Rochelle De Kock

Rochelle De Kock

If you thought investing on the stock market was only for high-flyers with a lot of spare cash on hand, think again.

Young, low-income earners can also buy shares on the JSE for as little as R300 a month with investment options such as Satrix and Itrix.

The most popular of Satrix's six investment options is the Satrix 40, a long-term investment option that mimics the performance of the JSE's Top 40 index. It uses investors' funds to buy from the 40 biggest shares on the index, and tracks it every day.

Simon Brown, head of education and media in online share trading at Standard Bank, says: "Satrix is one of the primary investment products trading on the JSE which is geared for low-income earners."

Itrix, a joint venture between Deutsche Bank and the JSE, is another option of investing in shares, but on foreign markets.

Itrix offers a R300 investment plan similar to Satrix, both of which can be debited from the investor's account every month.

For people who are afraid of risking their money on the stock markets, there are conventional investment options available at banks to suit their pocket.

PureSave is a Standard Bank investment option that allows you to open an account with only R50. Absa has a Money Builder Account which allows you to build your money from as little as R20. FNB allows you to open a Flexi fixed deposit account with as little as R100 with interest rates that are linked to prime rates.

Nedbank offers a range of investment options, with JustSave being one of the best.