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What is Return on Investment?

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Understanding ROI

 

The financial world is riddled with jargon and a multiple of confusing words. Without the understanding of these, it may be difficult to survive in a world filled with bankers, investors and complexed corporate environments. So, without further delay, here is everything you need to know about Return on Investment (ROI).

Return on Investment is a measure of performance, as it is used to evaluate the efficiency of the investment of interest. It can also be used as a comparative tool, as it provides information about multiple investments in a manner that is easily understood and analyzed. This is achieved through the return on investment formula which gives a quantitative analysis of the amount of return of an investment in relation to its cost.

It provides an easily usable formula that has many practical uses. For example, one is able to compare the Return on Investment from a range of assets that are not generally compared. Therefore, one could compare performance on the stock market with that of a new niche start-up by simply plugging the correct financials into the Return on Investment equation.

 

The Return on Investment Formula example

In order to calculate this, the amount earned is divided by the cost of the investment. The result is expressed as the Return on Investment ratio. Mathematically, the Return on Investment equation goes as follows:

ROI = (earnings from investment – cost of investment) / cost of investment

Sample return of investment: Next, one needs to consider how to practically calculate a Return on Investment. To this end, a return on investment example should suffice: John invested $1000 in Nice Shoe Inc in 2010. Today, he wishes to sell those shares and he sells them for a total of $1400. If he wanted to know his return on investment, John would first have to calculate his profits. This is done by subtracting costs of investments from the cost of investment: $1400 – $1000 = $400. Next, the profit must be divided in order to get the return on investment $400/$1000 = 40%. Therefore, John’s return on investment is 40%.
These equations may be made much simpler with the use of online return on investment calculators. This can make life simpler when comparing multiple investment opportunities at the same time, allowing for a simpler path to seeing the opportunity costs associated with a respective business path.

Return on Investment calculator:

How to calculate rate of return on investment in excel ?

We can calculate return on investment in excel sheet if we put equation as formula. You can download return on investment (roi) excel template.

 

Analysing the Results


Generally, any value that comes out of the Return on Investment equation as positive is considered a good return. An importance remains, nonetheless, on evaluating all options so that the investment chosen outweighs its associated opportunity cost. The opportunity cost is defined as the next best option that is forgone with the purchase of any good, service, or asset.
Consider this: John (from the example earlier) had the opportunity of purchasing shares in Nice Shirts Inc. For the same $1000 in investment, his Return on Investment would have equated 50% over the same time period. Therefore, John’s opportunity cost was greater than the profit he made buying shares in Nice Shoes Inc.
From this, one can see that opportunity cost plays an important role in decision-making. A comprehensive Return of Investment analysis may help dramatically in aid of this because, as stated in earlier, the equation provides a good basis for numerical comparison.

 

Return on Investment vs Return of Investment


 

Whilst doing these calculations, it is important to keep in mind that a return on investment does not necessarily mean a return of investment. Return on investment is speculative; Return of Investment is definite – cold, hard cash in your hands. The end goal of any investor must be to achieve Return of Investment

 

Limitations of the Return on Investment Analysis


 

Return on Investment is a profitability ratio. This means it is supposed to be an aid in the decision making of any investment opportunity. However, so that it can play a proper role in that situation, it is critical to establish that it does have limits. The equation does not take into account the time between the initial investment and the profit received. So, it may put investments that have different Rates of Return in the same category.
For example, the Return on Investment equation will say two 20% Returns on Investments are exactly the same. Even though the first investment may have achieved this in 6 months and the second in 2 years. Therefore, the Return on Investment analysis is not sufficient on its own and must be used alongside other crucial profitability measures. Such measures provide a better basis with which to make an investment decision. An example of such calculations would include the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). These are not comprehensive and further research is suggested before making any critical decisions.
Furthermore, the Return of Investment analysis only provides historical data. This means that it cannot be a predictor of what an investment may do in the future. Although, certain implications may be drawn from this.

Criticisms of evaluating performance based on ROI include:
– Reject investment opportunities that are profitable for the company but have a negative impact on a manager’s ROI.
– Be put in charge of a business segment that includes committed costs over which a manager has no control.
– Take actions that increase ROI in the short-run at the expense of long-term performance.

Questions and answers:

 

Why is return on investment (roi) the most commonly used financial performance measure?

In every country, ROI is the most commonly used financial performance measure. Return on investment calculation allows managers of one organization to compare performance with that of other organizations.In order to increase return on investment (ROI), the company must increase sales, and/or decrease operating expenses or increase or increase unit sales.

What is good return on investment ?

What is considered a good return on investment is hard to tell. Each industry has its own average ROI. For example marketing and advertising for every $1 invested will bring you at least $2. On other side real estate and stocks can bring you cumulative high amount of profit but ROI is much smaller. See image below:
What is good return on investment

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Which investment offers the best combination of low risk and high return?


Investments like preferred stocks, utility stock, fixed annuities, brokered cds, offers the best combination of low risk and high return.
Stocks are typically high risk and high return, while bonds (especially government-secured bonds) are low risk and low return.

 

If the average return on investment is the same why buy mutual funds instead of stocks?

No. Stocks are typically high risk and high return and as an investment, bonds are less risky than stocks but generally have a lower rate of return. On the other side, one of the benefits of mutual funds is that their diversification reduces risk. Answer is : both can be risky, but average stocks investing is risky than average mutual fund investment. Most mutual funds are able to achieve a 5-7% ROI annually.

 

What is return on investment for stocks ?


As same as we calculate ROI for any other business, ROI = (gain from investment – cost of investment) / cost of investment.

 

How to Calculate an Annual Return With Stock Prices


 

Simple Return = (Current Price-Purchase Price) / Purchase Price
Annual Return = (Simple Return +1) ^ (1 / Years Held)-1

or if you have dividend:

Simple Dividend-Adjusted Return = (Current Stock Price-Dividend-Adjusted Stock Purchase Price) / Dividend-Adjusted Stock Purchase Price
Annual Dividend-Adjusted Return = (Simple Dividend-Adjusted Return +1) ^ (1 / Years Held)-1

 

Why is marketing return on investment so difficult to measure?


It can be quite difficult to measure marketing ROI, because marketing efforts usually result to intangible benefits for employees and customers.

 

What are the concepts of return on investment and risk ?


This question we have when we talk about investing and ROI. Risk increases if loss exceeds amount invested even if loss probability remains unchanged. SO higher risk corresponds to higher returns and lower risk corresponds to lower returns. Return on investment can not be only thing that we are looking for when we invest our money. Roi and risk we need to study together.

 

The Future for ROI


 

Recent times have seen the advent of the Social Return on Investments, a measurement system that takes into account the Triple Bottom Line: social environmental and economic factors. SROI helps the management of companies understand the scope of their decisions in a broader sense than just monetary policy.

Why Return on Investment Matters


Return on Investment calculations is important, as they show how your money is producing a profit. It does this in a manner that is able to show both the efficiency and the magnitude of the respective asset. Moreover, the Return on Investment analysis can act as an alarm bell, as negative products of the equation should see the immediate withdrawal of capital from the investment.
However, it must be remembered that ROI is easily manipulated and does not take into account certain crucial factors, time being an example. Despite this, it remains a critical weapon in the armory of the investor. A Return on Investment Analysis should form the foundation of any well-considered investment.

FxGiants Review

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fxgiantsIntroduction
The organization is a global forex broker that provides financial services for online trading regarding currency exchange. FXGiants as well serves the retail investors as well as investors from institutions from more than 150 countries across the globe. It is the among the leading online forex and CFDs broker organization across the globe more especially in the countries of incorporation. The company was established in the year 2015 at the same time in two countries; the UK and Australia. However, the company has been Australia for a longer time and has been operating under a veteran forex trading company in the brokerage industry. It forms a registered brand for the IronFX Global company. FXGiants has two trading companies presently which were both once owned by IronFX but currently one is owned by GVS Pty Ltd in Australia and another one by 8Safe in UK. The organization’s headquarters is based on London in the UK. The official address for the organization is 51 Church Street on the 5th Floor of the Andrew’s Place in HM12 Hamilton, Bermuda. The company trades with a wide range of commodities such as over 80 currency pairs, more than 200 kinds of financial instruments to numerous clients who come from more than 150 countries worldwide. The committed focus of the organization is to offer a fulfilling trading experience for the financial services consumers with the integration of latest technology and provision of high standard services. The organization’s popularity is well felt in the Australian nation, in Europe as well as South America.

Company license and regulations

The company is under stringent regulations that are spanning the globe from the various regulators of the countries of regulation. With the organization’s commitment to offer services compliant to the highest standards, it operates under full regulation of the financial regulating authorities of the two countries of incorporation. In the UK, the organization is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the license number 585561 while in Australia it is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) under the ASFL number 417482. This therefore makes the organization a fully compliant organization for laws of the land in both UK and Australia. The licensing and regulations verifies that the organization is a legit forex trading broker in the financial services provision industry. The company also being a participant in the European Union market, it is a full compliant of the guidelines and authorities provided by the European Union. It also complies to the rules and regulations of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of the UK since it is protected by the scheme. The scheme can give compensation to the FXGiants’ investors in the event when the company has not met its financial obligations to the agreed rates between the company and the compensation scheme.

FXGiants reliability

With the desire of every investor to ensure that every dollar invested produces a yield, nobody wants to be a victim of scam forex traders. Especially in the online platforms, the practice of scamming is very rampant since the offices are not sometimes physical identified or they are in abroad regions where some other local investors cannot easily access them. Therefore, legitimacy and authenticity of the forex trading brokers is a question of great concern for the investors. Despite the fact that the FXGiants broker is young in the industry and has been operating for less than four years in the market, its age does not affect its reliability. With this doubt about its age, the company has been motivated to work harder seeking to win trader and investor trust in the online community.

fxgiantsThe first evidence of reliability is seen in the company’s concerted efforts to secure regulation under two different jurisdictions in the two countries of operation. In a span of less than 2 years, the company has been able to be licensed under the Australian regulation and the UK regulation. This regulation gives assurance to the traders that any investment they make with the company is in safe hands. There is also constant supervision of the FXGiants company by FCA and ASIC thus ensuring that the company conducts its operations transparently and fairly which can assure the investors that they will be able to transparently see their investment performance as time goes. Additionally, the company has partnered with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of the UK thus in any event of financial incapability or insolvency, the investors are assured of compensation amounting to a maximum of 50,000 pounds per every investor. The company also has an automated risk management system which manages the accounts of the investors thus they do not have to worry of their accounts running on negative state.

FXGiants trading platforms

Working in the financial brokerage industry, FXGiants company works solely on online platforms. Its specialization is inclined to forex trading with more than 80 currencies of operation. The company offers a wide variety of trading platforms that are compatible with Windows as well as Mac Operating Systems. The mobile compatible platforms are also available such as applications form tablets and smartphones which allow investors to access their accounts while even travelling. Any investor account offers unrestricted access to the company’s platforms at any time.

The major trading platform is the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) which is a software developed by the MetaQuotes Software company. The platform forms the major trading platform for the company since it is the most popular forex business platform in the forex trading industry. It is used as the main trading platform by over 80 percent of the companies that participate in the forex trading business. The MT4 trading platform is a highly popular platform that is user-friendly and robust thus supporting the forex trading business greatly since it is integrated with a charting package and other technical indicators which the investor can use to analyze the market thus guide informed investment decisions.
Another feature of the MT4 platform is the which is the most powerful feature is its capability to support automated trading with using the Expert Advisors. Those traders who are experts in computer applications can program the Expert Advisors to build an automatic trading on the platform. The platform is made available in various versions like MT4 for PC as well as MT4 for Mac. They both have features like activity reports, advanced charts, advanced security systems, real-time news feeds, real-time quotes, support trading signals, and support for various kinds of trading orders. The mobile trading platform has MT4 mobile compatible platform that can be downloaded from Google Play Store for android phones or the App Store for the iPhones. The traders can monitor their accounts or execute trades right from their mobile phones.

fxgiantsFXGiants transparency and trading conditions
The organization has strong transparency since it is regulated by two bodies which oversee its operations. The subjection to two kinds of regulations makes it achieve the highest standard of transparency as they move on with their operations. The organization has also specified the compensation limits for the investors in the event of financial difficulties or insolvency thus straightforward with the financial services that it offers. The accessibility of all their trading platforms with only one investor account also makes the trading to be highly transparent and makes the trading conditions convenient for every investor.
The company’s trading accounts
The company genuinely offers a meaningful and wide range of types of accounts from which the investor can choose from. Therefore, it is possible for an investor to open a market maker account or an account that deals with desk type on the basis of the commissions. There are five different types of accounts that from which the investor can choose from. The accounts are as follows

Micro account – The investor is able to choose between live fixed or live floating spread depending on the individual tastes and preferences. In any spread that an investor will choose, the minimum deposit remains to be $100 but an average of $500. The leverage range for this account ranges from 1:1 to 1:500 with variety of the currencies like AUD, EUR, GBP and many more. The benchmark for fixed spread is 2.2 while for the floating spread is at 1.1 with the freedom of opening one account with numerous base currencies. The min lot size for this account is 0.01 and the account is available for 24 hours for five days in a week. The transaction hotline is also available to sort out issues with investors.

Premium account – This also lies in the similar choice by the investor either live fixed or live floating spread. For either choice of the spread, the minimum deposit is $2500 with a benchmark spread of 1.2 maximum and a minimum of 0.7 USD floating rate. The highest leverage given for one account of this type is $500 and the account is also allowed to be opened with numerous base currencies. The min lot size for this type of account is 0.1 with also dedicated account manager in 24 hours in five days. It is therefore slightly below the micro account.

0 Fixed Spread account – This account can be opened with a minimum deposit of $500 with a minimum lot size of 0.01 and a minimum commission as from $18 per lot is charged on the account. The account manager for this account is also available for 24 hours for five days a week. A highest leverage of up to 200 base currencies which translates to around 1.8 pips of the currency pair used as benchmark.

STP/ECN No Commission account – This account’s deposit charge is similar to the minimum deposit for Micro account and 0 Fixed Spread account. Base currencies used in this account are also similar to the Micro account. The only difference is that the leverage caps for this account are at 1:200 other than 1:500 noted in the Micro account. Also there is no transaction hotline and also no account manager for the account. The minimum lot size is 0.01 with allowance for various base currencies as the Micro account.

STP/ECN 0 Spread account – The account has the same features like the STP/ECN No Commission account thus the two accounts can be opened interchangeably by the investors. This account forms the largest account in the company forex trading business thus can accommodate any investor who wants to invest huge amounts of money into the business.
Unique features with FXGiants

fxgiantsThe company offers its products and services on its trading platforms in 24 hours in 5 days every week. Their services are available for online platforms and compatible with either PC or smartphones. The major trading platform used is well-known to people and always user friendly for either the MetaTrader 4 platform or the Personal Multi Account Manager (PMAM). For the PMAM platform, it allows for the creation and management of multiple accounts by the user. The company is also always aimed at becoming semi-professional money managers which can manage investor assets on their behalf. In addition, the company has a group of professionals with a wealth of experience in the field of international finance and forex trading business. The team of professionals deal with markets analysis, business solution specialization, business developers and risk management. The company goods and services are spread in over 150 countries across the globe with more than 200 financial instruments. The company also has interesting bonus package which has initial bonus at 35 percent free. It also includes incentives such as 100% bonus maximizer and also bonus advantage of 20 percent for deposits amounting up to $2000.

Company special offers, promotions and bonuses
The company is delighted in rewarding its investors with an array of variety of promotions. The promotions range from Live and Demo Trading competitions to extraordinary bonuses which boost the investors’ trading needs. The FXGiants company rewards its traders every month with a trading competition. From month to month the price changes. For example, in the month of January 2018 the price of the reward was a vacation package to Europe or a $5000 token. However, the bonus is given to those investors who fully comply to the terms and conditions of the bonus. All the promotions and bonuses are aimed at boosting the needs of the investor as well as enhancing the company reputation as it engages in forex trading business.

Company commissions and spreads
The company commission charges are only applicable to the Fixed Spread account. The investors with this type of account are required to make a payment of $18 for every lot of trading. However, for the other accounts for trading in this company, the investors are required to make a payment of small spreads for any trade that they engage in. They can participate in the fixed or floating spread regarding their tastes and preferences. When using the Micro account, the fixed spread can be to the minimum of 2.2 pips while the floating spread can be to the minimum of 1.1 pips. On the other hand, the premium account the least floating is 0.7 pips while the least fixed spreads is 1.2 pips. However, the typical spreads are different for the various currencies as indicated on the company website.

Deposit and Withdrawals of money
This is a trading exercise which needs recharging of funds when they go below the required level and also withdrawal when the investment makes a profit. The first and important exercise is the deposit of funds to the investor account such that one can become an active participant in the business and also to fund the account for transactions. The company has a proprietary interface which makes process simple, enhanced and secure. The company does not take cash deposits from the investors. Instead, there are several options that can be used to make automatic deposits to the investor account such as the Visa or MasterCard credit cards, Neteller, Skrill, Fasapay, UnionPay China, Safecharge, EccomPay, and DotPay. The investors can also use alternative deposit method of using the bank wire transfer to deposit finances to their trading accounts in case they do not have access to eWallet of credit cards. All these methods have different fees with different terms and conditions of operation. Withdrawal can also be made through the same methods used to deposit funds to the trade accounts. The withdrawal fee varies from one method to the other but the least withdrawal fee applicable is $0.5 while the maximum applicable $30.

fxgiantsCustomer support
FXGiants offers 24-hour customer support services for 5 working days every week. The customer support staff is helpful in solving the customer complaints. The company’s customer support centers are based in London in the UK with the primary language in offering the support services being English but can also be translated to various languages which include Spanish, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Malay, Portuguese, Hungarian and Indonesian. Their customer support services can be reached through various mediums such as emails, telephone call, or a live chat at any time even in the instances when the market is busy. The company has also toll free contact numbers for customer support in specified countries such as China, Malaysia, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Indonesia, Italy, Thailand, Portugal, Russia, and Korea.

Education
The company is focused on the delivery of variety of assets that are easily tradeable by the investors in a simple execution of commands over the trading platforms. With this focus, the company therefore strives to educate its investors with an educational content that is always restricted to a forex trading glossary and the news releases for the company as well as other headlines that concern key economic performance across the globe and the region of operation. The company glossary despite being limited, it is useful to the investors to a great extent. The company website also has light educational materials regarding forex trading as well as basic economic news regarding forex trading market analysis that is fundamental to the investors.

Safety of finances
To curb insecurity issues, the company’s accounts are maintained in the top tier banks by the use of banking and treasury services that are applied at Westpac as well as other major high class institutions dealing with banking. The investor funds are in complete segregation with the other funds thus the customers can be sure that clarity, integrity and security is highly observed in dealing with their finances. Each investor account has a unique code which effectively guides depositing and withdrawal of funds from the account. The company is regulated and protected by recognized agencies in the lands of its operation thus very secure.

Pros and Cons
Pros
The company has variety of trading accounts (total of 5 types)
There is low deposit requirement for minimum initial deposit
The company is a regulated broker thus secure and legit
It has a wide range of financial instruments as well as products and services
Cons
The company lacks multi lingual support
They also lack local telephone customer support
They have no web based platform for trading
Only the MT4 trading platform is supported

Conclusion

With the company review, it is evident that the company has strong regulatory oversight, brilliant spreads and an array of accounts which the investors can choose from. It is true that is has been in operation for a very short period but it has managed to gain massive following and has accumulated a pool of loyal investors. The company has affordable accounts starting as low as $100 with amazing promotions and bonuses. Therefore, is it of no doubt that the company has proved itself as an investor friendly broker for those individuals seeking to begin their forex trading business.

What is Leveraged Buyout – LBO

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Leveraged Buyout – LBO
Definition
When you borrow a significant amount of money in order to complete the acquisition of another company, then this will be termed as a leveraged buyout. Now, since the amount of loans taken for acquiring the company is pretty high, so to pay them off, the assets of the acquired company are put to use. They are often kept as a collateral for the loans to the creditors. Sometimes, the acquiring company also uses its own assets to keep as a collateral for the loans. Now, the main reason behind this buyout is to make sure that when a company is being acquired, the acquiring company is not committing a lot of capital.

Historical aspects regarding Leveraged Buyout

The infamous history of leveraged buyouts suggests that they hadn’t been much successful in the past. Most importantly, when the 1980s are kept into account, there were various much important buyouts that happened and led to the eventual bankruptcy of acquired companies. Mainly, this was because of the pretty high leverage ratio that amounted to almost 100%. The interest payments were also so large that the operating cash flows of the company just couldn’t make it to meet the exceedingly high amounts and thus, they eventually got bankrupted.
One of the largest LBOs on record was in 2006 when Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Merrill Lynch and Bain &Co. acquired the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). The three companies had to pay a whopping amount of $33 billion in order to acquire HCA.

What are the reasons behind LBOs?

When a company is taking so much loan just to acquire another company, it raises questions and puts the acquiring company’s finances at great risk. So, one does wonder the reasons behind such a buyout. Well, there are three important reasons as to why companies come to this point.

1. First reason is when the company wants to take over a public company and make it private
2. When someone is trying to sell a portion of his existing business for its spin-off.
3. The third reason might be the transfer of any private property, or the case where a small change is to be made in the ownership of a specific business.
However, in all the cases, there is one common requirement that the acquired entity must be a profitable and growing venture. So that, spending all the large amount and acquiring all the loans are worth it.

Break down of LBOs
Usually, there is a ratio of 10% equity to 90% debt in an LBO. Due to the excessive ratio, usually the bonds issued in this buyout are referred to as the junk bonds instead of the investment grade. Moreover, a lot of people are of the view that the tactic of LBOs is highly predatory and ruthless because the target company never actually sanctions it. Moreover, it is pretty much ironic that the assets responsible for a company’s success are actually being used against the same company by the predator company as a collateral.

The process of LBO
The leveraged buyouts often contain many complexities and hence they take some time for completion. For instance, consider the example of JAB holding company. It is a private firm which makes investments in healthcare companies, coffee and luxury goods. In May 2016, JAB holding company started the leveraged buyout of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. The acquired company came at a whopping price of $1.5 billion, out of which there was a leveraged loan of $350 million along with a revolving credit facility of $150 million through the Barclays investment bank.
However, the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Inc. already had a debt on its balance sheet which was also needed to be sold. Barclays made it more attractive by adding an additional 0.5% interest rate to it. Thus, the LBO was made quite intricate and the deal was almost cancelled. Nevertheless, on July 12, 2016, they went through with the deal and closed it.

Attractive aspects of LBO

An LBO generally represents a win-win situation for banks as well as financial sponsors, thus they are quite attractive. In case of financial sponsor, he can employ the leverage and thus enhance the rate of returns on his equity. The banks can also make it different from the corporate lending and thus attain some significantly high margins by supporting the finances of LBOs. This is because the banks will be charging a much higher interest. Moreover, the banks can obtain security or collateral too as a proof or surety that they will get repaid.
How much amount can the banks provide for an LBO
As mentioned, the LBO requires a lot of debt and this depends on how much amount the banks are actually willing to provide for supporting an LBO. The amount varies and is dependent on several factors that are mentioned as follows:
• Overall economic environment
• The quality of the company that is being acquired i.e. whether the operating cash flows of the company are stable, its history, the prospects of growth and the hard assets etc.
• The experience and history of the financial sponsor.
• How much equity is being offered by the financial sponsor.
Characteristics of leveraged buyouts
The leveraged buyouts greatly differ in many aspects. However, some characteristics are there that hold true in almost every LBO mentioned as follows:
• Strong management team – The chief executives will have worked with each other and by rolling over their shares in the LBO deal, they might have some vested interests.
• Relatively lesser existing debt – The private equity firm will add up more debt in the capital structure of the company which is to be repaid over time. Thus, this results in a lesser effective purchasing price. If the company already has acquired a huge debt balance, then the deal is very tough to be closed.
• Relatively lesser fixed costs – the fixed costs are to be repaid even if the revenues of private equity firms decline, thus the fixed costs pose risk for the private equity firms.
• Stability in cash flows – the acquired company in the LBO must have a stable operating cash flow.

New Zealand Dollars

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New Zealand Dollars
It is New Zealand’s currency. NZD is its currency code.

If you interested in NZDUSD trading see latest values and NZDUSD chart.

As can be seen from the name, the New Zealand dollar is used by New Zealand as its legal tender and currency. It is however also used by other independent countries and areas close to New Zealand, including Pitcairn Islands, a British territory, the Niue, Cook Islands, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency. The dollar ($) is mostly used as an abbreviation, while “NZ$” is commonly used to differentiate it from other countries that uses the dollar. The NZ$ is also informally known as the “Kiwi”. This is due to the fact that New Zealand is often associated with this bird which is indigenous to the country, and also depicted on the 1 dollar coin. The currency’s international currency code is NZD, as opposed to USD for the American dollar.
In 1967, the NZD was introduced and it is divided into 100 c. Although the original denominations included a 1c, 2c and a 5c, these were eventually withdrawn due to production costs and inflation. Nowadays the currency has to denominations of which 5 are coins and 5 are banknotes. Although New Zealand is a small island country, the NZD is regularly one of the ten currencies most traded in the world.

Before the NZD was introduced, the country’s currency was the New Zealand pound. Since 1933, the pound had been separate from the British pound and used the Lsd system, where there are 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pence in one shilling.
Since the 1930s, New Zealand has considered switching to a decimal currency, but it was only in late 1955 that the currency was finally considered too cumbersome and complicated, and plans were made to change it. Government set up a committee to consider using a decimal currency in 1957, and the decision to decimalize New Zealand’s currency was taken in 1963, followed in 1964 by the passing of a relevant Act for a decimal currency. The transition date was set to July 10, 1967. To avoid using the word “dollar”, alternative names including zeal, kiwi and fern were proposed. In spite of these suggestions, dollar was used in the end and “Mr. Dollar”, cartoon character depicting a dollar note was used as a symbol for transition in massive publicity campaigns.

The NZD was introduced on Monday July 10, 1967 the pound was replaced at 2 dollars per pound. 165 million new coins were minted and 27 million new banknotes were printed for the change.

Exchange rate
The NZD was initially linked to the American dollar at a rate of NZD 1 = USD 1.43. This changed to NZD 1 = USD 1.12 on November, 21 1967 after the GBP was devalued.
When the USA devalued the USD relative to gold in 1971, New Zealand followed by pegging its currency at NZD 1 = USD 1.216, maintaining an equivalent gold value with a fluctuation range of 4.5%. Between July 1973 and March 1985 the NZD’s value was calculated from a basket of currencies that was trade-weighted.
On March 4, 1985, the NZD was floated at a rate of USD 0.4444. Its value has been dependent on financial markets since then, and has been between USD 0.88 and 0.39.

The NZD’s low was reached on November 22, 2000 at USD 0.3922, while a high of USD 0.8821 was achieved on July 9, 2014, with most of the variation being attributed to interest rate differences.
Currency trading often strongly affects the NZD’s value and it remains one of the currencies in the world most traded.
The New Zealand Reserve Bank sold NZD worth nine billion USD on June 11, 2007, trying to decrease its value. This was the first time the Bank intervened in the markets since the currency was floated.
It is suspected that there were another two interventions, but these were not really successful. Although the 1st seemed to be effective when the NZD dropped to approximately USD 0.7490 from USD 0.7620 initially, within a mere month it rose to new heights and reached USD 0.8103.

After it reached a record high early in 2008, the NZD’s value dropped sharply throughout Q3 and Q4 of 2008, and Q1 of 2009. This was due to investors moving away from “uncertain” currencies including the NZD during the global economic downturn. The NZD reached a low of USD 0.50 on March 6, 2009, but it rallied strongly during the rest of the year and reached the USD 0.75 mark by Nov 2009.

The NZD was trading consistently above 0.80 USD by late 2012, even reaching 85c occasionally. This prompted the Green Party and the unions to call on the Reserve Bank and the Government for quantitative easing, but both had declined as at February 2013.
As of June, 2018, the NZD was trading at about USD 0.70.