Find me somebody who likes parting with their money, and I will show you a fool. A generous fool, at least.

Take payday, for example – ever hear a South African say that they’re happy to have a large percentage of their salary deducted every month for tax? Nah, me neither.

The same goes for investing in the stock market and buying shares, because even when you’re winning, you’re still paying brokerage fees.

Companies like EasyEquities have disrupted the finance industry already, by making access to the markets insanely cheap, but now they have gone one step further.

Together with parent company, Purple Group, they have made buying stocks on the JSE, as well as US stocks, free.

For reals – it’s part of a new initiative where investors pay ZERO bucks in brokerage. To add to that, as part of the loyalty program, one lucky participant could win R500 000 in their Tax-Free Savings Account.

The initiative is called #Thrive, and it delivers on it its name.

Added to the fact that there are no registration fees, no monthly costs, and no minimum required deposit to begin investing, zero brokerage is a step further in lowering the barriers to investing for everyone – not to mention a massive first in SA.

EasyEquities have picked what they call the Thrive50 stocks, which comprises of 25 South African and 25 international shares and ETFs that are most popular among the EasyEquities community.

You may recognise some of them:

Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Naspers, Sygnia – we’re talking about some really big hitters.

In order to participate, you need to complete one monthly Thrive Activity, set out by EasyEquities, in order to have access to the Thrive50 stocks in the markets at no cost.

These fun challenges range from giving feedback on some partner websites and features, to getting a friend to sign up.

Oh, yeah, about that half a million. EasyEquities is offering one lucky ‘Thrivalist’ the chance to win R500 000 in their Tax-Free Savings Account, courtesy of Emperor Asset Management, just for participating in the Thrive initiative, with bonus entries offered for participating in other activities.

You can get clued up on all of the Terms and Conditions here, and learn how to maximise your chances of winning.

I won’t go into detail about the things I would do for a half a million rand, but it’s safe to say I’d be a pretty stoked winner.

See how to be part of this awesome new era of investing here.