The winds of change – from the growth in anti-establishment movements to ageing populations – are causing red flags to flutter and require investors to diversify their approach, according to former head of the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund and...
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High-income earners feel “stressed” about money
As times get tougher, don’t fall into the credit survival trap. The latest figures from the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor show a sharp deterioration in the financial stability of higher-income earners. The survey, which interviews 1 000...
Investment decisions shouldn’t be about external factors
By Craig Gradidge, CEO of Gradidge Mahura Investments The conversation over the first five months of the year was dominated by the prospect of a ratings downgrade by S&P at the beginning of June. For many the downgrade was a forgone conclusion,...
The overpromise of gold medallions
Lizo bought two Robben Island commemorative gold coins in 2011, after being advised that they would be a good investment. He bought the two 1/10oz gold coins for R5 000 each from The South African Scoin Shop at Clearwater Mall in Roodeport. “I was...
Understand your medical scheme’s co-payment rules
In order to provide lower-cost medical cover, most medical schemes offer plan options where co-payments apply for certain procedures. These procedures tend to be elective surgeries such as a colonoscopy or joint replacement and are clearly defined...
Do flexible funds offer a real solution to risk management?
The buy-and-hold investment philosophy, upon which Warren Buffet built his fortunes, maintains that the key to successful investing is to identify a good, quality company, buy it at a reasonable price and then hold it over time irrespective of...
Direct financing for small business
Rainfin CEO Sean Emery frequently holds investor meetings with his family who are all investors in small businesses funded through funding platform RainFin. “My mom is an investor and she always asks me “am I making money” and “am I helping...
Brexit: investors, don’t be spooked
Take comfort – this is not the global financial crisis, writes Fred White, Head of Balanced Funds, Sanlam Investment Management On Friday morning the British Pound declined by 12% between a midnight high of $1.50/GBP (when a victory for the “Stay”...
Your phone makes you vulnerable
By Jacky Fick, head of Cell C’s Forensic Services Every few months, concerns are raised around online scams and theft as a new wave of victims come forward. It can leave one feeling very vulnerable and uncertain. But a little knowledge goes a long...
Brexit is a positive for our export market
By Werner Gerber, Audit Manager BDO South Africa “The fundamental purposes of the European Union are to promote greater social, political and economic harmony among the nations of Western Europe. The EU reasons that nations whose economies are...
Previous Articles
Would you make different decisions if you could see the future?
I recently tested a beta version of a new retirement calculator created by Sanlam Employee Benefits for their corporate clients to assist new employees in selecting their retirement fund deductions. While the calculator needs some work, it presented an interesting...
Higher interest rates are good for savers
The focus around higher interest rates has mostly been the effect it will have on our debt repayments, but what we forget is that higher rates are really good for savers who, for a long period of time, have received less and less interest on their cash deposits. Since...
How to get a home loan: tips for freelancers and the self-employed
Applying for a home loan is stressful for most people, but this simple financial process can become disproportionately complex for entrepreneurs or freelancers ‒ people who have uncertain or unpredictable income flows. The rigorous affordability assessments required...
The tax implications of cellphone allowances
Esther van Schalkwyk, senior tax consultant at BDO South Africa unpacks some of the important aspects of cellphone allowances and highlights the value of proper tax planning. Many employees receive a cellphone allowance in some form or other as part of their...
Pay off your mortgage or invest?
Should you throw all your spare cash into paying off your mortgage before even thinking about investing? As most mortgage repayments are set over a 20-year period, we looked at three possible scenarios in terms of accelerating mortgage repayments and investing in...
How emotional debt leads to financial debt
By Mavis Ureke, human behaviour specialist We make all our money decisions based on how we feel, so if your dominant emotions are negative, you are unlikely to make healthy financial decisions. When we talk about managing money ‒ financial planning, choosing financial...
What the statistics say about your health risks
Liberty recently released its 2015 claim statistics which make for interesting analysis. As the largest individual risk player in South Africa, recording the largest volumes of new risk business for the last 12 years and having paid out over R3.5bn in claims last...
Is eating out destroying your finances?
When analysing clients’ budgets, debt counseling firm Octogen found that entertainment is consistently a category people tend to overspend, so it is perhaps not surprising that when interviewing 22seven users as part of the Show Your Money Who’s Boss campaign, the one...
The survival strategy
There is no doubt that 2016 is going to be tough on households financially as price increases across the board push up our day-to-day living expenses. At the same time it is unlikely that we will see salary increases keeping up with our rising bills, as companies also...
Is online insurance cheaper?
Last month I cancelled my online short-term insurance policy when an insurance broker was able to beat the quote by R100. As I was selling my old car and buying a new one, I took the time to do some quote comparisons of direct insurers via the comparative website...