Credit Ombud Manie van Schalkwyk explains why it's vital that students pay back their study loans. Thousands of students rely on study loans to see them through their years of studying at tertiary institutions. Without these loans, many would not...
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Investing overseas: capital preservation in uncertain times
By Derry Pickford, Macro Analyst at Ashburton Investments (@AshburtonInvest) Two esteemed US Economics Professors, Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth Rogoff called it one of the six great puzzles in macroeconomics: "home bias". Why do investors keep so...
What to do if you’ve cashed in your pension fund
The continued mass resignations and cashing-in of pension funds by employees belonging to the Government Employees Pension Fund is a concern that has been highlighted widely. The biggest risk in withdrawing your pension fund is the issue of...
Become your own debt reviewer
By Wikus Olivier, debt expert at DebtSafe Debt is an issue that most South Africans unfortunately find themselves facing for most of their adult lives. Every individual deals with different forms and scales of debt, but for some, their debt spirals...
Tax-free savings a reality
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) get the go-ahead. From 1 March 2015 South Africans will be allowed to invest up to R30Â 000 a year in tax-free savings accounts (TFSA). (*Update: this amount was increased to R33Â 000 per year on 1 March 2017 and to...
BBBEE shares: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Patience is likely to continue to be rewarded, and volatility could open opportunities for those who missed the bus the first time to get onboard, writes Craig Gradidge. 2014 was another interesting year for BBBEE share investors and the year ahead...
Tax-free savings – will it work?
South Africa’s declining household savings rate has been of national concern for some time now – in fact this burning issue has found its way into the annual budget speech year after year. But while initiatives have been implemented to try...
The impact of lower inflation on investment returns
Dave Mohr, Chief Investment Strategist at Old Mutual Wealth, explains that investors with portfolios that include performance benchmarks that target inflation-linked growth should not be overly concerned about the possibility that their returns...
Implement Your Money Plan: forum and book giveaway
After nearly 11 years of engaging with readers across many publications, I realised that while there are many books that cover the theory behind creating a financial plan and offer encouragement to do so, what was really needed was a money book...
How to stick to your New Year’s resolutions
We know if we want to lose weight we need to eat less and exercise more and we know that in order to grow wealth we must spend less and save more. So why then do we give in and buy the chocolate bar at the counter when we purchase our groceries, or...
Previous Articles
Why your education is worth paying for
While borrowing money is generally a bad idea, a student loan is an exception. For individuals who work hard, get their qualifications and manage their loan repayments, a student loan can lead to wealth creation. According to Advtech, within two years of gaining work...
Asset classes: which were the top performers in 2014?
2014 was a risky year for the short-term investor. Some asset classes started out outperforming others in their category but ended up at the bottom of their class. Shaun Ruiters, head of strategy and client solutions at Sanlam Investments Retail Business, takes a look...
Financial tools to keep you on track in 2015
In today's Internet age, keeping yourself on track financially has never been easier. There are a range of websites, smartphone apps and online financial tools to help you along the way. Track expenses and create a budget Find a way to track your daily expenses so you...
Prioritising your retirement savings in 2015
Steven Nathan, CEO of 10X Investments, tells us why saving more and spending less is one New Year's resolution we should all be sticking to. Research suggests that most people have abandoned their New Year's resolutions by the beginning of February. Spending less and...
The four myths of market volatility
By Carl Roothman, chief executive of retail business at Sanlam Investments Nassim Taleb, renowned author and fierce critic of all who take comfort in statistics, once chose the snappy title of We Don't Quite Know What We are Talking About When We Talk About Volatility...
Making sense of interest rates
Last week, consumers received good news from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) that the repo interest rate would be kept at 5.75%, which means that the retail rate at which consumers are offered credit, would stay at 9.25%. Absa provided this useful infographic...
The death of the independent adviser
Despite assurances to the contrary, the recommendations contained in the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) released by the Financial Services Board will make it more challenging for a financial adviser to operate as an independent. As the recommendations stand, many...
How are you going to fund your festive-season shopping?
Survey gives insights into festive-season shopping habits. South Africans are using rewards-programme points and discounts to stretch their budgets, with 45 percent of respondents to the Multiply Festive Season Survey saying that they work their rewards programmes to...
Settle your mortgage or invest the capital?
By Ferdi Booysen, Head of Strategic Relationships at Old Mutual Wealth The higher interest-rate cycle begs the question: is it currently better to use your investable funds to pay off your mortgage or to add to your retirement savings? Recent interest-rate hikes – and...
Free online financial assessment from Momentum Multiply
Find out your Financial Wellness score and stand a chance to win a R2 500 Dis-Chem voucher with Momentum Multiply. Momentum Multiply’s Financial Wellness programme is one of the more impressive online financial planning tools I have come across in South Africa at the...