The best and worst advice these financial investors have received

Last updated on 14th March, 2024 at 03:14 pm

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

In this article you’ll learn:

• The mistakes these advisers have learnt from
• Some sage advice they’ve picked up from mentors and professionals across their careers.

One of the most famous investors of all time, Warren Buffett, has a well-known piece of investment advice: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Don’t forget rule No. 1.”. This, of course, is easier said than done. After all, hindsight is a perfect science. When it comes to investing, however, it is those who learn from their mistakes that tend to be more successful over the long term.

It was a mistake to keep accumulating a brick and mortar residential property portfolio

“I learnt that, firstly, the tenant has more rights than you do and that, secondly, once you take into account interest on your bond, as well as levies, rates, etc, your net return really isn’t that great”. – Jiten Singh, Director at Future Vision BlueStar

Let the money work for you

“The moment you become dependent on your assets instead of your network, knowledge and common sense, you will lose grip of reality and new opportunities. Investing time in yourself will make yourself the best asset to invest in, therefore, when you lose money – and you will lose money – you’ll be able to recover more comfortably than losing money and depending on the asset to save you.” – Jandré Reynecke, Financial Adviser at Dimension Wealth BlueStar

Mentors who made calls on specific funds they believed were the ‘next big thing’

“It felt reckless to change a clients strategy based on their feelings. In the end, this adviser was right or got lucky, which was interesting for me. What I learned through that experience was the power and importance of trusting your own instincts and having conviction about what you believe because at the end of the day you have to be not only accountable to yourself, but to your clients too – regardless of whether you’re right or wrong. Acting with integrity with yourself and others, especially in financial services, is key.” – Mary Fourie, Professional Certified Coach at My Journey 2 Freedom

Have a budget or spending plan so you know where your money is going monthly

“After that, get ad-hoc expenses savings in place and then your emergency savings. Then set up a platform-based investment with no more than three funds / ETFs which allows you to diversify across fund manager strategy – and stick with this! Don’t go changing up your strategy because you’re bored or you watched a YouTube video with different advice.” – Mary Fourie, Professional Certified Coach at My Journey 2 Freedom

Diversify your assets and create multiple streams of income

“This being the best piece of investment advice he has received from his dad, investment specialists as well as seminars he’s attended and books he’s read. Plus, invest for the longer term, not the short-term.”- Jiten Singh, Director at Future Vision BlueStar

Make sure you are informed enough to know when the market is at a low or a high

and make sure you have the resources to seize the opportunity (cash/profit to buy cheap stocks).

“This helped me understand that as a Financial Adviser my job is to educate and inform clients of these opportunities, especially with the individual client who has no capacity or interest in the investment sphere and who’s dependant on my research alone. If you don’t have a Financial Adviser, the best way to make use of the market’s highs and lows, are to invest regularly/monthly rather than once off. This makes the chances of you buying new cheap stocks each month much higher than trying to time the market with a lump sum investment – time in the market is better than timing the market.” – Jandré Reynecke, Financial Adviser at Dimension Wealth BlueStar

For more information on sound investing, speak to your Sanlam financial advisor or visit our website.