Just signed up with THEO

[prn]

Everything seemed to go smoothly, except setting up the direct debit from my bank, which I think is an issue unrelated to THEO, and I'll give them a call tomorrow.
Signed up for an initial investment of ¥10,000 per month and checked the "お任せる" option, so I'll be leaving everything completely up to the robots!
Lots of agreements and contracts to read through, and my Japanese reading level is way below "legal contract" Japanese, so not really sure what I was agreeing to, but went ahead based on the recommendation of RetireJapan users.
Am now waiting for the "decision" to be made and should receive paperwork though the post soon I imagine?

One little question - my wife is in charge of all the taxes, so does she need to know that I've signed up with this site?

Cheers,

Paul

[RetireJapan]

Hi Paul

Good stuff! Have you looked at the THEO posts on the site? http://www.retirejapan.info/blog/category/theo

You shouldn't have any tax issues as long as you signed up for a tax-reporting account (特定口座). Even if you didn't, you won't have to do anything until you sell.

[prn]

So, I actually seem to be losing a fair bit of money on Theo.. Should I give it a bit longer to recover, or pull the plug?
Are there any changes I should be making?

[RetireJapan]

So, I actually seem to be losing a fair bit of money on Theo.. Should I give it a bit longer to recover, or pull the plug?
Are there any changes I should be making?

Hmmm. Depends when you started, what your goal is, what asset allocation you have, and what your expectations are. Can't tell much from the screenshot.

Bear in mind that the US stock market dropped about 10% last week, and the dollar is weakening (THEO buys US ETFs for their portfolios).

I think if you are clear as to what your asset allocation is, and why, and you don't mind paying the 1% a year fee, then THEO is a good choice. If not, you may wish to reconsider?

[N00bster]

If I am reading the graph properly, you opened your account with 10,000JPY in November and it has turned to 9800? And that makes you think about pulling the plug?

I am too lazy to take a screenshot of my account, but since last year it has gone from 0% to -3% to +7%... and now to -2%. All in one year (and from +7% to -2% in the last month). Contrary to what you may expect, this actually makes me very happy.

There are many factors that explain this kind of fluctuation, the market was very high at the beginning of the year, and recently the yen has been getting stronger, which pulls the graph further down. However the correction we are seeing in both equities and currencies is something to welcome, not fear: it brings assets to a more reasonable purchase price. So in my opinion, now is the time to actually buy, not sell, hold dear to the assets you acquired at a discount, and let time do its job. Investing is done with the long term in mind, and a variation of a few percents is absolutely expected.

If you were in the red after 10 years of investing, I would understand your worries. But this is 3 months. If you keep investing, you will go from positive to negative and back again quite a few times.