If you’ve always wanted to invest in American stocks and shares, such as Facebook, Google or Apple, then you’re in luck because online stockbroker EasyEquities will soon be offering South Africans the ability to do this via its platform. The...
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Uber or drive? There’s an app for that.
An app is available that compares the cost of Uber to driving yourself. Upon returning to India after living in the UK for five years, Nishil Kohli noticed that Uber had made having a car redundant as its service is extremely cheap in India. He...
Save your windfall
Receiving relevant financial information when you need it is the holy grail of financial education. If you can reach people at a time when they need to make important financial decisions, you can guide them to make the best decision for their...
Tax options for freelancers
As a freelancer should you form a company or remain a sole proprietor? During periods of weaker economic growth, companies are more open to using freelancers or contractors to reduce their cost-to-company spend. It also creates employment in an...
Why we fall for investment scams
Our need to believe in miracles and magic makes us susceptible to tricksters. Listen to Maya discussing this topic on Classic FM with Tamara LePine Williams I was recently watching the Carbonaro Effect, a TV show where a magician plays practical...
Investors may lose millions in suspect forex trading scheme
The Financial Services Board has confirmed that Profit Trading, which continues to operate, never placed any trades. Since publishing a reader’s complaint about forex trading platform Profit Trading, City Press has been receiving complaints from...
How much do you need to retire?
At a recent investor roadshow, Richard Carter, head of product development at Allan Gray, provided some figures to illustrate how much you should already have saved for retirement, based on your current age. Carter worked on the assumption that to...
General Motors exits South Africa – now what?
How will General Motors’ departure from South Africa affect those motorists who have bought or are considering buying Chevrolet, Isuzu and Opel vehicles? General Motors (GM) has decided to exit the South African market by the end of 2017. This...
Reader falls victim to Profit Trading forex scheme
Des wrote to City Press after being defrauded by forex trading company Profit Trading, a business that claimed to invest clients’ money into an automated forex trading system. “I am one of those investors who had taken every little cent I had and...
FNB launches new products as part of price review
Last week FNB released its price review for the next year (effective July 1st), with a few tweaks and changes, and two new product offerings. Banking for kids and students FNB has rebranded its youth offering with the launch of FNBy, which I must...
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Stash: save as you spend
The no-paperwork, no-sacrifice, no-fee tax-free savings account It’s not often that I’m seriously impressed by a new investment product, particularly when it comes to those offered by large insurance companies. But Liberty gets ten out of ten in my books for its...
How to avoid being turned down for a home loan
When you apply for a home loan, lenders will look at many factors before deciding whether to approve your application or not – and if you don’t “pass the test” for any one of these, they are quite likely to turn you down. “This is why it is so important for...
Possible wealth tax
By Hilary Dudley, Managing Director of Citadel Fiduciary Proprietary Limited On 25 April 2017 the Davis Tax Committee (DTC) released a media statement calling for written submissions on the possible introduction of wealth taxes in South Africa. This is a contentious...
The true cost of your DSTV subscription
When actuary Vinesh Maharaj was considering whether or not to change his DSTV subscription, he did what all maths nerds do – he drew up a spreadsheet to see how much DSTV would cost him over the next 40 years. He assumed an annual 8% price escalation on his Premium...
Tips for successful ‘semigration’
Making the move to the coast? Here’s how to lose less in an expensive transition. Many Gautengers dream of leaving their busy life in the big smoke and setting up a new, slower life in beautiful Cape Town. Unfortunately a lot of these dreams never come true because...
Car hire: the devil is in the detail
It may be tempting to take the keys of your hire car and drive off so that you can finally enjoy your holiday destination with your family. After all, you’ve waited a long time for this break and with all the political turmoil and work commitments bogging you down,...
Understand the implications when drawing from your home loan
If you want to draw down on the equity built up in your property, you may be in for a nasty surprise. Paragon Lending Solutions recently issued a press release warning investors and small business owners that if they try and access additional capital through their...
The changing nature of the JSE
The following infographic, courtesy of Bayhill Capital, shows how the composition of the JSE has changed over the last four decades, as the industrial and technology sectors have grown.
To Airbnb or not to Airbnb?
According to a 2016 Fin24 interview with Nicola D’Elia, managing director for Airbnb Africa and Middle East, South African Airbnb hosts earn on average R28 000 a month by making their property available for short-term let via the popular sharing economy website....
Why the cost of university may not be the greatest hurdle to getting an education
Is financial education more important than free education? According to figures published by the Consumer Credit Panel in the USA, a student who leaves college with a $100 000 student loan is twice as likely to repay that debt than a student who leaves with less than...