All Topics / Opinionated! / What do people think of Steve’s the US Passive Income Fund?

Viewing 20 posts - 21 through 40 (of 58 total)
  • Profile photo of MarshesMarshes
    Participant
    @marshes
    Join Date: 2009
    Post Count: 33

    I am not in the fund but considering enrolling.

    Below is an update.

    http://www.passiveincomefund.com/stu-silver-update-1404

    Id love to hear from more people currently in the fund. Considering the $$$ invested not much is said on here about it.

    bethp
    Participant
    @bethp
    Join Date: 2011
    Post Count: 2

    I agree that the currency exchange rates add in a huge risk factor, though so far, so good.  I think the fund might be okay if you have lots of spare cash that you don't need.  

    One thing that never get added in to the discussion is stuff like: do you own your own PPOP, are you paying if off in a way that balances out with putting money into higher risk investments.  

    Personally, if I had a spare 10 grand, I would put in on my mortgage before I invested it in an international or any kind of managed fund, but maybe I am just way too conservative.

    Also, there is superannuation, where some money can be put more securely and with less tax paid on the investments, depending on where you are on your retirement journey, your income and your tax entitlements.  

    All these things need to be taken into consideration together, not just: invest because of a belief that it will have a good return.  eVen if you got a good return in a fund or some such investment, it is possible, depending on your circumstances, that you would have the same or better return, with far less risk, by putting it into your mortgage or super account.  

    Profile photo of DwightDwight
    Participant
    @bigvman
    Join Date: 2002
    Post Count: 42

    Hello peeps! The fund is going great from what I can see. I invested early and it’s taken some time to find traction but looks like it’s about to reach a tipping point. If I had more spare cash I’d invest again in this fund right now!

    Why am I posting this. Becuase the fund WILL close in the next 6 weeks. Please don’t come back in 2 months time and say “Can I get on board?”

    My only association with the fund is that I’ve put hard earned into it and wish others would take advantage of the opportunity.

    Check it out!

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Profile photo of Dwight Dwight.

    Dwight

    Cashflow Positive Investor

    Profile photo of jaffafaljaffafal
    Participant
    @jaffafal
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 17

    I am so glad I got into Steve US passive income fund. The profits are great, but it’s the regular updates and educational insights Steve very generously shares have been the highlight. He makes property investing fun!
    Also I have family over in the US and hopefully I can take the kids to see some of the fund’s commercial property and claim part of trip as a tax deduction.

    Profile photo of Judith OttosenJudith Ottosen
    Participant
    @tallpoppy
    Join Date: 2014
    Post Count: 36

    It’s interesting reading through these older posts then looking at the current situation. I have heard through some that invested in Steve’s fund that all is going very well indeed. Here in SW Florida, not only housing but commercial too is booming. Everywhere you look there is growth and new buildings going up.

    Judith Ottosen | Outback Realty LLC
    Email Me

    Profile photo of TMTM
    Participant
    @tmaj
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 13

    Surely anyone that did this fund is laughing right now. I wish I was around when the offer was available. Any one know how its going?

    Profile photo of TerrywTerryw
    Participant
    @terryw
    Join Date: 2001
    Post Count: 16,213

    I am so glad I got into Steve US passive income fund. The profits are great, but it’s the regular updates and educational insights Steve very generously shares have been the highlight. He makes property investing fun!
    Also I have family over in the US and hopefully I can take the kids to see some of the fund’s commercial property and claim part of trip as a tax deduction.

    Wouldn’t be deductible though – especially expenses for the kids.

    Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
    http://www.Structuring.com.au
    Email Me

    Lawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au

    Profile photo of RichardRichard
    Participant
    @mrbean
    Join Date: 2003
    Post Count: 7

    Interesting that the doomsayers have gone quiet.
    The opportunity to invest and learn alongside Steve, who openly admits (modestly) to not being an expert in all things, but has shown the ability to leverage those who are, has been a highlight of my investing. I dial into all the investor updates and listen. I am constantly amazed at questions that come up time and again, and despite Steve having already answered them, he patiently gives the answer again trying to re-frame his answer to help comprehension, not dissimilar to his earlier posts on this forum.
    Has the fund performed? – yes with help from the foreign exchange rate, with growth in the US property prices, with careful management. All three can change, but all three can be covered by planning, planning, planning. It’s not enough to simply buy and hold, the property has to be managed and this is what was promised, is happening, and is now in phase two with the fund taking over the management in house. Looking forward to Saturday’s update. Thank you Steve and the team- past and present.

    Profile photo of AdministratorAdministrator
    Keymaster
    @piadmin
    Join Date: 2013
    Post Count: 3,225

    Surely anyone that did this fund is laughing right now. I wish I was around when the offer was available. Any one know how its going?

    Hi TM, you can track the Fund’s performance here:
    http://www.passiveincomefund.com/performance/

    Profile photo of DeanCollinsDeanCollins
    Participant
    @deancollins
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 376

    Does anyone think the $A is still going to be lower than $US in 2022…….seems for someone to be buying in today will be taking upside risk of the $A rising between 2016-2022.

    Interesting no more purchases in Tx….you would think given headroom of 7 years that Oil will be up between now and there and give you a good capital return.

    Profile photo of PropertyGutsPropertyGuts
    Participant
    @propertyguts
    Join Date: 2010
    Post Count: 57

    Just heard the fund has a delivered a 45% return (apologies if that is not correct) since inception, and this month, those that want to, can cash in their units.
    Ahoy, Freckle. You were full of trash talk words in 2012 and 2014, where are you now you keyboard hero?

    Profile photo of DeanCollinsDeanCollins
    Participant
    @deancollins
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 376

    It’s a great result but a large percentage of that is currency related. Unless you liquidate and get out of the fund when the $A is at its lowest (eg well before the fund is scheduled to close in another 6 years).

    By my calculations the at the time was of fund setup in June 2012 the $A was around $1.03 now its around $0.70 so just over 30% of the return is currency swing, that if picked in 2012……was genius on its own.

    The fund itself is currently $1.575 or 57% return so even on its own its delivered a 27% or there abouts return just on the investments in a little over 3 years.

    It’s a great return, the question I posted is will China still be in a funk 6 years from now eg will the $A still suck in 2022

    • This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Profile photo of DeanCollins DeanCollins.
    Profile photo of MTRMTR
    Participant
    @marisa
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 663

    Au$ is predicted to fall back to 65, it has been trending south for quite some time and has recently broken the 70 barrier.

    I think anyone who has invested in US or the fund would have made some great gains purely on the currency play.

    Profile photo of MTRMTR
    Participant
    @marisa
    Join Date: 2004
    Post Count: 663

    No one can predict the future, however historically Au$ has been around 70-72, the days when it hit 1.00-1.10 was certainly rare, due to a booming economy and mining.

    I did not invest in Steve’s fund purely because I like control, this product does not give me control and that is the risk that investors take, you can not cash in at any given time. Good luck to everyone who has made money to date, I wish you well

    I instead purchase 9 USA properties when the Au$ was around 1.09, where my houses have tripled in value and 20% gross rental income.

    All to their own. The fund is obviously working well, let hope the Au$ remains low.

    MTR:)

    Profile photo of GurtofenGurtofen
    Participant
    @gurtofen
    Join Date: 2016
    Post Count: 6

    Hi All,
    New poster here but have been looking into this fund for a while as I have a friend invested in it. I checked out the funds website and read through the FY14/15 Financial Report and a few things didn’t completely stack up from my end.

    I watched the 50 minute webinar and thought it was a bit unusual to be honest……the results stated a 26.12% return on capital with 8c per unit in dividends making an overall 34.12% after fees. If that is correct then that is outstanding. If so, then well done to all concerned.

    I have some concerns though about the claim of a 34.12% return per annum based on the fact that the property prices are internal appraisals and not necessarily true valuations. In this current economic climate, who is making a return of 34.12% after fees on their investments? This must be one of the best performing asset classes going around?

    Interested to hear other peoples views on the fund and if they have any concerns at all with the fund.

    Profile photo of DeanCollinsDeanCollins
    Participant
    @deancollins
    Join Date: 2015
    Post Count: 376

    Only concern is how long is the $A going to suck for as this is where the majority of the return came from eg will it still be at 0.70 in 2022?

    Having said that……when I posted in Oct last year I had no idea China was going to be this bad…..so I think the $A will be down until 2017 at the earliest…..after that though….its a crap shoot.

    Profile photo of GurtofenGurtofen
    Participant
    @gurtofen
    Join Date: 2016
    Post Count: 6

    Now I am not exactly an expert in breaking down financial reports as such but the figures with this fund do not seem to stack up but I am happy to be corrected if I am off the mark…..
    The FY14/15 Financial Report has a $3.78 Million profit before distributions and a $2.3 Million loss before distributions from the parent entity. That’s a $1.5 Million profit realised for the fund. Total Fees and Reimbursements were $3.64 Million for the year.
    There was $4.7 Million paid out in distributions for the year at 8c per unit. Capital Growth was reported as 27.61c per unit reported as an overall increase of 34.12% after fees for FY14/15. Who is making a 34.12% return on their money after fees in this current economic climate? Those returns are amazing if the figures stack up.

    The fund has reported Total Net Assets of $82.3 Million as at 30 June 15 with just over 66 Million units on offer……that seems to indicate a Unit Price of approx. $1.24. The performance data has the Unit Price at 1.3277 as at 30 June 15. Mind you a Unit Price of $1.24 is still an outstanding ROI if correct.

    The properties acquired appear to be internal appraisals rather than independent valuations as the PDS states that properties will be independently valued every 3 years or earlier if required. When you watch the webinar, some of the properties are ‘appraised’ with a Fair Market Value of over 40% CG for the last 6 – 12 months! Those returns if realised, seem to be too good to be true.

    For those that believe that FOREX has made the fund heaps of cash, the reported FOREX gains for FY14/15 were only $327,984 with an unrealised FOREX gain of just over $6 Million. Surely these unrealised FOREX gains will only hold up if the properties are sold at the prevailing exchange rate and would be a very tricky gain to rely on throughout the life of the fund.

    I also not that the first ever redemption window from the fund was activated in Oct 2015 and the Unit Redemption price was $1.2889 (the Responsible Entity can also control how much redemption is allowed) and yet the buy in Unit Price was $1.4216? Surely the Oct 15 Unit Price had been calculated based on Total Net Assets and the Redemption Unit Price was not a 13c per unit discount?

    Anyway, hopefully my figures are wrong and the fund is achieving these results because if correct, it must be one of the best performing asset classes out there but I am not convinced the numbers stack up. Happy to be proven wrong though……

    Profile photo of Steve McKnightSteve McKnight
    Keymaster
    @stevemcknight
    Join Date: 2001
    Post Count: 1,763

    Hi,

    The appraised values shown in the accounts are independent, not internal, and values are recorded as required by Australian Accounting Standards.

    The accounts are audited annually with the interim accounts subject to independent review too.

    The appraised values are done by Capright and updated every six months.

    It is true that a large part of the return is due to the fall in the value of the AUD, but that was part of the strategy.

    We are looking at hedging options now to lock in some of our gains.

    Steve

    Steve McKnight | PropertyInvesting.com Pty Ltd | CEO
    https://www.propertyinvesting.com

    Success comes from doing things differently

    Profile photo of Steve McKnightSteve McKnight
    Keymaster
    @stevemcknight
    Join Date: 2001
    Post Count: 1,763

    As you have said, you are not an expert, and your analysis is incorrect, which is a pity.

    Appraisals are independent. Most currency gains, as required per Accounting Standards, are unrealised at this time and sit in the FCTR rather than the P&L.

    The difference between the buy and redemption price is due to the redemption price being adjusted for imputed sales costs (which are not allowed to be deducted under Accounting Standards but need to be adjusted on the redemption unit price. Normally there would be a corresponding foreign tax offset but this is foregone by redeeming before the asset is sold).

    Note the redemption price does not take into account the distributions received.

    As for the accounts not stacking up… There is a team of four qualified accountants on staff, plus an independent CPA in the US, plus the accounts are audited by Moore Stephens.

    Steve

    Steve McKnight | PropertyInvesting.com Pty Ltd | CEO
    https://www.propertyinvesting.com

    Success comes from doing things differently

    Profile photo of Steve McKnightSteve McKnight
    Keymaster
    @stevemcknight
    Join Date: 2001
    Post Count: 1,763

    Note the Fund is now full and closed to new and top up applications. The next redemption period will be September / October 2016.

    Steve

    Steve McKnight | PropertyInvesting.com Pty Ltd | CEO
    https://www.propertyinvesting.com

    Success comes from doing things differently

Viewing 20 posts - 21 through 40 (of 58 total)

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