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Buy Online | Bulk Sales | Book Reviews | Contents
Update
New Zealand's new government is planning to make several changes to KiwiSaver. See the KiwiSaver Basics page for more information on this.
These changes will make some sections of this book outdated. I'm planning to write a new updated book as soon as the government announces final details of its KiwiSaver changes. Watch this space.
KiwiSaver Max:
How to get the best out of it
Mary's new $16.99 book, published by Random House, is available in all good bookstores.
What is the book about?
Every New Zealander under 65 who hasn’t yet joined has already missed out, forever, on more than $1,000 from the government. Their reasons for not joining – from “I can’t afford it” to “A new government might change it” to “KiwiSaver returns so far have been lousy” to “I’ve already saved enough” – are usually not valid, as Mary Holm explains in her new book.
Most of the three quarters of a million who have joined will contribute many thousands of dollars over the years into what could well become their second biggest asset, after their home. But are they getting the best out of the scheme?
Mary’s book, "KiwiSaver: How to make it work for you" was an instant best-seller. Now she’s back with her follow-up book, "KiwiSaver Max: How to get the best out of it.
In the year since KiwiSaver started, Mary has received hundreds of questions and suggestions about the scheme, through her widely published newspaper columns and popular seminars. The ideas in this book are not just hers, but those of many New Zealanders.
Mary first-up clearly and simply deals to a whole string of misconceptions once and for all. With this out of the way, she then tells you how to get the best out of KiwiSaver by being strategic and focused.
She covers getting the most for what you put in, investing ethically, and diverting KiwiSaver money to pay off your mortgage. Also how to negotiate KiwiSaver bonuses with your boss that will cost the boss nothing, and how to sponsor someone into KiwiSaver that will cost you nothing. There’s a section on making the most of KiwiSaver for kids, and another on how KiwiSaver is clearly the best way to save for a first home. There’s even a bit of gossip!
All her suggestions are legit, but there are some that will cost the government plenty, so KiwiSavers had better be in while the going is good.
Mary has also surveyed 31 KiwiSaver providers – gathering far more extensive information about what’s on offer than anyone else. Find out who offers ultra-safe funds, risky but high-growth funds, ‘ethical’ funds, flexible contributions, mortgage diversion and much more. The issues covered include many you won’t find on provider websites, such as ‘Has the chief exec invested in KiwiSaver?’ If after reading this book you realise you’re not in the best scheme for you – which is highly likely – she explains how easy it is to move.
Mary presents all the information – checked by experts for accuracy - in the lively, highly readable, warts-and-all style that made her little red book, KiwiSaver: How to make it work for you New Zealand’s top selling non-fiction book for ten weeks last year. She’s not selling anything but the facts.
Buy Mary Holm's new KiwiSaver book online:
Purchase from Good Returns Bookstore here.
Bulk sales
Buy copies for your extended family, employees, clients or associates - or suggest that the boss buys one each for you and your colleagues!
The suggested retail price is $16.99. Prices for bulk purchases are:
11-29 copies = $15.29 per copy
30-100 copies = $14.44 per copy
101-200 copies = $13.60 per copy
201-299 copies = $12.75 per copy
300-499 copies = $11.90 per copy
500-699 copies = $11.05 per copy
700-999 copies = $10.20 per copy
1000 + copies = negotiable
All prices include GST and free delivery. For further information, email Mary Holm at mary@maryholm.com
Book Reviews and Comments
(KiwiSaver Max) is full of easily digestible information which should answer just about any questions you can come up with. Ellen Read, Management magazine
Who said KiwiSaver was simple? Investment writer Mary Holm's second book on the subject, "KiwiSaver Max: How to get the best out of it", at 336 pages is as thick as the Koran.... Mary says she has been frustrated by the countless misconceptions still swirling about and simply deals to them once and for all. Her verdict? "KiwiSavers had better be in while the going's good." Private Bin column, National Business Review
This book should be in every household to check that your fund mix (or lack of it) is the right one for you! Kathryn Dalglish, New Zealand Investor
Last year Holm's "little red book" "KiwiSaver: How to Make it Work for You" shot to the top of the bestseller list, where it stayed for weeks and weeks and weeks. Now she's back, with an even more helpful book, published on the first anniversary of the introduction of KiwiSaver.
This time Holm applies the same fiercely independent, accurate and no-nonsense approach to KiwiSaver issues, rigorously comparing apples with apples as she looks at the multitude of providers who have sprung up in the last year, so readers can be clear which is the best for them.
No other financial writer has attempted such a complex comparison - and no one else would have the tenacity to do so. An invaluable companion to the first book, "KiwiSaver Max" tells you how to be canny and how get the most out of KiwiSaver by being strategic and focused.
"KiwiSaver Max" contains important information about the compulsory employer contributions which come in to force in April , and developments resulting from the '08 Budget. Good Returns
Ever wanted to know if the boss of your KiwiSaver provider puts his or her money where their mouth is? KiwiSaver guru and Qantas Award-winning columnist Mary Holm puts the question to 31 providers in her book, "KiwiSaver Max: How to get the best out of it"... The new book is about three times the size of its predecessor and is designed to be more of a reference book than a cover-to-cover read...It has been broken down into sections so people can read the parts that are relevant to them. Tamsyn Parker, New Zealand Herald
Contents of "Kiwi Saver Max: How to get the best out of it "
The truth about some common misconceptions
Part One: The big questions
1: BUT FIRST…. Clearing away some stumbling blocks
National might win the 2008 election and change KiwiSaver
Finance company failures worry KiwiSaver investors
Not all KiwiSaver providers will survive
Early KiwiSaver returns got bad press
2: WHAT? The KiwiSaver concept and rules
Who’s in and who’s out
Joining
Your contributions – and stopping them
Incentives
Investment
Ownership
Getting the money out
The good news about tax
Two employer approaches
3: WHY? What makes KiwiSaver so powerful
The multiplier
Should everyone - even those with debt - join KiwiSaver?
KiwiSaver versus other investments
How fast your KiwiSaver account will grow
4: WHY NOT? What's holding you back?
I don't want to commit to future contributions
I can't afford KiwiSaver
I don't want to tie up my money until NZ Super age
I think managed funds rip people off
I've already saved enough for my retirement
I'm already in a good super scheme
The whole money thing is greedy and grubby
I'm planning to go overseas
Other reasons
5: WHEN? 3 steps for the uncertain
The cost of waiting to join
Step 1: Join KiwiSaver today - even before you've finished reading this book - with virtually any provider
Step 2: Learn about different types of investments and features of KiwiSaver
Step 3: Find your ideal provider, and switch to it
6: HOW TO INVEST? Some strategies
Types of assets
Which assets for you?
Diversify - including internationally
Don't try to time markets
Part Two: To the max - creative ways with KiwiSaver
7: The smartest ways to contribute
8: The young and the not so young
Under-18s and turning 18
55 to 64-year-olds
9: Investing ethically
10: Home ownership, mortgages and other debt
Help with buying a first home
No longer own your own home?
Borrowing to be in KiwiSaver – on a mortgage or otherwise
Diverting money to pay off your mortgage
11: A helping hand
Assisting family or friends
Sponsoring someone into KiwiSaver
12: Making the most of your work situation
Non-employees - get the first year over and done with
Self-employed - employ yourself?
Employees - salary sacrifice
Employees - negotiating with the boss
Employers
Part Three: Which provider? A guide to finding the best one for you
13: Who's who?
The list
Switching provider
14: The right investments for you?
Varying risk levels
International diversification - a great idea
Single sector funds - if you know what you're doing
Special funds for first home buyers - is this necessary?
Risk adjusted for age - the low maintenance way
Can't choose? - Be in more than one fund
15: Ruling some out - or definitely in
Contributions - amount and pattern
Mortgage diversion
Ethical investing
Something different
16:. Fees: a big and vexing issue
Ongoing fees
Other fees
Active or passive?
17: Other issues: How providers are managed
New Zealand owned?
Trustees
Who manages the investments?
Unitisation (sorry about this ugly word!)
Sales commissions
18: Services to investors
Communication
Retirement-related issues
19: On the bandwagon?
The cheeky question
20: And the winner is...
21: When to change - and when not to
KiwiSaver Max Errata
Because of an editing error, eosaver's 50-word summary, on page 261, includes the following: "eosaver is New Zealand's only KiwiSaver scheme with an A-rated product." It should have read "AAA-rated product."
Apologies for the mistake.
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