{"id":11,"date":"2020-11-12T08:38:23","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T08:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2020-11-12T08:38:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T08:38:44","slug":"12-golden-rules-of-investment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/?page_id=11","title":{"rendered":"12 Golden Rules of Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>12 Golden Rules of Investment<\/div>\n<div>1. \u00a0 \u00a0Have a plan<\/div>\n<div>It is often said that those who fail to plan, plan to fail. If we all spent as much time planning our financial affairs as we do on planning our holidays, we would all be better off financially.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>2. \u00a0 \u00a0Get independent professional advice<\/div>\n<div>For your own protection also get it in writing.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>3. \u00a0 \u00a0Never put all your eggs in one basket<\/div>\n<div>Generally speaking, the more you spread your assets across the various standard asset types (shares, property, fixed interest and cash) and between a variety of fund managers, the more resilient your portfolio will be to serious damage.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>4. \u00a0 \u00a0Understand the risks<\/div>\n<div>It is often said that the higher the return, the higher the risk. The mistake a lot of people make is to confuse return for performance. Chasing high returns over the short term makes you a speculator. Prudent investors look for consistent returns over the long term. Short term fluctuations don\u2019t trouble investors because it is the long term behavior of their chosen assets which they focus on.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>5. \u00a0 \u00a0Don\u2019t lock yourself in (or out)<\/div>\n<div>This means investing your money in such a way that you can access it quickly if you need to. You must, at all times, be ready to quickly and cheaply rearrange your assets if necessary to either avoid a threat or take up an opportunity.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>6. \u00a0 \u00a0Minimise tax<\/div>\n<div>It is important that you are saving in a tax efficient way. Saving tax legitimately is one way where you can increase your returns without increasing the risk. While it is important that you take tax savings into account, this should not be the driver of your decisions.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>9. \u00a0 \u00a0Keep good records<\/div>\n<div>So many people lose tax deductions and other benefits to which they are entitled because they have not kept proper records. Yes, it is tedious but unless you (or your advisor) are keeping all the records it could cost you more than just inconvenience.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>10. \u00a0 \u00a0Keep your fingers on the pulse<\/div>\n<div>You should revisit your plan often to ensure that it is doing everything you expect it to and to ensure that your investments are performing appropriately. You should expect change, and change will need to be dealt with. Don\u2019t fall into the trap of \u201csetting and forgetting\u201d.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>11. \u00a0 \u00a0Do proper estate planning<\/div>\n<div>It is vital to plan your estate. While it is important to have a will and update it regularly, proper estate planning ensures that your assets are structured in the most effective way. Together with this, make sure that you have sufficient life cover and insurance and that it is all clearly integrated into your estate.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>12. \u00a0 \u00a0Pass the sleep test<\/div>\n<div>If you are kept awake at night worrying about your investments then either you are taking too much risk or you are unsure of what you are doing.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>12 Golden Rules of Investment 1. \u00a0 \u00a0Have a plan It is often said that those who fail to plan, plan to fail. If we all spent as much time planning our financial affairs as we do on planning our holidays, we would all be better off financially. 2. \u00a0 \u00a0Get independent professional advice For [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12,"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/keystonewealth.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}