Cooking the Books podcast: Why a market downturn can be the best time to buy shares

There have been warnings about a market downturn, but there are ways to prepare. Photo / file

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to brace for a market downturn. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Those who like to dabble in shares have had a dream run in recent years.

Prices have gone up, dividends have been generous, and investors have happily raked in the returns.

But there's a chill wind starting to blow. There have been rumblings for the last couple of years that the good days are set to end, and market watchdogs are only getting more dire in their predictions.

The market regulator in France has warned that it is worried about a Wall Street crash, possibly as soon as this year.

Meanwhile, market heavyweight Vanguard has told its investors to expect much lower returns over the next 10 years.

While this all makes for a nice scary headline, it could actually be good news for some people.

If someone is investing in shares over the long term, and is ready to ride the rollercoaster, you could even call this a golden opportunity.

I called Mark Fowler, head of investments at Hobson Wealth, for the latest Cooking the Books podcast.

We talked about how investing strategies can change in a downturn, the risk of a trade war, and how this will hit KiwiSaver investors.

For the interview, listen to the podcast.

If you have a question about this podcast, or an idea for the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.

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