We want to inspire you take action at the start of a new year. I would like to focus on taking action as a foundation of success instead of spending an inordinate amount of time giving you techniques investors need to get fired up for 2013. Property investing and business is all about learning, growing and moving you forward. Why repeat the mistakes other people have made when we can learn from them?
Dream big: many of us dream about business and we dream too small. John Rabie is one of SA’s big dreamers and big doers and is a living legend in property development arena who you can not only learn from but get inspired by his positivity about both property as an investment class and South Africa as a country.
I have always steered away from making predictions whether the property market or the economy will improve or get worse. Instead I say that investors should look at themselves first in terms of what they are doing, if it’s working and what contribution they are making in making the world a better place. We thought we would give you some insights from somebody outside the direct property arena.
Investment in 2013
Marius Fenwick COO of Mazars Financial Services has some interesting observations for 2013. Accepting that consistently high returns are probably in the past is the most important investment tip for 2013. “Don’t expect the returns we’ve seen, especially not from the same asset classes. And if you want higher returns, be prepared to take on more risk.” He says listed property, which has delivered excellent returns of late, is likely to disappoint over the next few years with lower returns and a possibility of capital loss.
What investors should do
When it comes to investing, there is no crystal ball, but for every type of investor, from young professionals to retirees, specific asset allocation guidelines can assist in building and preserving wealth? Fenwick says investors will have to increase their risk appetite.
The key to investing, however, is really to look forward and be as long a term investor as possible. “Returns do eventually come through and even though we cannot rely on past performance to get us through investing in 2013, we can take comfort in knowing that a long-term approach will add up favourably in the long run,” he concludes.
Life lessons we can use in 2013
Brian Dyson, former CEO of Coca-Cola Company gave a motivating speech at the Georgia Tech 172nd Commencement Address on 6 September 1996. Here are some of the highlights we can use:
Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.
Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us each together.
Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.
Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.
Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
Prosperous investing!
"We all have a hierarchy of values and we view the world through those values. If business, money and wealth are low on your values you could literally be sitting on a gold mine and you just can't see it."
DR JOHN DEMARTINI
