A: While ANZ is my least preferred major bank, I think that the banks stocks are cheap and good value.

With the ANZ Share Purchase Plan, you don’t have to decide until Tuesday 8 September (if you are paying by BPay, you would probably want to make this call by Sunday 6 September). The price for the shares won’t be known till mid September, but as it is likely to be based on the weighted average trading price over the 5 days from Wed 2 Sept to Tuesday 8 Sept less a 2% discount, you currently have no price risk.

Legally, I can’t tell you what you should do (unless I have a full understanding of your financial objectives, needs, investment timeframe etc). However, I can tell you what I currently plan to do and provided I can find the cash, I will apply for the maximum amount of $15,000. I won’t make this call until 6 September.