Every now and again, I come across someone truly extraordinary. One such person is Winford Collings, a soon-to-be Chartered Accountant with immense writing talent and a great love of American politics. The Finance Ghost isn’t a political platform and never will be, but the American election this year affects every single one of your investments, one way or another. The …
View PostEvery now and again, I come across someone truly extraordinary. One such person is Winford Collings, a soon-to-be Chartered Accountant with immense writing talent and a great love of American politics. The Finance Ghost isn’t a political platform and never will be, but the American election this year affects every single one of your investments, one way or another. The …
View PostImagine you held one of the first iPhones in your hands in 2007. With incredible insight into the future, you concluded that the smartphone would take over the world. Bravely backing your view, you decided to invest a sizable amount in this megatrend. If you had chosen Apple, you would be wealthy today. If you had chosen BlackBerry, you would …
View PostDo you have a pension? Do you have South African unit trusts? It’s more likely than not that you are a Naspers shareholder, albeit indirectly. Naspers made the news this week again, this time for an investment in Food Supply Network for an undisclosed sum. The company operates an independent business-to-business marketplace that improves the process of food delivery and …
View PostIn the year 2020, the term “snowflake” has become a commonly used derogatory term for anyone who is overly sensitive or easily offended. It’s often used with the word “triggered” which is the act of being offended. In the investment world, Snowflake has become a landmark tech Initial Public Offering (IPO) story for a number of reasons. The only thing …
View PostWell, that was a rather busy weekend. Not only did Bytedance choose Trump’s favourite Oracle as the preferred bidder for TikTok’s US operations, but NVIDIA continued to shine with an acquisition of a leading smartphone CPU manufacturer. Let’s start with TikTok, the social media sensation of 2020. TikTok visits the Oracle In case you missed it, Donald Trump’s general mistrust …
View PostCapital markets are fascinating. They are the arenas for gladiators to make and lose fortunes, all in the pursuit of business greatness. Traders in the stands mercilessly punish failure and support success, driving the gladiators to put everything on the line. Investors seek out the gladiators with real staying power; the ones that have figured out how to survive multiple …
View PostAspen Pharmacare is a R60bn pharmaceuticals giant that used to be a lot bigger. The share price is down over 57% in 5 years, reflecting an unsuccessful strategy to push into developed as well as emerging markets, all while steadily building up a debt pile. It’s a story that seems to play out over and over again: South African corporates …
View PostIn my second appearance on the Honest Money podcast, I get personal about money. Some of the topics covered include: The real cost of having a baby Using debt to buy shares A discussion on good vs. bad debt in general A framework for tracking your financial progress This is real-world stuff and I really hope you find it interesting …
View PostThis may sound like a fairytale, but it could have an unhappy ending. Robinhood is the US stockbroking app that has driven an influx of literally millions of (particularly younger) investors who have bought American stocks on a fractional ownership basis. Fractional ownership is the same principle that Easy Equities uses locally, which allows people to invest a specific amount …
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