Is your portfolio overly concentrated?

A well-balanced, diversified portfolio is a joy for all seasons, giving something no matter what various markets or asset classes are doing. An overly concentrated portfolio is the opposite, a ticking time bomb volatile to fluctuations in macroeconomics and other influencers of the share price.

Explaining credit risk

Last month we talked about interest rate risk – the risk of your investment devaluing and you losing money due to changes in interest rate. In a sense, this is about an investment’s possibility of flailing due to macroeconomic conditions. This month, we’re going to look at credit risk.

Taking an interest in interest rate risk

Education around the basics of wealth creation and preservation is like a good, solid diet packed with healthy food staples, it can help you enjoy healthy finances for years and create a strong foundation for building your future.

Betting on cars – how to invest in motor innovation without getting a flat

“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way,” Henry David Thoreau once said. Investing in the future is an exciting prospect, but a daunting one as well. And what could be more of a ride than investing in motor vehicles?

But the road can be a bumpy one, even if it is a fast ride, so prudence is paramount when investing in all things motor.

The four numbers of retirement – and why they aren’t enough

‘It’s my life, it’s now or never. I ain’t gonna live forever…’ The famous Bon Jovi words could well be used to describe retirement – and saving for it.

Most people don’t know where to start when contemplating something as big and hectic as retiring in decades’ time, but there are ample titbits of conventional wisdom from the financial planning industry. Let’s take a look at some, and their pitfalls.

Trust issues – four things to check in your trust deed

Trusts as vehicles of wealth preservation have had some important regulatory changes over the past few years as authorities have attempted to shift them away from tax evasion and more towards a true, family-minded way to pass on assets.

Your starter guide to alternative investments

In the wake of very lacklustre JSE performance and plenty of uncertainty, many investors have started considering thinking… alternatively.In a nutshellAlternative investments are different to the standard stock market approach; investing in assets outside the usual asset classes or in companies outside of the JSE-listed crowd.

The true cost of load shedding

Load shedding has cost all of us over the past few weeks, but do you know exactly how much?Neither did we, until we did a little digging. Cost to the economy at large