8 years of market turbulence
Over the past 8 years, global markets have delivered strong annual returns — around 8% to 10% per year. Any investor would be happy with that result. But those returns didn’t come in a straight line. There were multiple points where it felt like the market was on the verge of collapse — […]
Market Recap
Let’s take a quick look at how markets are doing, both locally and abroad. Year to date: The JSE is at all-time highs and up over 10% for the year (in rands). In contrast, the US market is down more than 7%, impacted by renewed uncertainty around tariffs and political noise. The MSCI World […]
The Geometry of Wealth
How much is enough? It’s one of those questions that comes up all the time. With clients. With friends. In your own head some days. And depending on who you ask, you’ll get very different answers. I recently listened to a podcast of Brian Portnoy talking about his new book The Geometry of Wealth— it’s […]
Nobody Knows
2025 was off to a great start. We were coming off two strong years of returns. Inflation was coming down and no longer an issue, the US labour market was at close to full employment, and corporate earnings were beating expectations. There was even growing optimism that rate cuts would start sooner rather than later. […]
The Loser’s Game
In his famous 1975 essay, The Loser’s Game, investing guru Charles Ellis used the game of tennis to highlight two different approaches to success. He argued that tennis — like investing — is really two different games, depending on who’s playing. Professional tennis is a winner’s game. The outcome is usually determined by the player […]
The market doesn’t care what you think
The stock market isn’t concerned with being politically correct or appeasing those in power. It’s driven by real people making real decisions with real money—betting on the outlook for earnings growth, stability, inflation, taxation, and the rule of law. Right now, the market is sending a clear message about what Trump is doing. His […]
Trade Wars 2.0
Remember Trump’s trade wars from his first term? One tweet from the White House, and the markets would go haywire. Up, down, sideways—pure chaos. Well, here we go again. This time, though, it’s not China (yet). Instead, Canada and Mexico are in the crosshairs. Tariffs are being announced, removed, reinstated—rinse and repeat. No […]
Diversification comes with FOMO
There are two sides to diversification. On one hand, it ensures you’re never 100% exposed to the worst-performing asset class. On the other, it means you’ll never have 100% exposure to the best-performing asset class either. There’s always a trade-off. It sounds obvious, but in practice, it’s difficult. When a particular sector or […]
When is the best time to invest in the market
The JSE is currently at all time highs. The US market is also at all time highs. If you have some cash, is it worth waiting for a pullback before investing? This was the strategy of the past 2 years that hasn’t really worked out. The year 2023 will go down as the year of […]
Market returns are good enough
It’s been a strong start to the year for most markets. Despite all the uncertainty in the world, markets have performed well over the past 12 months. First, let’s take a look at the rand. I really like the chart below from Anchor Capital, which provides a longer-term perspective on the currency’s behaviour. […]
