As Confucius said 2 500 years ago: Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. A more modern take on this age-old truism is what is known as illusory superiority. Applied to investors, it helps to explain some wayward behaviour.
Read MoreRetail legend and grocery chain founder Raymond Ackerman is known as a generous man. In his retirement he hasn’t retired from giving and once said “Doing good is good for business …” when urging others to commit to social responsibility programmes. “Look after your customers, your people [staff] … and your society,” Ackerman added.
We believe in and follow a similar philosophy at Veritas and today we look back on, and want to share with you, two projects that Veritas supports, thanks to the continued support from our clients.
As many of you will know, we often ponder over the relationship between money, happiness and success. It’s certainly a great dinner table conversation: does happiness create success or does success lead to happiness? A recently published book, The Geometry of Wealth, asks: What is True Wealth? Author Brian Portnoy finds the answer in four words, each starting with a C.
Read MoreFrom time to time, we have some tough conversations with clients who have invested in the same fund but have had very different experiences. Here we take a look at two questions investors should ask before investing; the experiences of six people who invested in the same fund; and the lesson that was learned.
Read MorePersistent weakness in our economy is cause for concern and many investors are likely to become tired of being told to be patient, look to the long term, remain cool, calm and collected. So, what should investors make of all this? We take a look at what’s going on behind all the daunting headlines.
Read MoreAs the silly season rapidly approaches, stores are already filled with Christmas goodies (in October, really?). Many of us may be wondering how we’re going to survive the next two months without overspending, overeating or drowning in too much debt (or aperitifs). So how do we resist all this seemingly endless temptation? And what coping strategies can we use?
Read MoreIs investment in residential property all that it is often cracked up to be? Investment specialists Fundhouse has undertaken a comprehensive analysis of the South African residential property market and come up with some sobering conclusions.
Read MoreSo, you’ve got your future covered. You have a financial plan with a pension scheme and retirement annuities; you have insurance policies; medical aid and gap cover; a living will; a healthy spread of investments in property, and the income to pay for it all. So you have everything covered, right? Or is something missing? What haven’t you considered?
Read MoreThe rise in populism in our country, reflected in the EFF-driven land expropriation without compensation and Reserve Bank nationalisation agenda, is uncharacteristic to South Africa. Populism, however, is surging globally, particularly in the Western world. Much has been written about this and we recently came across a graphic representation, which has helped us to better understand why this is happening.
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