Anybody who follows the investing world would know that the man who has made more money, simply out of investing in shares in other people’s companies, and become one of the wealthiest men in the world as a result, is Warren Buffett.  Interestingly enough, in the last 5 years, his company has under-performed on the S&P 500 Stock Index.  If one had just invested money in that particular Index and there are many Index funds available, one would have done better than Warren Buffett over the last 5 years.  That does not mean he would continue to do so in the long run, but it just shows you how difficult it is to always beat the market and that an Index Fund is always a good idea to invest in, particularly when you want to begin your investing career.  This is hardly something that Warren Buffett would disagree with, because in his most recent report he has advised that he has given specific instructions, for the investment of the money he is giving his wife in the event of his death, which is to be put in a Trust and in his own report he says the following, “Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low low-cost S&P 500 Index Fund.  (I suggest Vanguard’s).  I believe and trust long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors – whether pension funds, institutions or individuals – who employ high fee managers.”  

There you go, one of the richest men in the world who has made every cent he has out of investing saying that when he dies the money must not be invested into his own company or any other specific company but rather just into an Index Fund that covers the whole market.  That is some of the best free advice you can get in starting a Unit Trust and you can always go to the website of Satrix which you can find at www.satrix.co.za which has a number of low cost Index Funds available which allow you to invest on our market.