Trading of listed BBS securities resumed on the 15^th of April after the restrictions imposed on the 12^th. Mr Kamyuka has been is now serving as Interim Managing Director following dismissal of Mr Molefe on the 6^th of April.

Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) Director General Abraham Sethibe will step down from public service with effect from 30^th April 2020.

Having left the EU, the UK has imposed sanctions on Botswana, listing it among 20 nations it views as having strategic deficiencies in Anti Money Laundering/Counter  Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.

Mid April cabinet reshuffle has seen Peggy Serame take over the reins from Dr Matsheka at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

Govt reserves down to P3.4 Billion as reported at the end of Dec 2020. A large decline from the P18 Billion reported at the end of 2019.

Thabo has a wonderful energy about him and we know he is going to fit in perfectly with our culture.

We hope you enjoy working with us and we hope we can support you in your career and personal growth.

However, there are potential drawbacks, a one size fits all approach means that there is less scope for tailoring for different employers or groups of employees. Further, the temptation is for employers and employees to just let the “experts” get on with it. The problem is what happens today will have consequences in 20 years’ time and successful retirement is a vital responsibility to leave in someone else’s hands. Fortunately, there are ways to enjoy the cost efficiency of an umbrella fund while still maintaining some elements of control.

Each employer can set up a management committee to represent its (and its employees) interests with the umbrella. This committee works like a board of trustees, but with less formality and responsibility.

Another control is to continue to contract in investment expertise like asset consultants, investment advisers and asset managers to have oversight and input into investment issues such as asset allocation and portfolio structures, etc.

Umbrellas are a good option for smaller retirement fund, but employers and members should continue to actively participate through management committees and the use of expert investment advisers.

One of the most important things I have learnt is that in order to get through Covid19 we need to take each day as it comes. We just can’t plan for the short term anymore and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Will we be able to go to work? Will we be able to see our families? Will we be able to celebrate special occasions? Will our children be able to go to school? And will we even get paid?

Some of the important things we have learnt this year:

• We can’t predict the short term
• Life can and does change continuously and we are inherently afraid of change
• Jobs and salaries are not a given
• Many of us can live with less than we thought possible
• Many of us find that living with less doesn’t make our lives worse
• We are more resilient than we knew
• School teachers are a gift sent to us directly from above

So how can you translate what we have learned during Covid into positive actions that can be taken to improve our long term financial position and help us retire well:

Look long term when investing for retirement.

• Although we can’t predict short term returns, returns become a lot more certain over the long term. Keep focused on the long term and ignore all noise in the marketplace.
• Ensure you are contributing to a portfolio which has an appropriate risk profile for you.
• Do whatever you can to continue making contributions

Less is more

• Try to embrace the simple things in life and find cheaper alternatives to luxury goods and non-essential spending.
• Spend more time focusing on the important things in life such as family and loved ones. Some of the best moments in life may be sharing a homemade be a cup of tea with a loved one
• By living with less you can save more and then then contribute the additional cash to your retirement fund

Don’t be afraid

• Although change can be absolutely terrifying, take the opportunity to learn more about your retirement fund.
• Rather than remaining afraid, take the opportunity to make changes to your financial mindset and spending and saving habits. By doing this you will ensure that even though times are tough now, you will be better off in the future thanks to the lessons you have learnt during Covid19.

Take responsibility for our own financial future

• Every one of us needs to understand that no one is responsible for our financial future but ourselves
• Understand where your retirement funds are invested and in which asset classes they are invested
• Take time to understand what you can do to improve your chances of retiring well. Your fund should be able to provide you with an indication of how you are doing as well as some ways in which you can improve your position.

Give you kids teacher a box of chocolates

• Learn to appreciate all the things you have in your life. This will make you happy and will help cultivate an abundant mentality. Although this is not financial advice, you are what you think and if you can start to look at everything that is good in your life you will keep accumulating more good.

We asked one of our trusted experts to give us his top five principles for successful retirement. If you can live by these five simple rules you are 90% of the way to ensuring a great retirement for yourself.

Here they are:

1. Start investing as soon as possible. If you are employed or even partly employed you must can start investing. Time is the most powerful of all of the investment levers.
2. Find out how much of your salary needs be invested for you to have enough capital at retirement – between 12% and 25% for most people.
3. Never cash out or withdraw any part of your pension fund before retirement – most people will never be able to replace any withdrawn capital.
4. Try living with a sensible budget. if you can control your lifestyle today, your chances of successfully funding for retirement will improve.
5. Unless you are rich, plan to retire later. nowadays on average people will live well into their 80’s, that is a long time to have to live off a pension. Working a few extra years can make all the difference.

It’s time to look for some good news and with hopefully more light showing at the end of this virus-induced tunnel as the vaccine programs roll out, we thought we would search out and list some of the many good things that did came out of 2020, whether virus related or not.

1. Polio was officially eradicated on the African continent.
2. Dogs trained to protect wildlife have saved 45 rhinos from poachers in Southern Africa.
3. We spent more time with our families, and some even found love in strange places – an Italian couple who met across their balconies during quarantine, got engaged (CNN).
4. Pet shelters saw an increase in adoptions.
5. African musician, Master KG’s song “Jerusalema” became a worldwide sensational hit with over 280m views on YouTube.
6. China reportedly exported billions of masks to help the world deal with the global pandemic.
7. Carbon dioxide emissions declined as a result of the Covid pandemic.
8. We had uncomfortable conversations and talked about the things that we normally wouldn’t talk about, unless they affect someone we know directly, such as police brutality in the US, gender-based violence, etc. 9. People around the world rose up to protest police violence and racial injustice.
9. The US election led to historic wins for people of colour.
10. Many of the aged – even older than 100 years old, fought and beat the virus.
11. As a result of Covid, the world’s fastest ever vaccines ever have been developed and the largest global vaccine campaign in history is being rolled out.
12. Many of us got to wear tracksuits during formal business meetings for the first time as we learnt to operate online.
13. Many of us learnt new skills and cooked more at home.
14. Crayola launched a box of crayons with diverse skin colours for children to “accurately colour themselves into the world”.
15. We learned that home-schooling is really difficult and finally recognized teachers for the heroes that they are, and have always been.
16. We realized how heroic health care and essential workers really are.
17. While coronavirus pushed many museums to close, it also opened up their collections to audiences to view online.
18. Stock markets recovered well from the pandemic and some even reached new all-time highs.
19. Interest rates were cut which benefitted citizens with house mortgages and debt.
20. Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products free.
21. Supply chains changed to allow for more onshoring. This should benefit developing countries especially, as more goods are now produced locally and not sourced from China or other developed economies.
22. The pandemic catalysed the long-anticipated move away from physical bricks and mortar shopping to far greater penetration of online shopping.
23. On December 21, Jupiter and Saturn appeared closer together in the sky than they have in over 800 years.

Can you think of good news you could add to this list?

As the saying goes – for every cloud there is a silver lining, and so, despite all the harshness and troubles of 2020, we can still continue to celebrate humanity, progress, nature and people’s dogged spirit to strive and carry on, no matter the circumstances they find themselves in.

We wish all of our readers and clients a safe, healthy and happy 2021.  Please remember to continue to follow applicable Covid-19 safety rules until the vaccine roll out starts to make a real difference.