I come from having very little, to having a lot - Craig Gradidge

I grew up in a small, coloured township north of Durban. My dad passed when I was five years old. Life was fairly tough… My mom had three boys. And I was always hungry… We lost the car, lost the house...
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
I learned from my mom how to budget. So I can budget with the best of them!
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
Wine, whisky and my children! [When asked if he wastes money on anything.]
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
Every week The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield interviews a famous person about her or his attitude to money (hopes and fears, successes and failures, etc.) as part of his weekly “Make Money Mondays, Personal Edition” feature.
This week Whitfield interviewed Craig Gradidge, co-founder and Financial Planner at Gradidge-Mahura Investments.
Gradidge holds a B.Com (Wits), B.Com Honours (UNISA), Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (UFS) and an MBA (UCT).
He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a member of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI).
Gradidge has been in the industry for 23 years.
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What does he believe about money?
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Does it keep him up at night?
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Does he save compulsively?
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How did his childhood experiences shape his views on money?
Listen to the interview in the audio below (and scroll down for more quotes from it).
…The average adviser in this country is white, male, Afrikaans-speaking and 53 years old… The market is young, black, professional…
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
I come from having very little to having a lot…
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
We came into the market at exactly the wrong time. So, we had to cut back… You have to adapt and be flexible. You’ve got to play the hand you’ve been dealt…
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
I invest in some exotic stuff… Some of it good, some ended in tears…
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
The very first share I ever bought was Murray and Roberts…. I bought in 1998 for R3 and I sold at R6… an expensive lesson because it went to R100…
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
I invested in Grand Parade and sold out at R450… that’s helped a lot – risk management awareness… I got out of Steinhoff at R65… I took a punt when it got horribly smashed…
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
Nothing comes to mind immediately. [When asked about his worst money mistake.]
Craig Gradidge, co-founder - Gradidge-Mahura Investments
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