Client stories

Client story: Bob and Vicki McElveney

Bob and Vicki McElveney are retirees living in northern New South Wales. They spoke to Stockspot about their investing experience, how the GFC had a devastating impact on their finances and what they like about using Stockspot to manage their investments.

Meet Bob and Vicki McElveney

My name is Bob McElveney and I am a self-funded retiree living in northern New South Wales with my wife Vicki. I took an early retirement in 1999, after I spent my working life in the printing industry. Since retiring, we’ve enjoyed various holidays including cruising, we keep active by playing golf, tennis, swimming and exercising.

Why we’re with Stockspot

We lost a bundle in the GFC (global financial crisis) in a not so good superannuation fund and decided to start a SMSF (self-managed superannuation fund) to control our investments.

Originally, property investments were the main contributor to our money, which we’ve since spread to the share market, ETFs (exchange traded funds) and including the SMSF to ensure our investments were in our name.

By spreading our investments over a wider field, we’ve been able to increase the value of our investments, and this is where Stockspot has been the one of the main contributors.

We started investing with Stockspot in 2017 and have not looked back, they have been great.

How we found out about Stockspot

We read about Stockspot and Chris Brycki [founder and ceo of Stockspot] in Money magazine, the returns looked interesting compared to other funds, and Chris seemed, from what we read, to be on the money and dedicated to returning value to investors in Stockspot.

The strategy of investing in ETFs compounded our interest in Stockspot. We liked the idea of distributing investments through ETFs.

The sign up process with Stockspot was simple

We found the sign up process with Stockspot to be very simple.

Sarah (head of client care and advice) has been very helpful with our choices and is always available to help.

“We started investing with Stockspot in 2017 and have not looked back, they have been great.

What we like about Stockspot

Stockspot to us is not like your usual investment, which can be impersonal. We have a good relationship with Sarah [King, head of client care and advice at Stockspot] and any concerns or general investment questions we might have, we feel we can call her and have them clarified, and if need be, Chris is also available.

Chris, through his experience and expertise will sometimes rebalance our portfolio where he sees that he can take advantage of the market, without us having to do anything. We like that.

Our financial goals are to compound our investments and increase the value of our holdings. We’ve found Stockspot to be very helpful and rewarding in doing that.

Stockspot will change around investments they feel to be under pressure and take steps to protect our investments, as a proactive measure rather than wait until after the event.

We also receive Chris’ monthly update which gives a brief on market movements and conditions, it keeps us in the loop and it is all part of the service from Stockspot.

Our money tips for those looking at investing

Keep a small amount of funds in a bank account for an emergency. 

Spend less than you earn.

Compound your investments by reinvesting the dividends and invest in fully franked equities.

Be patient when it comes to investing and don’t run with the crowd.

Have control over your investments. We didn’t have when the GFC hit and we were talked out of going cash at the time.

Invest in reliable companies such as banks and companies that shouldn’t fail.

Don’t be afraid to take a calculated risk to gain financial gain.

And finally, we don’t have his and hers money, we work together.

Stockspot builds and manages your sharemarket portfolio for you, so you can get on with enjoying life and not having to worry about picking stocks.

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