Personal Finance Newsletter - latest Issue

Much has been written about the influence of politics on the economy, and how the political battleground takes focus away from the country’s economic performance in an election year. Economists regularly say that certainty is essential if markets are to perform optimally. This is an argument that we as South Africans are all too familiar with— and, at times, burdened by. How often have we heard that “Policy uncertainty is hampering the economy”?

Following the publicity surrounding Momentum’s initial refusal to pay out a life insurance claim on the basis that the client failed to disclose increased blood sugar levels, I decided to read my life cover policy carefully.

ABSA’S special offer of 13% interest on five-year fixed deposits has caught the attention of many investors looking to park cash somewhere.

Given the current low return environment, a bank offering 15.5% interest on a fixed term product sounds incredibly appealing. After all, there isn’t a single multi-asset high equity fund in South Africa that has given investors even a 10% annualised return over the past five years. So it’s not surprising that Finbond’s ‘guaranteed fixed term interest bearing note’ that offers an ‘effective rate’ of 15.5% over five years has caught the attention of many investors. The minimum investment of R1 million might put it beyond the reach of a lot of people, but it still sounds like a tantalising offering—particularly for anyone looking for somewhere to put a large pot of retirement savings.

Discovery Vitality Open, where all South Africans are incentivised to get active and drive well in its Active Rewards programme, is an unprecedented behavioural experiment. Non-Vitality members are motivated to get active and reach weekly goals to earn points that can be exchanged for rewards. Many existing Vitality members are already engaged, but the added awareness of the Open—plus some healthy peer pressure from friends—has no doubt boosted activity.

2018 has been the worst year on the JSE since the 2008 global financial crisis, and was the first year in a decade that the market has delivered a negative total return. Even through the lean period since 2014, the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI) has at least managed to eke out a positive performance each calendar year.

TWK investments is that company that you have never heard of, but which operates comfortably and profitably in its chosen niche.

Income tax returns (2018 tax year)
Provisional tax returns

The Section 12J investment class is anticipated to increase from R3.7 billion to R5.5 billion by the end of the current financial year

Ready to fulfil the lifelong dream of boarding a plane, starting a business, building a home, or getting ready for retirement—these were just some of the wishes expressed by South African lottery winners in the last six months of 2018. Receiving a large sum of money can be overwhelming and challenging for anyone, regardless of whether the windfall is due to a lottery ticket, an inheritance, or even an annual bonus.

Tax tables 2017/18 and 2018/19 tax years

For the five years to the end of 2018, there were three companies that stood out on the JSE. Despite overall weakness in the market, Clicks, Capitec, and Naspers all showed strong, consistent growth over this period. While these are three quite different companies operating in different industries, they have shown some significant shared characteristics. “It’s obvious that they have good management, strong balance sheets, high free cash flow, and discipline in how they have invested it,” says Hannes van den Berg, co-portfolio manager of the Investec Equity Fund. “They have identified niches in certain markets and kept on finding those niches.”

Driving around South Africa over the festive period, it felt like compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs) were popping up everywhere. While the SUV market has been growing for some time, it seems that almost every manufacturer now has some compact- or mini-SUV on offer. There is the Toyota Rush, the Hyundai Creta, Honda’s BR-V, the Kia Soul, Mazda’s CX-3, the Ford EcoSport, and the Suzuki Jimny. The list goes on.

Inkunzi Wealth founder plans to raise R250m privately for student housing development