Investing is for anyone, including Jeffrey Yates

Jeffrey Yates, director of the Adaptive Sports Fund who has a love for disabled and adaptive sports, was always under the impression you needed to either be highly educated or very wealthy to invest on the JSE. As a regular listener of The Money Shot with Anthea Gardner on CliffCentral, he was interested to know more about the stock market and so when this 37 year old  heard about the launch of #Invest bundles he took the leap and became a shareholder!Every morning Anthea engages with CliffCentral listeners, offering some really valuable insights into the world of investing. This sparked my interest, but I still felt hesitant to take the leap. However, after she announced the launch of #Invest bundles on EasyEquities I realized that the “average Joe” like myself could invest for as little as R100 per month and own shares in of some of the biggest companies listed on the JSE.

I have only recently started my journey, having signed up mid-November 2016. I registered in a matter of hours after the launch of #Invest bundles was announced and the effortless registration process allowed me to start investing immediately. What I like about bundles is that they allow you to invest in a collection of shares pre-selected by an asset manager. I like having the assurance that someone knowledgeable in the investment space is managing my portfolio.

My first investment was into the #Invest Aggressive Growth Portfolio, because it matches my risk appetite and is giving me some good returns. My goals are to become financially independent by the age of 50, which is only 13 years away - that’s why I’ve opted for an aggressive investment plan. I’ve since also invested in the #Invest Growth Portfolio and have also invested in some of the other company shares available on EasyEquities. My best equity buy has been Sibanye. Generally, I base my investment decisions on past performance resultsbut more importantly on whether the company has had steady growth over 5 to 10 years.

The most difficult part about investing is to resist the urge to check up on your stocks on a daily basis; investing is about time in the market which means being patient and allowing your money to grow for anywhere between 5 and 10 years. As daunting as that can feel, I’ve learnt that it’s never too late to start, regardless of the amount you are investing. I’ve done a complete 180! Up until now, I have only been investing lump sums but going forward I have decided to invest a third of my monthly salary and invest any larger amounts from bonuses or tax rebates etc. on an annual basis.

You could leave your spare cash under a mattress or in a savings account but that means you’re earning less than inflation, and that your money is worth less every year. Granted the market can be volatile but over a 5 to 10 year period your returns will beat inflation.