It’s about the income, not the lump sum. I recently received an email from a reader who had taken early retirement and was concerned that the value of his final pension benefit was significantly lower than the amount indicated in his benefit...
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Offshore bank accounts: not just for the rich and famous
You don’t have to be a high flier to have a foreign currency account or even an offshore bank account which have now become an easily available and relatively affordable option for South Africans who would like to hold some funds offshore. As...
How to stretch your salary
Times are tough and even though the inflation rate might be slowing down, prices are still going up. This means your cost of living is only going to increase as the months go by. According to the latest BankservAfrica Disposable Salary (BDSI) data,...
Why your coffee costs you more
Remember the days when you went to buy a coffee and the cup only came in one size? Now most coffee-shop chains offer you a choice of small, medium and large. This is not because research has found that people have very different consumption needs,...
Could advances in medical technology make risk cover unaffordable?
Last week I attended the Momentum Risk Summit and one of the things that struck me was the extent to which medical technology will be able to predict our future health outcomes. We know that if we have an existing illness such as diabetes, we will...
The real reason you won’t have enough money at retirement
Steven Nathan, CEO of low-cost investment company 10X Investments highlights the three biggest investment anomalies and how to avoid them. When asked why the majority of South Africans fail to reach their retirement goal, most industry players will...
Are your adult children sabotaging your retirement?
By Mark MacSymon, Certified Financial Planner and Wealth Manager at Private Client Holdings An increasingly common issue in South Africa these days is adult children still being financially dependent on their parents. This is due to low entry-level...
Why pyramid and Ponzi schemes are doomed to fail
By Mike McDougall, CEO of the Actuarial Society of South Africa Faced with empty wallets and rising costs, thousands of South Africans are placing their faith in ‘get rich quick’ schemes that lure desperate consumers with promises of unrealistic...
Red flags and flagging economies mean time to spread investment risks
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...
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...
Previous Articles
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, and they wanted to...
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 informed that I...
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 in the medical...
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 short-term market...
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 people?” That sums up the...
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” campaign was seen as...
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 way in this fight....
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 interdependent are less...
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...