Category: MARKET

People have a wide range of feelings and perspectives regarding investing. Some view investing as a way to grow wealth and secure a financial future, while others may view it as too risky or complex. Some of us are confident in our investment knowledge and feel comfortable making decisions independently, while others prefer to seek guidance from financial advisors or investment professionals. Still, others may feel nervous about the stock market and prefer to put their […]

The best way to possibly start the year January was an exceptional month, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) experiencing growth of more than 7%. Despite the challenges posed by load shedding, rising food prices, high unemployment, and struggling small businesses, the JSE still performed well, reaching record levels of over 80,000 points and showing improved bond performance and interest rates. The reasons for the growth in the JSE can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, […]

Sun Tzu’s famous quote “If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles” can also be applied to being a responsible policyholder with your insurer. It is important to understand how insurers view claims and policyholders in order to maintain a positive relationship and avoid negative consequences such as higher yearly increases, higher excess on claims, and contract cancellation. To be a responsible policyholder, consider the following: […]

Vincent van Gogh is quoted as saying: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” This quote highlights the idea that even the smallest actions or details can contribute to the creation of something significant. Focusing on and taking care of the small things can achieve big results over time. Essentially, this is about being productive. In the moment, we might think that it’s just a small action or an insignificant choice, […]

There are times in the year when we see and engage with more people than usual – through end-of-year functions, annual celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, funerals and the like. It can be wonderful – but it can also be stressful. We are quickly reminded that these old friends, colleagues and distant family from far-off shores have opinions that challenge our own, and they’re all too willing to offer unsolicited advice. All these voices can be exhausting […]

Religion, politics and money are all connected – and probably always have been! This is because they’re all currency for influence, power and status. These three topics can become highly volatile when we’re in social settings as they’re super subjective. The markets, politics and religion all give us a sense of belonging, purpose and stories to share. Since they offer so much meaning, we’ll likely talk about them at any chance. Depending on the crowd we’re […]

Holidays should be a time of restoration and relaxation. But for savvy investors, who are seldom able to switch off or turn down the volume on their analytical brain activity, it can be a time of stress and panic. Whether you’re entering your annual time of leave or it’s a sneaky mid-year break, if you’re understandably nervous about your financial plan, fear not.  While no portfolio is fireproof to completely uncontrollable events like black swans and […]

In the previous blog, we looked at how we can help our children with their retirement, or financial independence, as many in our profession are starting to frame it. But the reality is, as the sandwich generation, we can’t only be thinking about our own and our kids’ financial futures; we also need to be thinking about our parents’ financial futures. Living at a time when fewer and fewer people can afford to live without working […]

We spend most of our time having conversations with people who are 40+ about saving for retirement. However, the language and expectations are slowly starting to shift in a powerful and exciting direction. Instead of only talking about retirement, we’re starting to use words like financial independence. And rather than focusing on traditional milestones, like 65+ years, we’re starting to look at shifting timelines based on goals and lifestyle plans that are based on purpose and […]