STADIO Holdings has a growth story to tell. That's a rare thing on the South African market. The tertiary education space is booming and STADIO is addressing that demand through a combination of contact learning and distance learning offerings.

On this podcast, CEO Chris Vorster and CFO Ishak Kula joined me to talk through the strategy, the growth prospects, the capital allocation strategy and the risks that keep them up at night. If you want to really dig into the STADIO business model, you're in the right place!

Please note: this podcast has been sponsored by STADIO. Where I work directly with companies, I always craft the questions myself without any influence from the company. My thanks to STADIO for valuing the broader Ghost Mail audience and for stepping into a new era of investor engagement. As always, you must do your own research and treat this podcast as only one part of your research process.

With the markets in disarray in the aftermath of tariffs, it looks like the theme this year is more around risk management in a bear market rather than which growth stocks to buy. Of course, this can change, as markets are volatile and are driven by a number of factors including geopolitics.

This volatility is exactly why diversification is so important. The risk of "diworsification" is ever-present in the strategic asset allocation decision, which is why it ends up being even more important than stock picking.

A quantitative approach to strategic asset allocation is baked into the Satrix Balanced Index Fund and related products. Kingsley Williams, Chief Investment Officer of Satrix, joined me to talk through the key concepts in diversification and the usefulness of a balanced fund.

This podcast was first published here.

For more information, visit https://satrix.co.za/products

Satrix Investments Pty Limited and Satrix Managers RF Pty Limited are authorised financial services providers. Nothing you have heard in this podcast should be construed as advice. Please do your own research and visit the Satrix website for more information on all their ETF products.

With the dust having settled on the Budget Speech and the proposals that parliament will need to vote on, Tertius Troost of Forvis Mazars in South Africa joined me to reflect on the key drivers behind the headlines. 

VAT has been the focus area, but is it true that a VAT increase is anti-poor? And is it correct to rebut the "South Africa has a small taxpayer base" argument by pointing out that everyone pays VAT?

What is bracket creep and how does it affect middle-class South Africans?

Perhaps most importantly, what was not said in the Budget Speech?

This podcast is a great way to make sure you are on top of the key drivers behind the fiscal strategy in our country.

Tax-free savings accounts (TFSA) are one of the most building blocks in any equity portfolio. The advantage of compounding tax-free returns over a long period is incredibly powerful and can really turbocharge a long-term wealth creation journey.

To discuss the importance of TFSA investments and the opportunities available to investors in the ETF universe, familiar voice Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix* returned to the Ghost Stories podcast. 

*Satrix is a division of Sanlam Investment Management

Satrix Investments Pty Limited and Satrix Managers RF Pty Limited are authorised financial services providers. Nothing you have heard in this podcast should be construed as advice. Please do your own research and visit the Satrix website for more information on all their ETF products. This podcast was published on the Satrix website here.

Kevin O'Brien is incredibly passionate about his work as the Group Sustainability Executive at Spar. Having stuck with the group through tumultuous recent times, Kevin is focused on Spar's role as a corporate citizen in South Africa and the European markets in which it operates.

There's an important difference between governing sustainably and the governance of sustainability. ESG far too often becomes a tick-box exercise rather than a way to embed better business practices throughout a group.

In this discussion, the first such example of a Ghost Stories podcast that puts the spotlight on corporate reports beyond just the earnings announcement, Kevin shares his journey with us and his approach to sustainability. You'll find Spar's sustainability report at this link for further reading.

Duma Mxenge of Satrix* joined The Finance Ghost on this podcast to talk about a range of personal finance topics and emerging trends in investing. The discussion then evolved into an in-depth look at rent vs. buy and an unusual approach being taken by The Finance Ghost as he plans to buy a family home in 3 years.

It's rent vs. buy as you haven't heard it before, along with tons of other insights to get your head in the game in 2025.

*Satrix is a division of Sanlam Investment Management

Satrix Investments Pty Limited and Satrix Managers RF Pty Limited are authorised financial services providers. Nothing you have heard in this podcast should be construed as advice. Please do your own research and visit the Satrix website for more information on all their ETF products. This podcast was published on the Satrix website here.

China is a land that is fraught with risk and brimming with opportunity. With enhanced upside as well as downside protection, International Opportunities Limited is a structured product that seeks to balance the risks and rewards available in Chinese equity markets.

International Opportunities Limited offers 1.3x geared exposure to the CSI 300 Index, capped at 60% growth for a maximum return of 78% in USD. In addition, there is 100% capital protection at maturity in USD.

Japie Lubbe of Investec Structured Products joined me on this podcast to discuss the investment characteristics of the Chinese market and the way in which this product has been built in that context.

Applications close on 7 March 2025, so you must move quickly if you are interested in investing. As always, it is recommended that you discuss any such investment with your financial advisor.

You can find all the information you need on the Investec website at this link.

To close out the year, René Basson of Satrix* made her debut on Ghost Stories for a fascinating conversation on the topic of money dysmorphia. This is a mismatch between financial behaviour and financial means - and yes, it can work in both directions i.e. whether you have plenty of money or not enough!

In addition to some great personal finance hacks to help you combat these feelings, René shared some helpful statistics from the SatrixNOW platform and talked about some of the observable trends in investing across genders. We also closed out the discussion with some important tips for the festive season around cybersecurity, so there really is a lot here to sink your teeth into.

*Satrix is a division of Sanlam Investment Management

Satrix Investments Pty Limited and Satrix Managers RF Pty Limited are authorised financial services providers. Nothing you have heard in this podcast should be construed as advice. Please do your own research and visit the Satrix website for more information on all their ETF products. This podcast was published on the Satrix website here.

Raising equity funding is not easy for small businesses in South Africa, but thankfully the Mineworkers Investment Company's (MIC) Khulisani Ventures initiative is an early-stage funding vehicle that provides capital for businesses that are ready to aggressively grow.

If you are a Black-Owned business in South Africa and you meet the criteria for this investment, then listen carefully to this podcast because your application needs to be by the end of January 2025. This whole thing will be wrapped up just a couple of months later, with funds expected to flow by March 2025.

If this sounds interesting to you, check out the website for more information and to apply for investment. This podcast is brought to you by I Am an Entrepreneur and the Mineworkers Investment Company, represented on this podcast by Keitumetse Lekaba and Nchaupe Khaole respectively.

The Satrix Global Balanced Fund of Funds ETF aims to provide local investors with optimally diversified exposure to a global basket of indices representing different asset classes. This is a low-cost, easy way to invest in a mix of equities, bonds, infrastructure, property, credit and cash assets.

Nico Katzke of Satrix joined me to explain the concept of a balanced fund, the strategic asset allocation in this ETF and how Satrix has managed to achieve this exposure at just 35 basis points a year in costs.

You can learn more about this brand new fund here.

Satrix Investments Pty Limited and Satrix Managers RF Pty Limited are authorised financial services providers. Nothing you have heard in this podcast should be construed as advice. Please do your own research and visit the Satrix website for more information on all their ETF products.