About me

After 15 years of experience in financial markets, in a variety of sales, marketing and communications roles, I am turning my knowledge into a freelancing career, offering professional writing and editing services on demand.

I am a native English speaker and able to translate complex investment ideas into simple everyday language, covering topics such as equities, bonds, commodities, property, hedge fund of funds, structured products, multi-asset funds, leveraged funds, ETFs, OEICs, UCITs, SICAVs and SPCs.

I am also a qualified yoga instructor, having completed 200 hours of training in Hatha Yoga in Hong Kong and a further 300 hours of advanced training in Vinyasa Flow in India. I offer both private lessons and group classes in a private studio in Mid-Levels. Please check my website for more information and for my current teaching schedule.

http://yogaflowwithjo.wix.com/joyoga

https://www.facebook.com/yogaflowwithjo

Friday, 17 June 2011

Inspiring leadership

I recently had the good fortune to meet Joe Mansueto, the Founder, and now Global Chairman and CEO of Morningstar, Inc. I was extremely impressed by his mission statement for Morningstar: "Helping investors achieve better outcomes". The official interview was published in the June issue of Benchmark magazine, but here I just wanted to share a few of my own thoughts of how he has inspired me.

Investing doesn't have to be hard

It seems to me that many people do not have the time nor the inclination to wade through the masses of information that there is on the topic of investments. Many simply dismiss investments in its entirety, thinking that it is "too difficult" - then put all their hard earned cash into bank deposits earning next to nothing, or are seduced by the potentially higher returns on structured products, without fully understanding the risks they are taking with their money (and we all know how that has turned out for investors in the Lehman-backed bonds). Others recognise that to earn some returns, they must take some risk. However, the trading mentality of some investors mean that they are actually taking on more risk than they need to - for a less than commensurate return.

But the fundamental principles of investing are not all that complicated, and once understood, can help investors earn their peace of mind, as well as decent, steady returns.

How can I help?

I thought back to Mansueto's mantra of "helping investors achieve better outcomes", a worthy goal indeed, and one that I think I could help contribute to, in some small way, by writing about what I know.

If you have any questions about investments you would like to see covered in these pages: Where to start? What to read? How to implement?

Please feel free to contact me with suggestions.

Email: jo_nhan@hotmail.com

Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Published articles to date:

Britain in Hong Kong (British Chamber of Commerce member's magazine)
March 2011: Vol. 26 No. 3

Alternative Investments: Not so alternative? 900 words

Benchmark magazine
April 2011: Vol. 9 No. 3

Japan: Counting the cost of catastrophe, 800 words

Benchmark magazine
May 2011: Vol. 9 No. 4

Peaceful expansion at Ping An, 1800 words
First State: How to feed the world, 1900 words
Walton International: Diversifying into raw land investments, 1200 words
ETFs earn headline inches, 1000 words

Benchmark magazine
June 2011: Vol. 9 No. 5

BlackRock: The golden constant? 1400 words
Hedge funds outlook, 1500 words
Morningstar: Helping investors achieve better outcomes, 1300 words
Schroders: Balancing act, 1700 words