Tag: FinancialMarkets

What does it mean to be the best possible custodians of our clients’ capital? To us, it means equipping our clients to build wealth over the long term. This is a broad mandate, and it presents more challenges than first appear. Markets are constantly changing. These changes extend beyond the daily gyrations that dominate headlines. At a deeper level, relationships between asset classes, leading market sectors, and levels of market concentration shift over long cycles.

For as long as African states have borrowed on international markets, a handful of analysts sitting thousands of kilometres away have had an outsized say in what that money costs. With the official launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Mauritius on 7 October 2026, the African Union (AU) has gone beyond claiming a seat at the proverbial table. Instead, it has built its own table.

Electricity transformed the world, not simply because it existed, but because of what it made possible. That distinction may prove important as we think about Artificial Intelligence (AI). In 1882, Thomas Edison built the world’s first commercial power station at 255 Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, New York. The incandescent light bulb was revolutionary. However, the real breakthrough was the system behind it: the generators, cables, meters, and distribution network.

There is no shortage of reasons for investors to feel uneasy at the moment. Geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Middle East continue to make headlines. Oil prices have also spiked in parallel. Locally, the economy remains trapped in a low-growth environment. Unemployment and the escalating cost of living also continue to weigh heavily on South African households.

As we settle into the second half of 2026, global market returns continue to reflect themes pulling markets in different directions. There has been an almost unprecedented combination of geopolitical tension, volatile oil prices, persistent inflation and uncertainty over interest rates. Added to this are the extraordinary gains delivered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). These gains have become concentrated in a small number of large companies.

South Africa is sitting on a growing backlog of mature private equity assets. Managers cannot exit them, and investors cannot access them. The global solution already exists, but we are not using it yet. Exits depend on a cooperative stock exchange, willing trade buyers and investors patient enough to wait out a fund’s full life.

Most traders spend their lives searching for the perfect strategy. They believe the next indicator, the next system or the next prediction will finally unlock their success. They are wrong. In Jack of All Trades, the author reveals a truth that few traders are willing to confront. Consistent profitability has nothing to do with finding the perfect trade. Instead, it has everything to do with becoming the right trader.

The shift from Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR) to South African Rand Overnight Index Average (ZARONIA) marks a turning point in South Africa's financial landscape. It forms part of a global movement toward more reliable and transparent interest rate benchmarks. However, for businesses, it represents far more than a regulatory change.

Our philosophy has not changed; the environment in which we execute it has. For over two decades, our investment philosophy has been grounded in a simple principle. High-quality companies that can reliably grow dividends tend to deliver more predictable long-term outcomes. This principle remains the foundation of how we invest. However, the environment in which we apply this philosophy has changed.

The South African financial landscape is currently undergoing one of its most significant structural shifts in decades. As a result, businesses must prioritise navigating the transition from Johannesburg Interbank Average Rate (JIBAR) to South African Overnight Index Average (ZARONIA) with urgency and precision.