Estie

Consider the fundamental value in South African assets.

Patrick Cairns                                                  26 July 2017

Picture: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

For many local investors, it’s hard to feel confident about putting money into South African assets. The risks and uncertainties seem very high, particularly when it comes to cash and government bonds.

At the start of 1994, one US dollar bought R3.40. The local currency has since depreciated by close to 75%, and people are therefore worried about losing purchasing power if they invest in South African cash.

The uncertainties about the country’s political and fiscal stability also make many investors wary of local government bonds. There is a good chance that South Africa’s sovereign credit rating will be downgraded to sub-investment grade before the end of this year, and people are worried about whether that will cause an exodus of foreign investors and how that would impact the bond […]

Lameez Omarjee and Carin Smith
2017-07-07 20:09

Johannesburg – Saving should not be seen as a once-off exercise.
According to Ester Ochse, product specialist at FNB, consumers should re-evaluate their lifestyle and make saving part of it.

Ochse shares a few habits consumers can adopt to achieve this.
Among these include buying what you need. “Determine what you need and what you don’t need. Sometimes we become ‘impulse buyers’ and tend to waste our money on unnecessary clothes, cosmetics, toiletries,” she says.

Cooking at home is also a more cost effective option than buying take-outs daily, explains Ochse. “You will be surprised at how much you can save by just cooking a healthy meal for your family. An added bonus is that you can take leftovers for lunch the next day.”

Save spare change in an account, suggests Ochse. Instead of putting your loose coins or notes under the bed or couch, open a savings account. Another […]

2017-07-01

Johannesburg – Saving is largely dependent on willpower and discipline, according to the South African Savings Institute (SASI).

Chairperson Prem Govender explained that South Africans have to improve their attitude to saving, given the credit ratings downgrade and the low growth economic environment. “Many South Africans are struggling to save not only due to income challenges, but also the lack of willpower and commitment,” said Govender.

Data from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) shows that in the past 16 years there has been a decline in the savings rate, explained Govender. It reached as low as -2.70% in 2013. The savings rate increased from -0.50% in the last quarter of 2016 to -0.30% in the first quarter of 2017.

This has been accompanied by a reduction in household debt. Data from SARB shows on an annual basis, the growth in household debt slowed from 4.6% in 2015 to 3.9% in 2016. Further, […]