Daily Maverick Articles #Investments

In most cases, some form of retirement savings is available through group schemes offered an employer. Unfortunately though, sometimes the people that set these up take a chance, and hide details in the fine print. Let's take some time and discuss what you should look out for, and uncover the truths hidden underneath.

As we've spoken about before, it's important to have some assets overseas if possible, as it diversifies your portfolio to optimise growth. However, what are the advantages of having it in a wrapper? Let's take some time and unpack this scenario, with special interest on inheraitance and taxation.

We often hear the term "make your money work for you", but very few people actually understand what it entails, and how to go about achieving it. Let's take some time and shed some light on this concept, using retirement monies as an example.

The idea of planning for retirement can seem like quite a daunting task, and often times, people leave it a bit later than they should. Then when it comes to crunch time, it can lead to much anxiety and stress. Let's take some time and discuss ways to circumvent this problem, should you find yourself in it.

If you lived overseas, you would not have all your investments in South Africa. By spreading your investments across countries, you can get better returns and reduce the risk in your portfolio

The phrase "make your money work for you" is thrown around very often, but most people don't really grasp the concept fully, or have the knowledge of what to do and what resources are available. Let's take some time and discuss what structures you can put in place to ensure a healthy financial standpoint and in turn "make your money work for you".

As daunting as it can be, something to think about when investing and reviewing current investments is about what would happen when you die. It's intended for the transfer to be as smooth as possible, but the right structures need to be put in place. Let's discuss what measures you can put in place to ensure that your loved ones are taken care of and have one less thing to worry about should you pass away.

We've all heard of "not keeping all of your eggs in one basket", but is there any merit to it? If the single basket falls and the eggs inside break, you'd have no backup. Similarly, from a financial perspective, if your wealth is concentrated in a single investment space, any trouble in the waters could be devastating.

As investors we can easily get drawn towards a product that offers high returns, but then the tax burden hits and almost all of the hard work of the investment is nullified. Let's explore some options that are available in order to limit the effect of taxation within certain investments.

With the local elections on the horizon, people may be getting anxious about the safety of their invested monies, but it is crucial as an investor not to time the market and predict its movements. The patient approach is generally correct, especially if there is a cohesive strategy connected to your investments.

Hitting your fifties with no retirement planning behind you? Don't worry, not all hope is lost. Naturally, it's ideal that you start saving for the day retirement rolls around as early as possible, but here is my advice on how you should tackle this situation, should you find yourself firmly in it.

Here is a simple guide to the new retirement fund proposals