Just do something’ is the cry now rising from all over South Africa, a plea to the president and government in general to take some action to break the logjam in which the country finds itself. Confidence is low, growth sluggish, and emigration high. It is useful to replay what has been done.
The end of the calendar year often leads to reflection on how one’s investments have performed. Many savers are questioning the wisdom of investing in South African equities after a lean period, especially relative to what must currently feel like the safe haven of cash.
Several economic indicators in South Africa are in the red, headlined by the record-high fuel price breaching R17 per litre. Many South Africans, particularly in the working class, are asking: “when will this end?
Every investor would have heard of equity and listed property referred to as ‘risk assets’. They would also have seen a graph which shows the relative risk of different asset classes, with cash at the bottom as the ‘lowest risk’ and equity at the top as ‘highest risk’. Intuitively, this also makes sense.
Most investors have been disappointed with returns over the past three years. For example, multi-asset portfolios have struggled, with the average SA Multi-Asset High Equity unit trust posting 3.4% per annum over the three years ended March 2018.
Karl Leinberger, Chief Investment Officer at Coronation Fund Managers, shows us why returns are anything but linear and hence long term investing is the only
Question:
My friend has told me about some hot funds that have been performing really well recently, with double-digit returns. Isn’t it a good idea to include these funds in my portfolio?
The recent significant market events related to Steinhoff International Holdings and its subsidiaries have been widely reported in the media and we would like to share our views as well as the views of the various asset managers who manage your portfolios.
If the cap fits, wear it – actions come with consequences. Even though President Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle last week effectively made rating downgrades far more of a certainty in our minds, it still came as a surprise when S&P downgraded South Africa’s foreign credit rating by one notch last night to “junk status” (BB+), ahead of their scheduled June review.
A lot has been said over the past year in the media regarding the possibility of whether South Africa (SA) will be downgraded to “junk status” by the respective rating agencies, namely Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch.
