Whether you’re casting your line off the end of a pier or buckling your seatbelt, we all deal with risk and return. Somehow, when it comes to emerging markets, nominal vs real, risk-adjustments, multi-asset portfolios, protection strategies and bull vs bear markets we panic amidst an onslaught of lingo that overwhelms us. Basically, when it comes to investments, it helps to bring things back to casting your line off the pier or buckling up, because we’re […]
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THE CURRENT REALITY OF RETIREMENT
One of the most difficult elements of any financial portfolio is saving for retirement. For most of us, retirement always feels so far away and we feel like we’ll either have plenty of time to save for it, or we simply have other priorities that are currently higher on our list. Products like short term insurance and health cover seem to take the priority in our financial plan. Currently, most South Africans are not ready to […]
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HOW ARE THE MARKETS LOOKING?
Fluctuations in the markets are one of their defining characteristics. Various factors contribute to the vicissitudes of investor behaviour, both locally and globally, and many of these are psychological factors that are strongly influenced by perceptions – and an interest rate hike will surely shake the boat. It’s always good to know how your investment portfolio is constructed and variety is important to encourage an overall positive return. When local markets are up, global markets might […]
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ARE YOU COVERED FOR THE COST OF INFLATION?
Every day I sit with potential investors who are shopping around for the “best” rate. The “best” rate doesn’t exist. It is a customised rate based on your needs, requirements, risk appetite, investment term, access to capital and other factors including tax. What I can tell you is that if the rate you obtain after fees and tax is less than inflation you will not be able to maintain your purchasing power. Just a glance […]
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HOW TO BUILD A STRONG INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO (III)
Hindsight is 20:20; we can always view what we’ve done with a comprehensive view than before we did it. Whilst you can’t change the decisions that you’ve made, you can change the decisions that you’re going to make in the future. When building an investment portfolio, the third key consideration that you must bear in mind is: review. Look back at the investment choices that you’ve made and decide if they are worth repeating or if […]
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THE LARGER THE GAIN, THE LARGER THE RISK For those in the southern parts of South Africa, there are rainy days ahead. Easter normally signposts the temperature drop and increased saturation in the air. Rain begins to fall, animals slow down and all too often our waistlines begin to explore the other side of the belt buckle… Rainy days are ahead. We’ve heard it plenty of times, but are you prepared? Not for the cold, but […]
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BASIC INSTINCTS Every winter we begin to see a profusion of pallid tree-dwelling rodents, squirreling away nuts and seeds for the cold season. This is a lovely illustration of wise investments for the future: simple, natural and too true to life. The reason for this can be put down to instinct, but ask yourself – what about the first family of squirrels, how could they have known of the three-month scarcity of food? I think it’s […]
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DOES THE STRENGTH OF THE RAND AFFECT MY INVESTMENTS?
My last article highlighted six main factors that affect the strength of the rand. It’s been really well read and seems to be quite a frequently asked question. Further effects of the exchange rate fluctuations are felt in offshore investments. Today I’d like to take a look at the considerations that a change in currency makes on offshore investment portfolio considerations. In the same article from Discovery’s website, they looked at three investment portfolio scenarios that […]
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REVIEWING YOUR POLICY (2)
A WISE CHOICE NOW PAYS OFF LATER In my previous article I looked at the old-school approach to risk assurance policies and highlighted some areas of concern that the latest policies are trying to avoid. The reason for this is because most life cover premiums are higher than necessary because you are sold an indiscriminate lump sum of assurance to cover many different needs with different values at different times of your life. Not only is […]
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ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH? You could save as much as 30% of the premiums you pay on risk life assurance – against early death, for example – by, in effect, changing your policy from one paying out a single large lump sum and priced for the maximum term, such as “whole of life”, to one covering each of your financial needs with a precisely matched duration of cover. BrightRock, a comparatively new kid on the […]
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