As far as I understand, from various media reports, the Corona Virus has similar symptoms as flu but more aggressive and a vaccine is yet to be formulated. The media have done an incredible amount of damage by reporting in such a way that the panic stricken public and authorities are incredibly fearful, which has […]
New Investment World
We live in a new investment era where interest rates are very low, in some cases even negative. In spite of very low interest rates inflation remains low, and again, in some countries we have negative inflation, i.e. deflation. Assets are expensive and therefore their yields are low. Last month, we saw the Feds do […]
The CGT Question: To Sell or Not to Sell?
The markets are quite volatile and it may be advisable to redeem certain investments which have done well. We had one client who queried his Capital Gain of R240 000, even though his entire investment value was R272 000! How could that be? Well, in 2004 he invested R32 000 and nothing further since, so over […]
Stock Markets and Timing
Of late I have had some clients concerned that this year we will see a correction or a crash in the world stock markets. It is impossible to predict the future. History does repeat itself – but often with a twist. Sarasin of London, citing Robert Schiller and Bloomberg, presented the following: The duration of […]