We all know the story – African economies are, in many cases, growing rapidly; investment opportunities abound; and a lot of smart money is flowing in from all over the world. At the same time, of course, we also know that investors need to be cautious in frontier markets. While there is growth potential, and … Read more
By now we’ve all heard about the Federal Reserve’s imminent tapering – the Fed’s plan to cut back sharply on its programme of quantitative easing. And we all know that it is expected to have some pretty serious consequences for companies and economies around the world. In this interview, Peter Brooke, Boutique Head of Old … Read more
First a health warning. Mark vd Walt runs business development at a boutique asset manager. So, by arguing that the size of a professionally managed investment portfolio matters, he is obviously talking his book. On the other hand, the facts are pretty convincing. As you’ll read below. My opinion on the subject was shaped by … Read more
This year has turned out to be an excellent period for many investors who placed bets in stock markets around the globe – even though there’s been so much bad news. Seed Investments’ Ian de Lange looks back over some of the big international headlines of 2013 to remind us that bad news isn’t always … Read more
In his latest piece, popular Biznewz blogger Enrico Liebenberg offers a way forward for money lenders in the high risk sector to improve their reputation, and therefore share price, at the same time as making a meaningful difference to the wellbeing of their customers. He reckons personal finance education is the way to improve collection … Read more
A tweet by ebullient Owen Nkomo of Inkunzi Investments got our regular blogger Khumbulani Mpofu thinking about financial literacy. Or, rather, lack of it.
How do you know if a country’s currency is going to continue to weaken or whether it is about to get stronger? Not easy, but there are some clues. The Economist came up with the Big Mac Index, which compares prices of identical burgers sold by a global fast-food outlet to show you what your … Read more
Without a major shake-up in the retirement savings industry, most of us – including big salary earners – face serious financial hardship. That’s the hard-hitting message from a man who has specialised in developing income-producing investments. Simon Pearse, CEO of Marriott, the Income Specialists, sets out the harsh realities faced by most South Africans who are … Read more
BHPBilliton CEO Marius Kloppers had bad news for some base metal prices at his AGM this morning. He reckons the China-driven boom for iron ore and coal prices is over. After the inflation of the past decade, prices are reverting to a lower mean. I have cut away the verbiage to help make his message easier to understand. It’s clear: get out of shares like Kumba, Exxarro, ARM and even steel-maker Mittal.