If you’re a Premium subscriber, there’s still time to register for Thursday’s Webinar. It promises to be another happy occasion as the portfolio continues to surpass expectations with an annualised return of 30% since it was launched 31 months ago. Lots more detail later – look forward to the pleasure of your company.
On the subject of webinars, sponsor of the Global Investing section, One Touch Investments, also became the very first company to take advantage of our sponsored webinar facility. The topic – the investment appeal of UK retirement homes – captured the attention of many in the Biznews community with a vibrant discussion ensuing.
If you missed the UK property webinar, you can still access the info on the website. Not quite as good as being there live, but almost.
From a broader perspective the Rand had another turbulent month, but the trend towards long-term weakening which has been with us for the past year is still very much intact. It’s one of the obvious signals to protect yourself against further weakening of the currency.
The other obvious signal came with the SA Reserve Bank’s unexpected cut in interest rates. By so doing, the SARB is telling us that for as long as inflation remains subdued, it will progressively drop interest rates. That, in turn, reduces the appeal of the “carry trade” where forex players keep the Rand artificially high by arbitraging between the relatively high rates in SA and the low ones in developing countries.
Add to that the stagnant SA economy and policy makers who haven’t the foggiest about how to lift it out of the doldrums and the message is clear: keep hedging yourself against Rand weakness. Keep investing offshore.
