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An increasingly “nervous” international investment environment this year will lead to political risk becoming an even more important factor to consider in 2015. This is because analysts and investors are no longer as calm as they were last year and bad news is more likely to lead to a negative … [Read more...] about What will the equity markets produce for us this year?

The US Fed has decided to keep interest rates unchanged at least through the first quarter of next year. This has been well received by investors and market commentators alike as most stock markets, including the JSE ALSI, have taken a tumble in recent days and such an accommodative stance by … [Read more...] about Federal Reserve takes an investor friendly stance towards interest rates

In recent weeks the oil price has dropped substantially. Is this a good thing for the world or is it not? It depends whether you are an oil producer or not and if so, whether you are in a position to find oil in your territory through hydraulic fracturing or not. The oil price has lost … [Read more...] about The Changing Oil Environment

Dear All This is a brief information bulletin about Fedgroup’s Participation Bonds for those who seek a good yield to consider carefully. FedGroup, the largest privately owned financial services provider in South Africa, have recently notified me that their new limited Participation Bond … [Read more...] about High Yielding Tranche Investment from Fedbond

New legislation is afoot which is going to reshape the way in which investors remunerate their advisors. This is because there are still cases where advisors are paid an upfront commission which seems disproportionate to the amount of work done and also because there are instances where advisors … [Read more...] about Why do I pay my financial advisor?

This is because the entry price and the exit or sale price are the two points which determine whether you make a profit or a loss or break even and how large the profit or loss will be. The All Share or ALSI equity index is very high at the moment, meaning that many shares that make up the index … [Read more...] about Buying high and then holding those stocks is not a solid strategy

We have clearly at last entered the anticipated stock market correction in recent days. This isn't a reason to get out of the markets, but rather an opportunity to take stock of one's objectives in order to be secure in the knowledge that you are invested for a specific reason. If you have … [Read more...] about The expected equity market correction has begun

Ante-nuptial Contracts Where the spouse who has deceased made donations to the surviving spouse in terms of the ante-nuptial contract, these assets (or replacement assets) must be delivered to the surviving spouse before the estate is distributed in terms of the will. On the other hand, if the … [Read more...] about A few tips to remember when drafting a will

One of the consequences of the collapse of ABIL is that certain fund managers who had exposure to African Bank in the form of either ABIL shares or ABIL debt, have decided to draw a distinction between those assets and the other assets in their unit trust funds which are affected by ABIL. The net … [Read more...] about The fallout from African Bank’s collapse – side pockets in collective investment schemes or unit trust funds

Warning signs are emerging that South African bonds are vulnerable to a sell-off should bond market liquidity remain at its recent low levels. Average monthly turnover for South African bonds slid 25 % in the first half to R452.8bn Rand, while Emerging Market currencies eperienced a high degree … [Read more...] about Are South African Bonds due for a hit?