Sasol (SOL) is the number 21 share on the JSE Top40 Index by market capitalisation (2020/2021).
The JSE Top 40 Index represents the 40 largest companies by market capitalisation that are available for public trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in South Africa. The JSE Top 40 Index is made up of 40 out of the roughly 400 shares listed on the JSE but it represents 80 percent of the total market cap of all JSE-listed companies.
Choose your quick section of our How to buy Sasol shares below
How to buy Sasol shares Revealed:
Sasol at a glance
Name Sasol Ltd
JSE code SOL
Sector Chemicals
Sasol Limited is a fully integrated energy and chemical company in South Africa. The company was founded in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early 1900s.
Today, Sasol develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity. Sasol is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Major Sasol shareholders include the South African Government Employees Pension Fund, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited (IDC), Allan Gray Investment Counsel, Coronation Fund Managers and Investec Asset Management. Sasol has operations in 33 countries. It is the largest corporate taxpayer in South Africa.
The CEO of Sasol Ltd is Fleetwood Grobler (2019- ) and its headquarters are in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Can I buy Sasol shares direct from the JSE?
No, retail traders and investors cannot buy Sasol shares direct from the JSE. A JSE-approved broker needs to purchase Sasol shares on your behalf. Contact any mainstream bank in South Africa that offers a stock broking service or find a JSE-approved broker on the list provided below.
4 easy steps for beginners to buy Sasol shares on the JSE
Step 1 : Decide if you’re a trader or an investor
If you have never bought company shares before on a stock exchange, you need to decide first if you’re a trader or an investor. They are two very different approaches to profiting off the financial markets.
Traders use short-term strategies to maximise daily, monthly or quarterly returns. They take advantage of rising and falling markets as well as enter and exit points over a shorter timeframe. Traders take smaller but more frequent profits.
Investors use long-term strategies to get a larger return over an extended period of time. This means investors buy and hold shares, as opposed to trading them in a shorter timeframe. Most investors buy and hold shares for a long term goal such as for their retirement or to make profits from their capital.
What is the difference between a trader and an investor?
The big difference between a trader and investor is traders typically buy shares as CFDs (contract for differences) which means they don’t own the underlying asset. Investors take ownership of the underlying asset and the shares are held for them on an investment platform.
Step 2 : Decide who you will use to buy or trade Sasol shares
Retail traders and investors cannot buy Sasol shares directly from the JSE. The only way to buy Sasol shares if you are a beginner is through a JSE-authorised broker or share CFDs via an online broker or bank using a trading platform. There is the option of investing in shares through an asset management company but that’s best left to the professionals.
Buying shares via a stock broker company
This is something also best left to advanced traders or investors with a lot of capital. This is because stock brokers charge substantial fees and commissions per transaction. Stock brokers are an old-fashioned way to buy and sell shares on stock exchanges and they’ve mostly been replaced by online brokers with electronic trading platforms.
Buying shares via an online stock trading broker
Online stock trading is the most popular method for beginners to buy and sell shares on the JSE. Traders and investors have access to the same global stocks as stock brokers via an automated trading platform and mobile apps, hosted by a regulated broker.
The cost of trading through an online broker is significantly cheaper than going direct to a stock broking company. If you’re tech savvy, you have a choice of a wide range of trading apps for buying shares on the financial markets. Stock trading apps puts the stock market in the palm of your hand.
Pros and cons of trading shares via an online trading broker
The advantages include:
- you can trade share CFDs on leverage
- the only costs associated with share CFDs is the bid/ask spread
- you can short sell share CFDs without needing to borrow the shares
- you can develop your own trading strategy to trade independently
The main disadvantage of trading through an online broker is the minimum trading requirement is reduced and shares are typically traded as CFDs. This means you don’t own the underlying asset. This isn’t an issue for beginner traders but it is if you’re an investor and you want to buy and hold shares for a longer period of time.
Step 3 : Find a JSE-approved broker
Beginner traders can easily trade the world’s largest company shares on a retail broker’s trading platform or through one of the mainstream banks in South Africa. Not all global online brokers offer the JSE Top40 Index so most South African traders buy domestic JSE shares through their bank.
Almost all major banks in South Africa offer an online trading service for retail traders and investors to buy shares. If you are a beginner trader, your local bank is your best option to buy Sasol shares on the JSE.
How to get JSE Exchange Traded Contracts for Difference (CFDs)
To access this product, contact one of the JSE’s Equity Derivatives members.
9 JSE-approved brokers to buy Sasol shares in South Africa
| Share broker | Broker fee per trade | Admin fee per trade | Register |
| Absa Bank | 0.40% | R75 | Absa stock broking |
| bpbernstein | 1.00% | R30 | bpbernstein stock broking |
| Easy Equities | 0.25% | R80 – R100 | Easy Equities stock broking |
| FFO Securities | 1.25% | R30 | FFO Securities stock broking |
| FNB | 0.50% | R87 | FNB stock broking |
| Momentum Securities | 0.50% | R45 | Momentum Securities stock broking |
| PSG Wealth | 0.90% | R55 | PSG Wealth stock broking |
| Sanlam iTrade | 0.50% | R50 | Sanlam iTrade stock broking |
| Standard Bank | 0.40% | R99 | Standard Bank stock broking |
** Broker fees and admin fees subject to change : estimate for comparison only
Step 4 : Online registration and funding
Follow the multi-step process to register an online share trading account and deposit funds in the account.
- Sign up with your email address
- Enter your personal details and banking details for fund transfers
- Add accounts and sign mandates
- Read the terms and conditions
- Send in your identification documents required by FICA legislation
- Fund your account in the currency accepted by the broker
- Set up your trading platform and start trading
FICA : Documents required for individual traders
- A valid South African identity document
- Proof of residential address, for example, water and electricity bill (not older than three months), your bank statement (not older than three) or current lease agreement. The documents must be in the name of the account holder. If not, written confirmation from the account holder that the applicant lives at the residential address and a certified copy of the account holder’s identity document is required.
- A cancelled cheque or bank statement not older than 3 months (electronic statements are not accepted). The name of the bank account must correspond with the applicant’s details.
- Proof of income tax number; for example, copy of an official document issued by the South African Revenue Services. (An IRP5 will not be accepted).
Please note
Due to the SA government’s anti-money laundering legislation, JSE-approved brokers require original or originally-certified copies of the above documents.
About the JSE
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is based in South Africa where it has operated as a market place for the trading of financial products for over 132 years. The JSE connects buyers and sellers in equity, derivative and debt markets.
The JSE is the largest stock exchange in Africa and one of the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation. As of August 2020, the market capitalisation of the JSE was at US$1,005 billion.
The JSE is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) and holds the chairmanship of the Association of Futures Markets (AFM).
The JSE offers an electronic, efficient, secure market with excellent regulation, trading and clearing systems, settlement assurance and risk management.
JSE Market Data provides a range of reliable and transparent market data products to market professionals and data distributors. JSE Market Data supports multiple use cases that require live data for JSE listed equities, derivatives and bonds. This data is generated across the various markets throughout the trading day.
JSE Market Data also provides an extensive range of index, stock exchange news, historical and reference data services.
Market Data Available : CLICK BELOW
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What are share CFDs?
CFDs are Contracts for Differences. You get them for shares, commodities, forex, precious metals and energy and global stocks. Share CFDs are the most commonly-traded CFDs in the marketplace.
The CFD prices comes from the price of the underlying stock that is the subject of the CFD. Trading share CFDs feels exactly the same as buying and holding shares as an investor but the difference is you don’t own the underlying asset. Instead, you’re speculating on the price movement of the stock.
Share CFDs can be bought and sold easily on a broker’s trading platform. You take advantage of price movements in both rising and falling markets. Traders hope to make money by buying low and selling higher, or selling high and buying lower.
FOREX TRADING AFRICA DISCLAIMER
Trading share CFDs is highly speculative, involves a significant risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.
Share CFDs are only suitable for traders who understand and are willing to assume the economic, legal and other risks involved; are experienced and knowledgeable about trading in derivatives and underlying asset types; and are financially able to assume losses significantly in excess of margin or deposits if trading on leverage and margin.
Forex Trading Africa aims to educate its readers on products and services available to access the global financial markets. Readers assume the risks of trading CFDs and trade independently of any information provided on the Forex Trading Africa website.
