As its core objective, Sygnia says that it aims to help South Africans and South African institutions develop a habit of saving and investing. All that Sygnia does is done in an attempt to make the future bright for individuals, businesses, institutions, financial advisors and shareholders.
Many at this point will be wondering how Sygnia helps foster and promote the idea of saving and investing. Well, the first thing that people need to know about Sygnia is that it operates as Sygnia Limited an execution-only stockbroker. The company is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange since 2015.
Sygnia Alchemy
While the core objective is helping to foster and promote the saving and investment culture, Sygnia over the years has managed to diversify and enter into various fields. Most of these are however linked and associated with the finance and securities industry. Some of Sygnia’s subsidiaries include Sygnia Asset Management, Sygnia Life Limited, Sygnia Financial Services, Sygnia Securities, Sygnia Benefit Administrators, Sygnia Consultants, Sygnia Collective Investments, Sygnia Itrix RF, and Wealth Foundry. Sygnia and all its subsidiaries are regulated by several leading financial and securities regulators chief among them the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
In this review, our main focus will be on Sygnia Limited which operates as a stockbroker.
A Quick Glance at Sygnia Limited
| Countries Sygnia Limited Operates In | South Africa |
| Base Currencies | South African Rand (ZAR), United States Dollar (USD) |
| Time to Open an Account | >3 Days |
| Inactivity Fee | Not Charged |
| Withdrawal Fee | Not Charged |
| Minimum Deposit | Not Specified |
| Bank Card Deposits | Accepted |
| Demo Account | Not Provided |
| Products Offered | Stock, EFT, Bundles |
How Sygnia Helps People Save and Invest
By now, you know that Sygnia’s core objective is to help you save and invest. How exactly does Sygnia do this? Well, as a stockbroker, Sygnia acts as an intermediary which allows you to buy and invest in stocks (shares). You can buy and invest in stocks of any company that you want both local (South African) or international.
The thing with buying stocks is that there is a degree of financial skill you need to succeed. Also, you shouldn’t just buy shares willy-nilly because you can and you have the resources to buy. Rather, there are many factors to consider and laid down rules and regulations to follow. On your own, these may be difficult to follow and satisfy hence the reason you need a stockbroker to act as an intermediary in helping you buy and invest in stock. Sygnia compete predominantly with Satrix in South Africa
A great thing about Sygnia is that it accepts and accommodates both long-term investors and day traders. As such, whether you want to invest in stock for the long term or you just want to make a quick buck by buying and quickly selling shares depending on how the market moves you are good to go with Sygnia.
Making Money from Investing in Stocks
In general, there are two ways in which you make money from investing in stocks. The most common way is by way of buying shares, keeping them until their value goes up and then selling. To put this into practice, you may buy 1 share going for R50. You hold the share for say a week and its value goes up to R60. At that point, you sell meaning you get returns (profit) of R10. At times, stocks may exponentially gain value meaning you earn handsome returns. However, it’s also possible for stock prices to plummet hence lose a significant portion of your investment.
Another way of making money via stocks is via dividends. Companies by design are in business to make a profit. When they make a profit, you as a shareholder stand a chance of receiving your fair portion of the profits in the form of a dividend. However, as dividends are paid from profits, it means you can only receive the dividend at the end of the financial year when the company you invested in makes a profit. Note that in some cases, some companies may pay dividends using shares instead of cold hard cash. If this is the case, you will increase your share count once dividends are paid.
How to Join Sygnia
If you like to choose Sygnia as your stockbroker hence enabling it to help you buy stocks, you simply need to create an account and get your brokerage portal. To do this, simply follow the steps outlined below:
- Visit the official site at https://online.sygnia.com/
- Navigate to the top of the menu bar at the top of the screen and click the ‘Login’ button
- When the login page loads, click the ‘New to Sygnia? Sign Up Online’ button
- A registration form will pop up and here, you need to enter your first name, last name, email address, preferred username, and password
- Confirm if you are a South African resident. If you are, enter your ID number
- Consent to Sygnia’s terms and conditions
- After satisfying the above, click the ‘Confirm’ button to complete the process.
*After completing the account registration process, the Sygnia team will go through and if satisfied with everything, they will confirm the account and hence grant you the brokerage account portal to start your trading. This may take up to 3 days and you may be requested to provide your identification verification documents and proof of residence before the account is confirmed.
Sygnia Login Process
The account registration process is a one-time thing and afterwards, whenever you want to access your account, you will need to undertake the login process. The steps to follow are as follows:
- Visit the official site at https://online.sygnia.com/
- Navigate to the top of the screen and click the ‘Login’ button
- Enter your username
- Click the ‘Next’ button
- Enter your password
- Click the Login button to access your account portal.
Round Up
Sygnia Limited is one of South Africa’s top stockbrokers. Sygnia helps individuals, businesses, and institutions to invest in stocks from both South African companies as well as international companies with ease. Strong security protocols are guaranteed for all transactions and safe keeping of funds.