Leaderboard

It's hard to know which local ETFs are best to invest in. At least with the offshore ones, ASHGEQ or STXWDM are no-brainers and either of them serves as excellent all-rounders. But locally, we don't get "All-rounders" of the same quality. Your Top40 and Top50 ETFs are market capped and you end up having 70% of your money in four or five shares, which is certainly not great. Then, there are the myriad of smart beta ETFs, each claiming to have a better methodology than the rest, but all untested. So for now, with my local ETFs, I have one third of my local portion of my TFIA in the new multi-factor SMART, one third in the momentum methodology NFEMOM and a third in quality shares with great fundamentals (STXQUA). But if you had to choose just one (or two) local ETFs, what would it be and why?

Black Friday will take place Friday, 29 November 2019. When you come accross good Black Friday deals please post them there I will keep a list in the OP with all the good deals and participating stores. Please post what items you are looking for then we can all look around for deals on the day. Personally I would like to buy a 55" to 65" TV and whatever MTN deal is good this year. Companies participating in Black Friday 2019: Takealot: https://www.takealot.com/promotion/bluedotsale OneDayOnly: https://www.onedayonly.co.za/ Wootware: https://www.wootware.co.za/black-friday/ Makro: https://www.makro.co.za/black-friday MTN: URL to be confirmed AC Direct: https://acdirect.co.za/product-category/black-friday/ CellC: URL to be confirmed Pick n Pay: https://www.pnp.co.za/pnpstorefront/pnp/en/blackfriday HiFi Corporation: URL to be confirmed Checkers: URL to be confirmed BidorBuy: @Bandit https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/blackfriday The Pro Shop: https://www.theproshop.co.za/promotion/black-friday Cybercellar: URL to be confirmed Game: https://www.game.co.za/game-za/en/black-friday-2019 Dion Wired: URL to be confirmed Woolworths: https://www.woolworths.co.za/dept/_/N-1gdu29e Clicks: https://clicks.co.za/brands/blackfriday Digicape: https://www.digicape.co.za/black-friday Dial-a-Bed: URL to be confirmed PiShop: URL to be confirmed DIY Electronics: https://www.diyelectronics.co.za/store/304-black-friday RSA WEB: https://www.rsaweb.co.za/ftth-black-friday-cyber-monday/ Dion-Wired-Black-Friday.pdf CNA-Black-Friday.pdf MICA-Black-Friday.pdf Dischem.pdf Vodacom Black-Friday_7.pdf Game-black-friday-book1.pdf game-black-friday-book2.pdf Samsung Black Friday Specials 2019.pdf Mitabyte Black Friday 2019.pdf Pick-n-Pay-Black-Friday.pdf Neon Sales Black Friday Catalog 2019.pdf checkers-black-friday.pdf MSC-Black-Friday.pdf Adidas_BlackFriday_Franchise_Store.pdf Samsung_Black_Friday_Catalogue.pdf Hirschs BF 2019.pdf Baby City Black Friday.pdf Cell C Black Friday.pdf MTN Black Friday 2019.pdf MTN Business 2019 Black Friday Deals Flyer.pdf Malls Tiles Black Friday.pdf Telkom Black Friday Deals.pdf

For RA's, I'd go for a company like Allan Gray or Alexander Forbes. Companies like Old Mutual , Sanlam and Liberty Life are also reputable, but their fees tend to be higher and their returns lower in my experience (although you should do some research first to verify the facts.) I think Bandit has hit on something very, very important. If you see a financial adviser, the first thing they will try and do is sell you life insurance, because the commission on that is huge compared to the commission on an RA. Don't give in - tell them you want an RA and nothing else at this stage.

All I'm going to say is this: Assuming you bring in a R20,000 pm salary, SARS will take R2,722.06 and leave you with R17,277.94. Assuming you pay 15% of your salary into an RA (and your payslip is structured like a pension fund), SARS will take R1,942.06 and you'll be left with R15,057.94. So for the R3,000 you saved into an RA/Pension, you are only R2,220 "poorer" and scored R780 (that's about 25% growth right there depending on how you look at it). If your salary wasn't structured you'd get back almost R10,000 from SARS come EFiling season provided you include it on your tax return. Now, it's not all sunshine and roses. The money in the RA/Pension will be taxed again at some stage and you don't know what the tax climate is going to be like at that time. They're also talking about prescribed assets (Eskom, Telkom etc) which is a concern. I reckon that if you can afford an RA you should definitely make use of it (a Pension Fund is even better imo, less rules). If you cannot easily afford it you should probably go speak to a financial advisor but I'm willing to bet good money that their response will be the stock standard: Get insurance Settle debt Secure retirement Look at other investments (TFSA). So if you do go see an FA, get one that charges for the consultation and with a good reputation and most importantly: DON'T SIGN ANYTHING. Listen...

But in all seriousness - if you had ASHGEQ and SMART you probably have a better portfolio than most other people out there. Can't go wrong with that combination for a strong investment foundation.

Locally it would have to be SMART (sensible choice) and ETFRHO (for now...because it is flying). I'm up 150% with ETFTHO (kicking myself I didn't have the foresight to push my entire life savings into it ) but it can't continue like this forever.

Yes, it is definitely worth getting an RA! An RA works as follows: - You pay a monthly investment premium not exceeding 15% of your income (or you lose some tax benefits). -The premium is invested in actively managed funds (similar to units trusts) on your behalf by the finance house. - When you do your tax return each year, SARS refunds all the tax paid on the amount you invested during the tax year for your RA. (In other words, since you will not be relying on a state pension later, SARS will waive the tax now of any money earned that you invest in an RA as an incentive). - You cannot withdraw the money until retirement age. (Well, theoretically you can draw the money before retirement but there are extremely heavy penalties plus you have to pay back all the tax you ever got refunded, leaving you with very little). - The money is untouchable by anyone, even if you go insolvent - it will be there when you retire. On retirement, you have two choices (or you can split your money into these two options according to the percentage you choose): 1) You can buy a life annuity from the insurance company with your money (or part of your money). This means you pay a once-off premium (a percentage of your RA savings) for a guaranteed salary (plus inflation-related annual increases) for the rest of your life. You will receive a guaranteed salary until the day you die, irrespective of the age that you die. After you die, you don't get any of your capital back from the money spent on this option. 2) You can invest in a living annuity with your money (or part of your money). This means that the capital is invested and you take a certain earnings from the investment each month. Your salary is not guaranteed, but varies according to the market. This option pays a higher monthly retirement salary, but at some age, if you live longer than estimated, the money may run out (since you draw a little of the capital each month). If you die earlier than expected, the remaining capital forms part of your estate. Most people do a mix of the two - for example, use half their RA to make sure they are supported until death, and the other half to live the good life until, say 80 years old.

I was happily surprised by SMART's distribution. It's the first time SMART has distributed (being a new ETF) and it was way better than I expected at 44c per share.

Happy dividend day! It's not a lot, but there's something magical about money just appearing in your account

I don't think I'd sell my CTOP50 or STXDIV if I were you. Property is a different asset class and its behaviour is (theoretically) uncorrelated to equities, and ideally you should have both equities and property. If I were you, I'd keep what you have and buy PTXTEN from scratch. Also, like Bandit suggested, you should throw some offshore equities into the mix as well.