Following a difficult 2013, sentiment has shifted away from risk assets on the back of negative news flow. This partly stems from fears of faltering growth in the Chinese economy, stress in emerging markets as well as ongoing speculation over the scaling back of quantitative easing (QE).
With this in mind, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) raised interest rates by 50 basis points at its January meeting. The combination of weak growth and high inflation has long provided a dilemma to SARB governor, Gill Marcus, having only the blunt policy tool of short-term interest rates at her disposal to manage imported inflation.
Given the aforementioned headwinds, Investec Asset Management portfolio managers review 2013 and discuss how their portfolios are positioned for 2014. Please see the reviews below:
Malcolm Charles – Fixed Income
Clyde Rossouw – Cautious Managed Fund
Clyde Rossouw – Opportunity Fund
Simon Howie – High Income Fund
Neil Stuart-Findlay – Property Fund