INVESTMENT
Other options for your cash
If you have a significant amount of cash, you may consider fixed
deposit accounts that offer a slightly higher return, or even the RSA
Retail Bond, which is priced off the bond rate and not the repo rate.
This is currently paying 9% for a three-year fixed deposit and 11.5%
for a five-year period.
A guaranteed annuity is also a great option for people nearing, or
in, retirement, as they offer a guaranteed income that is linked to
inflation, which translates to financial peace of mind.
Tough times ahead
The current COVID-19 situation is unprecedented, and affects
everyone. Although epidemiologists, historians and medical
professionals have, for years, been saying that it’s not a matter of if
we’ll suffer a pandemic, it’s a case of when, most financial institutions
have not taken such a possibility into their planning.
We don’t know what the next few weeks or months have in store
for us, as we slowly ease out of the hard lockdown, and we don’t
know how long it will take for the local economy to recover, nor what
measures the government will put in place. So the best you can do
is to assume the worst for now, tighten your belt and cut down on
luxuries. Keep in mind that further interest rates cuts are possible.
Brendon Dale