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Decomposing US Treasury Yields - where will they surprise next?

02 March 2016 | General

Since the turn of the year markets have been very stressed for multiple reasons which our readers would be well familiar with.

The implications of the Budget for investors

01 March 2016 | General

In last week Wednesday’s National Budget speech, as our investment economist, Arthur Kamp, pointed out, minister Gordhan showed that he has a full arsenal of options to increase revenue. This year he opted to not increase top marginal tax rates or VAT. Instead the minister used a combination of increases in excise duties, the fuel levy and other green taxes, capital gains tax and transfer duty, and provided only limited relief for fiscal drag this year by adjusting the upper tax brackets by less than inflation.

Stewardship – Substance over form

29 February 2016 | General

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations have gained prominence in investment circles over the last decade. The United Nations-supported Principles of Responsible Investing (PRI) and the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa (CRISA) are examples of voluntary codes aimed at encouraging investors and institutions to consider sustainability and governance issues. Importantly, subscribing to these principles is meaningless unless their substance is truly inherent in the investment philosophy and process. Form over substance characterised much of the initial industry response. That balance is now slowly moving in the right direction.

This Is Not 2008

29 February 2016 | General

Michael Hasenstab, CIO of Templeton Global Macro, says many market watchers are panicking like it’s 2008 again—in the throes of financial crisis. He sees the situation a bit differently, with little reason to believe the United States is headed into a recession this year or that China is headed for a hard landing. Amid the market’s sour mood, he’s finding opportunities and cautions investors to look beyond short-term sentiment swings and toward longer-term fundamentals.

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The strongest deterrent against FSP compliance missteps is or should be:

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