Anything of any value takes time. Likewise, creating wealth is a long-term process. Well-structured investment strategies have always taken uncertainty into account. Patience, resilience and a robust strategy are imperative to weather the global investment storm that has been raging in recent times. As you embark, or continue, upon your journey to great financial security, […]
Author Archives: Anthony Brandt
A level head saves skewed vision
As Nelson Mandela said, once we’ve climbed a great hill we only find that there are many more hills to climb. When you’re looking up or down the hill, it’s easy to have a skewed vision of what’s really going on. We spend more time going up and down than resting at the top; it’s […]
Avoid these investment decisions
Do you know what’s going to happen in the markets tomorrow? Neither do we! All we know is that the markets are an opportunity to invest our money in helping the economy grow, and watching our money grow with it. That’s a really simplistic view, but it helps us extract our emotional reactions from the […]
Bear Markets vs Bull Markets
When it comes to investing in the markets, the terms bull and bear market are used to describe how stock markets are doing in general. Simply put, are they going up or are they going down? At the same time, because the market is determined by investors’ attitudes, these terms also denote how investors feel […]
Why have the markets taken a knock?
In a nutshell, the markets are driven by business activity which is supported by investor confidence. When businesses have investors, they can grow and create more value, which in turn encourages more investors. When businesses can’t run normally (like in the case of a global pandemic), investors fear they will lose money and pull out […]
Don’t sabotage your future self
Bad market performance, government lockdowns, global epidemics and loadshedding aren’t what threaten our investing and financial behaviour. Our biggest threat is ourselves. Studies have shown that people improve substantially in financial and investment decisions as they get older. When we are young — and perhaps less secure in our financial situation — we have a […]
Fight the fear
When life doesn’t go according to plan, our first response will often be one of fear. Unfortunately, life generally never goes according to plan – so we encounter fear a lot! Since fear cannot be avoided, we need to develop tools to cope with it so that we can allow it a constructive space in […]
Understand what you need in your adviser
Here’s the thing about a 20-minute DIY job: it never takes 20 minutes. Either you don’t have the right tools, or the right skills… or the materials turn out to be too hard, too soft, too big, too small etc. On the rare occasion, it might take you 20 minutes or less. You might be […]
Goodwill to all: a closer look at ESG stock options
Swiss banks hold a certain cachet about knowing good from bad investments, and currently the hottest topic on their lips are ESG funds. ESG stock options – or, rather, ‘Environmental, Social and Governance sustainability’ – have been steadily gaining traction among investors in the last few months, emerging into something of a buzzword. Once considered […]
Setting goals and taking stock
How you finish your year is a powerful way to create momentum for the new year. How much you achieved (or didn’t quite manage) this year can inspire how much you aim to achieve next year. In the same way that an athlete pushes harder in every game, or an artist stretches their skills with […]