Interest rates are a monetary tool used by central banks.
It affects:
• Cost of borrowing
• Return on savings
• Returns on investment
Interest rates down = punishes savers.
Interest rates up = rewards savers.
• Asset classes
There are many different asset classes to invest in - each with their own risk.
We always hear people saying invest in ETFs, or buy crypto without really fully understanding risk.
What if I am looking for complete safety?
Check below of some examples 👇🏽
• Fixed accounts
Fixed/ D acc are for people who really can’t handle risk, they guarantee your capital, but returns can be really low.
And at the end of the day banks restrict you from accessing your money for a set period and then they use it to invest in riskier assets.
• Example:
R20 000 invested in a fixed deposit @ 7% year. (5 years)
You’ll have R28 050 (40% return) over a 5 year period.
Now it doesn’t sound impressive especially in a world of 100% return in a few week.
So why would I choose to invest in something like this?
• Pros/Cons
• Pros
- Money is guaranteed
- less risk
- No volatility
- Approaching retirement
•Cons
- Returns are lower
- No access to capital
- Penalty for early withdrawal
- Banks use your money to invest
• Interest rates
Interest Rates dictate returns, if
I/R are low then there is no real incentive to invest, but if interest rates rise then savers may opt for fixed/D. This could pull capital from other asset classes - possibly equities.
Risk premium will play a role 👇🏽
• Risk Premium
We all want to be compensated for the level of risk we take. Now, if I can earn a higher return with lower risk - then I’d take it. That’s the concept.
If rates drop it increases the risk of holding cash + vice versa.
•How to Invest
Investing can be daunting, and knowing where to place our eggs can be challenging.
The best option is to diversify
If you are worried about fixed deposit accounts, or investing, then check this:
Let me explain the difference between RSA Retail Savings Bonds and tradable South African bonds.
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 🔻
** Glossary **
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗱:
A bond is a debt security. You can think of it as an I-O-U.
You lend money to someone, and then they promise to pay that money back to you + interest.
𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆:
Refers to the date on which the bond issuer (debtor) pays back everything they owe to bondholders ( creditor ).
1/ Introduction
When it comes to bonds there are two markets one can opt to participate in:
🟠 The Primary Market
🟠 The Secondary Market
The primary market is where you 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 but then cannot sell it to someone else because there is no secondary market for it.
𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 and this is what makes them different from tradable government bonds.
𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁,
Tradable government bonds have a secondary market where they can be traded or held to maturity.
This means you can sell it when you want to, but it also means you can potentially lose money if the bond price has fallen lower than your original purchase price.
With tradable government bonds, you are 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸.
*Unsettled funds going into 𝗚𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗥𝗔, means funds that entered into the account and had no purpose, they weren’t allocated or spent to anything specific.
*Picture just for visualization purposes to show the 3 Pools ( Waterfall arrangement)
The beer soon became a hit that Charles and his wife, Lisa, decided to set up their brewery in the business centre of the town to capture the influx of fortune seekers coming to Witwatersrand Reef.
The phrase “𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵, 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀”, seems more appropriate here”.
His beer brew took some time to gain traction, it was only when Charles Glass’s new beer, 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗿, was introduced that he won the miners over and secured the market.
It was in 1884 that Castle’s famous label, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲-𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱.