Tag: fixed income

In recent years, family offices have emerged as formidable players in the global financial landscape, managing substantial wealth on behalf of ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Although there is still a preference by some family offices to adopt a more hands-on approach by directly acquiring private companies and properties, many are mitigating risk by co-investing with seasoned private equity professionals in direct investments.

Warren Buffet’s favourite holding period for a stock is “forever”, but even he acknowledges there are valid reasons for selling a stock. Deciding when to sell a stock is something both professional and retail investors grapple with. In fact, it’s accepted wisdom that it is psychologically easier to buy a stock than to sell one.

In the midst of buoyant equity markets and impressive returns, the prudent investor recognises the imperative of fortifying their wealth against a risk premium. As markets surge and fluctuate, the need for astute wealth management strategies becomes ever more important – particularly for South Africans who need to measure and manage their wealth in global terms.

As capital markets grapple with profound shifts in the macro-economic and geo-political landscapes, for investors, 2022 is turning into a year we’d rather forget. Following relative calm over the South African winter, volatility in bond, equity and currency markets recently returned with a vengeance.

A record sell-off coupled with a shifting economic backdrop mean opportunities in global fixed income markets have appeared. It has been an extraordinary time for bond markets. As an asset class, fixed income is often seen as equities’ boring cousin, particularly over the past decade of low yields. Recent months, however, have been anything but boring, albeit for the wrong reasons.

‘When one door closes, another one opens,’ as the saying goes, and this is particularly true when it comes to investments. Economic recovery is on the horizon, and while it is expected and somewhat priced in by present market activity, investors are more interested in looking at what lies ahead. And here there may be some opportunities.

We have once more partnered with FTSE Russell to launch a new multi-asset index solution for the South African market, leveraging the long-standing relationship between the two organisations and the rich base of the existing index offering.

Since 2018, sustainable fixed income indexing assets across the industry have more than doubled every year, with investors increasingly looking at sustainability as an important driver of returns. The pandemic has also accelerated reallocation within fixed income as traditional role of government bonds within portfolios has become increasingly challenged by a lower for-longer interest rate environment.

Many of us became more comfortable with using technology for everyday purposes like buying groceries, clothing and medication. One aspect of investing that was magnified during the lockdown was the importance of diversification. Introducing different asset classes and geographies into a portfolio can certainly be put down as one of the major lessons from last year.

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