Tag: climate change

Investing is a personal choice and a number of influences will hold sway over where people put their money. A personal value system is one such influence and, for most South Africans, this appears to be non-negotiable. This is according to our recently released Global Investor Study 2020, an annual survey that canvassed the views of more than 23,000 wealth investors from 32 locations around the world

Have COVID-19 changed world views or will we have forgotten about everything in six months? Before 2020 when you heard the word virus you immediately thought of the damage this could do to your computer. Losing data was the worst outcome you could think of. Until COVID-19 hit, changing the world and the way we think.

The coronavirus is an opportunity to end the war with nature. It's a moment to be humble and realise our finitude in a wondrous and infinite natural order. COVID-19 pushed an already weak and crisis-ridden global economy over the edge. Massive value has been erased from crashing stock market prices. Many commentators have talked about the return of economic conditions similar to the great financial crash of 2007-2009.

An interview with Barry Bredenkamp, General Manager Energy Efficiency, South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing the Green New Deal (GND) and how harnessing its benefits can help grow the economy and create jobs in a post-COVID-19 world.

While lockdown inadvertently helped to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it is critically important that sustainability of the environment is at the heart of post-COVID-19 recovery efforts. This is where the much-talked about Green New Deal (GND) becomes crucial and while it’s no panacea to economic challenges, harnessing its benefits can help grow the economy and create jobs in a post-COVID-19 world.

What does the economic downturn mean for the asset management sector and how should we respond? The asset management industry is facing uncharted territory as it grapples with the impact of COVID-19 on business models and the challenge of integrating technology into their existing business models.

The future is bright for those who respond the fastest to shifting consumer expectations. We hosted the third annual RCS Retail Summit that took place in Cape Town and Johannesburg towards the end of 2019.

Amongst the global elites attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, financial companies represent the biggest single industry attendance, which makes it clear that it’s all about the political power of money. Power, politics and finance in today’s economic systems go hand in hand. 

As we enter a new decade, CEOs are showing record levels of pessimism in the global economy, with 53% predicting a decline in the rate of economic growth in 2020. This is up from 29% in 2019 and just 5% in 2018 – the highest level of pessimism since we started asking this question in 2012.

Investors’ appetite across the globe for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) was strong in 2019 and shows little sign of slowing. I share some of the themes and trends that I see ahead in 2020. The tailwind for ETFs going into not only a new year but a new decade couldn’t be stronger. Last year, global ETF assets under management (AUM) surpassed US$6 trillion, and in Europe we broke US$1 trillion in AUM.1