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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Three reasons why you need an emergency fund
There are always bills to pay and money needed for something or another, and few things seem as boring and unnecessary than an emergency fund. While you can enjoy the rewards of spending on, say, a good winter coat, or can see the benefits of saving for something like university for the kids, emergency funds are, by nature, never seen.
Continue readingMore TagIs 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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Explaining credit risk
Last month we talked about interest rate risk – the risk of your investment devaluing and you losing money due to changes in interest rate. In a sense, this is about an investment’s possibility of flailing due to macroeconomic conditions. This month, we’re going to look at credit risk.
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Taking an interest in interest rate risk
Education around the basics of wealth creation and preservation is like a good, solid diet packed with healthy food staples, it can help you enjoy healthy finances for years and create a strong foundation for building your future.
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Betting on cars – how to invest in motor innovation without getting a flat
“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way,” Henry David Thoreau once said. Investing in the future is an exciting prospect, but a daunting one as well. And what could be more of a ride than investing in motor vehicles?
But the road can be a bumpy one, even if it is a fast ride, so prudence is paramount when investing in all things motor.
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