Tag: cash investment

Our data shows that 23% of their stokvel members are seniors. Additionally, 37% of stokvels have two or more senior members. This suggests that tradition is being passed down to younger generations. Seniors and youth often belong to the same stokvels. Group savings have historically served as collective savings vehicles. They help adults raise families and create communities of like-minded individuals. Senior citizens continue to embrace this culture while passing on knowledge and principles to younger generations.

For most people, purchasing a home represents the largest investment they will ever undertake, and carries emotional significance as a symbol of stability, security, and achievement. Property can offer much more than just a place to live – and it can also be a powerful investment vehicle capable of generating wealth, providing liquidity, enhancing cash flow, and diversifying one's portfolio.

An early start is at the heart of achieving sufficient financial resources for the lifestyle you desire for yourself and your family. It gives your investments more time to compound and grow. There are rules of thumb for younger investors who want to secure a strong financial future.

A record amount of R1.6 trillion is currently held in South African bank accounts as retail savings deposits. This is a staggering amount of money which is currently conservatively invested. In many ways, this movement of funds reflects the significant uncertainties faced by investors, both in South Africa and globally.

Looking at global news headlines, we are inundated with negative news – from concerns about the war in Ukraine, the possibility of a global recession and uncertainty about the future of global inflation and interest rates. Locally, things appear equally uncertain and gloomy.

Interest rates have gone up several times in the last few months in South Africa, and it looks like they will keep rising for the foreseeable future. So, this begs the question: what are interest rates, why are they rising, and how do they affect you?

The global economy is likely to recover as vaccines are administered. Pair this with low interest rates and the huge fiscal stimuli injected into the world’s largest economies, and you have a solid recipe for risk-on sentiment. Emerging markets assets, like those found in South Africa, bask under such circumstances.

History, of course, tells us that Ponzi schemes and financial scams are nothing new. However, their sophistication in the online space and in a digitally connected world are tailor-made for casting a wider, global net that lures potential investors with promises of 20% or 30% returns – or, in one recent incident, interest of 7% a week.  

South Africa’s medium-sized businesses have generally proven to be more resilient to the prolonged weakness in the economy, and now are more likely to weather successfully the fall-out from COVID-19 lockdown, than their smaller or larger counterparts.