My SATRIX story- an investment initiative by Satrix

Avoiding investing is easier than to confront it head on; financial talk in general can seem quite intimidating. Luckily our partners Satrix, together with Easy Equities, share a common goal of democratising the stock market so all South Africans can have access to the market. In an effort to demystify investing, Satrix has launched a five week long campaign to attract new investors by highlighting and telling the stories of current investors. People of Satrix is aimed at showcasing successful investment stories whilst also tackling some of the misconceptions surrounding investing.

On a recent podcast on Power FM, Satrix CEO Helena Conradie had a chat with Iman Rappeti about why sharing investment stories is so important. “There’s no better way to hear it from the investors themselves.We will be second hand telling a story,” says Conradie. “What’s wonderful is that everywhere we go, people want to tell their story. That’s when we realised that it’s important for other investors to relate to these stories and give an opportunity for the investor community to share their stories.”

The stories shared cover a plethora of topics like people investing for unborn children,pensioners, stokvels and investment groups. The constant theme of the project is to break the cycle of poverty and induce inclusive wealth growth by allowing ordinary South Africans to participate in the market and generate their own wealth.

Here’s the first installment of #MySATRIXstory by one of our investors, Onicca Meyersdal.

“I heard about investing with Satrix on a radio business slot and read up on electronic traded funds from magazine articles. I even went as far as reading up on their website about the different options available to a prospective investor but for some reason, I could never bring myself to commit to a plan.

It was around April 2010 when I went to the office printer to pick up some documents. Amongst the paperwork was an application form for Satrix investment. It was printed by a colleague who shortly arrived at the printing station to collect the documents. We had a long conversation about it and she made me copies of the forms.

I decided to commit to the Satrix40 for R300 per month. The amount sounded very small but I knew that I should start somewhere. Most importantly, that amount would give me an opportunity to track the top JSE companies for a fraction of the cost of buying the individual shares. I signed up and literally forgot about the investment for a couple of years.

Later, with the annually adjusted monthly premium now at about R700, I decided to diversify by splitting the cost to invest in a different category. Resources were trading lower and I decided to give it a try. My reasoning was that, whatever happened to that segment, I will still be tracking the largest resources companies.

7 years later, the investment account now had a modest amount that I plan to use for emergencies. I intend to keep paying whatever I can afford to the account for a couple more years. I am sure there are other investments in the market but Satrix suits my laissez faire attitude to investing. I have neither the time, the knowledge nor the interest to keep close tabs on the market and make appropriate decisions on time. The law of compound interest has grown my initial investment. The lower amount has enabled me to be contribute consistently through the years.

Would I have changed anything, oh yes, I should have started much earlier! #peopleofsatrix #investmentstories #startNOW”

What is your investment story? Share your journey to financial freedom with us on mystory@satrix.co.za ; alternatively, hashtag  #mysatrixstory on twitter.

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