Tag: Momentum Investments

With the festive season behind us, many South Africans are focused on a reset. We have cleared sugar from our pantries and clutter from our homes. However, one vital area often gets overlooked. It quietly drains both energy and bank accounts. That area is our finances, and it sits at the heart of the 2026 financial detox.

Investment management is fundamentally about improving the odds of success in an environment defined by uncertainty. Market commentary often centres on returns. However, what truly matters to clients is whether their portfolios deliver the outcomes they need, when they need them and within tolerable levels of risk.

The renowned behavioural finance research duo, Barber and Odean, published a paper in 2001 entitled Boys will be boys that ruffled a few feathers. The duo studied and reported on the performance difference males versus females generated on their investments. Not only did they find a statistically significant difference in favour of women, but they also found that men had better investment performance in the mere presence of women.

Although past performance is not a good indication of future returns, it seems to remain one of the main determinants of investment switching behaviour and consequently the dreaded ‘behaviour tax’. This behaviour tax is calculated as the performance sacrificed after switching between one unit trust and another.

In the wake of the widespread adoption of revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, the realm of AI has rapidly advanced and filtered through to various industries. From healthcare to marketing, AI’s impact is undeniable.

About seven years ago, the United Nations introduced the concept of gender-aware economics and transformative financing. The idea is that funds and other investment vehicles become aware of what they are investing in, taking the time to consider different assets and businesses with a focus on financing women entrepreneurs.

I am sure all of you have seen the movie 'What women want' starring Helen Hunt. Believe me, you don’t have to go that far to understand what women in the workplace truly want. You can just ask! As the end of Women's Month drew to a close, I reflected a bit on the journey as a woman in the workplace.

Rising costs of living and high levels of unemployment in an unpredictable economic landscape have turned traditional financial aspirations on their head as people desperately scramble to overcome short-term challenges at the cost of long-term investments.

The rising cost of living continues to tighten its grip on the economy, giving scammers, fraudsters and hustlers the green light to prey on those desperate enough (and potentially unaware of the dangers) to choose an easy way out of the financial hole they have fallen into.

The COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world and left many scrounging for hand sanitiser and toilet paper as shopping aisles stood empty. Similar havoc was wreaked on financial markets as investors abandoned their long-term goals for the immediate emotional comfort on offer by moving either out of financial markets completely or into comparatively ‘safer’ assets.