The perfect festive stocking fillers

‘Tis the season for giving… and while you might be struggling to fill your loved ones’ festive stockings, there’s an often-overlooked gifting option that truly does keep on giving. “This festive season, I want to encourage you to think about gifting your loved one the kind of stocking filler that can continue growing,” says Mesh MD Connie Bloem.

Giving the gift of an investment does, of course, come with caveats. The investment space is highly regulated, so be smart about donations tax (although some gifts will be tax-free). Speak to a trusted financial advisor, but if you stick to small amounts below the respective thresholds you should be fine. The idea here is to give a stocking filler… not a six-figure endowment!

So what do you get, and whom do you give it to? Here are some gift ideas, straight out of the Mesh Marketplace.

For the Youngsters

Kids these days think about the future more often and more deeply than you might expect. A 2024 Gallup poll found that 76% of Gen Z respondents are optimistic about the future, while a 2023 global study by Edelman found that 70% of Gen Zers are actively engaged in social or political causes. They’re deeply invested in the future – making a long-term bond like the Die MOS 10-year Prime+2% Floating Rate Bond an ideal gift for the younger generation.

For the Generalists

You’re bound to have a loved one who’s interested in everything. And while that makes them great conversationalists, it also makes it whoppingly difficult to buy presents for them. Do you get them the hot new tech product, or something unusual from an established brand? Or how about something that’ll have them fascinated by its clever structure? Λnβro’s range of actively managed certificates (AMCs) tick all those boxes. The Λnβro Unicorn Global Equity AMC invests in visionary, high-growth companies of the future, while the Λnβro World’s Biggest BRNDZ AMC provides diversified international equity exposure to the household names that shape our everyday lives. Meanwhile, Λnβro’s Dynamic Compound AMC uses the “magic” of compounding to accelerate growth over the long term. All three Λnβro AMCs are dollar-based, allowing you to protect your returns from the effects of a weakening Rand.

For the Ones Who’re Starting Out

Varsity students and older high schoolers are caught between independence and the realisation that they don’t actually own very much themselves. Kickstart their life-long investment journey with the building blocks of any well-diversified portfolio: exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You’ll find a bunch of them in the Mesh Marketplace, ranging from moderate to high risk, and with a wide range of underlying assets. The Satrix Capped All Share ETF is a great place to start as it tracks the FTSE/JSE Capped All Share Index, but you’ll also find exposure to emerging markets (Satrix MSCI Emerging Markets ETF), global equities (Efficient Global Equity), 4IR (Sygnia 4th Industrial Revolution ETF), and more.

For the Forward Thinkers

The easy option is to slip a few banknotes into an envelope. The smarter option is to put a modern investor’s spin on it. Backed by real-world currencies, fiat stablecoins are as good as money in your loved one’s pocket, whether it’s Euros (EURC), Dollars (USD Stablecoin), or Rands (Mesh’s own mZAR). For a bit more volatility, you could even do Bitcoin. Either way, it’s a gift that’ll leave a lasting impression.