As we start the first day of Lockdown, our thoughts go to those who may be sick and struggling with the disease. We then think of the millions whose livelihood is threatened by having to stop working. Lastly, we think of those that will be continuing to expose themselves to the virus by maintaining essential services. Markets were again up firmly yesterday, making it three days in a row, the best for the S&P 500 since the 1930s. Technically US markets have started a fresh bull market, having risen 20% from the bottom. There is no precedent for such volatility,...
Retirement, investment, financial and annuity insights and advice, delivered from the GCI experts.
GCI Wealth Tour 2019
Part 01 – Wealth Tour Highlights
Part 02 – Alex Cook – The evolution of the GCI Brand & Vision
Part 03 – Michael Avery – The end of the Rainbow
Part 04 – Windall Bekker – The Upside of Irrational Behaviour and Investments
Part 05 – Natasja Hart – Navigating the Rainbow, practical tips
Part 06 – Speaker Panel Discussion
GCI Wealth Tour 2017
Alex Cook at the GCI Wealth Tour 2017
Alex Cook talks about “Why should my friends also use GCI as their wealth managers?”
Part 01-Why use GCI
Part 02-The South African problem
Part 03-Developing people
Part 04-Determining client retirement status
Part 05-Treating our clients like family
Part 06-Complete independence
Part 07-Retirement plan and consolidated report
Part 08-Online retirement planner
Part 09-How long will my money last
Part 10-Know your retirement status
Part 11-Creating happy families
Alex Funk at the GCI Wealth Tour 2017
Overview talk about Happiness by Alex Funk
Part 01-South African equities The bigger picture
Part 02-Investor behaviour
Part 03-The broken investor model
Part 04-Forecasting pitfalls
Part 05-Life after junk status
Part 06-Thoughts on manager analysis
Part 07-Asset class holding periods
Yvonne Johnston at the GCI Wealth Tour 2017
Part 01-How happy are you
Part 02-When will you be happy
Part 03-What will make you happy
Part 04-Letting go
Part 05-Letting go of caring what people think about you
Part 06-Letting go of people pleasing
Part 07-Letting go of anxiety and worry
Part 08-Letting go of insecurity
Part 09-Letting go of the past
Part 10-Letting go of spending money on what you don’t need
Part 11-Letting go of anger
Part 12-Letting go of control
Part 13-Letting go of the need to be right
Part 14-Gratitude
Part 15-Savouring the moment
Part 16-Finding purpose and meaning
Newsflash: Countdown to midnight
The Government Gazette No. 11 062: DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT, 2002: AMENDMENT OF REGULATIONS ISSUED IN TERMS OF SECTION 27(2), 25 MARCH 2020 was released and will be governing our lives from midnight tonight till midnight on the 16th of April 2020. The main message of the document is that you cannot leave your place of residence for any reason other than shopping for food, hygiene products or medicines. One can seek medical attention for oneself and ones domestic animals and sadly we can attend funerals. People working in approved essential services will have more freedom of movement. The Government Gazette...
Newsflash: “For we are a nation at one, and we will surely prevail.”
President Ramaphosa announced that the country will enter a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days with effect from midnight on Thursday 26 March. This to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. The full address is available in the PDF version of this newsflash which you can download here. The main points: The categories of people who will be exempted from this lockdown are the following: health workers in the public and private sectors, emergency personnel, those in security services – such as the police, traffic officers, military medical personnel, soldiers – and other persons necessary for our response...
Newsflash: The First Cut is the Deepest
The South African Reserve Bank MPC meeting unanimously decided to cut the Repo rate by a full 1% which was more than the market on average expected. This is largest cut since 2013. This cut will help relieve some pressure on households and businesses but will not cure the economy or stimulate growth. Inflation is expected to remain subdued even with the currency weakness, helped by the low oil price. The SARB expect inflation figures of 3.8%, 4.6% and 4.4% for the next 3 years. Our economy is expected to contract by -0.2% in 2020 and expand by 1% in...
Portfolio Update – 10th March 2020
At this time of extreme anxiety in the world where some of the leading stories on major news networks ...
COVID-19: Why the Caveman in you can lead to poor Investment Decisions
Wall Street has an old saying: “The market is driven by just two emotions: fear and greed.” Although this is a simplification, it is firmly rooted in truth, proven time and time again. We are emotional beings, our evolution to the top of the food chain was driven predominantly by the addition of intellect and emotions, allowing us to predict a bad situation and take corrective action, to survive another day. This part of our DNA is still very much ingrained in all of us – an event triggers a sense of impending doom that drives our bodies into a...
Newsflash: Yesterday was not the start of the zombie apocalypse
SA Equities ALSI -9.72% US Equities S&P 500 -9.51% UK Equities FTSE 100 -10.87% German Equities DAX -12.24% Yes, the global equity markets fell the most in one day in more than 20 years, but this is still not the end of world. The Sasol share price is now down 95% from a year ago, but this does not mean the company is going under, it will survive. The reasons for these massive price selloffs are panicked selling by people as they come to grips with the restrictions on travel, schools and colleges closing and world leaders becoming infected with...
GCI provides solution for emigrating financial advisors
A growing number of Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) and brokers are considering emigration as the South African economy continues to splutter. For these professionals, the challenge is how to realise the true value of their existing businesses in order to help set themselves up in their new domicile, says Joshua Marran, Integration Specialist at GCI Wealth. “While there are no reliable emigration figures, anecdotal evidence suggests that more and more of our younger professionals are taking a long-term decision to move elsewhere – we are certainly seeing more of this when we engage with IFAs. They are obvious candidates for...
Why Companies Need Independent Employee Benefit Consultants
A company’s employee benefits play a key role in determining how desirable it is as an employer, how well it can retain staff, and how engaged its employees are, with a direct impact on the bottom line. As a result, companies are offering all sorts of innovative benefits, but two remain the keystones of any employee benefit scheme: medical aid and retirement funding. When it comes to the latter, employees should take the time to find out whether their company’s retirement fund is being run by an independent employee benefit consultant (EBC) or not. If it is not, experience shows...
What to Ask About your Employee Benefits when Starting a New Job
There’s no doubt that nearly everyone will face the challenge of changing jobs more than once during their life, and one of the key areas to consider when doing so is the employee benefits package, says Jeremy Hawson, Employee Benefits Divisional Manager at GCI. “The way a company approaches employee benefits can tell you a lot about how it really cares for its employees, which could be a factor in your ultimate choice between Company A and Company B,” he says. “But more important still is to ensure that the employee benefit programme aligns with your current lifestyle requirements and...
Three Ways a Merger Model Lessens the Burden for Financial Advisors
South African independent Wealth Managers and Financial Planners are finding themselves under huge pressure, due to shrinking margins and the increased burden of compliance. Most small firms operate on very low margins, while the cost of compliance is rising and eating into their profits. Few value their own time accurately, which limits their own earning potential and many take on more clients than they can effectively focus on, losing the ability to deliver personal attention that made them successful in the first place. And most worryingly, few independent advisors have effective exit strategies and succession planning in place. One solution...
How Independent Financial Advisors Can Turn their Businesses into Legacies
Independent financial advisors, planners and brokers face one of their biggest challenges right at the end of their careers: how to turn their hard-won business into steady annuity income to ensure a financially stable retirement? The most common solution – selling the business as a going concern – may be the worst option. The Challenge of a Sale Typically, these businesses are one-man bands, and so the price they would command is relatively low. The usual formula is a multiple of the annual turnover: 1.5 or twice is usual. This will not generate enough capital to replicate the existing income...