Life is uncharted. Maps can only be made from where we’ve been – not where we have yet to go. The only certainty is uncertainty, and we can experience potentially life-altering choices on a daily basis. Each nebulous choice we make brings with it a unique flood of thoughts and emotions. Yet, we generally adapt well, over time, to life-changing situations. This is, in part, thanks to resilience. Psychologists define resilience as the process of adapting […]
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Don’t be a lemming
One long-held belief is that lemmings purposefully run off cliffs in their millions. This myth has become a metaphor for the behaviour of crowds of individuals who follow each other blindly, regardless of the consequences. Herd instincts are prevalent in all parts of life, including the financial industry when investors follow what they feel other investors are doing rather than conducting their own research. A herd instinct is a type of behaviour in which people react […]
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Too many crypto-balls in the air
Bitcoin is the only crypto worth keeping an eye on. Is this true or not? As the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin set the stage for the entry of other cryptocurrencies, inspiring an ever-growing number of spinoffs, continually growing in popularity as potential investment opportunities and an alternative means of exchange. There are more than 9,500 cryptocurrencies available today, but it is important to remember (as mentioned in our previous article) that these are currently highly volatile. There […]
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I’m not sure I want to know
There’s a story that was told many years ago (it may or may not be true…) about a Microsoft call-centre agent and their call with a deeply irate customer. Having recently purchased a computer that came pre-installed with Windows, the customer called to find out why his computer would not respond. It goes a little like this: Call-center Agent (CCA): Thank you for verifying your purchase; how can we help you today? Customer (C): My computer […]
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Livin’ la vida cubierta
Without adequate life cover, you could be livin’ la Vida Loca. In current times it is easy to feel we are indeed living the “crazy life”. Financial pressures are also much more prevalent, and many of us have to review our monthly expenditure. Perhaps it has even been a consideration to try and make ends meet by cutting out the expense of monthly life insurance premiums. If this is the case, chances are it’s best to […]
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How to do it in the 4IR
“But we didn’t need it, and we turned out fine.” We hear this line more than we should. From tap water to technology, from diets to devices, from gender identification to genetic modification, from schooling to selecting a coach or advisor, our peers and mentors can often throw this line in our face – but we didn’t need it, and we turned out fine. It can leave our sails windless and stall our engines before we’ve […]
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Are you money-mental?
The simple answer is: Yes, we all are! In a recent blog, we looked at five financial trip-wires and glanced over the term ‘mental accounting.’ Introduced in 1999, it’s a concept that refers to the different values we place on money. These values are often based on subjective criteria; sometimes, this subjectivity benefits us, and sometimes it doesn’t! Mental accounting enables us to create emotional connections with our financial plan. When we consider investment strategies or […]
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It Is Emotional
Today’s investment environment is unprecedented and complex – it is easy to feel bullish on Monday, bearish on Tuesday, and have analysis paralysis by Wednesday. Sitting at our desks in our lockdown offices this time last year, none of us imagined that global stock markets would be at the levels they have now reached. The MSCI World Index, a measure of the world’s largest companies, is up 46% since 30 April 2020. If you have a […]
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If our feelings could talk
Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher, was the first to say it. “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” But listening is not always about what we hear; it’s what we can begin to intuit. When it comes to our feelings, we have to learn to become more intuitive and listen to what our emotions are trying to tell us. Our mental health is increasingly under […]
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Hold the line
“It’s not in the way that you hold me It’s not in the way you say you care It’s not in the way you’ve been treating my friends It’s not in the way that you stayed till the end It’s not in the way you look or the things that you say that you’ll do Hold the line Love isn’t always on time.” If you have the tune of Toto’s yacht-rock hit from 1978, Hold the […]
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