Of course, no-one knows when the next bear market will rear its head.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has been in a general upward trend, but has dipped lately.
So if the bears return, what can you do to prepare?
Read on to find out…
How to prepare for the next bear market
If you’re worried that a bear market is just around the corner, you might be tempted to bail out of sto... ››› more
A whole host of different companies, large and small, make up the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
A lot of investors put the associated risk of investing in a company down to its size. But just because a company is large doesn't mean that it comes with no risk.
So what's your best bet to reduce your overall investment risk?
Let's take a closer look…
The link between company size and... ››› more
Deflation is something that governments and central banks fear.
The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, is now embarking on a fight against deflation.
At the beginning of the month, he announced a cut to interest rates and a programme to weaken the euro to help stimulate the economy. The idea is that this will wipe out deflation and get prices rising again.
If Mr Draghi is ... ››› more
When it comes to investing, it's easy to get caught up in complicated ratios and measures.
But in fact, you don't need to make things too complicated. There are some key factors that you should concentrate on.
Let's take a closer look…
It can pay off to keep things simple when you invest
If you’re trying to decide whether to invest in a company or not, you don’t have to spend ... ››› more
When it comes to valuing companies, the most common ratio to use is the price earning (PE) ratio.
To calculate the PE ratio, you divide the current share price by earnings.
But there are several reasons why relying on earnings for this calculation are flawed. Cash flow is a much more reliable figure to concentrate on.
Let's take a closer look at how to use cash flows to value shares…
... ››› more
When it comes to investing for the long-term, you don't want to take on huge amounts of risk to increase your returns.
Yet there is a way you can increase your returns without taking on extra risk.
So how can you do it?
Read on to find out…
An investment strategy that can pay off over the years
The idea behind this investment strategy is simple. You need to focus on investing... ››› more
In an ideal world, you could identify when the market was on the rise and put money into the market. But unfortunately it's not as easy as that.
So what can you do to improve your chances of investing at the right time and benefit from rising prices?
Opt for rand cost averaging.
Read on to find out more…
The ins and outs of rand cost averaging
Rand cost averaging is an investme... ››› more
Investing is not for everyone. You need to have a strong dose of risk tolerance to become a successful investor.
Before you start investing, you need to understand the basic principles of investment success.
Here are four steps to reach investment success.
1. Determine your investment goals
Assess your current financial situation and determine how much you can afford to invest. Set... ››› more
Rand cost averaging (or drip feeding) involves investing a fixed amount of money into the stock market on a monthly basis.
The idea behind rand cost averaging is it benefits those investors who don't have a lump sum to invest by slowly building their holdings.
An additional advantage is you invest regardless of what the stock market is doing. This means you benefit by buying more when prices... ››› more
When it comes to investing on the stock market, there are a number of different strategies you can follow.
One popular way, especially if you don't have a lump sum to invest, is to invest a fixed amount of money on a monthly basis into a savings plan.
This is known as rand cost averaging or drip feeding.
So is it an investment strategy worth following?
The advantages of rand cost av... ››› more
When it comes to successful investing, you need to have a plan on how you're going to stay in the markets.
To do this effectively, one of the best ways to do it is to have a structured portfolio and regularly rebalance it.
Let's take a closer look at how this works and how it benefits your portfolio…
How to structure your investment portfolio
There are a number of ways you can str... ››› more
When any shares you own have gone through a rough patch, are you on the phone to your stockbroker selling them?
If this is something you would do, what sort of methodology did you use to justify selling?
Knowing when you'll sell a share is just as important as knowing when to buy a share. It has a huge impact on your investment portfolio.
So what sort of exit strategy should you use to kn... ››› more
There are a number of things you can do to improve your chances of investing success.
Firstly whether an investment is a winner or a loser, you should evaluate them. By doing this methodically, you can see what you can change to do it better next time.
You'll tend to find that you learn the most from your losing investments. What you learn will help you become a better investor.
Read on t... ››› more
Many analysts see September, and October, as crash months. The fear of the market falling hard can result in investors selling their shares without proper reason.
So how can you prevent fear from pushing you to sell?
You need to step away from your emotions and rely on logical analysis instead.
Read on to find out what you need to do…
Why technical analysis is the perfect solution... ››› more
Since the financial crisis struck in 2008, the equity markets have since benefitted from the extra money that governments pumped into their economies to keep them afloat.
With countries like the US pulling back on this, the question now lies is will the markets continue to rise?
If things start to get a bit shaky, you want to ensure that your portfolio has some resilience against this.
Le... ››› more