In this episode, Johan Marnewick, Head of Fixed Income Private Markets at STANLIB, and Karishma Bhoolia, Senior Climate Risk Analyst at JustShare, talk to Jeremy Maggs about what is needed in the way of policy and standards to give impact investing greater credibility.
The fragility we are starting to see in certain areas of global private credit is primarily a US, and partly a European, issue. It is unlikely to have a direct contagion effect on SA private credit, for a number of reasons.
In modern investment management, how decisions are made matters just as much as which decisions are made. As markets become more complex, interconnected, and information-rich, fragmented or ad-hoc investment processes increasingly struggle to deliver consistent outcomes. This is where an integrated, systematic investment engine becomes a powerful differentiator, as seen in STANLIB’s approach to equity investing.
In the ninth podcast in our “The More You Know” series, Marisa Bester, COO of Infrastructure Investment at STANLIB Asset Management, and Johan Marnewick, Head of Fixed Income Private Markets, speak to Jeremy Maggs about how this capital can be mobilised. They discuss different types of infrastructure projects, the risks involved, and how to measure their impact.
After years of easy money masking underlying fragilities, signs of strain are now emerging in parts of the private-credit ecosystem. Listed private-credit lenders are weakening, software‑linked borrowers are under pressure, and liquidity structures are being tested as refinancing becomes more challenging. While not dramatic, these shifts echo risks highlighted in earlier Unicorn articles and suggest the long cycle of abundant liquidity is slowly unravelling. Understanding how stress in private markets can spill into listed credit and equity is becoming increasingly important for portfolio management.
Trust your manager to confidently navigate volatile fixed income markets, even as the Middle East reshapes potential pathways.
STANLIB’s Multi-Asset team believes that the US could be inthe early stages of an early cyclical growth phase, for several reasons.
The South African Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, presented his fifth National Budget on Wednesday, 25 February 2026. While the global and domestic economic backdrop remains challenging, some of SA’s recent economic reform initiatives are gaining traction, resulting in apositive medium-term growth outlook.
In this episode of TheMore You Know, Jeremy Maggs interviews STANLIB Asset Management CEO, DerrickMsibi, who argues that Africa has the potential to attract capital more broadlythan only to the JSE, which many investors mistakenly treat as a proxy for theentire continent. He proposes three key policy moves that would help to movethe continent onto the investment radar.
If you want to understand why cryptocurrency refuses to fade into irrelevance, start with a number that should unsettle anyone who cares about the future of money.
In this episode, Rademeyer Vermaak, Head of Systematic Solutions, talks to Jeremy Maggs about why cryptocurrency is important and how it is evolving in response to the needs of the global financial system. While existing regulation does not allow South African asset managers to hold it now, that is likely to change in the future, he suggests.
2025 was a year of exceptional returns for South African investors. As we enter 2026, our outlook is one of cautious optimism. The global investment environment is still buoyed by strong monetary and fiscal policy support, which continues to underpin equity markets. Earnings growth has been robust and economic resilience has persisted, despite the challenges posed by tariffs and geopolitical disruptions. Our team emphasises that policy support remains a cornerstone for equities, and the current cycle is unlikely to be derailed in the near term.
Despite an exceptional return scoreboard for markets and South African investors in 2025, as we head into 2026 our tactical view remains one of cautious optimism. Markets are being fuelled by AI momentum - a secular theme driving a capex cycle that provides a tailwind. A supportive macro backdrop exists for assets, despite valuation concerns, and while the global equity risk premia (expand) is low, we think it is justifiably low, although there is increasing risk in fixed income markets (remember to us all assets are risk assets).
In the seventh episode of our “The More You Know” series, Mark Lovett, STANLIB Head of Investments, shares his experience of other market bubbles to help put the current AI hype into context. He emphasises the need for investors to identify the winners and losers in this new technology wave and discusses how AI is affecting the asset management industry.
This year’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) was presented in a slightly more encouraging domestic economic environment, with a modest improvement in SA’s growth dynamic since the May 2025 National Budget.
Investors face an uncertain market environment that demands responsiveness and discernment, in a context where a 9.8% (circa CPI+5%) return is regarded as modest by local standards.
In a new uncertain world, after decades of underinvestment, European nations are embarking on an unprecedented military spending surge, creating a potential golden era globally for defence contractors. With NATO members raising commitments to target spend from 2% to at least 3% of GDP and an estimated €500 billion investment gap over the next decade, the sector offers compelling growth prospects despite an already strong year-to-date performance.
In episode six of our “The More You Know” vodcast series, Peter van der Ross, Deputy Head of STANLIB Multi-Asset, talks to Jeremy Maggs about the concerns about global bonds and why SA bonds are attracting interest, including from global investors. He also pinpoints which market areas are most appealing to the team now.
In the latest episode of our The More You Know vodcast series, Sylvester Kobo, Deputy Head of Fixed Income at STANLIB Asset Management, counsels’ investors to “get comfortable with discomfort” for the foreseeable future and avoid focusing on short term ups and downs.
He also discusses the factors that have driven a 14% return from the local bond market. He explains how the Fixed Income team is actively managing duration to respond to the volley of new information and filtering out what is not relevant.
SA's economy feels sluggish, yet the JSE has been notching up record highs. Many investors are baffled by the fact that share prices are climbing while growth remains weak.
In the latest episode of The More You Know, the podcast from STANLIB Asset Management, two of the firm's senior multi-asset specialists, Warren Buhai and Peter van der Ross, explained why markets and economies so often disconnect, and what investors should do to respond.
In this episode of The More You Know, Chetan Ramlall explores how exponential data growth is transforming investment strategy.
With global data volumes nearing 200 zettabytes, the challenge is no longer access, but interpretation. Learn how systematic investing blends fundamentals, sentiment, and macro context to build smarter portfolios.
The future isn’t man versus machine. It’s man and machine.
In episode 2 of  The More You Know, Rademeyer Vermaak, Head of STANLIB Asset Management's Systematic Solutions Team, joins Jeremy Maggs to explore how structure and science are redefining investing. In a market full of noise, their approach blends data, discipline and human insight to build resilient portfolios and deliver consistent performance over time.
Right now, the world is unsettled by inflation, war, fragile geopolitics, and dizzying stock markets that often defies logic and staying invested can feel like a test of nerve. But for STANLIB Asset Management's Head of Multi-Asset, Marius Oberholzer, this moment may be one of the most exciting and misread of his entire career.
Private credit is not difficult to understand, but the skills to package different elements together to achieve optimal risk-adjusted returns can only be found among professional fund managers.
In a world where financial markets shift overnight and the rules are constantly being rewritten, knowledge is more than power - it's a competitive advantage. The More You Know is our new vodcast series created to give investors the insights they need to navigate today's complex local and global market landscape. This is your essential guide to navigating uncertainty and turning insight into long-term investment success.
In today's world, the case for gender equality is not just a moral imperative - it is a strategic investment. Nowhere is this more evident than in the infrastructure sector: the roads we drive on, the power plants that light our homes, the fibre that connects us, and the ports that move our goods. Yet too often, the economic value of including women in the planning, execution, and benefits of these projects is overlooked.
Great asset managers deliver consistent, client-focused strategies tailored to long-term financial goals.
Digital transformation is redefining how IFAs deliver personalised, efficient investment advice through smarter, tech-driven platforms.
The world is fast approaching a climate tipping point. According to a 2025 study published in Earth System Science Data, the global carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5°C could be exhausted in just two years if current emissions continue unchecked. Despite growing investment in renewables, fossil fuels still account for over 80% of the global energy supply. The urgency of transitioning to a low-carbon economy is clear, but the scale of investment required is staggering. This combination creates a significant economic and investment opportunity.
Our top stock picks for the latter half of 2025 should be considered in the context of our active Equity investments process which focuses on the more liquid stocks on the JSE and ranks stocks based on quality, growth and value lenses, using metrics that have a bearing on future relative stock prices. This approach has proved robust through bull and bear cycles and underpins our stock picks.
A reality check on the opacity, fragility and risks still lurking beneath private asset markets. We first warned in 2019 that many private markets – especially venture capital and private equity – were fuelled by easy money, not business fundamentals. Today, those risks have already started to crystallise. With inflated valuations being repriced – often painfully – and with liquidity still constrained, the full extent of the fall-out may still lie ahead. Given few exits and rising defaults, many investors are now discovering the volatility they thought they had avoided.
On 5 June 2025 we hosted a webinar with Sylvester Kobo, Deputy Head of Fixed Income, and Tarryn Sankar, Head of Credit and Investment Research at STANLIB Asset Management. The webinar presented the outlook for fixed income markets and explored how the STANLIB Flexible Income Fund is positioned to continue delivering returns.
The current landscape for gold shares reveals a critical juncture, as the market grapples with volatility and changing dynamics. What drives the gold price is a widely-debated topic. While those drivers have varied in importance throughout its rich history, the linkage to the value of US dollar has carried through since the start of the Gold Standard Era.
The impact of recent trade policy changes will reverberate across the globe over time periods ranging from days to decades. While many longer-term implications are uncertain, some effects, such as the gradual rise in real yields on bonds and the secular pressure to increase defence spending, are already evident, allowing us to make informed longer-term portfolio adjustments.
The South African Rand (ZAR) is navigating a turbulent global financial landscape marked by significant uncertainty. As of 14 April 2025, the ZAR's performance against major currencies reflects a mix of domestic vulnerabilities, which began with a delayed budget in February. This was compounded by speculation regarding the tailwind (from an investor's perspective) of a fractious Government of National Unity (GNU) and the subsequent announcement of a new global tariff regime enacted by the US, without offsetting positive measures such as tax cuts and deregulation.
The JSE’s shrinking listings, mirroring a global trend, raise concerns about investment opportunities. However, a strategic, systematic approach to portfolio construction can effectively navigate this evolving landscape.
The South African Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, presented the third iteration of his fourth National Budget on Wednesday, 21 May 2025. This followed the withdrawal of the second attempt amid ongoing disagreement within the Government of National Unity (GNU) cabinet on the amended proposed increase of the VAT rate by one percentage point over two years.
SA has come a long way since its first democratic elections in 1994, which brought the ANC into power with a 62.6% majority.
Following a global wave of inflation and the steepest rate hiking cycle in memory, global bond yields are at levels not seen since before the Global Financial Crisis of 2007.
We warned of the fragility of the unicorns (unlisted companies with valuations over $1 billion) in our first take in 2019. Today the potential for sizeable corrections in unlisted assets looks even greater. Misallocated capital is likely to be destroyed as business models based on a historically low cost of capital are repriced.
Numbers don’t lie. An article published on citywire.co.za last week noted that in recent times the ‘Absolute Return’ funds available to South African institutional investors have largely failed to achieve their CPI-related performance targets.
In STANLIB’s Multi-Strategy team we recognise that the future is best understood as a range of outcomes and is constantly evolving.
In this paper we unpack two commonly-held assumptions: that one must be in the market on its best days to have a chance of long-term outperformance, and that market timing is impossible.
On 23rd February 2022 the South African Minister of Finance changed the rules for local retirement funds by raising their maximum offshore allocation from 30% to 45%. The significance of this change can’t be overstated. In the STANLIB Multi-Strategy team, we believe that how South African investors respond to it could be the most important determinant of their returns over the next decade.
In a world of uncertainty, high inflation, low interest rates, high liquidity and rising government debt – how can we find income growth and capital protection from our multi-asset income fund?
Over the last century, the rate of technological progress has far outpaced any period prior in human history, and we find ourselves in the midst of incredible change. As clients are seeking wealth preservation and real growth, it is important to realise that the landscape has shifted, and the winds of change are rapidly reaching gale-force proportions.
In this podcast, Peter van der Ross, portfolio manager in the STANLIB Multi-Strategy team, argues that Emerging Markets (EMs) may struggle to outperform Developed Markets in 2022 because of issues facing China, which dominates the EM complex, and the likely strengthening of the US dollar as the Fed responds to inflation threats.
The pandemic and its aftermath have thrust policymakers into dangerous waters. Policymakers are currently sailing through a data fog, in which extremes in data points continue to plague traditional mathematical models. These models guide their management of the economy and determine the best course of action.
In a world of uncertainty, rising inflation, low interest rates, high liquidity and rising government debt – how do we generate income growth and capital protection from our multi-asset income fund?
Against a backdrop of cyclical recovery and vaccine hope, investors in many equity markets this year would have seen stellar returns. But where to from here?
In a world of uncertainty, rising inflation, low interest rates, high liquidity and rising government debt – how do we generate income growth and capital protection from our multi-asset income fund?
The logistics, the costs and the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine bring significant challenges and complexity to a simple solution aimed at leading societies and economies back to health.
The Absolute Return team holds a positive outlook on South African banks, based on the following factors which we unpack in this article written by Vaughan Henkel.
The coronavirus pandemic has generated a new level of co-ordination between central banks and governments, with potentially profound consequences for the economy and markets.
In the middle of a global health care pandemic, with the economy on life support, the health care sector plays a defensive role in portfolio construction.
In February 2020, we assessed nominal South African Government Bonds (SAGBs) through our six-lens Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) framework.
In this article, Marius Oberholzer, Head of STANLIB's Absolute Returns team, provides a breakdown of their 2021 tactical asset allocation and thinking.
2020 has been an extraordinary year. Now is a pertinent time to reflect on the investment landscape and how key market events and dynamics have shifted and continue to shape our investing environment. In this final webinar in our spring/summer series, STANLIB Absolute Returns’ senior portfolio managers, Warren Buhai and David McNay, shared insightful views on markets and investing across the world as we head towards the end of a year marked by unforeseen change.
In this live-recorded webinar, STANLIB’s Head of Absolute Returns, Marius Oberholzer, and Senior Portfolio Manager, Peter van der Ross, give an update on their asset allocation views heading into the third quarter. The team also provide insights into what has driven their asset preferences and explaine the shift in their long-held SA bond view. They also expand on their scenario evaluation, which is key to their tactical process, and evaluate if this bounce is a “dead cat” or if their “V for victory” scenario is in play.
To help navigate these volatile and uncertain times, we have prepared insights from our economics team and perspectives of our various teams entrusted with managing your investments.
The twin pronged attack of slumping oil prices and a significant economic downturn due to the COVID- 19 induced shutdown is proving historic in its extent and speed.
My fascination with financial markets has recently peaked to a level I last experienced around the late 1990s “dot-com” craze.
In recent years, the South African economy has not grown at the pace needed to create jobs. At the same time, public finances have been constrained, limiting the ability of government to expand its investment in economic and social development.
