Topical articles, commentary and interviews from the unit trust industry and the broader economy, edited by Liz Still, Head of Research at Intervest.co.za. Please email with any comments or suggestions.
Many of these articles have appeared as part of our regular newsletter.
| 03 Sep 10 |
According to EFS Investment Solutions data, which currently tracks the
performances of 99 Asset Allocation Prudential Funds, as of September 3rd 2010,
the Hermes Managed Fund, managed by Arthur.. |
| 31 Aug 10 |
Mark Seymour of Alphen Asset Management writes that he believes there are
certain personal dynamics which make the difference between poor and successful
investment returns... |
| 31 Aug 10 |
Schalk Louw of Contego Securities writes that Mark Mobius, very well-known fund
manager of Templeton Asset Management, aroused worldwide attention recently
by announcing that the economic.. |
| 31 Aug 10 |
Mike Browne of Seed Investments writes that the company often finds itself
quoting and reproducing GMO’s work, and for good measure. GMO is a privately
held investment management firm founded in.. |
| 17 Aug 10 |
Jonathan Turner, life and retirement fund operations, Allan Gray writes that
different investment vehicles have varying rules and processes for allocating
benefits when an investor dies. For.. |
| 17 Aug 10 |
Shaun le Roux of Alphen Asset Mangement writes that for some time, correlations
between financial assets have been extraordinarily high. Tick by tick, currencies,
commodities, stocks and bonds.. |
| 17 Aug 10 |
Mike Browne of Seed Investments writes that South Africa is currently in the
middle of the annual strike season. Every year employees, lead by their unions,
attempt to ‘negotiate’ better wages.. |
| 17 Aug 10 |
Mark Seymour of Alphen Asset Management writes that although we don’t realise
it, we all, to some degree, live in a state of limbo; an imaginary place where lost
and/or neglected things.. |
| 17 Aug 10 |
Mike Browne of Seed Investments writes that it is always difficult to keep up with
the multitude of news and information that lands on your desk, but after a while
you realise where the good.. |
| 17 Aug 10 |
Erik Nel, analyst at Atlantic Asset Management writes that incoming macro data
continues to disappoint. Week-to-date the US has witnessed some of the worst
housing statistics in history, clearly.. |
| 13 Aug 10 |
A press release from Old Mutual points out that while savings habits amongst
women in South Africa have improved dramatically over the past couple of years,
latest statistics show that there are.. |
| 13 Aug 10 |
Adrian Clayton of Alphen Asset Management writes that most of us accept that as
far as size, importance and directional influence goes, the JSE is equivalent to a
flea on a kangaroo's tail,.. |
| 13 Aug 10 |
Shaun le Roux of Alphen Asset Management writes that the attractiveness of gold
in the current economic environment is well documented. In these uncertain times,
gold comes to the fore as a.. |
| 05 Aug 10 |
Dr Prieur du Plessis, chairman of Plexus Asset Management and author of the
Investment Postcards blog says that the extreme valuation of the rand, especially
against other commodity-related.. |
| 05 Aug 10 |
Greg Hopkins of Alphen Asset Management writes that one sometimes reads about
competitive advantages, barriers to entry and the word 'moat' to describe the
quality of a company's business model... |
| 05 Aug 10 |
Arthur Kamp, Investment Economist at Sanlam Investment Managers (SIM),
pictured, writes that disinflation, which has become prevalent in the developed
economies, appears set to continue in the.. |
| 05 Aug 10 |
Armien Tyer, Managing Director of Sanlam Investment Managers writes that the
debate over whether the world is headed for inflation or deflation has flared up
again, with the jury still out on.. |
| 05 Aug 10 |
According to a press release from the Association for Savings and Investment
South Africa (ASISA) the same short-term outlook preventing South Africans from
saving is probably also keeping the.. |
| 29 Jul 10 |
Mark Seymour of Alphen Asset Management reminds us that three years ago, the
average retail investor had little idea of what turmoil was brewing in financial
markets. For those who had an.. |
| 29 Jul 10 |
Erik Nel, an analyst from Atlantic Asset Management writes that we have had
another turbulent week both globally and locally, with European bank stress tests
on the surface failing to address.. |
| 29 Jul 10 |
Chris Gilmour: Analyst, Absa Asset Management Private Clients notes that the JSE
Alsi fell by 4,9% between 1 Jan and 30 Jun 2010 and that between 1 Apr and 30
Jun, the fall was 9,2%,.. |
| 29 Jul 10 |
According to Peter Brooke, head of Macro Strategy Investments at Old Mutual
Investment Group (SA) (OMIGSA), today’s major global economic and financial
trends all point to significantly lower.. |
| 29 Jul 10 |
After a successful World Cup, we need to dedicate ourselves to implementing the
difficult structural reforms necessary to achieve the 7% annual economic growth
rate the Minister of Finance says.. |
| 20 Jul 10 |
Hlelo Giyose, Head of Value Equities, (pictured) who has been with Stanlib for four
years, has announced his resignation to pursue a new opportunity in the industry.
Two of his team members,.. |
| 20 Jul 10 |
Jean-Pierre Matthews, the Head of PSG Absolute Investments, a fixed income and
hedge fund boutique writes about the role of hedge funds. Please note the
disclaimers from Alphen Asset Management.. |
| 20 Jul 10 |
Richard Carter, head of product development within Allan Gray’s retail business
unit, writes that the Allan Gray Stable Fund celebrated its 10-year anniversary on
1 July. He says that with.. |
| 20 Jul 10 |
Duggan Matthews, an investment professional at Marriott Asset Management,
thinks not. He writes that much has been achieved in South Africa during the past
10 years but we have to question.. |
| 16 Jul 10 |
The value of long-range financial planning emerged as a key trend in the latest
findings of the Old Mutual Savings Monitor, released today, which also shows that
despite the easing of the.. |
| 15 Jul 10 |
The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) announced
today that it has created a high level “think tank” tasked with finding practical
solutions to help improve South.. |
| 13 Jul 10 |
Ian de Lange of Seed Investments writes that the South African 2010 soccer world
cup is over and congratulations Spain. With four years before all other teams are
given the opportunity again for.. |
| 13 Jul 10 |
Geoff Blount, CEO of Cannon Asset Managers, writes that whilst some companies
carry the title “growth stocks”, the evidence shows that, despite this name, these
firms don’t grow their earnings.. |
| 13 Jul 10 |
Kokkie Kooyman from SIM Global has won the converted Investment Week 2010
Fund Manager of the Year award in the category, Specialist categories, Financials... |
| 13 Jul 10 |
Erik Nel, analyst at Atlantic Asset Management writes that that markets could not
be more delicately poised at present, even if they tried, with a key technical
formation (the “dark cross” **).. |
| 13 Jul 10 |
Stanlib has announced the resignation of Mike Galloway, Managing Director of
STANLIB.. |
| 13 Jul 10 |
Rob Formby, director of retail operations, Allan Gray writes that if you are 30
years old and wish to retire in 35 years time, you will need to save approximately
12% of your salary to retire.. |
| 01 Jul 10 |
Greg Flash of Alphen Asset Management writes that "mean reversion"
or "regression to the mean" has also been widely accepted as a powerful force in
the fields of finance and economics (although.. |
| 29 Jun 10 |
Ian de Lanage of Seed Investments writes that the biggest global bond manager,
US based Pimco, which manages over a $1 trillion, recently had their annual
secular forum, where they internally.. |
| 28 Jun 10 |
Dr Simon Pearse, CEO of Marriott Asset Management says that barriers to entry
will always exist and can have a positive or negative impact on fund performance
and more importantly, the investor.. |
| 28 Jun 10 |
Mark Cliff of Alphen Asset Management writes that this week will mark the end of
June, the mid-point in our little sideshow called the FIFA 2010 World Cup and the
end of the first half of the.. |
| 28 Jun 10 |
Philipp Wörz of Alphen Asset Management writes that smaller companies present
both opportunity and.. |
| 28 Jun 10 |
Ian de Lange of Seed Investments writes that with thousands of professional
investment management firms around the world, selection becomes a difficult
process. Multi managers have tried to.. |
| 28 Jun 10 |
There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the world’s second
richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. The following are some his
important life decisions and.. |
| 28 Jun 10 |
Allan Gray has announced a one-off special distribution for existing clients in Allan
Gray Orbis Funds... |
| 28 Jun 10 |
Erik Nel, analyst at Atlantic Asset Management writes that markets remain in a
state of flux as traders try to make sense of the risk on/risk off see-sawing.. |
| 22 Jun 10 |
Mark Seymour of Alphen Asset Management writes that he can recommend his
current reading, a book called "The Effective Investor" by Franco Busetti to anyone
who is looking for a reference guide.. |
| 21 Jun 10 |
Adrian Saville, Chief Investment Officer of Cannon Asset Management takes every
opportunity he can to preach his version of the gospel of Benjamin Graham, high
priest of value investing. Many.. |
| 21 Jun 10 |
Ian de Lange of Seed Investments writes that two months ago BP plc was the
fourth largest company in the world and one of the largest in the United Kingdom.
It was the pride and joy of the.. |
| 18 Jun 10 |
Adrian Clayton of Alphen Asset Management writes that he is not sure that many
of us appreciate that we are presently intimately involved in carving-out a unique
chapter in.. |
| 18 Jun 10 |
Old Mutual South Africa (OMSA) has announced the appointment of Diane Radley
as Chief Executive of Old Mutual Investment Group South Africa.. |
| 18 Jun 10 |
Prieur du Plessis of Plexus says that it is a well-known fact that foreign investors
play a very big role in influencing the direction of the local stock market. When
foreigners are net buyers.. |
| 14 Jun 10 |
Mark Cliff of Alphen Asset Management says that investors should know the long-
term facts about their investments and avoid short-term extrapolations to avoid.. |
| 08 Jun 10 |
Jeremy Gardiner, director, Investec Asset Management remembers the saying that
when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches cold... |
| 07 Jun 10 |
Dr Adrian Saville, CIO of Cannon Asset Managers, has a look at the metrics of
these diversified resources companies and concludes that Anglos offers better
value than BHP.. |
| 07 Jun 10 |
Shaun le Roux of Alphen Asset Management discusses a declining confidence in.. |
| 07 Jun 10 |
A decade ago listed property was unpopular as an investment vehicle, for various
reasons. But this asset class has since undergone a revival, writes Richard
Anderson, senior portfolio manager:.. |
| 07 Jun 10 |
Ian de Lange of Seed Investments explains the difference between a closed end
fund and a unit.. |
| 07 Jun 10 |
Do you think that the money raised from your taxes is being spent wisely and
efficiently? Would you like to have a say over where your money goes? The
Taxpayers’ Movement of South Africa (TPM).. |
