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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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,...
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...
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...
New unit trusts on the block
Four new unit trust funds have been launched for longer-term investors with investment horizons of five or more years. 10X Prime High Equity Fund Simple, low-cost investment solution Towards the end of last year, 10X Investments brought its first...
Are gold coins a good investment?
Towards the end of 2011, when the gold price had reached heady peaks of nearly US$2 000 per ounce, I received regular queries from readers asking how they could invest in gold. Many people bought gold coins at the time, hoping to cash in on the...
Rand cost averaging: how to minimise risk in a volatile market
By Duane Littler, Executive of Business Development at PPS Investments In times of current market volatility, investors should ‒ among other risk mitigation strategies ‒ reduce the risk of buying assets at the top and (as a result of emotions...
Ratings downgrade: already priced into market
By Dr Adrian Saville, Citadel Chief Strategist During the course of 2016 we believe there is a very good chance that at least one of the major ratings agencies will downgrade South Africa to sub-investment grade. However, there are a number of...
The two shares that have masked the JSE bear market
Geoff Blount, MD of BayHill Capital, finds that the underlying trend in the JSE has been negative since early 2015. Given that the South African economy has been limping along for at least three years, the strong stock market has confounded...
Tracking your MTN Zakhele shares
Xolani asks: I have had 20 shares in MTN Zakhele since their inception. I am in no hurry to cash them but would like to track their progress and maybe try to diversify my share portfolio by buying other shares with a portion thereof. My aim is to...
Previous Articles
Phase in or take the plunge?
Nervous investors may be considering phasing-in their investments, but does it make sense? At the time of writing this article, the market was down around 15% from its high in April 2015, the rand continued to fall to the dollar at 35% weaker than a year ago and the...
Budget 2016: What do the Capital Gains Tax changes mean?
By Hedley Lamarque, Certified Financial Planner at BDO Wealth Advisers If you have been planning on cashing in an investment (such as shares or unit trusts) in the short term, then it would be better to do it before the end of February 2016, due to changes in capital...
Investing in Europe and Japan without the risk
Unpacking Investec’s latest offshore investment product: the China Seas Basket I am normally not a big fan of structured products. Historically, these products have been expensive, with costs hidden from investors through creative pricing. Even as costs have become...
Finding the right investment for your stokvel
Strategic Six Savings Club is a group of five 34-year-olds who set up a stokvel nine years ago with the aim of building long-term wealth through saving and investing collectively. With contributions starting at just R250 per month, the group has saved over R200 000...
An easy investing platform
So you finally decide to venture into the world of shares and market movements, but where can you find a platform that is friendly for the beginner investor? Often eager investors give up when they are faced with a trading or investing platform that is difficult to...
Have I got the right investment?
Makabongwe writes: I believe in investing for growth but I don't have sufficient knowledge about unit trusts. Currently I have invested in Allan Gray unit trusts via debit order. I am worried that I have not selected the correct funds, namely the Stable fund and...
What the Treasury musical chairs means for investors
By Dr Adrian Saville, Chief Strategist, Citadel On Sunday evening, President Zuma delivered a second major surprise to capital markets in the space of just five days by announcing that, after receiving numerous representations to reconsider the appointment of David...
The economy: what to expect in 2016
By Sanisha Packirisamy (Economist) and Herman van Papendorp (Head of macro research) at MMI Holdings. Global central banks to remain in the spotlight We are likely to see a further desynchronisation in major global economies in 2016 as a firmer growth outlook and...
This year’s BEE winners and losers
Craig Gradidge reviews the current BEE share offerings for black investors. It has been another interesting year for investors in public BBBEE share schemes. As with previous years there were clear winners, non-performers, and a number of losers. This reiterates the...
The tax implications of investing for your children
Investing for your children is a generous act of foresight and certainly opens up future opportunities for them. However, you need to be aware of the tax implications of investing money on behalf of your children. This is the view of Carla Rossouw, tax specialist at...