Investing Offshore

Making the decision to invest offshore can be overwhelming for South African investors. This is due to the sheer size of the investment universe with all of its various products, asset classes and service providers, coupled with the associated risks.

Foord Appoints Deputy CIO

Foord Asset Management has made an important addition to its investment team by appointing Daryll Owen into the position of Deputy Chief Investment Officer (“Deputy CIO”) from 2 September 2013. The role of the Deputy CIO is a new role and was created with Daryll’s appointment. The objective is to add operational capacity to the office of the Chief Investment Officer without affecting the portfolio management arrangements in place for client portfolios.

New Faces At Foord

Our Foreword newsletter over the past two quarters has profiled the recent new hires at Foord. For those who may have missed those inserts, we set out below a short profile of the new faces to have most recently joined the Foord team:

Flexible Fund Turns Five

Since its inception in 1981, Foord Asset Management has achieved considerable investment success for its clients. This success is largely due to the consistent application of an investment philosophy that strives to get the big calls right; to buy securities at the right price; to take a long-term view and to diversify the portfolios appropriately. The primary focus on protecting capital in real terms and avoiding index relative investing leads naturally to attractive absolute returns over the long term. Over 30 years, the firm has proven its abilities in both asset allocation and security selection, the core competencies required in the multi-asset class investing space.

The Problem With Risk

At Foord, we have long espoused the view that volatility of investment returns is not a suitable measure of investment risk. However, the investment fraternity seems preoccupied with this flawed measure of risk in determining whether or not an investment fits a particular profile.

SABMiller - We'll Drink To That

Many South African companies have attempted to expand overseas. The failure rate is high and only few have succeeded. One company that stands out as having made a real success of its offshore ventures is SABMiller. CAROLYN LEVIN takes a closer look at this global brewing giant.

The January Effect

“The January Effect” purports to be a market phenomenon in which share prices rise in the calendar month of January. An alleged effect like this should prompt the simple question, “Why?” A US-centric explanation suggests that investors seek to create tax losses in December to offset capital gains earned during the preceding 11 months; in January, these transient sale transactions are reversed, leading to rises in share prices.

Big on BHP Billiton

Twenty years ago few would have believed that the largest mining company in the world would emerge from South Africa, yet not involve Anglo American or De Beers. BHP Billiton is that company and one that has consistently been among the largest holdings in Foord portfolios for the past five years.

A Decade Of Consistent Top Ranking Unit Trust Returns

Foord Unit Trusts launched its flagship unit trust portfolios ten years ago on 1 September 2002. Foord now legitimately enjoys a track record of unparalleled top-ranking returns in the unit trust industry that emulates its track record in managing pension fund portfolios since the early 1980s.

Are You Addicted To Risk Aversion?

The investment management industry, and indeed the average investor, is preoccupied with short-term performance. Funds are ranked by performance, judged monthly or quarterly, and awards are based on performance over relatively short time horizons. Assets often flow from funds that have underperformed over the short term to those that have outperformed over the same measurement period.