be considering it if you've got a portfolio worth £500K, which unfortunately rules me out.

It sounds like a good idea but I'm so inexperienced that everything sounds like a good idea to me!

(Also I wasn't sure if the fees seemed excessive? I could see how Jamie was going to get rich but not necessarily me!)

That was a interesting read :beer:
Hargreaves Lansdown will let you put in £1000 rather than £12500, which brings the suggested port folio value nearer to £33000 ---- does that make it more appealing ??

Debt_Free_Chick

tipsychick wrote: »

Also I wasn't sure if the fees seemed excessive?

To be fair, the high fees will largely reflect the actual costs of dealing in undeveloped financial markets - typical, with "emerging economies". In the UK, US etc our processes are pretty slick and efficient, hence lower dealing costs.

However, note that New Star are also using a performance related fee. So they take a decent chunk extra, when (if?) the fund performs very, very well.

I really fancy a slice of this, but my ISAs are through Fidelity. Might have to set one up with HL now!

Note also, that they will close the fund when they've got £100m - but might reopen it again. You may get only one chance to get in!

purch

You may get only one chance to get in!

You may also only get one chance to lose every penny you Invest :eek:

If you have a grand you don't mind losing it is worth a 'punt' though IMO

peterg1965

I agree, if you have a £1000 that you can afford to loose this fund is worth a 'punt'. I would but my relatively small portfolio is already to much on the high risk side.

Murphy_The_Cat

purch wrote: »

You may also only get one chance to lose every penny you Invest :eek:

If you have a grand you don't mind losing it is worth a 'punt' though IMO

In fairness to H-L, they do prominently say "The fund is designed for sophisticated (and wealthy) investors who can afford to lose the amount they invest. It is very high risk, its value will certainly fall as well as rise and at times these movements will be extreme."

& "New Star warn that you could lose all of your capital"

I love the idea of ' If you have a grand you don't mind losing it is worth a 'punt' though'

Any takers ?



p.s. in the annual charge of 1.75-0.1% that high, really ?

Debt_Free_Chick

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

I love the idea of ' If you have a grand you don't mind losing it is worth a 'punt' though'

Any takers ?

Made a mint on my China Fund so could afford to cream some of it off in to Africa. Whispering, as I don't want to appear to be big-headed - just lucky

p.s. in the annual charge of 1.75-0.1% that high, really ?

Initial 0.25% The annual charge looks to be 1.65% - yes, higher than, say Fidelity China Focus (initial 0.5% AMC 1.3%) - but what do we compare it with?

Browntrout_2

I've put this into my virtual portfolio, that way I can pretend I put £5k in and not actually risk anything...


in fact I may go for £10K:rotfl:

Murphy_The_Cat

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Initial 0.25% The annual charge looks to be 1.65% - yes, higher than, say Fidelity China Focus (initial 0.5% AMC 1.3%) - but what do we compare it with?

Exactly.

OK, I'll come clean with you.

I've pitched in for some - and I was wondering if anyone else was adventurous (foolhardy) enough, to have done the same.

In my mind, I've written the money off completely, so anything that it does achieve will be a bonus.

Plus, I can tell my son that I've bought a part share in a lion.

Debt_Free_Chick

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

OK, I'll come clean with you.

I've pitched in for some - and I was wondering if anyone else was adventurous (foolhardy) enough, to have done the same.

Good for you. We all have different situations. I spent my 20s and 30s with a running debt balance of around £40k :eek: :eek: :eek:

Now .... I'm 47, so that was a considerable amount of debt "back then" and around 1.5 times my gross salary :eek: (don't ask!)

For the past 10 years, I've been debt free (let's just ignore a half share in a £320k mortgage, eh :rolleyes: ). But I've accumulated a healthy cash ISA balance (around £30k) and £50k in shares ISAs (been "exited" with wedge from 3 jobs in 10 years!!)

So ..... I am very, very fortunate. To be fair, when I was first "exited" from a job I loved, I could have gone off the rails. But it made me realise I needed three months off - I was completely burnt out. To do that, I needed to settle my debt and be in a position of taking garden leave using my compensation.

Since then, I've never had a penny of debt, continued in a well-paid job and simply squirrelled money for no particular reason. It's a safety-cushion which I may never need (pensions only 13 years away )

So this is a fund for my situation, I think. I won't be gambling money that I actually need. And if it falls, I can afford to "stick it out".

Don't know why I posted all that personal stuff, but I hope it helps others to understand my perspective. The underlying message should be clear though - this is a game of poker, where "your skill" is zilch. You're giving someone else a grand to play a game of poker for you :rolleyes: