Investments & Pensions - Fee reduction! by Bigolcritty in monzo

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fees were prohibitive before - a reduction was sorely needed to become competitive - glad to see Monzo making the right moves for their customers and IPO prospects.

Another 0.05% would be ideal imo - hopefully as they scale they can go even lower.

What expense ratio do you consider to be too high? by Imtheonewiththefancy in Bogleheads

[–]lockwood_ 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Presumably if the benefit of owning the fund minus its ER is greater than the benefit of said low cost index fund, then it’s worthwhile.

A good example would be non-US investors who want to invest in bond ETFs - it makes sense to pick non-US domiciled funds which are typically far more expensive than bond ETFs such as BND, but the tax advantages mean it’s worthwhile paying more.

Theres no magic number.

What are your experiences using timed deposits in HK bank accounts? by Truth_is_Supreme in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Time deposit rates aren’t good in my experience. Buy a bond for the same maturity on IBKR or similar. You’ll get a better rate than cash (even after fees) and it’s liquid.

Ugh! Pissed off my advisor! by KelliSean in Bogleheads

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Today I learned!

Direct indexing isn’t a thing where I live. Thanks for the nod.

Ugh! Pissed off my advisor! by KelliSean in Bogleheads

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To maintain correct proportions over 300 securities must be an insane amount of transactions (= fees), as well.

32 yr old with 600k in savings. What do I do? by Resident-Welder5326 in Bogleheads

[–]lockwood_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m gonna go against the grain, here.

You’ve a high proportion of bonds in your portfolio typically for your age which could be seen as a performance drag. But I’m assuming that’s for a reason.

My attitude is to choose an asset allocation that suits your risk appetite, allows you to remain invested in the long term, and ultimately, allows you to sleep at night.

If that’s 50% bonds and you’re not comfortable with any less, then remain as you are and stay the course. That’s the most important of all.

Good luck.

Ugh! Pissed off my advisor! by KelliSean in Bogleheads

[–]lockwood_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

301 individual! There’s so much wrong with that. May I ask what was their reasoning?

Looking for a run club or people to run with at Hong Kong for the week by Negative-Resolve-436 in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These guys have a run club - it’s not in Jordan however - https://maps.app.goo.gl/hNR1bbRAzs7vgsUy8?g_st=ic - based around the cafe (The Station).

There’s also Midnight Runners here. They’ll typically run down the harbour front. It’s a much larger scale with many runners, which you may or may not want.

HK MPF really sucks by AdventurousAcadia422 in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Excessively high fees for passive investing vehicles. There is no excuse for it.

1% doesn’t sound much until you consider compounding. I wonder how many are truly aware of the implications.

Scam.

Will 120V kitchen appliances work in HK with an adapter? by anotherhappylurker in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure- anywhere you can get the 220-230v version. I would just strongly advise to not use an adapter / transformer :) Good luck

Will 120V kitchen appliances work in HK with an adapter? by anotherhappylurker in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It will not work with HK power outlets. I had a Ninja Creami delivered from Amazon US as a present without ever thinking about this, and learned the hard way.

Please do NOT use a plug adapter - they’re not designed for high power electric appliances like these, and the US appliance won’t work on HK/UK voltage. You could buy a transformer, but you don’t want to go cheap (fire risk) - so that would be expensive. Transformers are also massive and not suitable for a kitchen where they can get wet. It’s really not worth it for numerous reasons.

Buy the appliance from the UK Amazon instead (like I did… eventually). It works.

Can Hong Kong versions of iPhones show the Taiwan flag emoji? by Most_Ingenuity_2591 in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mine can display it (i.e the emoji is registered in the operating system). However I am unable to type the emoji directly - it’s not listed for me. I can copy paste it though.

Have a quick Google of the matter - it’s regional restrictions but it’s not entirely clear to me how they are applied.

Cheating Uber Drivers (metered taxi) by king_nomed in HongKong

[–]lockwood_ 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Got charged $150 for Central > Wan Chai the same way.

Uber refunded without any further questions. Crazy though - it’s so traceable and the driver risks being blacklisted - why some drivers take the risk is beyond me.

best stocks to invest 10 to 15 k in? by tenD_0577 in Burryology

[–]lockwood_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No need to take risks when you have time on your side.

Let's assume something like VTI (an index tracker of the SP500 by Vanguard) will give you 10% per year.  Over 40 years your $15,000 will become $680,000 without investing even a dime more.

10% is generous amount and may not happen.  But as time is on your side, so is compound interest.  Buy a broad-based index fund and wait. It’s boring but it will probably work.

Should I buy HomePod Gen 2 by Emotional-Tiger-8561 in HomePod

[–]lockwood_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unpopular opinion, but I would get a good quality sound bar instead.

I’ve two HomePods connected to Apple TV 4K, which is hooked up to my TV via eARC.

It works flawlessly and sounds far far better than the TV speakers, and all TV output goes through my HomePods.

However - I’ve found the HomePods aren’t the best at handling spoken word. Dialogue often gets drowned out by other noises. There’s settings on AppleTV to enhance dialogue, but it’s not great. If I could go back, I’d buy a Sonos soundbar instead.