FNB recently did a study of the top reasons why South Africans choose to save their money in a culture with a penchant to spend, spend, spend. The results of the study show three main outcomes for which people save, prioritized differently depending on the income bracket of the person. The three main reasons for saving up funds are retirement, education and emergencies. The survey revealed that if a person earns a typical income of R200 […]
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REVISING YOUR RETIREMENT ANNUITY
Retirement annuities form a staple for many people’s financial saving diet. Seeing that it is such an important investment it would be wise to not let it stagnate and lose. The fees charged on RA’s have undergone significant change over the past years, if you have been investing into your RA for more than five years, and have not yet reviewed it, then now would be a good time to re-assess your RA portfolio. Here are […]
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WHAT KIND OF INVESTOR ARE YOU?
Recently I’ve shared several articles on investments, and then I came across this gem from Discovery! It digs a little deeper into understanding your own, personal, risk profile and how that pertains to your investment choices and behaviour. Remember, this is a snapshot typical behaviour types; before making any investment choices, let’s chat first! Identifying and understanding your risk profile will help guide us to the types of investment funds that suit your specific financial goals. […]
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HOW LONG SHOULD I INVEST FOR?
How long is a piece of string? Well, the answer is actually simple: as long as you need it to be. If you have to cut a piece of string, you’ll start with what you need it for. You measure your need and then you cut the string. You don’t work the other way around, otherwise you will waste the string. The same is true for your investment needs. When approaching an investment plan, or structuring […]
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LIMBO WITH THE LINGO
Whether you’re casting your line off the end of a pier or buckling your seatbelt, we all deal with risk and return. Somehow, when it comes to emerging markets, nominal vs real, risk-adjustments, multi-asset portfolios, protection strategies and bull vs bear markets we panic amidst an onslaught of lingo that overwhelms us. Basically, when it comes to investments, it helps to bring things back to casting your line off the pier or buckling up, because we’re […]
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THE CURRENT REALITY OF RETIREMENT
One of the most difficult elements of any financial portfolio is saving for retirement. For most of us, retirement always feels so far away and we feel like we’ll either have plenty of time to save for it, or we simply have other priorities that are currently higher on our list. Products like short term insurance and health cover seem to take the priority in our financial plan. Currently, most South Africans are not ready to […]
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HOW ARE THE MARKETS LOOKING?
Fluctuations in the markets are one of their defining characteristics. Various factors contribute to the vicissitudes of investor behaviour, both locally and globally, and many of these are psychological factors that are strongly influenced by perceptions – and an interest rate hike will surely shake the boat. It’s always good to know how your investment portfolio is constructed and variety is important to encourage an overall positive return. When local markets are up, global markets might […]
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ARE YOU COVERED FOR THE COST OF INFLATION?
Every day I sit with potential investors who are shopping around for the “best” rate. The “best” rate doesn’t exist. It is a customised rate based on your needs, requirements, risk appetite, investment term, access to capital and other factors including tax. What I can tell you is that if the rate you obtain after fees and tax is less than inflation you will not be able to maintain your purchasing power. Just a glance […]
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HOW TO BUILD A STRONG INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO (III)
Hindsight is 20:20; we can always view what we’ve done with a comprehensive view than before we did it. Whilst you can’t change the decisions that you’ve made, you can change the decisions that you’re going to make in the future. When building an investment portfolio, the third key consideration that you must bear in mind is: review. Look back at the investment choices that you’ve made and decide if they are worth repeating or if […]
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THE LARGER THE GAIN, THE LARGER THE RISK For those in the southern parts of South Africa, there are rainy days ahead. Easter normally signposts the temperature drop and increased saturation in the air. Rain begins to fall, animals slow down and all too often our waistlines begin to explore the other side of the belt buckle… Rainy days are ahead. We’ve heard it plenty of times, but are you prepared? Not for the cold, but […]
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