STANLIB Press Releases

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STANLIB Press Releases Week ending 1 October 2004
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Recent Press Coverage (rolling) Sowetan Toug
h times for investors
31 August 2004 Business Day Company
News Stanlib fund to close to new 06 September
2004 investment Business Day Company
News Redefine sells Sycom 06 September
2004 holding in favour of bricks and
mortar Business Day Company News Emira raises
occupancy and 08 September 2004 outlook Busin
ess Day company News Yields on listed property
top 10 September 2004 residential -
BoE Financial Mail In touch
09 September 2004 Business
Report National Natie Kirsh may bid 02
September 2004 Metcashs African Stores This
Day Look for diversity in 03 September
2004 Investment This Day Bull run
continues for listed 08 September
2004 properties Sake Rapport Die JSE trek
sy spykerskoene 29 August
2004 Sake Burger (Oos Kaap) Stanlib-eiend
omsfonds nou 04 September 2004 versadig Rappor
t Geld Magazine Wêreldwye Kanse
29 August 2004 Burger Jou Geldsake
(Kaap) Stanlib moet gewild 04
September 2004 eiendomsfonds sluit Times of
Swaziland Liberty Life plans to grow its 20
August 2004 business outside SA
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STANLIB Press Releases Week ending 1 October 2004
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Business Day
Financial Mail
Business Report National
STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
This Day
Sake Rapport
Sake Burger
Other Publications
Rapport Geld Magazine
Burger Jou Geldsake
Times of Swaziland
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
31 August 2004
Sowetan
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
6 September 2004
6 September 2004
8 September 2004
Business Day Company News
10 September 2004
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
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Financial mail
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
2 September 2004
Business Report National
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
3 September 2004
7 September 2004
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This Day - business
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
29 August 2004
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Sake Rapport
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
4 September 2004
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Sake Burger (Oos Kaap)
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
29 August 2004
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Rapport Geld Magazine
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
4 September 2004
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Burger Jou Geldsake (Kaap)
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STANLIB Press Releases October 2004
20 August 2004
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Times of Swaziland
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Sowetan
31 August 2004
Tough times for investors INVESTORS are at the
crossroads and looking desperately for direction,
according to Stanlib, the biggest unit trust
company in the country and the custodian of R150
billion in private and institutional wealth.
According to Paul Hansen, Stanlibs director of
Retail Investing, the six-monthly unit trust
figures to June 30 have given pause to many
investment advisers who find it increasingly
difficult to give clear-cut guidance to clients.
His recommendation to intermediaries is that this
is no time to try to outsmart the market as the
biggest imponderable of all the rand now has
a 30-month record of proving most experts wrong.
His advice is to think strategically, not
tactically look for balance and dont look to
make any big bets in any one direction. Market
timing is difficult at the best of times. The
current scenario makes it even more problematic.
One of the difficulties is the contradiction on
some numbers, he says, adding that a one-year
reading of the equity market shows 24,9 growth,
but this turns marginally negative when the
yardstick is the six months to mid-year. The
other difficulty is the huge impact of the
rand. Over the last six months, the unit is
considered to be prime suspect behind the 15
retreat by resource stocks, the 5 decline by the
JSE Top 40 and the 4 fall in the All-Share
Index. The best-performing sectors are those
where rand-hedge stocks are under-represented or
dont feature at all. In the six months to June
30, for instance, Hansen says ?Small-cap unit
trusts are up 7 ?The financial index is up
5 ?The industrial index is up 5 ?Standard
Banks share-price hit an all-time high on July
15 this year ?Local fashion chain Edgars hit a
new multi-year high about the same time ?Income
funds and listed property funds enjoy continuing
investment attention largely because they are
out of the rands reach and in fact benefit from
rand strength because this helps keep inflation
down. Hansen argues that short timeframes kill
perspective and that the numbers usually favour
those who take a long view. He supports the
argument by referring to the rand. In December
2001 it was worth 6 US cents. By early July 2004
it was worth 16,4 US cents, reflecting
appreciation of 127 on a 30-month view. Yet in
the 19 years from 1982 the unit lost 94 of its
value. Between 1982 and mid-2004 it lost 84 of
its value, says Hansen. He says Weve reached
a stage where almost every piece of investment
advice contains the caveat depending on what the
rand does next. This tells me that this is a
time for strategic investment planning, not
tactical allocations.
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Business Day Company News
6 September 2004
Stanlib fund to close to new investment
STANLIB announced on Friday that it was closing
the Stanlib Property Income Fund to new
investment about two years after its launch. Sean
Segar, head of the Stanlib team that developed
the product, which invests in listed property
stocks, said strong inflows had continued all
year, making the decision to close off the fund
inevitable. The Collective Investment Schemes
Control Act strictly regulates the maximum
positions that can be taken in any single listed
property company. Currently there is sufficient
capacity in the listed property sector to meet
demand from retail investors, said Segar. He
said this demand could be satisfied only by new
listings or a significant expansion of listed
property portfolios on the JSE Securities
Exchange SA. Segar said Stanlib was now
investigating variations of retail property
products. The funds size had grown from zero to
R1bn in 23 months and topped the R300m mark in
its first year. In its first year of operation,
the fund achieved capital growth of 26,04 while
generating a yield of 13,46 for investors who
entered the fund when it was established. Mariette
Warner, fund manager of the Stanlib Property
Income Fund, said unit trusts were limited to
owning 5 of a listed property company if the
company had a market capitalisation of less than
R2bn. Warner said that because there were so few
listed property companies with market
capitalisations in excess of R2bn, the 5 of
company rule limited new inflows. Its been
closed off to new investment. This will be
reviewed should market conditions be favourable,
said Warner.
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Business Day Company News
6 September 2004
Redefine sells Sycom holding in favour of bricks
and mortar HYBRID property loan stock company
Redefine Income said on Friday that it has
disposed of its entire holding of 9,69 million
units in the listed property unit trust Sycom at
an average price of R10,35 a unit. Redefine said
this was in line with its stated strategy of
weighting its portfolio in favour of physical
properties, which offered better value in terms
of both yield and growth. Redefine was the first
listed property company to advocate a combination
of investment in fixed property investments and
listed property stocks when it listed on the JSE
Securities Exchange SA in February 2000. This
type of investment vehicle was termed a
hybrid. In May this year, when Redefine
announced its strategy of reducing its
investments in listed property, it said that
listed property was generally trading at a
premium to net asset value. This made fixed
property more attractive because it was
cheaper. Mariette Warner, fund manager of Stanlib
Property Income Fund, said she thought Redefine
was doing the right thing because the company
would have made a significant capital gain on the
sale of the Sycom units. When the listed property
market bottomed out in 2002, Sycom was trading at
R7,45. Since March 2002, Sycoms unit price has
appreciated 39. Warner said proceeds of the sale
of Sycom units could be reinvested in higher
yielding or cheaper physical property. She said
although physical property was cheaper than
listed property stock at the moment, this window
is closing rapidly as physical property was
becoming more expensive because of a lack of good
quality stock. Redefine CE Brian Azizollahoff
said Redefine had a listed property portfolio
worth R1,37bn, while its physical property stock
was worth about R1,6bn. Azizollahoff said
Redefine now had a portfolio with about 60 fixed
properties and 40 listed securities.
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Business Day Company News
8 September 2004
Emira raises occupancy and outlook PROPERTY unit
trust Emira Property Fund, which listed on the
JSE Securities Exchange SA in November last year,
has managed to significantly reduce vacancies in
its property portfolio, having let about 20 552m2
of space in the past seven months. This means the
fund should boost revenue in the next six
months. Reporting interim results for the seven
months to June 30 2004, Emira, which is managed
by RMB Properties, said its overall vacancies had
improved to 6,1 in June, from 10,1 in December
last year. CEO James Templeton said as far as the
industrial property market was concerned, the
company had seen an increasing demand for space
because there was a shortage of quality
industrial property on the market. In December
2003, Emiras industrial portfolio had 25 303m2,
or 13,6 of its industrial space vacant. But in
June this year the amount of vacant space had
been reduced to 14 015m2, representing a vacancy
level of 7,6. The vacancy levels in Emiras
office portfolio also improved, from 11 to
7. Templeton said Emira had seen a slight
take-up of space in its office properties, but
said this was not as significant as the take-up
of space in the industrial and retail property
markets. The reduction in Emiras office
vacancies was due to the fund having gone out and
aggressively reduced its vacancies, said
Templeton. Emiras distributions to unit-holders
for the seven months to end June 2004 were 4,3
higher than its pre-listing forecast. It
achieved distributions of 34,01c, while forecast
distributions were 32,06c. Mariette Warner, fund
manager of Stanlib Property Income Fund, said the
results were ahead of her forecasts. The
forecast was conservative, which is the right way
to present a new listing to the market, rather
than have disappointing maiden results, she
said. Angelique De Rauville, MD of listed
property portfolio management company Provest,
said the announcement was in line with their
forecast. De Rauville said she expected Emira to
achieve its prospectus forecast of 58c for its
first year. She said it was encouraging that the
fund had increased its liquidity levels
recently. De Rauville said this was mainly due to
Momentum having reduced its holding in Emira to
55 from 70. A large portion Emiras portfolio
had been acquired from Momentum, which held units
in the fund rather than properties, she said.
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Business Day Company News
10 September 2004
Yields on listed property top residential
BoE LISTED property is a better investment than
residential property because investors can earn
double the yields without administrative hassles,
says a BoE Private Clients analyst. Residential
property yields were about 4 or lower in parts
of Cape Town and Johannesburg, and up to 6 to 7
generally in suburban areas, while listed
property should give investors an annualised
yield of at least 11,5, Evan Robins,
fixed-income and property analyst, said at a BoE
Private Clients Property discussion in Cape Town
recently. With listed property unlike owning
residential property as an investment you do
not suffer from having an illiquid
high-maintenance asset with very high entry-level
costs, large transaction costs on both legs,
rates and taxes, maintenance spending and high
idiosyncratic risks, he said. Robins said that
if viewed as a financial asset a house was only
worth the future rents an owner could earn from
it, and that the only investment argument to make
for residential property was if one expected
rents to increase by a large enough rate to
account for the low yields being earned
currently. Colin Young, fund manager of Old
Mutuals South African-listed property funds,
said a residential property investment brought
with it certain transaction costs such as
managing the tenant and paying rates. Such an
investment also lacked a liquid investment
structure, like a share in the residential
property market. Young said the administrative
costs when buying into the residential property
market were higher than the management fee paid
to a unit trust or a broker to manage an
investment in a listed property fund. Listed
property stocks also offered a steady income
stream to investors, he said. When you buy a
residential property you are not buying it for
income. The main objective is capital growth.
You try and buy in the right areas which will be
popular. You are taking more of a risk than in
listed property. Mariette Warner, fund manager
of Stanlib Property Income Fund, predicted there
would be more interest from investors in listed
property. However, Warner said, investors should
be aware there would be capital fluctuations,
depending on the interest-rate cycle.
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Financial Mail
9 September 2004
IN TOUCH Unit trusts have not yet penetrated far
into the emerging mass market. Stanlib, the
largest collective investments, or unit trusts,
business in SA, hopes to change that with the
appointment Trurman Zuma as MD. Zumas aim is to
see unit trusts become the preferred savings
vehicle for the mass market. Zuma was educated at
KwaZulu Natals Hilton College, the exclusive
boys private school. He is a rugby player,
though today he confines himself to touch rugby.
In an exchange year at a high school in Long
Island, New York, he made friends with Hispanic
children and learnt Spanish. But his father, a
successful township entrepreneur, never moved
from Umlazi the sprawling settlement south of
Durban. After work, says Zuma, I can change my
clothes and my psyche, and go down to the shebeen
and talk over financial problems with ordinary
people in Zulu or Xhosa. (He is learning
Sotho, too.) I do my work in English but I will
always be a Zulu speaker. There are some topics
of conversation I would more naturally talk about
in Zulu. After Moyos selection of breads and
dips, Zuma, given a wide range of choice from
across the African continent, goes for that good
old Mediterranean standby, calamari. I turn out
to be more adventurous with my choice of East
African fish curry. Zuma says Stanlib has the
perfect vehicle for the mass market in its
Wealthbuilder unit trust (originally the
GuardBank unit trust), which can be accessed for
as little as R50/month. There needs to be a lot
more education, not just in the mass market but
in the upper and middle market, about the need to
take a long-term approach to investment, he
says. We have been good at gathering money into
money-market funds. But my colleagues at Stanlib
Asset Management are looking for 17 growth from
equities over 12 months after tax, money-market
funds give you less than 5. Stanlib uses its
countrywide investment centre presentations to
carry its message to intermediaries, who still
account for most of Stanlibs retail sales. They
provide a chance for brokers to fire questions
directly at portfolio managers. The days when
fund managers could sit behind a screen and be
inaccessible are over, says Zuma. He hopes to
attract inflows into the risk-profiled funds
Stanlib will soon launch. These will give an
appropriate mix of equities, bonds, cash and
property for conservative, moderate and
aggressive investors. Zuma will also encourage
investors to explore offshore again. It isnt
about trying to call the rand, but about
accessing investment opportunities out there.
Diversification overseas is part of sound
financial planning. Zumas father was a fan of
both President Harry S Truman and US writer
Truman Capote. But to acknowledge his sons
uniqueness, he gave his name a middle r. His
father was killed during a robbery at a service
station be owned when Zuma was a teenager. His
mother died of cancer and he was responsible for
bringing up his siblings. After qualifying as an
accountant at KPMG in Durban, Zuma audited
clients in sectors as varied as shipping, sugar
and retailing.
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Financial Mail
27 August 2004
In 1991 he moved to Old Mutual Asset Managers
(OMAM) as a consumer industries analyst. It was
in some disarray after the walkout of senior
members of the investment team, led by then-chief
investment officer Bryan Hopkins. The first two
or three months were a waste of time because
there was nobody to show me what to do, recalls
Zuma. Things only got better once Sello Moloko
who became OMAM CEO took me under his wing.
(It was announced this week that Moloko has
resigned.) It took a while to get used to Cape
Town, which he says is not a naturally friendly
place for black people, but he grew to love the
sea and diving in particular. I might move back
to Cape Town when I have done most of what I want
to do, but at this stage in my career there isnt
enough activity down there to tempt me back. He
moved to Johannesburg after a couple of years to
work at Standard Bank private Equity under Doug
Band. He enjoyed it there and was not looking
for another job, but could not turn down the
opportunity to run his own business unit and make
a contribution to developing a savings culture in
SA. At 32, he is still an eligible bachelor and
any plans for the future have been put off until
he returns from a three-month management diploma
at Harvard, which starts in September. He has
finally succumbed to Stanlibs gold-mad culture
and recently had his first lesson. I always
resented it when the golfers would get the day
off and the rest of us had to stay at work. I
hated the elitist attitude and promised myself I
would never be one of them. But these days I
guess I am not so hot-headed, he says.
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Business Report National
2 September 2004
Natie Kirsh may bid for Metcashs African
stores Johannesburg London-based South African
businessman Natie Kirsh said yesterday that
theoretically it is possible that Im interested
in Metro Cash Carry (Metcash). Kirsh, who had
a controlling stake in Metcash in the 1970s, was
responding to speculation that he was one of the
parties interested in making a bid for Metcashs
African operations in the event of management
being unable to secure the finance for a
management buyout. Metcash management said last
week that negotiations on funding arrangements
were at an advanced stage and it was expected
that a circular would be issued to shareholders
on or about September 10. The management buyout,
which was announced in May, would see management
taking over the African and South African
operations of the group in a deal that has a R1.3
billion price tag. If the deal went through,
Metcash shareholders would receive 71c a share
and would continue to hold a stake in Metcash
Australia. The buyout was prompted by Metcashs
plans to introduce a black economic empowerment
partner for its merged African and local
operations and to create a separate listed entity
that would hold 60 percent of this merged entity.
This would have resulted in an inefficient
structure as it would have involved three listed
entry points for Metcash. Because of this
inefficiency, Metcashs two major shareholders,
RMB Asset Management and Stanlib Asset
Management, which together hold 43 percent,
approached the board with the buyout proposal.
Yesterday Stanlib Asset Management managing
director Alan Miller dismissed speculation that
there would be any difficulty for management
raising the necessary funding. He noted that this
would be one of the biggest management buyouts in
South Africa. Miller said that if management
could not raise the finance Im sure there are
other people interested in the business. He
would not say whether this included
Kirsh. Speaking from London yesterday, Kirsh
would only say that it was a theoretical
possibility. A local analyst said Kirsh, who had
extensive business interests in Swaziland, would
probably find the African operations, excluding
South Africa, the most attractive. The South
African business is seen as mature and under
threat from increasingly aggressive competitors,
while the African operations have created a
valuable footprint outside South Africa. Kirsh
outwitted joint controlling shareholder Tiger to
take control of Metcash in the late 1970s. After
a rapid and flawed acquisition programme,
however, he was forced to sell his retail
interests, including Metcash and Checkers, to
Sanlam in the mid-1980s.
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This Day
3 September 2004
Look for diversity in investment THE surprise
interest rate cut last month is a perfect example
of why investment gurus continually harp on about
diversification as a fundamental rule of
investing. Earlier this year the consensus view
was that rates would increase. Money markets
started to factor in a half-percent increase in
June with another half percent last month. The
banks all increased the fixed mortgage and
deposit rates. By June economists had changed
their forecasts, saying they expected no change
because a stronger rand was containing inflation.
The day before the latest announcement not one
market commentator was expecting a rate cut. The
implications for investors have been
far-reaching. First, the rate cut weakened the
rand so rand hedge stocks suddenly shot up.
Retail stocks, though not rand-sensitive,
benefited from the expectation of increased
spending because of lower interest rates.
Suddenly cash was less exciting. If you had tried
to align your portfolio with market predictions,
you would have lost out on the rand hedge move
and might have been sitting on too much cash. It
is best to diversify your investment across all
asset classes based on your risk profile rather
than on even the best-informed views. Paul Hansen
of Stanlib sums up the market Weve reached a
stage where almost every piece of investment
advice contains the caveat depending on what the
rand does next. This tells me this is a time
for strategic investment planning, not tactical
allocations.
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This Day
7 September 2004
Bull run continues for listed properties THE
LISTED property sector has experienced strong
growth in the past two years, says Stanlib, which
capped its Property Income Fund at R1 billion 23
months after its launch. The fund surpassed R300
million in its first year. Listed property
players are expected to show strong earnings of
the current cycle, with Premium tipped to grow 29
percent, Octodec 25 percent and Spearhead 21
percent. Hyprop is also in double digits, at 18
percent. Atlas, SA Retail, Resilient, Grayprop
and iFour should all report growth rates between
4 percent and 7 percent, according to Stanlib.
Training the field are Pangbourne, Sycom, Acucap
and ApexHi. Over the past year the Stanlib
Property Income Fund, which buys shares in listed
property companies, returned 25,25 percent.
Income accounted for 11 percent of this, the
balance being capital growth. Sean Segar, head of
the Stanlib team that developed the fund, said
Strong inflows have continued all year, making
the decision to cap the fund inevitable. The
Collective Investment Schemes control Act
strictly regulates the maximum positions that can
be taken in any single listed property company.
Currently, there is insufficient capacity in the
listed property sector to meet demand from retail
investors. Segar said the company would soon
launch another retail property product. Growth in
listed property was being driven by improved
fundamentals, according to Stanlibs Mariette
Warner. Last year there was exceptional capital
growth, driven by falling interest rates and
expectations of earnings growth. This year
income growth is expected, while capital next
year should be stable or slightly weaker. Warner
foresees good total returns income yield with
capital appreciation over the long term. Warner
also favours listed property, arguing that
property income is in a growth phase and offers
higher yields than bonds. A higher return is
expected over the next triennium.
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Sake Rapport
29 August 2004
Die JSE trek sy spykerskoene aan Die goeie lopie
van die afgelope week op die JSE Sekuriteitebeurs
SA is heel moontlik die inleiding tot verdere
stygings. Portefeuljebestuurders verwag dat die
algehele indeks van die JSE oor die volgende 12
maande met nog 15 kan styg. Die lopie wat
Maandag die algehele indeks tot 11 166,09 punte
gedruk het die hoogste sluiting sedert 3 Maart
is begin deur die onverwagse verlaging in
rentekoerse, wat op sy beurt die rand effens laat
verswak het. Nadat die mark Dinsdag en Woensdag
asem geskep het, het die lopie weer Donderdag
vlamgevat en Vrydag het die indeks vir alle
aandele op 11 163,35 punte gesluit. Die mark is
die afgelope week verder gestut deur die
positiewe inflasiesyfers, wat daarop dui dat
Suid-Afrikaners gewoond kan raak aan lae
rentekoerse en die positiewe uitwerking daarvan
op die verdienste van maatskappye en die algemene
ekonomiese omgewing. n Bykomende ligpunt vir die
Suid-Afrikaanse mark is dat die lopie plaasvind
terwyl buitelandse markte maar nog sukkel om uit
sywaartse kanale te kom. Die algehele indeks
lewer al geruime tyd in dollar n baie hoër
opbrengs as enige van die ander wêreldmarkte.
Mnr. Paul Hansen, direkteur van
klienhandelbeleggings by Stanlib, sê die
verlaging in rentekoerse beteken dat die
prys/verdienste-veelvoude van maatskappye verhoog
en die algehele mark saam optrek. Die feit dat
die jongste rentekoersverlaging so onverwags was,
het bykomende vuur verskaf. Die verlaging in
rentekoerse was ook duidelik sigbaar op die
effektemark, waar die opbrengskoers op die
toonaangewende R153 gedaal het tot baie naby aan
die rekordpunt van laat verlede jaar. Dit bied op
sy beurt geweldig steun aan die eiendomsektor, sê
Hansen. Daarby kondig Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappye
die een ná die ander uitsonderlik goeie resultate
aan en die mark begin nou daarop reageer. Die
vooruitsigte van n voortgesette goeie lopie word
verder gesteun deur die verwagtinge dat die
styging in kommoditeitspryse op lang termyn sal
voortduur. n Hoogaangeskrewe tegniese ontleder
in Londen meen die Suid-Afrikaanse mark is gereed
om vinnig te verstel ná n goeie wegspring. Uit
die tegniese ontledings blyk dit dat die mark
reeds uit die kanaal van die 40-weekse- bewegende
gemiddelde gebreek het. Hy is in hierdie stadium
nie bekommerd daaroor dat die korttermynskommeling
s op die wêreldmarkte die groeivooruitsigte vir
die Suid-Afrikaanse mark op lang termyn sal skaad
nie. Daar is egter not nie tekens van groot
buitelandse aankope nie (behalwe die
dubbelgenoteerde aandele) as hulle dié ontleder
se voorbeeld volg, wag hulle totdat die rand nog
n bietjie verswak. In die verwagting dat die
mark oor die volgende 12 maande op n galop sal
bly, steun portefeuljebestuurders nie veel op n
dramatiese verswakking in die waarde van die rand
nie. Die algemene verwagting is n ruilwaarde
van sowat R7,00 teenoor die dollar. Sektore van
voorkeur op die oomblik is nywerheidsmaatskappye
en veral dié wat nie geraak word deur bewegings
in die waarde van die rand nie, asook die
finansiële sektor. Aandele in die hulpbronsektor
word fyn uitgesoek.
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Sake Burger (Oos Kaap)
4 September 2004
Stanlib-eiendomsfonds nou versadig STANLIB het
sy eiendoms-inkomstefonds ná net twee jaar vir
verdere beleggings gesluit. Beleggings het die
regulatoriese beperkings oorskry. Mnr. Sean
Segar, hoof van Stanlib se produkontwikkellings
span, se binne 23 maande is R1 miljard in die
fonds belê. In die eerste jaar is R300 miljoen in
die fondse belê. Die fonds het in sy eerste jaar
kapitaalgroei van 26 getoon wat n opbrengs van
13,46 vir beleggers gebied het. Die Wet op
Kollektiewe Beleggingskemas beperk die bedrag
geld wat in n enkele genoteerde
eiendomsmaatskappy belê kan word en die sterk
invloei van geld het die besluit om die
Stanlib-fonds vir nuwe beleggings te sluit,
onafwendbaar gemaak, sê Segar.
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Rapport Geld Magazine
29 August 2004
Wêreldwye KANSE Buitelandse beleggings gaan
gepaard met heelwat sentimentaliteit. Die
algemene opvatting is dat daar groot voordele
daaraan verbonde is om in die buiteland te belê,
en veral dat dit nou belangrike beleggings vir
Suid-Afrikaners is. Hoewel beleggers steeds in
die buiteland belê, is die uitvloei tans stadiger
as voorheen. Sedert 1997, toe valutabeheer
verslap is en beleggers toegelaat is om
buitelandse beleggings te doen, het
Suid-Afrikaners wisselende welslae daarmee
behaal. Buitelandse beleggings kan egter nie
buite rekening gelaat word nie en dit verskaf
diversiteit, wat jou beleggingsportefeulje
verbeter. In die laat jare negentig het
buitelandse bulmarkte en die vinnige daling van
die rand beleggers aangespoor om in die buiteland
te belê. Valutabeheer is geleidelik afgeskaf en
die bedrag wat oorsee belê kon word, het
toegeneem tot die huidige R750 000 per
persoon. Ongelukkig het die buitelandse bulmark
tot n einde gekom en talle plaaslike beleggers
is buiteland toe net toe aandelemarkte begin daal
het tot die swakste vlak sedert die jare dertig.
Japan het in twaalf jaar met meer as 80 gedaal,
die Nasdaq ook met 80 in dertig maande en die
Amerikaanse SP 500 het binner twee jaar in
waarde gehalveer. Om die pyn erger te maak, het
die rand binne drie jaar met 127
verstewig. Beleggers moet dus nie nou kwalik
geneem word as hulle nie dieselfde geesdrif oor
buitelandse beleggings toon as in 1997 nie. Maar
voordat jy die buitelandse beleggingskind met die
badwater uitgooi, kyk eers watter rol buitelandse
beleggings in jou bleggingsportefeulje kan speel.
Dit bly n noodsaaklike deel daarvan en die
laaste paar jaar se ervaring met buitelandse
beleggings sal ons dalk beter beleggers op dié
beleggingsgebied maak. Die belangrikste rede vir
buitelandse beleggings is diversifikasie. Dit
verminder risiko, verbeter opbrengste en verskans
jou portefeulje teen lande en geldeenhede wat
sleg vaar. Diversifikasie is n wêreldwye
gebruik en sowat die helfte van Britse
pensioenfondse is byvoordbeeld buite Brittanje
belê. Nog n rede om buitelandse beleggings te
oorweeg, is van besondere belang vir
Suid-Afrikaners dit skep meer geleenthede.
Suid-Afrika se aandelemark is maar 0,6 van die
wêreld se aandelemarkte. As jy regtig wil
diversifiseer en in n groot verskeidenheid
geleenthede wil belê, moet jy wyer soek as net
die plaaslike aandelemark. Deesdae is daar talle
buitelandse beleggingsgeleenthede wat
uiteenlopende risikos bied. Maak seker jy sluit
sommige daarvan in en dat jy altyd die dienste
van n gerespekteerde finansiële diensverskaffer,
wat by die Raad op Finansiële Dienste
geregistreer is, gebruik.
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28
Burger Jou Geldsake (Kaap)
4 September 2004
Stanlib moet gewilde eiendomsfonds sluit STANLIB
het sy eiendoms-inkomstefonds ná net twee jaar
vir verdere belegging gesluit. Beleggings het
die regulatoriese beperkings oorskry. Mnr. Sean
Segar, hoof van Stanlib se produkontwikkelingspan,
sê binne 23 maande is R1 miljard in die fonds
belê. In die eerste jaar is R300 miljoen in die
fonds belê. Die fonds het in sy eerste jaar
kapitaalgroei van 26 getoon wat n opbrengs van
13,46 vir beleggers gebied het. Die Wet op
Kollektiewe Beleggingskemas beperk die bedrag
geld wat in n enkele genoteerde
eiendomsmaatskappy belê kan word en die sterk
invloei van geld het die besluit om die
Stanlib-fonds vir nuwe beleggings te sluit,
onafwendbaar gemaak, sê Segar. Volgens hom is
daar onvoldoende kapasiteit in die eiendomsektor
om in die vraag van kleinhandelbelleggers te
voldoen. Volgens Segar sal net in die vraag
voorsien kan word as nuwe noterings plaasvind of
as die genoteerde eiendomsportefeuljes uitgebrei
word. Stanlib ontwikkel tans nuwe
kleinhandelprodukte.
Main
29
Times of Swaziland
20 August 2004
Liberty Life plans to grow its business outside
SA MBABANE Liberty Life plans to use its
bancassurance relationship with Standard Bank to
grow its business outside SA. Since the launch of
Charter Life Namibia in May, Liberty has had its
sights set on Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique,
Swaziland and Botswana. Now it is applying for a
licence to operate in Uganda, the most
significant country outside SA for Standard Bank
in terms of its branch network and market
reach. Charter Life is a division of Liberty
focused on the mass market. Liberty CEO Myles
Ruck, in an article published by the Business
News, said that it was Almost a no brainer for
Liberty to use its bancassurance relationship
with Standard Bank in these markets. Understand W
e have an understanding with the bank that if we
feel it is appropriate we will take bancassurance
into the markets where they are.If its a market
we dont want to move into, they are free to
speak to someone else. Ruck said sales will be
limited to funeral and credit-life products. The
group will also continue to be a domestic life
assurer, rather than an African or international
player, he said. Stanlib, the joint asset
manager of the two groups, is also active in
African markets outside of SA. Of the R185
billion in assets Stanlib manages, about R5.5
billion is outside of SA. Relationship Mike
Garbutt, Head of Distribution at Liberty, said
one of the reasons for the successful
bancassurance relationship between Liberty and
Standard Bank was the banks dominant position in
the partnership. Standard Bank owns about a third
of Liberty Group through its controlling stake in
Liberty Holdings. This meant that it was in
Standard Banks best interests to sell Liberty
policies. A further incentive came from a
profit-sharing agreement in the joint venture
that sold the policies. Because Standard Bank
owns Liberty, we have seen a lot more cooperation
than you would get if it was the other way
round, Garbutt said. Worked Worldwide,
bancassurance has always worked best when the
bank was dominant. Although the relationship was
working very well in the individual life
business, Garbutt said the potential to sell
corporate business had not yet been
realised. There is no doubt that the bank is
sitting on a massive opportunity for corporate
benefits through bancassurance, he
said. Market Instead of selling business through
Standard Bank Financial consultants, which sells
individual policies, he said senior executives
from the bank will be working with Libertys own
employee benefits experts to market products to
the companies that banked with Standard Bank.
Main