2012 Financial Planner of the Year competition open for entries
The Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) has opened their call for entries for ...
Meeting Jenny Sheehy, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, Futuregrowth Asset Management
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Q: How did you get involved in financial services?
A: I started studying actuarial science at university and worked in the actuarial development department of a large insurance company. Of all the actuarial exams, the investment modules were the most interesting. After travelling overseas I looked for a job in investments and started doing fixed income research for the Investments Department of Old Mutual from 1989, followed by fixed income portfolio management from 1994. Old Mutual bought Futuregrowth in 2008 and since then I have been based at Futuregrowth in Newlands as a fixed income portfolio manager.
Q: When did you make your first investment and do you still have it?
A: I invested in a futures contract indexed to the dollar gold price in 1990. Although this is a short term investment and one is only required to place a margin upfront, one has full exposure to the movements in the price of the underlying instrument until the contract expires. This proved to be a useful experience to gain knowledge of the mechanics of the derivatives market early on in my career.
Q: How should institutions and retail investors use a cash investment?
A: Institutions and retail investors should use a cash or fixed income investment as part of their investment portfolio. Their overall portfolio should be well diversified with equity, property and offshore investments in addition to bonds and cash. Weights across the various asset classes will depend on the investor’s risk appetite and cashflow requirements.
Q: Are you concerned about inflation locally and / or globally in 2012?
A: With global growth expected to continue recovering slowly in 2012, I would not be overly concerned about global inflation in 2012. Although local inflation is currently increasing and is above the upper band of the inflation target of 6.0%, it is expected to trend lower during the second half of 2012. The risks to this outlook are to the upside with potential volatility from food and oil prices as well as from the rand.
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Not a currency question
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Not a currency question The start of a new year and the end of a quarter sees a number of asset managers very generously giving of their time and presenting to clients, advisers and the media. While I still have a few more of these presentations to attend there are some conflicting and common thoughts [...]
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Hedge funds outperform the ALSI in 2011 with less volatility
The Blue Ink Composite (BIC), which tracks the performance of around 100 Hedge Funds in South Africa, recorded an 8.65% increase in 2011, outperforming the JSE All Share Total Return Index (ALSI) by more than 6%. This outperformance was achieved with significantly less volatility levels than the local equity market. According to Eben Karsten, portfolio [...]
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Do you make up the 6%?
By Rowan Burger: Head of Investment Strategy at Liberty Retail South Africa As a South African it’s time to seriously think about your retirement plan and be cognisant of our changing world of work. In the UK, twenty year olds are three times more likely to get to 100 than their grandparents. A quarter of [...]
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New dividend tax will impact companies and shareholders
By Tasneem Gangat, Tax consultant, Grant Thornton Johannesburg The introduction of the new dividends tax (DWT), coming into effect from 1 April this year, will require that dividend tax is paid to SARS by the company, on behalf of the shareholder, before the dividend is paid out in full and will be levied at a [...]
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Car jamming has insurance implications
Vehicle owners are being hit hard with thefts of valuables from parked cars as car jamming gangs targets shopping centres and schools in the northern suburbs. A report on the front page of the Star newspaper today (25 Jan) says a dramatic shootout unfolded at Bryanston Parallel Medium Primary School between police officers and a [...]
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Top up your RA for a tax break but remember new regulations
The end of the tax year is a good time to maximise the tax breaks SARS allows on retirement annuities (RAs) by topping up yours with an additional contribution. Perhaps you’ve earned a bonus, or put aside money for a rainy day that never came. If to date you’ve contributed less than the maximum tax-deductible [...]
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Stock picks to weather the New Year
2011 was a difficult year for South African investors with tumbling markets, soaring volatility and a flailing rand making the investing environment a nerve-wracking one. With this in mind, it is crucial to choose the right stocks, so that the year ahead is perfectly positioned for superior returns. As we head into the New Year, [...]
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New retirement reforms must be sustainable
Government’s planned retirement reforms are set to provide South Africans better protection and an enhanced deal from the financial services industry, yet if this new model is to prove successful, it is critical that reform is structured in a sustainable manner in the long term. This is according to Willem Loots, head of umbrella fund [...]
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This is not 2008: Global risks and their impacts
According to Johann Els, senior economist at OMIGSA’s Economic Research Unit, South African’s need to brace themselves for yet another year of unbridled market volatility as global events emanating from the north, west and east continue to impact locally. Says Els, ‘We have identified three key global risks that will determine how events play out [...]
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One in three not able to retire
One in three South Africans believe that the government will take care of them in old age – a belief that contributes to the already enormous pressure on government to supply grants to pensioners who have neglected to save for retirement. The recently-released bi-annual Old Mutual Savings and Investments Monitor findings estimate that around 45% [...]
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Latest Issue - 31 January 2012
In This Issue:
- Prospects for 2012
- New Retirement Thinking?
- Reasons to be concerned about Europe
- Short-term insurance survey
Newsletters
Newsletter 2 February 2012: Investing discipline and World Cancer Day
In today’s newsletter we use the investor issue of offshore investing to illustrate some investment principles. Given that we live in a rather investing-challenged world how do we need to look at it differently and what can it show us about how we need to approach all our investments. On Saturday, 4 February, World Cancer [...]
