Articles
"Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life"
-Bertolt Brecht
September 10, 2021
How scared should you be of the CGT-monster? Be careful of the merry-go-round thought process with tax By Andró Griessel 21 August 2021 The idea to […]
August 11, 2021
Premiums can be a fatal blow Life insurance as a form of saving is not the best plan By Elmie de Jager 17 July 2021 Mike […]
July 28, 2021
How ethical are penalties, fees? “Reasonable” services questioned By Andró Griessel 26 June 2021 The penalties charged on the pre-mature cancellation of contractual savings products have […]
June 21, 2021
Beware of a Trojan horse Understand your premium patterns over time By Andró Griessel 15 May 2021 People take out life insurance for various reasons. It […]
May 7, 2021
Think beyond money market The closure of the Absa fund should have investors reflecting By Andró Griessel 27 April 2021 Last week Absa released a letter, […]
April 14, 2021
The dark side of group schemes A blasé attitude today may result in major financial consequences in future By Andró Griessel 20 March 2021 Most people […]
March 23, 2021
Where there is a will, there is a way Plan for your retirement like you would for an expensive holiday By Deidré Valentine 20 February 2021 […]
February 8, 2021
When things don’t make sense… Be mindful of irrational vigor in the market By Andró Griessel 23 January 2021 Many of us, myself included, started 2020 […]
January 25, 2021
How high is your (financial) fever? Find out what your investments’ internal rate of return is By Andró Griessel 28 November 2020 I am sure that […]
January 11, 2021
Be mindful of rand depreciation panic The past teaches valuable lessons about what might follow By Andró Griessel 12 December 2020 Would you believe me if […]
November 18, 2020
Estates: Cash is king Guard against a liquidity crisis for your heirs By Elmie de Jager 31 October 2020 A few weeks ago, my colleague wrote […]
October 28, 2020
Will your spouse be able to “fly” solo? Disaster awaits if the one who manages the money alone, dies. By Andró Griessel 10 October 2020 There […]
October 8, 2020
Retirement funds: A few things to note What happens with your benefits in the event of death or divorce? By Samuel Rossouw 19 September 2020 Although […]
September 23, 2020
Downhills also have inclines Why you should ignore a decade of returns By Andró Griessel 29 August 2020 A few years ago, a friend convinced me […]
August 17, 2020
Is your porridge too cold? Personal share portfolios rarely make sense By Andró Griessel 8 August 2020 Goldilocks and the Three Bears was one of my […]
August 5, 2020
What to do with property? Great opportunity for tenants to buy property By Andró Griessel 18 July 2020 The prime lending rate has been reduced to […]
July 22, 2020
Teach your children to fish If your child can fish financially, he is set up for life By Andró Griessel 19 November 2019 Give a man […]
July 13, 2020
When your income starts to dwindle… These are trying times for conservative investors By Cassie Carstens 27 June 2020 Among the three largest money market funds […]
July 6, 2020
How to adjust your retirement plan Consider these factors when planning for retirement By Samuel Rossouw 23 June 2020 Depending on where in the life cycle […]
June 24, 2020
Be wary of partial truths It may result in bad decisions that cost you in the long run By Andró Griessel 16/5/2020 In times of extreme […]
May 19, 2020
Manage your tax affairs A living annuity can have significant tax benefits for some individuals By Elmie de Jager 22/2/2020 A few weeks ago, my colleague […]
May 14, 2020
Take it easy for now However, the current market could be a good entry point if you are able to invest By Andró Griessel 25 April […]
May 6, 2020
Are you insured against COVID-19? Many are scrutinizing policy wording after lockdown By Willie Griessel 04 April 2020 The Coronavirus pandemic turned the whole world upside […]
March 23, 2020
The ghost of 2008 is back Coronavirus: Market reaction is heavily exaggerated By Andró Griessel 14 Mar 2020 Just in case you were in a coma […]
February 12, 2020
Who are the latest winners? Offshore equities perform the best in 2019, however… By Andró Griessel 11 Jan 2020 If you’ve got the impression that your […]
February 5, 2020
RA’s: Friend or foe? If used effectively, it holds numerous advantages By Cassie Carstens 01 Feb 2020 It is that time of the year where everyone […]
January 27, 2020
Which horse are you betting on? If you want to stay ahead, you need to understand your own unique risk profile By Cassie Carstens 30 Nov […]
January 14, 2020
Flex your financial muscles Sticking to financial new year’s resolutions is easier By Andró Griessel 21 Dec 2019 I hope that you are reading this with […]
January 8, 2020
Life annuities as a solution A few factors to consider before making a decision By Andró Griessel 19 Oct 2019 I recently received an email from […]
November 20, 2019
How not to make money Investors repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot By Andró Griessel 21 Sep 2019 In May 2014 I wrote an article named […]
October 28, 2019
History says little about future Buy & hold (in a balanced portfolio) remains your best bet By Andró Griessel 28 October 2019 How can you tell […]
October 11, 2019
Decision-making is not for the faint-hearted 03 August 2019 If I assume that basic opportunities (like education, family circumstances, access to health services) for all people […]
August 7, 2019
Even with a crystal ball in hand… 07 July 2019 Imagine it’s Tuesday morning, 1 December 2015. While your first cup of coffee is waiting for […]
May 24, 2019
Where will their help come from? “Have you never heard of the cradle-to-grave approach to client service?” a cheeky millennial asked me about two years ago. […]
February 11, 2019
Dollar cash the best place in 2018 but … Let’s be honest…most investors are more than a little worked up after the bad returns of the […]
November 12, 2018
Currency weakness: Is there lessons to learn from the past? At the time of writing this article the Rand is trading at about R 14.90 against […]
October 5, 2018
4 Myths in financial planning In the world of financial planning there are numerous “wisdoms” that gets shared which is probably not that wise, simple or […]
September 17, 2018
Offshore investments: Easier said than done “I want to take my money offshore” is probably the most common request we have received the past couple of […]
July 19, 2018
Tax on interest might be costing you The last 3 years has seen a lot of uncertainty in the market. You would not be blamed for […]
June 26, 2018
Inheritance: Here’s a plan In the first article that I wrote on inheritance by means of a comprehensive life policy (Click here to read more), I […]
May 23, 2018
Think twice about the inheritance you leave behind We frequently come across a situation where clients try to sort out their children’s bequests through life insurance, […]
May 2, 2018
Is Ramaphosa = Good times ahead? Mr. GJ van der Merwe from Ceres always used to say, “a fish rots from the head down.” South Africans […]
April 26, 2018
Is this 2018 or 2008? If you are an aggressive investor in growth assets, you’ll be excused if you open your March quarterly statement and think […]
March 2, 2018
Investments: So how much interest do you offer? By Cassie Carstens Although this question is not phrased in a sensible way, it is one that is […]
February 12, 2018
Do you want to become a lion’s lunch? As people we do not assess risk very well. Fortunately, the aviation industry learned this quickly and realised […]
January 16, 2018
Numbers tell a story, but read the whole book By this time, you have probably washed out the last grains ofsand from your ears and abandoned […]
December 23, 2017
Is it a good time to buy Steinhoff? “How does this Steinhoff debacle affect me? Should I invest in Steinhoff now?” These are by far the […]
December 22, 2017
How can I trust it? In marketing lectures in university there was a lot of talk around strategy, advertising and the making of the standard Nando’s […]
December 8, 2017
How to keep the Grinch at bay and still use your Christmas bonus wisely The year 2017 has had its ups and downs and chances are […]
December 5, 2017
Pedal through the tough times A friend of mine talked me into entering a 40km mountain bike event the other day in Paarl. The fact that […]
November 13, 2017
Put everything on red! There is a loud cheer (or is it a groan) at one of the roulette tables in the center of the casino. […]
October 24, 2017
Should I sell my Naspers shares? The above question about Naspers or similar questions about big positions in single shares is one that often comes up. […]
October 3, 2017
Sex, Bitcoin and Kubus The year is 1984 and the smell of rotten milk hangs over our back porch. No, my mother did not forget the […]
September 12, 2017
Until death or divorce The problem with working with numbers all day and basing decisions on probability is that you start looking at everything in terms […]
August 23, 2017
I want it all in cash! You would be excused if you read the heading of this article and immediately thought that this is about a […]
August 1, 2017
What is the recipe for success? A young colleague asked me the other day: “What makes the difference between those who achieve success and those who […]
July 10, 2017
Bubbles: The price you pay matters In a newsletter to clients on 6 December 2005 I wrote the following: “I am starting to feel like the […]
June 21, 2017
Knysna-fires: What if it happened to you? I overheard two guys in the gym this weekend discussing the Knysna-fires and the one says to the other: […]
June 5, 2017
Do you want to keep your financial cleft lip, forever? It takes about 45 minutes in surgery to repair a cleft lip. For the experienced surgeon, […]
May 9, 2017
How to get rich quick Let’s be honest, we all love the idea of overnight success or getting rich quickly. It is this idea that drives […]
May 3, 2017
Stay calm, even though it looks like Ship SA is sinking Anyone who followed the reports on the dramatic cash in transit heist at the OR […]
March 27, 2017
Food for thought for Golden Geese My initial reaction echoed the frustration of most market commentators when it was announced that the golden goose was ushered […]
March 9, 2017
The fine print of your life cover policy Most people would rather count the hair on their Jack Russel than read an article about life cover […]
February 21, 2017
Here’s the sum that will raise the hair at the back of your neck How much money do you really need to retire comfortably? It is […]
February 14, 2017
Should I cash in my pension fund and invest in my mortgage? We are often approached by analytical clients with this question. For those with an […]
January 25, 2017
Your wealth journey starts with a single step The best way to tackle any goal, whether it is losing weight or saving for retirement, is to […]
January 15, 2017
Listed property won by a mile Most people, except maybe Donald Trump, couldn’t wait to see the end of 2016. It was one of those years […]
November 14, 2016
You can drown in water averaging 30 cm deep There is a saying that you can drown in water averaging 30 cm deep. The principle behind […]
October 31, 2016
Invest like an All black Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, thinking “How the hell did I […]
October 14, 2016
Be wary of conflicts of interest People often ask: “How should I choose a financial advisor?” or “how do I distinguish between a capable and an […]
September 14, 2016
The R3 000 skin care products I once bought R3,000 worth of skincare products from a lady during a run-of-the-mill trip to a mall in Pretoria. […]
August 30, 2016
Why diversification may not be as simple as choosing a few fund managers How correlations can assist in managing behaviour. Ingé Lamprecht | 17 August 2016 JOHANNESBURG – […]
August 22, 2016
Watch out for Anchors If I had to ask two groups of people to guess how old Albert Einstein was when he died, I could influence […]
August 10, 2016
Investments: The risk of “I should have…” By Andró Griessel. “You should have sold your Richemont shares three years ago already. You did not earn a cent […]
June 22, 2016
Should I increase my property exposure? Deur Andró Griessel, 21 June 2016 JOHANNESBURG – In this investment column, Andró Griessel, managing director of ProVérte Wealth and Risk […]
February 23, 2016
Things to think about I need to start off with an apology. 2015 was one of those years where days were not long enough and hours […]
August 18, 2015
Professional Adviser or Assurance Agent You have probably all come across this picture before of the old witch… or is it a young lady… or is […]
March 9, 2015
Highlights of the 2015 National Budget Speech The marginal rate of the tax brackets for all individuals earning more than R181 900 per year has been increased […]
February 19, 2015
Don’t miss 28 February – by Samuel Rossouw February is a busy month. The World Cup Cricket has started (let’s hope they don’t choke again), the […]
October 20, 2014
How to cope with volatility – by Andró Griessel Looking at the heading of today’s writing, you would be forgiven for thinking that I am trying […]
August 5, 2014
Have we got it all wrong? – by Andró Griessel Most people reading this article has life cover with one or the other life insurance company. […]
May 6, 2014
Beware the rearview mirror – by Andró Griessel Before I get to the content of this issue of 2Cents, I want to quote a few wise […]
January 28, 2014
The hole in your bucket – by Andró Griessel It is that time of year again when everyone is curious about the forecast for the year […]
October 29, 2013
“Double Whammies” – by Samuel Rossouw We all know what a “double whammy” feels like (referred to hereafter as a DW). For example, it’s like when […]
