About 2 years ago I started a simple, so-called 52 Week Money Saving Challenge.
The rules for this challenge are very simple - to deposit in the first week one euro, in the second week - two, third week - three, etc. The amount after each week continues to grow, up to the last week of the year, when it is 52 euros.
Back in 2018, I was saving in the jar, but I must admit I dropped the challenge in after some 6 months, as we were relocating from country to country and I didn't have any more access to EUR currency, though that doesn't mean I didn't invest - I managed to invest that year $11,066.07, see: 2018 in Review and Financial Goals for 2019
Now, in 2020 I decided to make my second attempt with this challenge, and to add up some spice I decided to use it with electronic money, by buying funds offered by SEB bank Latvia. At first, I had an idea that this might be a good idea with some quarterly paying dividend stock from the Baltics, but as commissions at SEB bank is EUR 3 per trade, this was not an option, and then I remembered SEB offers buying/selling their own funds for free (there is a management fee though attached) - and here you go.
When successfully reached the goal, I will then use the accumulated funds to invest with covered calls and make an additional income to my mom's pension fund. See: Launching Semi-Passive Income Portfolio for my Mom
For this challenge, I decided to start with investing 1 EUR in SS1 SEB Eastern Europe ex Russia Fund C
SS1 SEB Eastern Europe ex Russia Fund C
My reasoning for investment in this fund is simple, as of date, funds value has dropped by more than -26%, and I'm hoping that after one year the fund will regain some value, also my protection will be the euro-cost averaging.
The fund focuses on equity markets in Eastern Europe excluding Russia.
Investment Philosophy
Despite rapid development over the past decade, equity markets in Eastern Europe remain inefficient. The market has been influenced by speculative flows. The sell-side coverage and investor interest have been concentrated to a few highly liquid names. The domestic institutional investor base is still in its infancy in most markets within our investment universe. By following a structured investment process, the team believes that it will be able to create added value for the funds investors.
The fund is actively managed focusing on Eastern Europe excluding Russia. More specifically, the Fund invests primarily in equities on exchanges in the EU convergence countries in Central Europe, Turkey, Baltics and Balkans while companies traded elsewhere, but having significant part of operation in the region are also eligible for investments. The team focuses on stock picking and targets a relatively high tracking error of 5-10%. Derivatives may be used to achieve the investment objective.
