What coronavirus means for your investments
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases increases worldwide, this has a knock-on effect on supply, demand, and your investments. However, panic shouldn’t motivate your investment decisions, whether they’re big or small. Get advice from a certified financial adviser and read the articles below before you disinvest or make any hasty investment decisions.
Our ability to deliver on our promise to you remains strong
Momentum Metropolitan remains well capitalised, even after the dramatic volatility observed over the past few weeks. Our investment strategy for the assets backing our capital buffer has always been cautious and, while the drop in equity markets will result in increased capital requirements, Momentum Metropolitan is strongly capitalised and able to comfortably meet these requirements. We have a strong balance sheet management team that monitors liquidity requirements continuously and ensures that we can meet our commitments to our policyholders. Our ability to honour claims remains without question.
The Daily and Weekly Moment
Get daily local and global updates of indices, interest rates, and more. The Weekly Moment replaces the daily version every Monday.
Moments with our Investment Gurus event
Our investment management professionals discuss the latest market events and give insight into some of our investment capabilities at our regular virtual investment team sessions. Members of our investment team show how they manage their portfolios in this highly dynamic environment.
Investment Matters event
Investment Matters is our annual tailor-made event for our business clients. We help you achieve the financial goals of a retirement fund or business with thought-leading information and substantive investment thinking and ideas. We also showcase our local and global offerings, as well as all our investment capabilities. The content is also relevant to all individual investors and advisers.
Outcome Matters event
Outcome Matters is our local flagship event, tailor-made for Momentum Financial Planning. We enable financial advisers to help their clients stay invested, with the help of thought-leading information and material. We also showcase our local and global offerings, as well as all our investment capabilities. Even though the event is exclusively for our internal financial advisers, the content is relevant to all individual investors and advisers.
Momentum Investments answers your investment questions
You asked - and our financial experts have answered. Whether you’re a Momentum client, financial adviser or business owner, we’ve compiled answers to the questions that most concern you.
Securing your retirement
Jeanette Marais, chief executive officer of Momentum Investments, and Dumo Mbethe, chief executive officer of Momentum Corporate, share some insights on how to ride out the volatility and maintain a positive and long-term view on your investments.
Securing your retirement | Tuesday,
24 March 2020
Three important things you need to know about COVID-19 and your wealth
Chief executive officer of Momentum Investments, Jeanette Marais, addresses the key points that you, as a Momentum investor, should know about your investments during the outbreak of COVID-19. The long-term effects of your actions could have a ripple effect on your retirement down the line.
Just three things you need to know about COVID-19 and your wealth | Friday, 20 March 2020
Responsible investment: rating our investment managers
(July 2020)
Read more on our Responsible Investment (RI) practices and rating model which establishes the level of RI practices applied by the various investment managers we appoint.
Responsible investment: rating our investment managers | Saturday, 11 July 2020
We remain committed to your
individual investment goals
Chief investments officer, Sonja Saunderson, discusses the importance of staying invested, as our outcome-based investing philosophy has protected our funds from the sharp drawdowns in local and global markets.
We remain committed to your investment goals (retail) | Friday, 27 March 2020
We remain committed to your business’ investment goals
Being a business ourselves, we understand that staying invested is crucial. Chief investments officer, Sonja Saunderson, discusses our outcome-based investing philosophy that has protected our portfolios from the sharp drawdowns in local and global markets.
We remain committed to your investment goals (institutional) | Friday, 27 March 2020
We remain committed to your
individual investment goals
Chief investments officer, Sonja Saunderson, discusses the importance of staying invested, as our outcome-based investing philosophy has protected our funds from the sharp drawdowns in local and global markets.
We remain committed to your investment goals (retail) | Friday, 20 March 2020
We remain committed to your
business’ investment goals
Being a business ourselves, we understand that staying invested is crucial. Chief investments officer, Sonja Saunderson, discusses our outcome-based investing philosophy that has protected our portfolios from the sharp drawdowns in local and global markets.
We remain committed to your investment goals (institutional) | Friday, 20 March 2020
Further into junk
Moody’s and Fitch downgraded SA’s foreign-currency sovereign rating and its local-currency rating. Our macro research team, explores the reasons for the downgrades, what this means for the country and what the implications are for investments.
Further into junk | Monday, 23 November 2020
Mixed committee preferences but interest rates remained steady at 3.5%
The South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee held interest rates steady at 3.5% at the November 2020 interest rate-setting meeting despite expecting average annual inflation to remain below the midpoint of the target into 2022.
Mixed committee preferences but interest rates remained steady at 3.5% | Wednesday, 19 November 2020
Medium-term Budget Review 2020
Hard choices and reform implementation are key to achieving the five-year stabilisation plan, says Sanisha Packirisamy, our economist, and a lot hinges on reducing the wage bill. Read our review of the medium-term budget.
Medium-term Budget Review 2020 | Thursday, 29 October 2020
Interest rates on hold at 3.5%
The South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee kept interest rates steady at 3.5% at the September 2020 interest rate-setting meeting despite downwardly revised growth and inflation views. Read more on the views of our economists.
Interest rates on hold at 3.5% | Friday, 18 September 2020
COVID-19 growth slump hits the economy in the second quarter
Real gross domestic product declined by more than expected by 51% in quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted and annualised terms in the second quarter of 2020. Read more on what our economists have to say.
COVID-19 growth slump hits the economy in the second quarter | Wednesday, 9 September 2020
Data-dependent Sarb cuts repo rate by 25 basis points to 3.5%
The South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.5% on benign inflation and fragile growth. Read more on what our economists have to say.
Data-dependent Sarb cuts repo rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% | Monday, 03 August 2020
Archived investment articles
Archived investment articles
Investment videos
These are unprecedented times in financial markets. Hear from our economist and portfolio managers on how this pandemic has affected the economy and markets, and how they are thinking and navigating their portfolios through these challenging times. Our outcome-based investing philosophy serves as our guide to achieve prudent portfolio management through these times.
Sanisha Packirisamy -
COVID-19 economic scenarios
In this video clip, our economist, Sanisha Packirisamy, takes us through a scenario-based analysis of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis as well as what this means for the global and local economy in 2020 and 2021. A range of plausible scenarios is outlined to create a framework of analysis of the potential impacts of the pandemic on the economy.
Jako de Jager -
Positioning of individual investments before COVID-19 compared to now
Jako de Jager, head of outcome-based solutions for individuals, talks about the Momentum Investments Focus and Target Fund of Funds ranges, with specific focus on the funds’ positioning before the COVID-19 crisis, activities in the two months and the portfolio’s current positioning. He also gives an overview of the market returns for the first quarter of 2020.
Nina Saad -
Commitment to our outcome-based investing philosophy for your business’ investments
Nina Saad, head of outcome-based solutions for businesses, explains how our investment team continues to do what they have always done, which is to remain anchored in our outcome-based investing philosophy and process. We stand firm in the belief that to remain invested is the optimal long-term strategy, while prudently managing the risks.
Ian Scott -
Opportunity set in South African bonds
Ian Scott, head of fixed income, discusses the opportunity set in South African bonds. The stage is set to lock in high real yields at low risk. South African bonds may be the only local asset class generating an income in the next year or more. Investors should think about the current bond allocation in their portfolios and not miss the current opportunity presented.
Loftie Botha -
Tracker portfolios provide an economic way to invest in equity indices
Loftie Botha, portfolio manager in the systematic strategies and structuring team, talks about how tracker portfolios provide an economic way to invest in equity indices that reward investors handsomely in the medium term. Within smart beta funds, he takes advantage of inefficiencies that arise in volatile equity markets through techniques that have been proven over decades.
Motlatsi Mutlanyane -
Update on our private equity hedge funds and high yield portfolios
Motlatsi Mutlanyane, head of alternative investments, gives an update on our private equity, hedge funds and high yield portfolios. Hedge funds have also been affected by the recent market sell off as a result of the significant liquidity squeeze experienced across markets, which has eased significantly post March, allowing for an improving performance profile.
Pelo Manyeneng -
Property landscape before and during COVID-19
Pelo Manyeneng, head of property, shares some of the property team’s key thoughts about how it sees the property investment landscape. He also touches on key decisions taken at a portfolio level before and during the COVID-19-related market sell off.