Tag: stock market

Should you believe in the Santa Rally theory, which suggests that stocks rise in the last days of the year? What does data from the last 94 years tell us? Investors found their festive spirits in 2020 despite a raging pandemic.

MultiChoice has released interim results for the six months ended September 2021. The big news of course is that sport is back on TV. You can only watch so many Come Dine With Me reruns before craving a bit of Springbok or Protea action. Events like Euro and the Tokyo Olympics added to an action-packed period.

CloudCap is an innovative new investment portal with proven returns of between 18 and 21% per annum, in full compliance with South African financial regulations. It allows you to invest in a range of start-ups and established companies in cutting edge and disruptive industries like artificial intelligence, medical technologies and fintech. 

The Naspers Board is immensely proud of what our people achieved during the past year. They managed the pandemic, delivered powerful revenue growth and lifted profitability. Foundations were laid for future growth. The year ended 31 March 2021 (FY21) was an extraordinary period.

Investing in the stock market has played a key role in helping investors diversify their portfolios. Money Market funds and savings account are instruments used by investors and savers, looking to grow wealth in a risk averse manner.

In order to survive as a species, people have evolved to be both risk averse and loss averse, to be fearful of such possibilities. But these attributes serve us poorly as investors. To be a successful investor, one needs to overcome that fear and to take calculated risks.

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.  

The investment world looks very different today compared to what it’s looked like in the recent past and requires investors to challenge pre-conceived notions. In this article, I highlight three ways in which the investment world has changed over time and how investors can best prepare and adapt to the shifts being seen.

Fear-fuelled stockpiling offers astute investors valuable insights into human nature. In August 2020, South Africans formed long queues outside liquor stores across the country, hoping to stock up on alcohol before a rumoured ban came into effect. But, as it turns out, the ban was fake news, spread on WhatsApp and social media.

The stock market can be volatile, but it’s a market that many people will delve into at some point in their lives whether directly buying shares or through their employer retirement saving fund. I believe that investments should form a core part of any financial planning, even during uncertain times.