There has been a sudden surge in interest in precious metal ETFs in recent months, especially in platinum. What is driving this demand? Why can only some banks, and no asset managers, be issuers of commodity ETPs? In addition to platinum, we cover gold, silver, palladium and rhodium in this podcast ..read more

Liquid Private Credit in the US market is an investment opportunity not readily available to South African investors in any form other than an actively-managed certificate (AMC). Prior to the global financial crisis in 2008, most companies raised capital and financing by traditional means such as either banks or via public debt, but subsequent regulatory changes restricted the amount of bank lending to smaller and riskier businesses. In simple terms, that’s where private credit stepped in to fill the gap thus created in the market ..read more

One of the most universal investment objectives is the attractiveness of dividends, especially if this can be earned in addition to capital growth, and during times of increased uncertainty the value of dividends in support of total return become even more valuable. Given the high inflationary environment in which we find ourselves, with talks of a possible global recession thrown in, many investors are searching high and low for returns with the hope of preserving capital, especially in real terms ..read more

ETFs, ETNs, AMCs – three-letter acronyms that all fall under the umbrella of ETPs (exchange-traded products). It all sounds complicated and can become quite confusing. As an investor, how do you know which ones to invest in, and should you be concerned about the specific product structure of the investment? Simply put, ETPs offer the ability to diversify your portfolio by being invested in a basket of shares across different sectors and geographies, or get exposure to hard to come by commodities. Actively Managed Certificates, or AMCs, are also considered ETPs, so it offers many of the same be ..read more

Socially Responsible Investments, and specifically strategies designed to focus on Reduced Fossil Fuel, are to some extent a subset of a broader ESG focus on investment strategies. On the surface it ticks all the right boxes for retail and institutional investors alike. But what are some of the nuances of which investors should be aware, and how do you assess it for suitability in your investment portfolio, perhaps alongside exposure to physical commodities ..read more

Inflation has risen sharply around the world due to the twin effects of very accommodative monetary policies and supply chain disruptions post Covid lockdowns, only to be compounded by the sharply higher energy and agricultural prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Inflation-linked bonds represent a possible hedge against the impact of rising prices in both our lives as consumers, but also in our investment portfolios ..read more

Investments in healthcare products and services have expanded in recent years to also focus on new technologies and disruptive innovations, as the combination of the Covid pandemic and increased longevity and ageing populations have caused a shift in this traditionally defensive sector. What does this shift towards biotechnology, breakthrough innovations in life sciences and genomics, remote diagnosis and surgical procedures, to name but a few, mean for the investment case for healthcare ..read more

In his recently published book – The Bogle Effect – Eric Balchunas credits Jack Bogle, the father of index investing and founder of the Vanguard Group, with saving investors over one trillion dollars (and counting), thanks to the direct and indirect effects of lower investment costs. Although the low cost structures of index funds take much of the credit, it is the unique mutual ownership structure of Vanguard that serves as the catalyst for investors receiving all the benefits of lower fees ..read more

China as an investment destination has challenged the most determined of investors in recent years. The long-term growth prospects and the importance of China in the global investment universe are well established, but the when, what and how to invest in China, remain key questions. The range of options available on the JSE continue to expand, and this latest offering from Sygnia Itrix focus on the “new sectors” in the Chinese economy. What are these, and how does it compare to the alternatives already available ..read more

Investments in little-known companies, illusive strategies and futuristic concepts comes with very specific risks, especially in the short-term, but with the appropriate long-term perspective, and alongside more traditional investment options in your portfolio, these could offer diversified and excess performance to investors. Such options are now available via actively-managed funds, and specifically as exchange-traded products, as we await the introduction of AMETFs – Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Funds – on the JSE ..read more