Not to be confused with the EFF (the South African political party or the lesser-known Electronic Frontier Foundation…), ETFs having been gaining popularity in investment portfolios for about a decade. ETFs (exchange-traded funds) were first developed in the early 1990s by Nathan “Nate” Most and offer both retail and institutional investors a great passive investment […]
Category Archives: Blog
Stay abreast of your healthcare cover
Whilst October is Breast Cancer awareness month, cancer has become a disease that was touted in 2018 as the second leading cause of death. It’s a tragedy that has most likely affected your family, and the families of your friends, colleagues and neighbours. The World Health Organization claims that between 30-50% of cancers can currently […]
Markets don’t make you money
Markets don’t make you money; your habits… make you money. As creatures of habit, we ultimately become our own best friend, or our own worst enemy. This is why it’s important to be mindful of how our emotions affect our choices and influence our behaviour. We can remind ourselves of this time and time again, […]
Why hobbies help
Time is our greatest investment opportunity – we should invest the time that we have in a diverse portfolio of activities that will provide us with positive returns. Having a solid routine helps us to squeeze utility out of our time. However, if we get stuck in the same routine for too long it can […]
What the low interest rate means for you
In light of the difficult times recently, Southern Africa has been awash in low interest rates. When South Africa significantly cut its base interest rate from an already-low 6.25% down to 4.25%, it officially became the lowest interest rate the country has ever had. In late 2019, the Bank of Namibia’s Monetary Policy Committee reduced […]
Ways to save when times are tough
Most of us are chronic under-savers even in the best of times. Yet with the current economic environment, lots of previously hypothetical concepts like ‘what if I’m retrenched or have my salary cut?’ are far more concrete – and, unfortunately, more likely to happen. There’s never been a time when saving is more important, but […]
Cold hard cash
Debt statistics are growing – this is very likely in part to the fact that a vast majority of us today prefer credit cards over cash. The benefits of credit cards are obvious. They are more convenient and offer more security. Cold, hard cash, however, can be the best way to organize your spending. Here […]
Three ways to thrash your debt
Effectively managing your debt is one of the best and most proactive ways of ensuring a sustainable financial future. It is deeply gratifying knowing that you’re doing something right when you see your debt shrinking! The journey of exploring the best ways to manage your debt can improve your attitude and enthusiasm towards settling it. […]
Are you a savings statistic?
Most Sub-Saharan African countries are chronic ‘dis-savers’. But, you don’t have to be. Before we look at the options, let’s take a snapshot of recent events. Last July, the South African Savings Institute gave the country a wakeup call when it said that the average household rate had fallen from 0.5% per month in 2018 […]
The long haul
Saving is not just about a plan – it’s a behaviour. Part of this behaviour is rooted in our mental ability to overcome our own fears. We reduce these fears by mentally preparing for life goals and recognising that we have what it takes to achieve them. Mentally preparing for long term savings is like […]
