While exchanging your time for money is a worthwhile pursuit, it becomes problematic when the value of money depreciates significantly. Inflation is typically defined as “general increase in prices”, but it…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not new. A defining moment occurred in 1997 when IBM’s Deep Blue computer defeated chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov in a six-game chess match. However, despite this breakthrough, progress…

In today’s globally financially leveraged world, the level of interest rates matter. Which is perhaps why there is so much fascination with announcements from central banks, with none bigger than the US Federal Reserve….

Investing success starts with building savings, and savings requires keeping expenses lower than income. On a personal level this simply means budgeting and managing debt and expenses to accumulate…

For company shareholders, there are many factors to consider when assessing investment feasibility. One metric stands out as the ultimate measure of…

Warren Buffett’s, Berkshire Hathaway again captured attention last week with its renowned annual general meeting drawing significant crowds as always. A major talking point this

The classical understanding of money comes from Aristotle who asked, “what is the purpose of money”? He noted that its primary intended function is a medium of…

We’ve all encountered the increasing red tape required to not only initiate new investment, but also to make top ups or even to redeem existing investments. The bureaucratic processes all fall under…

This year, many people around the world will go to the polls to vote in national elections. The U.S. four-year election cycle, culminating in November, is a significant event, as is South Africa’s five-year…

As South Africans, we have lived under exchange controls for so long that most of us believe this is the norm around the world. However, this isn’t actually the case…

Why do I call this an advantage then? The use of permanent capital provides the fund manager the freedom to make long term decisions without being influenced…

Shane Parrish, the mind behind the weekly blog, Farnam Street (FS) and now the author of the book, “Clear Thinking”, has curated a collection of wisdom which I thought would be fitting as we approach the end of the year…

I recently had the opportunity to reflect whilst on a two-week Camino hike from Porto in Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The peaceful journey provided the perfect backdrop for thinking about investing and investments and what holds ultimate value…

This quote is attributed to Franklin D Roosevelt. If we extend the adage to global financial markets, current stormy conditions are clearly doing their level best to upskill all investors and their advisors…

The massive structures are erected on metamorphic rock known as Manhattan Schist, containing a mineral called Kyanite. This mineral’s presence indicates that the rock was compressed under…

Mark Twain’s quote, “Prediction is difficult- particularly when it involves the future” resonates as many financial commentators attempt the daunting task of forecasting markets at the start of a new year…

Into 2024, Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains extremely topical. Not only has AI chip designer, Nvidia seen incredible price gains, but this week Apple garnered significant attention with its announcement of an OpenAI partnership…

Bonds are a not very difficult to understand – think of them as essentially fixed income loan agreements between lenders and borrowers (mostly governments and companies)…

The steady move away from traditional banking has been catalysed by the so-called neobanks or digital banks, which have, in many aspects, surpassed traditional banking. This shift is happening…

Last week, I made the comment that asset prices are likely to appreciate over any reasonable timeframe, at least in nominal terms. Given the ongoing erosion of purchasing power, this is not a controversial statement…

We are at the halfway mark for the year, and it seems like the months are flying by quicker than ever. It’s been a positive year for most investable asset classes, with some strong performances, but these invariably come with the standard fare of high volatility.

We all know the one basic law of supply and demand dictates that as the price of a good is increased, everything else being equal, the quantity demanded of that good will tend to decline…

On Monday this week, Argentina, a country with a GDP of approximately $480bn, devalued its official currency, the peso, by a staggering 18%. Simultaneously the government upped the official interest…

“A trillion here, a trillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” This famous quote was supposedly made by the late US Senator Everett Dirksen, who served in the 1960’s, and…

In the world of business, few names resonate as strongly as Elon Musk. The visionary entrepreneur consistently garners attention with his various ventures, and it’s understandable that investors are excited about the prospect of the public listing of SpaceX.

It’s common for people to look for predictions at the start of a new year to guide their investment decisions, but remember shorter-term predictions are often unreliable…

In last week’s article discussing currency devaluation, I emphasized the importance of considering investments in real assets, including shares in multinational companies, as a safeguard against…

This year Microsoft surged to over $3 trillion in value, becoming the largest company among the so-called “Magnificent 7” (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft…

This week, global markets experienced a fairly significant shake-up with the release of DeepSeek, a Chinese-developed AI model…

Visa is a company that most of us have come across – it’s likely that its logo is on one of your credit cards. However, Visa doesn’t actually extend credit or issue cards. Instead, it makes its money as a digital payment facilitator…