By Samantha Matthew, Investment analyst, Glacier by Sanlam In the last few decades women have made strides in almost every facet of life – from politics, to education and the workplace - no longer content to sit in the background; we have seen...
Invest in debt clearance before retirement
Liziwe NdalanaJul 25, 2012
Pieter van Zyl, Director at FinFive, shares his view on why debt clearance is the first step in a solid investment strategy In today’s uncertain economic environment, planning for your financial future has never been more important. As the cost of...
How to benefit from the economic gloom
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 23, 2012
Dr Adrian Saville, Chief Investment Officer of Cannon Asset Managers, explains how investors can make the most of an unhappy economic outlook One of the greatest enemies of successful investing is emotion. In making an investment decision, being...
Where to invest my R3000 per month?
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 10, 2012
“I am currently saving R3000 in my Investment Advantage account with Absa and R200 on my 32days notice account with ABSA. I feel that I'm earning little interest in those accounts and I would like to invest in shares,” writes Godfrey who is living...
When should you guarantee your capital?
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 9, 2012
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
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 8, 2012
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...
A bank for children and their grandparents
Maya Fisher-FrenchJun 26, 2012
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...
How to help your children buy their first home
Maya Fisher-FrenchJun 25, 2012
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...
Art as an investment
Maya Fisher-FrenchJun 19, 2012
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...
Investing as a 20-something
Maya Fisher-FrenchJun 13, 2012
For most young people just getting out of debt is the main priority, however what if you are one of those rare “savers” who have saved a lump sum by the time you are in your early 20’s – where is the right place to invest it and how to you balance...

Previous Articles
Reforming retirement
Jun 11, 2012
The discussion document issued by National Treasury on Strengthening Retirement Savings demonstrates that Treasury has a good handle on the issues within the retirement industry, however the challenge will be in finding solutions that are not watered down in order to...
Creating wealth from your first holiday job
Jun 4, 2012
How a 22 year old accumulated R360 000 through saving and investing. A wise man once said that thrift is a form of income. What he meant was that it is what you do not spend rather than what you earn that will determine your wealth. Twenty-two year old Rob, who...
CFD’s rise from the ashes of single stock futures
May 25, 2012
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
May 18, 2012
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...
SA resource shares looking attractive
May 4, 2012
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
Apr 13, 2012
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...
Why the dividend tax should be reviewed
Mar 8, 2012
The announcement of a 15% dividend withholding tax came as a shock to all investors earning dividends, despite Treasury’s claims that it should have been expected. The rate came in 50% higher than market expectations and there was very little warning in previous...
Offshore asset allocation
Mar 5, 2012
“I want to invest offshore and I'm considering Allan Gray's Orbis Funds. Should I go for full equity, a medium equity or for 0% equity exposure?” writes Vaneshen Maya replies: In terms of offshore, the investment guru’s all believe that equities is the place to be as...
Where to save in retirement
Mar 2, 2012
“My husband and I were not able to save towards our retirement as we would have wished, but now, at ages 73 and 74 we have both been able to find employment and have been saving as much as we can. Where can we invest with reasonably good interest and is “safe” for...
Where should I invest each month?
Jan 30, 2012
“Where should I invest my R5000 per month? Should I save the extra cash for a deposit on a property? Distribute the money across my unit trusts? Save into an ETF (domestic or offshore), buy shares online or increase my monthly RA contribution,” asks Adrienne who is 30...









