Investments

The power of thematic investing

Had someone promised you a 70% 12-month US dollar return from a global equity fund at the beginning of 2020 you would probably have dismissed their offer as “too good to be true”. Wind the clocks forward a year and you would have been kicking and screaming over missed opportunities. Sygnia Asset Management’s funds shot the lights out last year, with an 88.3% return from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Global Equity Fund and 72.3% return from the FAANG Plus Equity Fund. Of course, asset managers do not make return promises beyond their stated objective of matching one or other benchmark. In this case, investors were just lucky to back funds that were in the sweet spot of emerging investment themes.

Investing in Nigeria: Discipline is key

The end of quarter one 2021 marks one year since markets bottomed following the COVID-19 global outbreak. Most major equity indices had fallen between 20% and 30% in US dollar terms, and the African markets were not spared the wrath. The mood was so dire back then that it required a strong degree of discipline to look through the noise and focus on the long-term picture.

Momentum Investments Economies at a glance and summary of indices - April 2021

April 2021 – US stimulus and savers boost stock exchange

During April, the US Congress passed two large stimulus bills, which is expected to boost US government spending by about 13% of annual GDP.