# Managed Currency Funds



## shipibo (11 Jan 2008)

With property / equity lookin, a bit dodgy, was lookin, at Managed Currency Funds , as a safe medium term for part of my portfolio ...


Anyone hold or have experience of said funds ??? , BNP version looks nice, but have,nt looked indepth.


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## beekeeper (12 Jan 2008)

Managed currency funds are an excellet option, once the managers have the requisite experience.  Global Reach in Dublin have just launched a currency programme and the managers there have a very good pedigree.  I feel this area will take off over the next 12 months due to the uncertainty with the property market and the recent plunge in equities which has hurt alot of inexperienced investors.


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## amax (12 Jan 2008)

Hi Guys,
You have got me very interested in these Managed Currency Funds and I would like to take a go at investing a little in 1 of them. Can you recommend where to get started. I tried to google more about global reach, Dublin, but could not find any information?


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## jim.a (31 Aug 2012)

*forex managed account*

Hi everyone,
  I only just joined askaboutmoney as I was looking up about credit card rates. I just came across this post and realise it’s old. But just interested to see if anyone did invest in any forex managed accounts and how you are doing? This topic is of great interest to me. I tried my hand at the forex market a few years ago without much success. It’s a difficult one to master. So I did invest in a managed fund.  This is the second company I have tried. First company I invested in was  not great, plus the fees were crazy. The company I am with now are excellent and I’m very happy –  (don’t know if I’m allowed to mention names am i?) … Anyway, just interested to know did any of you guys invest and how are you getting on? I’m still trading a very small account (micro)… but it’s only a hobby for me now.. very small trades and I go through “phases” of learning! Just never seem to have the time on my hands to watch the market consistently. 
    Jim


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## PMU (31 Aug 2012)

Friends First have a managed currency fund http://www.friendsfirst.ie/uploads/pdfs/Insight Currency Fund Factsheet.pdf
It's very volatile but could provide diversification benefits for your portfolio.


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## mercman (31 Aug 2012)

jim.a said:


> (don’t know if I’m allowed to mention names am i?)
> Jim



Why not, as long as you don't mention any comments that would be insulting. Yours and others opinions might assist others in making investment decisions.


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## jim.a (1 Sep 2012)

Well no, quite the opposite, I have no complaints.  I’m with goldenschild asset management.  It was a friend of mine that recommended them and I’m really happy with them. Returns are consistent and fees very reasonable.  My brother is about to invest too based on our recommendations (me and pat),  and is in the process of account opening. Funds are very secure and the service is professional - I have already withdrawn well in excess of my initial capital. Oh I see PMU posted a link in his post. I will do the same.  

oh, askaboutmoney says i'm too new to post a link  :
well it's the usual url layout goldenschild.com

Just be careful, there are a lot of scam asset managers on the web. I felt secure investing here as I had pat’s recommendation and saw his results. Glad I did. 
Jim


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## Marc (1 Sep 2012)

I had a quick look at Goldenschild Asset management. Some observations:

No regulatory statement

Foreign exchange is generally an unregulated activity and subject to the risk of high fees

Trading currencies is speculation not investing is highly volatile and the expected return is zero before costs and negative after costs.

So let's have a look at the costs these guys disclose Note that there may be other hidden costs.

Goldenschild Classic
Minimum deposit:* 10.000$/€
Management fee: *400$ fixed fee/month
Trading instruments: currencies

$4800 per year fixed costs 4.8%pa for a 10k investment!  Not exactly good value.


Goldenschild Premium
Minimum deposit: 50.000$/€
Management fee: 30%/on a monthly profit basis
*** 250$ fixed fee/month. 
*Trading instruments: currencies, metals, energy

Ouch 30% fee on profits plus a fixed fee of $3000pa

Heads you win tails I lose!!!!

Goldenschild Executive
Minimum deposit:** – 100.000$/€
Management fee:*** -100$ fixed fee/month
**** – 20%/on a monthly profit basis
Trading instruments:- currencies, metals, energy, indices

Hedge fund pricing

In short avoid this like the plague!

Marc
Chartered and Certified Financial Planner and Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner


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## jim.a (2 Sep 2012)

‘’Avoid it like the plague’’ - Each to their own Marc. I was simply writing my own personal experience with this company. I am not an idiot; I did not just jump into such an investment; I did my sums and thoroughly checked out the company before I let go of any of my precious hard earned money. (I am also a financial sector professional: retired) 
Well it must have certainly only been a ‘’quick look’’ you had before you jumped into writing a post full of opinionated-based statements.

Perhaps the description of my experience wasn’t extensive enough. 

Goldenschild are not a broker  - the broker they deal with is MIG bank based in Switzerland. It is here that your investment is made after rigorous paperwork and if you like you can check out the regulatory statement on MIG’s website – they are both a bank and a broker.  My funds are held with that bank/broker and inaccessible to anybody except me.  Goldenschild are the fund managers, meaning they trade the forex market for the client. They do not hold the client’s funds.  I don’t see why you are pointing out Goldenschild’s regulatory body  - they use MIG’s legal framework. If there are cases of severe negligence, MIG may open an investigation regarding this. 

I do not understand where you came up with :
_*
"Foreign exchange is generally an unregulated activity and subject to the risk of high fees.
Trading currencies is speculation not investing is highly volatile and the expected return is zero before costs and negative after costs.’’*_

Can you point me somewhere that states Foreign exchange is an ‘’unregulated activity’’? If it was unregulated I would not have made such an investment. 
Trading currencies is highly volatile – I agree entirely with this, however  *"expected return is zero before costs and negative after costs’’? * This does not make sense at all Marc. How did you come up with this? It almost makes me laugh. I don’t know where you came up with such a statement  - what  research have you done on the foreign exchange market or have you experienced trading it first hand with zero or negative returns? 

I don’t know where you would advise your clients to invest Marc, but with the way things are in this country, I am certainly better off with this investment than any investment with our banks and the pittens returns they offer. As with any investment, it is the management of such that will yield benefits in the long run.  To delve even deeper into my personal monetary affairs (but in good counsel)  I also have post office (state savings) investments which I feel have excellent returns. As stated above, I have withdrawn well in excess of my original investment (plus paid fees to date) from Goldenschild/MIG and re-invested this into a post office state savings investment.  Alongside this, my initial capital is higher than my original investment. 

As I mentioned, I tried my hand at trading in the forex market and I still do a little when time allows. It is not a market where you can sit back and let your outlay work for itself. The forex market is so volatile you have to be on the ball constantly. Risk can be managed through structured money management and before making this investment I had to complete a form to assess my own interpretation of the risks involved and to advise them of what risk level of risk I expected/ wanted my capital to endure. 
As I said, it is a volatile market and your eye has to be on the ball at all times – it’s a 24 hour market. Even with your eye on the market, it is still challenging and very very difficult to become consistently profitable.  I hardly expect someone to manage my account for free.

Then you go through the various accounts offered. Fair enough. 
You’re pointing out the fees and zero returns. Your speculative zero returns again! Let’s outline a few of the banks investment offerings and their ongoing fees… but let’s do it with zero returns. Does that make sense?
My investment made 21% return last month.  
So let’s work that out on a capital of $10000
A return of $2100 – less the fixed fee of $400 leaves $1700. (Plain to see that this return is far from zero or negative!)
The returns vary but when I began, my support agent specified that they offer a monthly target of 10%. Yes it is a target, this is the forex market. So it is subject to risk. However, they generally exceed 10% and on months of lower return, higher return months  well- outweigh the lower returns and fees.  Did you look at their past performance and previous returns?  It would not make fiscal or common sense make an investment where the fees outweighed the returns. It is not so difficult to calculate your potential returns if you do the maths correctly.

Then the other type of accounts, yes, higher fees. Well again, if you do the mathematics, the higher your investment the higher your returns. 
I don’t mean to sound argumentative Marc, I am new here and didn’t even come on this website to discuss this – I simply came across the post while browsing -  I simply wrote my experience and you posted a reply that almost made me out to be foolish. Managed accounts are a dime a dozen on the net and I have heard several horror stories. I am not one to push risk investments on anyone, but I am also not one to push negative comments and  ridicule another person’s experience.  Investments are a complex and risky field especially in trading forex, stocks and shares.  However, I did my research and I’m glad I didn’t ‘’avoid them like the plague’’
Jim


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## Marc (4 Sep 2012)

Independent custodians are a pre requisite in my book but other than that MIG are completely irrelevant to the investment decision. Their regulation does not confer any credibility or investor protection on Goldenschild and none should be suggested or inferred. 

For ex trading is generally an unregulated activity.

Louis Bachelier published the theory of speculation in 1900  and we have known since then that the expected return from gambling on currencies is zero before costs and negative after costs.

 Don't confuse process and outcome. Gambling on currencies is a bad investment decision even if you have had a good investment outcome. You have probably just been lucky.


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## jim.a (5 Sep 2012)

Novice traders do gamble on the forex market. They depend on luck.  The 5% who don’t give up, and succeed after years of experience learn the difference between gambling and trading. One of the most fundamental elements of successful trading in any market is money management and risk control. 
How can the institute that holds the investment (MIG bank) be “irrelevant” to the investment decision? - I am still also waiting for you to point me somewhere that states forex is “generally” an unregulated activity.
Part of the account application process was an assessment of my knowledge of investments and my tolerance to risk. As well as guide to devising my trading plan, I felt this was also to filter out those who can’t stomach risk investments or understand them fully.  There are people who will not touch high risk investments and advise others against it such as Marc. It is one’s own prerogative to decide the level of risk he/she will endure in an investment.  As I already stated here, I’m not advising either way, just telling my experience. Has anybody else here who is familiar with the forex market any experience with a managed account? Perhaps the others who were originally writing on this post?
Thanks for your opinion in any case Marc. 
Jim.


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## Marc (5 Sep 2012)

And thanks for taking the time to set out your case.

Many currency websites say they are registered with the FSA – however, this means nothing in terms of regulatory supervision. Indeed, the selling of foreign exchange is not subject to FSA regulation at all, only money tranfer services.
Some money transfer companies are authorised by the FSA.

Registration is a cursory process and is not a precursor to regulatory oversight.
A spokesperson at the FSA said: 
'Being registered is different to being authorised by the FSA. The legislation only allows the FSA to check that firms which qualify for registration - rather than authorisation as a payment institution - have no-one in the management who has been convicted of financial crimes and that the firm is based in the UK.
'We have no power to check the financial health of these firms.'
Sales of foreign exchange are not subject at all to FSA regulation - only money transfer services.


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## Marc (5 Sep 2012)

In the USA

The Commodity Exchange Act permits persons regulated by a federal regulatory agency to engage
in off-exchange forex transactions with individual investors only pursuant to rules of that federal regula- tory agency. Keep in mind that there may be differ- ent requirements or treatment for forex transactions depending on which rules and regulations might apply in different circumstances (for example, with respect to bankruptcy protection or leverage limitations).
You should also be aware that, for brokers and dealers, many of the rules and regulations that apply to securi- ties transactions may not apply to forex transactions. The SEC is actively interested in business practices in this area and is currently studying whether additional rules and regulations would be appropriate.


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