The JSE All Share (J203) index first broke through the 50,000 level during early June 2014. The 5,000 point rise from 45,000 to 50,000 had taken just under 6 months. Since then the JSE has breached the 50,000 level on three occasions, and only topped 55,000 once. For most of the last 3 or so […]
The hot topic on every prospective investor or punter’s lips at the moment is “Bitcoin” or some other form of crypto currency investment. What has caused this feeding frenzy around Bitcoin and why is everybody now desperately looking for an angle with which to get exposure to this so called holy grail of sure profit? […]
For the South African investor there are many obvious benefits to investing offshore, with Rand hedge and reducing geopolitical risk, being the most often touted. However, a very important, but often overlooked benefit is the fact that the JSE simply cannot give investors quality exposure to some sectors of major world growth industries. Listed below […]
Human psychology is a strange phenomenon and the world of investments is not immune. In fact the opposite is true, many financial advisory firms are now employing human behavioral finance specialists from the world of academia. The South African investor is no different to his colleague’s in other parts of the world. Let’s take the […]
Every year Warren Buffet, the long serving Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, pens a letter to all shareholders. This letter is a public document and can be found on the Berkshire Hathaway website. In the 2016 letter, which extends to 28 pages, the Sage of Omaha outlines the year’s performance of the Berkshire Hathaway stock, and […]
Special mention was made of the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) or amnesty v3 in the 2017 budget speech. Pravin Gordhan mentioned that to date SARS has received applications totaling R3,8bn in assets which will yield revenues of about R600m. He also waxed lyrical about the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities around the […]
It is hard to believe that 2016 is nearly over and we are fast heading into the Christmas festive season. This often brings along the perennial question to most us: What do I get as presents for kids and/or grandkids? Well, this year, why don’t you give them a gift that keeps on giving, a […]
As we venture through life, whether we like it or not we need to deal with money and the consequences of our financial decisions. Each stage of life has unique challenges of its own and researchers have found commonality in the issues faced. 20’s: Playing it too safe: We are young with the rest of […]
We are now officially into the into the 2016/17 amnesty application period, or the Special Voluntary Disclosure Program (SVDP) as the authorities prefer to name it. This SVDP is open to South African resident individuals and companies. Settlors, donors and beneficiaries of foreign discretionary trusts may elect to apply in their individual capacities. The South […]
A recent study in America, of 10,000 households that utilized the services of a Financial Advisor, showed that 51% of people interviewed, did not know the cost of the financial service being rendered. Better still, they thought that they were getting their financial advice for free. This is an astounding statistic, and is also probably […]
