South Africans, apprehensive about investing in the stock market have been given an early Christmas present by premier online financial website, Fin24.com (
www.fin24.com ). The introduction of a virtual trading dashboard aims at breaking down the reservations preventing many South Africans from investing in the stock market. The Fin24 Dashboard provides seasoned investors and newbies alike with access to a virtual investment world where they can safely practice investing in the stock market.
“Historically, investing in South Africa’s top companies through the stock market has been the preserve of the wealthy, but now, thanks to technology, the stock market is more accessible and investment information is only a click away,” says Fin24’s chief information officer, Riaan van Niekerk. “Ordinary South African’s should be participating in the country’s economy and growing their savings by investing in listed South African companies,” he added.
Users can register for free on Fin24.com and create multiple virtual portfolios to buy and sell shares based on 15-minute delayed data. The transactions factor in real-world trading costs such as brokerage commissions. Unlike the real-world, there are no trading limitations, so budding investors can virtually buy and sell as many shares as they wish to, and try out any number of combinations to see where they get the best growth. In addition users can create a watch list of shares that they want to keep an eye on, follow other users, and complete a profiler to determine what their investment style is.
“We are very excited about the launch of this new product and hope it will be a game changer for ordinary South Africans to overcome their fears of investing in the stock market”. “This is a product that is easy and fun to use for ordinary South Africans who are eager to invest, but need to practice and gain confidence before taking their first real investment steps,” says Fin24 Dashboard product manager, Henem van Staden.
Fin24 has teamed up with, Validea South Africa, the investment research house, to present users with the investment styles of well-known international investment gurus. Premium users gain additional views of shares on the JSE that gurus such as Warren Buffet and Benjamin Graham would most likely have in their portfolios.
An important social element has been added to the product, allowing users to gauge their investment skills against the almost 2,000 portfolios on the rapidly growing Fin24 Leaderboard. In addition, users can share comments on stocks they buy or sell within Dashboard, Twitter and Facebook.
There are two subscription options available, a free and Premium Dashboard for only R99 per month.
Premium Dashboard offers users more advanced functionality and tools, such as easy-to-use tools that are useful to the South African consumer to filter out which equities to watch and potentially invest in. “An exciting addition for premium subscribers is the Total Returns and Discounted Cash Flow valuations, that will provide premium users with more information to make informed investment decisions,” says van Staden.
Visit www.fin24.com for more information and to register.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Fin24.com, Investment, money, South Africa, Validea December 20, 2011
Irrespective of whether you are an optimist or a pessimist, you are bound to find at least 10 ideas for your money in the latest edition of Finweek.
The Finweek 2012 Money Edition, which hits shelves on Friday, combines a number of stock picks, trading tips and personal finance activities that ordinary South Africans can apply to their money. The tips come from a mixture of award-winning financial journalists, respected industry professionals and up-and-coming young professionals.
“Previously Finweek has had quite a big emphasis on picking shares into a new year but the reality is that South Africans just don’t have extra money to be dabbling in the market at the moment and many are rather focusing on tidying up their personal finances, investing in products like unit trusts or exchange traded funds and focusing on their careers or even their small businesses so this is the angle we’ve taken this year,” says Finweek editor Marc Ashton.
Ashton adds that with nearly 10 million people under some form of debt review, 2012 is likely to be a year where the focus is on personal responsibility and control of individual’s finances.
Finweek is available in stores on a Friday or available in digital format from www.mysubs.co.za
English digital edition of Finweek -http://www.mysubs.co.za/Finweek-Eng
Afrikaans digital edition of Finweek – http://www.mysubs.co.za/Finweek-Afr
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: budgeting, ETF, Exchange Traded Funds, Finweek, investing. finance, Investment ideas, money, personal finance, Shares, Unit Trusts December 10, 2011
South African retail and institutional investors will now be able to invest based on their green convictions through the launch of the Nedbank BGreen ETF that has been approved by the Financial Services Board and which will be listed on the JSE with effect from 01 December 2011.
Judging by early feedback from investors, this exciting and innovative new investment instrument is likely to carve out a special niche for itself in a market increasingly interested in investing in products that reflect high levels of environmental sustainability in their make-up and ongoing performance.
The Nedbank BGreen ETF is based on the Nedbank Green Index which was launched in July as a benchmark for environmentally-conscious investors and a means of measuring the performance of companies with environmentally sustainable business practices.
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Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Carbon, ETF, Exchange Traded Fund, Nedbank, Sustainabilty December 4, 2011
FNB continues to add value to their customers with the launch of its latest offering, FNB Life Cover. FNB customers can pay up to 50% less on life policy premiums. Customers will be able to apply online or telephonically and have their application approved within 24 hours.
“Life Cover and its related offerings are one of the highest priorities in the minds of South African parents. We need only look at the enormous popularity of stokvels offering funeral cover to see how important this is. The fact there is such a wide insurance gap only indicates that affordability excludes large numbers. By offering cover at wholesale prices, I believe we can bring about a wide-spread improvement in the financial stability of families,” states Michael Jordaan, CEO of FNB.
On average, South Africans spend 4% of their after tax income on life insurance, equating to approximately R 4.4 billion per annum. “We are able to strip out the unnecessary costs resulting in up to 50% less on Life Cover premiums, potentially saving South African consumers up to R 2 billion rand in premiums per annum,” says Jordaan.
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Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: First National Bank, FNB, Life cover, Life insurance December 4, 2011
FNB launched online sales of Krugerrands via its online Share Investing site in February 2011. A sharp increase in the gold price and rising uncertainty on equity markets has spurred strong sales growth.
At the end of the first month FNB recorded R4.48m in coin sales – some 794 coins of different denominations.
“August proved to be our strongest month to date,” says CEO FNB Investment Products, Lezanne Human. “Sales in August accounted for R55.7m. This is roughly the same as the total for the preceding 6 months. The downgrade of US credit rating proved to be a turning point in minds of many investors around what assets in which they should invest.”
“We are clearly seeing that buyers are reacting to both movements in the gold price and downward movements in equity markets,” said Human.
“Early indications are that the pace of buying has not slowed in the first few trading days of September. Gold has proved to be an essential component in an investor’s portfolio. In times of uncertainty, it also takes on the role of providing stability,” added Human.
Human believes that latest developments in the markets, with the gold price topping U$1 900 on 5 September in volatile trade, will create additional interest in the coins. She adds, however, that a decision to buy Krugerrands should remain based around each investor’s specific needs rather than market trends.
FNB took the innovative step of also offering safekeeping of the coins at Rand Refinery Ltd. This sidesteps one of the coins’ liabilities, being the risk of theft and high insurance premiums.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: FNB, Gold coins, Invest in Gold, Investment, KrugerRand September 18, 2011
Absa Investments today (Tuesday, July 12) in Savings Month make a call to South Africans to begin saving now.
The investment arm of the country’s largest retail bank said the rate of bad debt growth was slowing but challenged consumers to go one better and lift the rate of household savings – a figure that has hovered around zero for the last decade.
“In many respects, it’s never been easier to save,” added Sylvester Kgatla, Head of Product at Absa Investments. “Our web-based platform, My Absa, even allows clients to open a unit trust account online.
“For as little as R100 a month, a saver can build up a nest egg in a safe, well-regulated unit trust. All you need is to develop the regular saving habit and then give your nest egg time to grow in the market.
“As our new advertising slogan points out ‘You’d be surprised what you can accomplish when you start with what you’ve got’.”
As an example, a unit trust account focused on domestic equities, opened in mid-2011 with a R1000 lump sum and topped up monthly by a R100 debit order would grow to R9500??? by mid-2016, assuming modest average annualised JSE growth of 9% over the five-year period.
“Interest rates at a 30-year low have allowed many South Africans to pay down debt,” noted Kgatla. “Once personal debt is down, the next step is to build up your personal savings.
“Many of those in full-time employment have benefited from pay increases. At the same time, the economy achieved 4.8% GDP growth in the first quarter of the year, suggesting that we are putting the recession behind us.
“This is a great platform from which to start saving. Our savings tip is to go to work on a household budget today. See where savings can be made, allocate a monthly sum and create a savings plan. Savings Month is a great time to start.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Absa Investments, Savings July 13, 2011
Asset classes – including equities, bonds, property – are expected to struggle to deliver double digit returns in the current economic environment. As a result, it is critical for you, the investor, to understand what and how much you are paying on investment products to determine if they are reasonable.
Over the years the financial services industry has attracted a lot of criticism with regards to the types of and excessive fees that are charged. Financial products are by nature complicated without taking into account the various levels of fees that can be charged. It is therefore understandable that some investors are overwhelmed and frustrated.
Like the cell phone industry, the investment industry has evolved over the last ten years. Why would someone keep an old Nokia 100 that is slow, ineffective and more expensive than the technologically cutting edge iPhone 4? The same applies to financial products. Why would an investor stay invested in expensive, inflexible and complicated policy-based products when unit trust based products are available?
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Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Costs involved, Fees, financial planning, financial services advisor, Insurance, investing, PPS June 29, 2011
The results of the 2011 Old Mutual Retirement Monitor released today in Johannesburg reveal that a lack of awareness around personal retirement savings and contributions to retirement schemes is one of the key reasons why the majority of working South Africans are not saving enough for retirement. Furthermore, the majority of South Africans anticipate having to work for financial survival after formal retirement.
The survey comprised 1005 hour-long face-to-face interviews and examines pre-retirement perceptions among working South Africans, in particular their confidence regarding the financial provision they have made for their retirement.
Bongani Madikiza, Managing Director of Old Mutual Corporate, says the survey results reveal that because many South Africans are struggling financially they end up prioritising their income towards other needs, rather than long term savings such as retirement savings.
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Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Financial, Old Mutual, Retirement, Savings June 29, 2011
June is National Youth Month and July is National Savings Month. It’s a good time to focus on creating the right attitude and encouraging the appropriate behaviour in young people so that they will be empowered to manage their finances effectively.
The recently released Old Mutual Savings Monitor indicates that 31% more people in the 18-24 age group are saving than last year, but that South Africans in general aren’t saving enough. Included in this group are young people, who’re missing out on a critical window of opportunity for saving.
It’s no secret that the prevailing consumer culture, the media and advertising have an enormous influence on how people – and in particular the youth – spend their money. This is compounded by peer pressure, which affects impressionable youths more than adults.
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Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Investment, Old Mutual, Savings, Savings Culture, Youth June 15, 2011
If the terminology in your long-term life insurance policy contract has left you confused, help is at hand. The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) maintains a comprehensive jargon buster on its web site, designed to make definitions and explanations contained in life insurance contracts and marketing material easier to understand.
Peter Dempsey, deputy CEO of ASISA, says many consumers and intermediaries may not be aware of the jargon buster, which has been in existence for almost four years.
“The jargon buster is updated and expanded on a continuous basis, because we recognise that there is a need for a simple and consistent reference resource.”
Dempsey says the jargon buster, produced by a team consisting of the life industry’s medical insurance professionals, simplifies many of the terms used by the industry and is aimed at both intermediaries and consumers.
“With access to detailed explanations of the life industry’s most common terminology, intermediaries and consumers are better equipped to ask more informed questions and therefore make more informed decisions.”
The jargon buster explains, for example, the differences between accelerator rider benefits and stand-alone benefits and also covers the pros and cons of the two different types of cover.
Other examples of long-term life insurance practices and terminology explained by the jargon buster include:
- Waiting periods
- Risk rating factors when underwriting
- Premium patterns and cover growth
- Different types of benefits
The jargon buster can be found in the Info Centre section at www.asisa.org.za.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Asisa, Insurance, Life insurance, Savings May 19, 2011
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