People are often quick to comment on doom and gloom posts and add their voice, and with the current subdued economic outlook, there seems to be plenty to be grim about. But what if we looked at something, like inflation, and highlight a positive South African success story? “… Inflation??” you cry. Hear this out. When people speak of inflation, it’s often the villain of the financial story. It’s blamed every time we swipe our cards […]
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Silver lining investments to get you through slump time
They say to make hay while the sun is shining, but what about during overcast conditions? The current outlook for SA investors is not as stormy as it was two years ago, but it certainly isn’t clear skies. While we started the year filled with new optimism in a new president and the looming threat of state capture vanishing, other problems have remained. Thanks to Eskom, plummeting business confidence scores, policy uncertainty and a host of […]
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Reasons for SA SMEs to smile
It’s not always easy to see, but there are unexpected positives in South Africa’s current financial situation. Of all the segments of our population who could be grumbling, many would say that SME owners are right up there. Squeezed like the middle-class tax payers, but with the added brutal success figures of less than 10 percent after two years, SMEs seem to have it doubly rough. But could there be a silver lining? Things cost the […]
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Investing masterclass: Four tips for the long game
When it comes to coffee-shop conversations, little is said about the long game in the investment space – it’s often about which asset manager did well this year, what outperformed everything else in the last quarter… etc. But, if you’re an investor, chances are high that you’re saving for future events that have a five-year-plus event-horizon (as we all should!). Here are four thoughts for investors looking to improve their long-term results. If you’re feeling shaky […]
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The dollar’s time is running out
South Africans (and many others) sometimes suffer from an unbalanced bias when it comes to the United States: we assume that anything American is top-class. Certainly, when talking about the markets, South Africa’s indices and analyses are always about what America is doing. The dollar has, for a long time, been the most influential currency. However, this may not be for much longer. Investors are preparing for what’s becoming known as ‘de-dollarisation’. What is de-dollarisation? De-dollarisation […]
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Starting your business is going to get easier!
South Africa is an enterprising and entrepreneurial nation… which is why it’s interesting that it can be so tough to do business here. Of all new businesses started in South Africa, nine out of ten of them will close their doors within the first two years. Government grants are talked up but are thin on the ground, B-BBEE requirements are onerous and keep changing, and then there’s the red tape. Bureaucracy has been South Africa’s Achilles’ […]
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Microsavings: when a little goes a long way
There is a lot of good financial advice out there which goes something like this: ‘you know that money you don’t use every month? Well, take R50,000 and invest it in X now, and you’’ be happy later.’
Sound familiar?
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Five awesome things about women investors
It’s Women’s Month, and we’ve been thinking lately about all the ways in which women are wonderful in matters of money.
Women as investors don’t get praised often enough – there’s been an unfortunate stereotype in the past that keeps finances in ‘man territory’. Today, we’d like to honour the ladies in our stock markets and on our shareholders’ boards and count the ways in which they rock and the things male investors can learn from them.
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Don’t let market cycles catch you out
If there were a set of commandments for investing, the first commandment may well be this: know your seasons.
Just like a surfer or fisherman know the tides of their favourite spots, prudent investors know the market cycles.
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Is your portfolio overly concentrated?
A well-balanced, diversified portfolio is a joy for all seasons, giving something no matter what various markets or asset classes are doing. An overly concentrated portfolio is the opposite, a ticking time bomb volatile to fluctuations in macroeconomics and other influencers of the share price.
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