Financial Services

As mentioned on the home page, there are many companies in South Africa that offer financial planning services. Many of these companies can also offer investment portfolio planning advice and investment brokers. These companies are easily found on the web but some of the more prominent ones in South Africa include:

* Old Mutual
* Investec
* BDO Spencer Steward
* R Fisher and Associates
* Liberty Life
* Sanlam
* Wade & Associates
* Heritage Financial Consultants Pty Ltd
* NedGroup

This is a very small cross section of the South African market and as mentioned earlier, a little research can open up many options to you. In addition to finding an accredited company and advisor, keeping an eye on the financial markets to get a clear indication of the economic climate is also a good idea. Even if you don't immediately understand everything that the financial news garbles at you, it won't take you long to start figuring out how everything works. This can assist you in the future when discussing investment options with your broker.

As you are surely aware, the globe finds itself in the worse recession in history. As such, stocks and markets are tumbling down around the world. Property prices are also dropping at a dizzying rate. Considering what property prices looked like at the end of 2007, many would advise you to snap up property now before the price starts escalating again. This is especially true for first time buyers as they can probably afford a better property from someone that has lost money on the markets or has been retrenched and would be willing to budge on asking price. Property is usually a really good investment option, especially as a first investment. There is little use in paying a landlord's bond off when you can pay off your own.