Understanding the Rand and how it moves our money

Stephen Grootes is joined on The Money Show by Galileo Capital's Warren Ingram.

Listen below:

The Rand's rise and fall can feel like financial background noise to many, but it has a direct impact on our wallets. 

Ingram helps to unpack why the exchange rate matters - and how it influences everything from our savings to the cost of living.

"The moment you look at the Rand and how it's moving against the Dollar if life is volatile - it means that our cost of living is hugely impacted."

- Warren Ingram, Certified Financial Planner - Galileo Capital

"One huge advantage we have, is we are one of the most traded liquid currencies in the world... one of the emerging market currencies that's most easy for global investors to buy and sell is the Rand."

- Warren Ingram, Certified Financial Planner - Galileo Capital

"The reason for that is we've got a very deep capital market, so we've got very strong banks, very good exchange and very well managed, well regulated financial systems."

- Warren Ingram, Certified Financial Planner - Galileo Capital

Ingram says being such a liquid currency means that the Rand is particularly susceptible to global tides, adding that there is very little government can do to 'pick up' the Rand or, conversely, to make it fall.

"We find ourselves at the mercy of a lot of global sentiment," he says.

"The only impact that a South African institution can have on the Rand would be the Reserve Bank... what they can do is keep interest rates high, which is currently what they're doing."

- Warren Ingram, Certified Financial Planner - Galileo Capital

"They're trying to make the Rand an attractive place for foreign investors to store money."

- Warren Ingram, Certified Financial Planner - Galileo Capital

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Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the discussion.