Through our Lens: Edition 1

A message from Gielie

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our bi-monthly update, Through our Lens. Through this regular interaction, we aim to keep you updated on relevant investment and market insights from Sanlam Investments. Our range of topics will not only cover investment related topics, but also the impact that we are striving to make in the world around us.

As South Africans, we are currently experiencing numerous challenges and the reality is that households are under tremendous pressure. It is very easy to become negative and let our emotions control our actions not only during daily life, but also when it comes to financial decisions. Kingsley Williams, CIO at Satrix and Nico Katzke, head of portfolio solutions at Satrix, provide their views on some of the biases that we need to be aware of and guard against when making investment decisions.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Sanlam Investments, committed to support businesses to weather the storm and to recover after the pandemic, while making a meaningful impact on the communities that were also hugely affected. Our head of direct property, Thando Sishuba, shares his views on how SA Inc can be advanced through social infrastructure investments via our private equity team. Given an increase in loadshedding, in this edition, we also share our views on nuclear energy as a potential solution for our South African energy crisis.

Our team is also making inroads in both helping small businesses become more sustainable and creating worth in what many consider waste – here, you might find the latest acquisition of Skipwaste, a leading provider of waste management solutions, by our private markets team interesting.

Turning our focus offshore, Feroz Basa, our head of global emerging markets, also shares his views on why South Africans should be investing into other emerging markets. He highlights the diversification benefits of investing into companies that operate within different geographies and argues that the future returns expected from these companies should drive your asset allocation decisions.

On a more sobering note, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently announced that it was adding South Africa and Nigeria to its grey list. From a country-perspective, it seems like we are clear from a regulatory point of view but lack an effective implementation standpoint. We share the measures we are taking to mitigate the potential negative impact of the grey listing.

I would like to thank you for your continued support during these very challenging times. We hope that you enjoy our first edition of Through our Lens and encourage you to get in touch with us if you have any feedback.

Kind regards

Gielie de Swardt

Head: Retail Distribution

Through our Lens