PSG Financial Services is the proud sponsor of the Think Big South Africa competition, in collaboration with Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA). PSG wants to encourage South Africans to get involved in their country at the highest level, bringing forward policy ideas and constructive solutions to drive conversations and real change in our country. The 2025 topic is How Capital Markets Enhance Economic Performance and Facilitate Job Creation . Papers are due for submission by 30 August 2025...
Jun 09, 2025•29 min•Ep. 63
Five years ago, the world was a wild place. We were "staying home and staying safe" - and global central banks were cutting rates dramatically in an effort to stimulate economies under impossible circumstances. This created an unprecedented situation for equities in particular. It's certainly been a great time to be invested in the markets, but which indices have done well and which ones have been disappointing in relative terms? How does the local vs. offshore story stack up? What about develop...
Jun 02, 2025•41 min•Ep. 62
Ever wondered how the nuts and bolts of ETFs work? What goes into index tracking and making sure that it is achieved at the lowest possible cost? And are all indices created equal from a complexity perspective? In answering these questions (and many more), Lauren Jacobs at Satrix* shows you what a day in the life of a portfolio manager looks like. As you'll learn in this podcast, a great deal of work goes on behind the scenes to make Satrix ETFs as efficient as possible for investors. This podca...
May 06, 2025•37 min•Ep. 61
Intengo Market is a revolutionary independent digital marketplace for debt instruments in South Africa. Incubated by RMB in 2020 and having launched as a standalone business in 2024, the platform is growing to improve the market for all participants through outcomes like increased liquidity and price discovery. You can look forward to receiving insights into the debt market in South Africa from Intengo in months to come. In this podcast, we covered topics like: Why is the debt market so importan...
Apr 14, 2025•33 min•Ep. 60
STADIO Holdings has a growth story to tell. That's a rare thing on the South African market. The tertiary education space is booming and STADIO is addressing that demand through a combination of contact learning and distance learning offerings. On this podcast, CEO Chris Vorster and CFO Ishak Kula joined me to talk through the strategy, the growth prospects, the capital allocation strategy and the risks that keep them up at night. If you want to really dig into the STADIO business model, you're ...
Apr 06, 2025•34 min•Ep. 59
With the markets in disarray in the aftermath of tariffs, it looks like the theme this year is more around risk management in a bear market rather than which growth stocks to buy. Of course, this can change, as markets are volatile and are driven by a number of factors including geopolitics. This volatility is exactly why diversification is so important. The risk of "diworsification" is ever-present in the strategic asset allocation decision, which is why it ends up being even more important tha...
Mar 31, 2025•33 min•Ep. 58
With the dust having settled on the Budget Speech and the proposals that parliament will need to vote on, Tertius Troost of Forvis Mazars in South Africa joined me to reflect on the key drivers behind the headlines. VAT has been the focus area, but is it true that a VAT increase is anti-poor? And is it correct to rebut the "South Africa has a small taxpayer base" argument by pointing out that everyone pays VAT? What is bracket creep and how does it affect middle-class South Africans? Perhaps mos...
Mar 27, 2025•27 min•Ep. 57
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSA) are one of the most building blocks in any equity portfolio. The advantage of compounding tax-free returns over a long period is incredibly powerful and can really turbocharge a long-term wealth creation journey. To discuss the importance of TFSA investments and the opportunities available to investors in the ETF universe, familiar voice Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix* returned to the Ghost Stories podcast. *Satrix is a division of Sanlam Investment Management Satri...
Feb 24, 2025•29 min•Ep. 56
Kevin O'Brien is incredibly passionate about his work as the Group Sustainability Executive at Spar. Having stuck with the group through tumultuous recent times, Kevin is focused on Spar's role as a corporate citizen in South Africa and the European markets in which it operates. There's an important difference between governing sustainably and the governance of sustainability. ESG far too often becomes a tick-box exercise rather than a way to embed better business practices throughout a group. I...
Feb 03, 2025•36 min•Ep. 55
Duma Mxenge of Satrix* joined The Finance Ghost on this podcast to talk about a range of personal finance topics and emerging trends in investing. The discussion then evolved into an in-depth look at rent vs. buy and an unusual approach being taken by The Finance Ghost as he plans to buy a family home in 3 years. It's rent vs. buy as you haven't heard it before, along with tons of other insights to get your head in the game in 2025. *Satrix is a division of Sanlam Investment Management Satrix In...
Jan 30, 2025•41 min•Ep. 54
China is a land that is fraught with risk and brimming with opportunity. With enhanced upside as well as downside protection, International Opportunities Limited is a structured product that seeks to balance the risks and rewards available in Chinese equity markets. International Opportunities Limited offers 1.3x geared exposure to the CSI 300 Index, capped at 60% growth for a maximum return of 78% in USD. In addition, there is 100% capital protection at maturity in USD. Japie Lubbe of Investec ...
Jan 29, 2025•42 min•Ep. 53
To close out the year, René Basson of Satrix* made her debut on Ghost Stories for a fascinating conversation on the topic of money dysmorphia. This is a mismatch between financial behaviour and financial means - and yes, it can work in both directions i.e. whether you have plenty of money or not enough! In addition to some great personal finance hacks to help you combat these feelings, René shared some helpful statistics from the SatrixNOW platform and talked about some of the observable trends ...
Dec 12, 2024•29 min•Ep. 52
Raising equity funding is not easy for small businesses in South Africa, but thankfully the Mineworkers Investment Company's (MIC) Khulisani Ventures initiative is an early-stage funding vehicle that provides capital for businesses that are ready to aggressively grow. If you are a Black-Owned business in South Africa and you meet the criteria for this investment, then listen carefully to this podcast because your application needs to be by the end of January 2025. This whole thing will be wrappe...
Dec 02, 2024•29 min•Ep. 51
The Satrix Global Balanced Fund of Funds ETF aims to provide local investors with optimally diversified exposure to a global basket of indices representing different asset classes. This is a low-cost, easy way to invest in a mix of equities, bonds, infrastructure, property, credit and cash assets. Nico Katzke of Satrix joined me to explain the concept of a balanced fund, the strategic asset allocation in this ETF and how Satrix has managed to achieve this exposure at just 35 basis points a year ...
Nov 22, 2024•24 min•Ep. 50
Shari'ah-compliant investing is a fascinating area in the world of finance. For those of the Islamic faith who choose to invest in this way, these products offered by Satrix are an excellent way to diversify a portfolio - especially with the launch of the Satrix MSCI World Islamic ETF which listed on the market on 22 October 2024. For those who aren't familiar with the Shari'ah rules and for those who want to brush up on them, this discussion with Yusuf Wadee of Satrix is a great way to understa...
Oct 30, 2024•35 min•Ep. 49
Fedgroup is a specialist financial services provider with a legacy of putting people before profit, offering a range of stable and diversified investment options that help investors steer clear of market scares. With billions under management, Fedgroup ensures your investment decisions are stable so you don't have to worry about them coming back to haunt you. And in the month of Halloween, with ghosts everywhere (including on this podcast of course), it was great to be able to chat to Paul Couni...
Oct 20, 2024•29 min•Ep. 48
The Investec Rand India Accelerator offers geared exposure to growth in the iShares MSCI India ETF over the 3.6-year term. The ETF tracks the large and midcap Indian market, covering 85% of the India equity universe. Investec Rand India Accelerator is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and offers 1.5x geared exposure to the ETF capped at 40%, for a maximum return of 60% in Rands. In addition, the Accelerator provides a high degree of capital protection. To explain the opportunities and ri...
Oct 14, 2024•27 min•Ep. 47
Factor investing takes ETFs to the next level. Instead of tracking a stock index (like the JSE Top 40), these ETFs have a set of rules based on investment fundamentals like valuation multiples or even levels of debt. The sky is the limit with the creativity that goes into these factors, but do they actually work? To unpack these types of ETFs and the thinking behind them, Nico Katzke of Satrix joined me for an insightful discussion. Satrix Investments Pty Limited and Satrix Managers RF Pty Limit...
Oct 05, 2024•42 min•Ep. 46
In this Ghost Stories podcast, Elzahne Henn of Forvis Mazars in South Africa sheds light on the common mistakes and misconceptions related to cross-border employment. This includes structures like South Africans working abroad, or working in South Africa but for a foreign company, along with other permutations. These insights are valuable for employers and employees alike. For clients who wish to obtain more information from Elzahne and the team at Forvis Mazars, she can be contacted at this lin...
Oct 03, 2024•21 min•Ep. 45
With a strong belief that both ETFs and single stocks are relevant to any long-term portfolio strategy, The Finance Ghost hosted Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix to talk about why ETFs are so helpful - especially in the context of Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA). Siya didn't waste the opportunity to ask questions about single stock research as part of the discussion, showing just how different the process is for choosing ETFs vs. single stocks. For those willing to put in the effort to expand their ...
Sep 02, 2024•29 min•Ep. 44
In this excellent discussion with Nico Katzke, Head of Portfolio Solutions at Satrix Investments, we talked about a range of topics that are of great relevance to South African investors. This included: The performance of the local market in the aftermath of the election and why indices behaved differently How the carry trade works and why this tends to protect the rand The relative appeal of South African equities in this environment Property and government bonds as a way to play the local them...
Jul 26, 2024•35 min•Ep. 43
Paul Miller is an ex-investment banker with extensive experience not just in the markets, but in junior mining as well. He understands how important it is for a market to have an active base of retail investors, connecting capital to opportunities and encouraging more listings. Access to capital is the lifeblood for the junior mining sector, but it goes far beyond that. Through Utshalo, he is working to encourage listed companies to include retail investors in their capital raises, rather than o...
Jul 15, 2024•25 min•Ep. 42
For investors who are looking for Japanese (Nikkei 225) or European (Euro Stoxx 50) exposure, Investec has launched two new structured products that provide potentially better returns than would otherwise be the case, while giving downside protection up to a certain level. It all comes down to how the index behaves over the time period of the investment, To explain the opportunities and risks of each product, Andri Joubert of Investec Structured Products joined me on this podcast. Applications c...
Jul 12, 2024•34 min•Ep. 41
Does Fedgroup think differently about preserving and growing wealth for their clients? Perhaps their position as one of the largest beekeepers in the country answers that question. In this show, Michael Field (General Manager: Investments) joined me to unpack the way Fedgroup thinks about investing. The JSE has a small (and shrinking) pool of assets being chased by deep pools of capital. Alternative assets can offer inflation protection, diversification and stability in a portfolio that still in...
Jun 04, 2024•28 min•Ep. 40
With volatility as the theme in markets in a year of elections, it's important to keep your head as an equity investor. Take a long-term view and let the market do its job. Easier said than done, of course. To assist with practical tips and important insights into key principles in investing (ranging from more basic concepts through to advanced topics like cyclically-adjusted P/E ratios), Kingsley Williams (Chief Investment Officer at Satrix)* joined The Finance Ghost on this podcast. The only f...
Jun 03, 2024•32 min•Ep. 39
