So we are at the end of the year and our minds are doing cartwheels just thinking about how to spend that bonus. If you need some guidance, here are some tips on how to spend it: Buy something for yourself. You worked hard this year and deserve something for yourself. (Keep it cheap!) Buy [...]
Walking along happily and suddenly stepping into broken glass is horrible. Much the same sort of feeling when you spend happily on your credit card and suddenly find the bonus you were expecting - and which you thought would cover the spending - is less than half. So our message to you today is twofold [...]
So this week two aspects about medical aid which we think you should be thinking about [and doing something about, sorry to say!]. In your financial plan for the future, which includes retirement amongst other things, how much are you budgeting to save each month specifically to pay your medical aid in retirement? Too many [...]
This time of the year being a member of a medical aid is as stressful as your daughter getting married or your favourite pet being run over by your kind neighbour. The pressure of having to make a choice as to whether you continue with the same plan as you are on this year, with [...]
There will always be people who think that medical aid is for the old and sickly only, but this is undoubtedly a false perception and one that should be avoided. Regardless of age or health status, everyone is at risk of landing up in hospital. The reality is that accidents, injuries and stress may lead [...]
Two performance ratios that often pop-up on the fact sheets of unit trusts are the Sharpe Ratio and the Sortino Ratio. Many do not however know that the Sortino Ratio was developed to overcome some of the short-comings of the Sharpe Ratio. Firstly the Sharpe Ratio measures how well a fund has performed given its [...]
Ever heard fund managers boast about how they outperformed their benchmark for the last decade? Maybe your financial advisor informed you that fund XYZ invests in blue chip companies – wait a second, I thought blue chips belong on the poker table? All of these clichés and buzzwords can be overwhelming and cause a great [...]
The world woke up a different place this morning, shaken up by global financial markets misbehaving en masse. Some of the headlines on Fin24.com throughout the day did nothing to give nervous investors a warm-and-fuzzy feeling: WATCH: Is this the start of a global economic slowdown? Equity bloodbath spreads through Asia Rand sinks most since [...]
Without any doubt, the need for a properly diversified and professionally managed investment is vital. We have seen a number of investigations by the Financial Services Board, where investors have lost a lot of money due to investment strategies that are not suitable to their needs; financial goals or THEIR money is invested in portfolios [...]
While reading the latest fact sheets of your favourite unit trusts, you may have noticed a section dealing with income distributions. Then you may have thought to yourself “Hey that’s quite nice, but what does it all mean?” First off, when invested in unit trusts, whether it’s a high equity fund, a low equity fund [...]
