Blog awards and second thoughts

Hey, guess what? I’ve been nominated for best personal finance international blog in the Plutus Awards – talk about a nice surprise to come back to after a weekend away (blog post on that coming soon)!

I have no doubt that Man vs Debt will take it out (he kicks some blogging ass) but I’m honoured to have been mentioned at all.

Fittingly, I’m actually talking finances today. To be specific, I’m rethinking my choice of Kiwisaver fund. If you’re in NZ, no doubt you’ve seen stories about how Peter Huljich put some of his own money into the fund, apparently to compensate for what he felt were some poor investment decisions.

I don’t pretend to understand what it all means, but it seems to me that their reported returns were boosted by the cash injections. There’s a disclaimer in the latest Morningstar report, discounting their figures, as a result of this. (Oh, and last year there was also news about pushy Huljich salespeople going door to door, which is illegal. Nothing to do with the fund’s performance, but it’s a personal thing – I don’t like people pushing things in my face, and I disagree with that tactic.)

The reason I originally chose Huljich, despite their higher fees, was their performance to date. Right now, I’m not sure whether it’s best to wait and see (although I believe T’s account is already with them, mine is still with the IRD and won’t be transferred to Huljich for a couple of months yet) or switch now to another fund – probably sticking with one of the bigger names this time. Ugh…not looking forward to combing through all the prospectuses (prospectii?) again!

(I’m not a financial professional nor certified to give advice; I’m just a twentysomething trying to navigate through the grownup world.)