“I have an extra R300 that I want to invest with Satrix as a debit order. Is this the right time to invest now and which Satrix fund should I chose?” asks Stanley. Maya replies: The world is a challenging place at the moment and we will see far...
When should you guarantee your capital?
Structured funds that guarantee investors’ capital tend to be very popular after a market crash. Typically investors that get caught up in the market hype have full exposure to the equity markets and therefore suffer heavy losses when the markets...
Retirement savings rates fall
A recent study by Alexander Forbes suggests that today’s average 40 year old will have 30% less funds in retirement than the previous generation due to lower market returns, longevity and lower savings rates relative to income. The Alexander Forbes...
Managing cash flow for a small business
James is an estate agent who focuses on both commercial and residential property leasing and sales. He recently moved from Durban and started his own agency in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. “I have a challenging situation. I have no cash...
A bank for children and their grandparents
Bidvest Bank’s offering is perfect both for the young and old. Grandparents often want to open a bank account for their grandchildren to encourage them to save. The problem with many existing products is that there is always a monthly bank fee that...
Budgeting for the self-employed
One of the questions I am often asked by self-employed people is how to budget. Most self-employed people tend to live in a world of feast or famine. When times are tough they skimp, beg and borrow, but when times are good they spend like the good...
How to help your children buy their first home
At the moment estate agents are calling this a buyers’ market as property prices have come off their highs and interest rates are at historic lows. However many young first-time buyers are not able to take advantage of favourable market conditions...
When small businesses thrive
My brother is my hero, for the simple reason that every day, as a small business owner, he makes a difference. Three years ago he made a massive leap of faith by leaving his employer to start his own business, today he employs six people and has a...
Blacklisting: how to clear your name
Most people only realise they are blacklisted when they apply for credit. A credit provider is very unlikely to provide further credit if you have unpaid bills, if you were unable to pay your last debts, what is the chance you will be able to pay...
What is best advice?
A sense of disquiet has been growing among independent financial advisers around the pricing of certain investment products sold by tied agents. When a product’s cost structure makes it virtually impossible to beat a cash rate or when other equally...
Previous Articles
Art as an investment
Investing in art is very different from buying a painting that matches your lounge suite. While some investable art may be visually beautiful like a Monet hanging over a fireplace, more often art is there to provoke a reaction, to question and challenge and put a spot...
Are RA really worth investing in?
Readers pose questions about whether retirement annuities are worth it; we investigate “I was wondering if you have any advice on RA's as a retirement investment. I have heard a lot of commentary about not going through RA's as they tax you much more on withdrawal,”...
CFD’s rise from the ashes of single stock futures
Since its peak in 2008 the single stock futures market has fallen from around R60 billion open contracts at any one point, to around R2bn today. Maya Fisher-French explores the demise of the single stock future industry against the rise of CFD’s and what it means for...
The power of the debit order
A monthly debit order is undoubtedly one of the most powerful investment tools. It creates a savings discipline as it goes off your account before you have spent your money on consumables. But now studies show that, rand cost averaging, which effectively is what you...
Surviving the squeeze
What we can learn from our parents who survived the inflation beast of the 1980’s There is no doubt that our day to day living expenses are becoming increasingly more expensive as necessities like electricity, travel and food take a bigger bite out of our salary each...
How the banks’ service and products stack up
We sent our new City Press intern Liziwe Ndalana to do some field research on opening a bank account. Liziwe’s experience highlights how important service is to us as customers. Liziwe was so impressed with Absa’s service she was nearly convinced to switch banks,...
SA resource shares looking attractive
Paul Stewart, managing director of Plexus Asset Management looks at the opportunity to invest in resource stocks. In the current global economic climate, solid growth is a rare phenomenon. And where growth exists, it tends to be more prevalent in emerging-market...
Trading across the globe
A new online trading platform makes it possible to trade shares across the world Do you want to invest in companies that make all the cool stuff you use like Apple, Google and Facebook? The launch of a new global trading platform makes it possible for South Africans...
Do you want to be a customer or shareholder?
In November 2001 the first Ipod went on sale at a price of $399 which was around R3300 at the time. If instead of buying the Ipod you had bought shares in Apple (the American company that produces the Ipod), your investment would be worth $26 000 today! That is around...
Flexible life cover bucks the trend
Getting excited about life insurance may sound like an oxymoron but as I sat through the presentation of new long term insurance company BrightRock that is exactly how I felt - finally I had found the life cover I have been waiting for. As I walked out of the...