The practice of investing has two major functions:  protecting capital in real terms and growing capital in real terms. The qualification “in real terms” refers to the result after inflation has been taken into account. To continue our discussion let us first define inflation: “The rate at which the general level of prices for goods [...]

Investors will have noticed that markets in the US have reached new heights. The question that should be asked is: “Where are these returns coming from?”. It is of even greater importance when one considers that the South African markets have been very responsive to offshore market directions. At the end of February 2013 the [...]

Unit Trusts are Collective Investment Schemes which serve not only to provide individuals and institutions with exposure to the financial markets but to provide a diversified exposure to the investment universe of each applicable fund. This means that investors are able to invest easily according to their risk appetite by simply choosing a fund manager [...]

After the holiday break we return to find the JSE at record high levels (again!). So what has happened… or rather what has not happened? In our November 23 Blog entry “23 November 2012 – Where do we stand?” we highlighted some of the risks that the markets face in the short to medium term. [...]

The year is drawing to a close and most of us are already on holiday, in spirit if not in person. This is also the time of the year when some of us are fortunate enough to receive an end-of-year bonus or a thirteenth cheque. You may have already decided to allocate this extra capital [...]

The Indices have returned the following: JSE All Share                                                      20.64% All bond Index                                                   15.49% Money Market (STEFI)                                         5.58% Listed Property                                                 37.18% Inflation                                                              5.60% JP Morgan Global Bond (USD)                             2.11% MSCI The World Index (USD)                           13.93% With this in mind it is interesting [...]

We invite you to contact us should you wish to find out more details regarding the changes to your medical aid cover and cost during 2013 and whether your current option is still the most appropriate for you. Please remember that you are only able to change your medical aid cover once per year and [...]

Medical Aid Costs As most of us with medical aid cover are now reviewing the cover we have and the cost increases we face for next year, it seems appropriate to consider whether we will be able to continue to enjoy this cover into our retirement when we may require it most. As a benchmark [...]

Ons blog hierdie week is vir die eerste keer in Afrikaans. Die rede hiervoor hou verband met ons onderwerp, aangesien ‘n groot aantal van die slagoffers van Herman Pretorius se Ponzi-skema lede van die Afrikaanse gemeenskap is. Herman Pretorius het die Relative Value Arbitrage Fonds bestuur wat geklassifiseer is as ‘n verskansingsfonds. Hierdie fonds was [...]

With global growth muted at best, resource prices down and unions piling on the pressure to increase wages at above inflation levels, it has not been a good year for the resource sector. Year to date the sector is down over 10% and valuations are historically cheap – some with good reason. Lonmin has been [...]