ETF Blog Archives - Page 16 of 25

ETF: Track your favourite with the JSE

Kristia van Heerden 29 April 2020ETF Blog, Latest

ETF investors don’t need to pay too much attention to daily market movements. Indices follow rules. Since ETF issuers take care of the rule following, us investors can basically just sit back and watch our assets grow. Traders and individual share investors rely heavily on performance data to keep track of the success of their ...

ETF: Volatility case study

Kristia van Heerden 15 April 2020ETF Blog, Latest

Us DIY investors don’t often get to see volatility in action. For the most part volatility is something reserved for the mysterious back-rooms of index houses. Fortunately, this year’s market crash is giving us all the opportunity to see volatility flex. If you owned an ETF in March, your understanding of volatility is probably close ...

ETF: I’ve lost money!

Kristia van Heerden 8 April 2020ETF Blog, Latest

If you are new to ETFs, you probably feel bewildered. You’ve mustered the courage to transfer your money to a broker, you bought an ETF on the recommendation of a friend or based on your online research. You are a Serious Investor, so you’re ready to see the stock market at work. However, so far ...

ETF: Spread as ETF cost

Kristia van Heerden 1 April 2020ETF Blog, Latest

We often talk about the impact of the total expense ratio (TER) or the total investment cost (TIC) on your investment. The index (a representation of the price performance of a group of companies) will always outperform the ETF (the product that tracks the index). That’s because the index is just a tool for tracking ...

ETF: Volatility explored

Kristia van Heerden 25 March 2020ETF Blog, Latest

In investing, the biggest assumption we make is that risk is rewarded. If you want your money to grow, the theory goes, you need to put something on the line. Risk is tricky, though. What is risky for one person might not be for another. Volatility is a good starting point for ordinary investors to ...

ETF: Do volatility managed ETFs work in volatile times?

Kristia van Heerden 18 March 2020ETF Blog, Latest

Remember those strange volatility ETFs Absa launched a while ago? They were specifically designed to protect your money during volatile times. If you’ve looked at your investments even briefly in the past two weeks, you don’t need me to tell you that the volatile times have arrived, wearing sequins and singing show tunes. Hint: You can ...

ETF: Time travel on the JSE

Kristia van Heerden 11 March 2020ETF Blog, Latest

Checking local investments at the moment is a surefire way to experience instant regret. The weak currency is propping up our offshore investments, but those of us holding JSE-listed companies and ETFs are feeling the pain of short-term market movements in a real way. If, like me, your portfolio fell into a 20% hole overnight, ...

ETF: Even more tax-free money

Kristia van Heerden 4 March 2020ETF Blog, Latest

The impact of tax-free investing is so astronomical that it’s almost hard to believe. Just a 0.5% saving on dividend withholding tax (DWT) over a 40 year period amounts to R1.1m more in your portfolio (in today’s money). That’s not to be sneezed at! As of this year, each South African resident is entitled to ...

ETF: Understanding the Satrix Momentum ETF

Kristia van Heerden 19 February 2020ETF Blog, Latest

The Satrix Momentum ETF (JSE code: STXMMT) works on the assumption that companies doing well in terms of share price and earnings will continue to do well in the future. Factor-based investing is index investing 2.0. Companies are included based on certain shared characteristics. In the case of the STXMMT, that characteristic is an upward ...

ETF: ETFs and tax

Kristia van Heerden 12 February 2020ETF Blog, Latest

You may have noticed we’re a tad tax obsessed at the moment. February is the end of the tax year. We find this thrilling! Since the introduction of tax-free investment accounts, we’ve been especially pumped about our tax returns. In this post we’re going to explain the taxes for which you are liable when you ...