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Don’t let the rand dictate offshore investment decisions

23 August 2017 | General

In the past 18 months or so, we’ve seen a rush by many investors to take funds offshore, precipitated by the sharp depreciation of the rand following the “Nenegate” debacle in December 2015, and continuing in the wake of “Gordhangate” in March this year and the consequent sovereign credit rating downgrades. Unfortunately, South Africans have a history of panicking when the rand weakens sharply and responding by taking money offshore. Because the rand is a highly emotive factor, dominating the news headlines, investors’ immediate focus is often solely on the level of the rand, and not whether an offshore investment actually makes sense from a valuation perspective. They ignore whether the South African assets they are selling and the foreign assets they are buying at the time are cheap or expensive. They also tend to dismiss the question of whether they actually need to add offshore exposure based on their long-term investment goals.

A global market perspective Q3 2017

22 August 2017 | General

The latest Global Market Perspective report for Q3 2017 from Schroders was recently released, providing a perspective on the global markets. The report unpacks whether investors have become complacent, reviews mid-year markets and looks at the historical market impact of presidential impeachments.

Behind the tills

22 August 2017 | Economy

Retail sales, a key indicator of the health of consumer spending, grew more than expected in the US and South Africa according to official data released last week. In both countries, consumption spending is the largest sector of the economy. However, the conditions in the retail sectors of these two economies are very different.

Be selective when investing offshore – and don’t discount South Africa

21 August 2017 | General

Global equities have been in a bull market ever since the 2007-2008 financial crisis. With both the MSCI World Index and the S&P 500 trading at over 20 times earnings, they are well above long-term averages. Positive sentiment and strong returns in offshore markets may act as a lure for wary South African investors. But the case for cheap offshore equity valuations – and corresponding opportunities for strong long-term returns – is becoming weaker by the day.

quick poll

Question

Do you think short-term insurance broking will survive the AI plus humanoid robotics age?

Answer

Human first always Not a chance Possibly maybe Yes, but reimagined

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