 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | ||||
|
Get ready for more ups and downs on worl... Discovery bows out of insurance ro... Unit Trust: GUARDBANK CAPITAL FOCUS FUN... Top fund manager modest on brilliant ru... Provident funds more flexible at retirem... Keep down share sales to avoid capital g... See to your tax woes without a consultan... FSB steps in to curb lapses and surrende... |
Cashbox
SAFE AS HOUSES
It's finally all good news for the property market. Property economist Erwin Rode predicts a real return on property for the first time in years. He's looking forward to a few years of 3% growth.
"Economic expansion is a requisite for house price growth. Chances of house prices accelerating must be the best in years," he told I-Net Bridge this week.
Rode says there is an increase in confidence in the country as a whole, both economically and politically. This confidence, he says, has even reached Gauteng, where property is still dirtcheap. But this won't last for long, he says.
While Rode believes property in most centres will be a good investment, he admits that given a choice he would buy property in the Western Cape.
INFLATED PREMIUMS
If you are a Sanlam policyholder, your annual premium adjustments will in future be based on core inflation rather than headline inflation.
This will mean slightly higher premium adjustments this year. But Sanlam Life says policyholders will benefit in the long run, because their investment increases with higher premiums.
Headline inflation is the figure generally referred to as the "inflation rate". But core inflation is the more stable rate as it excludes mortgage bond rates. The two inflation rates are usually close to each other, but the sharp drop in interest rates over the past year has caused headline inflation to drop more quickly. At present headline inflation is 2.2%. Core inflation is 7.9%.
NEW NEDBANK FUND
Nedbank Unit Trusts launched its Money Market Fund this week. The fund invests in shortterm money market instruments and offers investors attractive interest rates. The minimum investment amount is R20 000. There is no initial fee, but the fund levies an annual service fee of 0.57% (incl VAT). You are not committed to a fixed term of investment and the funds are available immediately.
|