Local is Lekker
When history is made one must take a step back and view it in its entirety. In South Africa’s local elections last month a Liberation movement was finally beaten back in a historic change that has seen coalitions unseat them in the major metros of this country. This is seen as historic in that it is the first time that the ANC (African National Congress) has lost its power of these metros since taking power in the equally historic elections back in 1994.
What happens next is a guess as coalitions are unsteady and have fallen apart in the past. What it does show is that local South African’s are unhappy with the way that the incumbents have been governing. There seems to be a ongoing shift away from liberation history and the ANC can no longer only rely on this. If they are to save their majority in upcoming National elections they must govern and decrease corruption within their governing structures.
What is clear from these elections is that consistency and honesty are traits that we as humans espouse in people of responsibility. Charisma and charm, although beguiling traits, are seen through eventually. We are reminded of how JZ (Jacob Zuma) charmed his way into the hearts of our country only to be burning from the inside with his corrupt dealings and encouraging his compatriots to do the same. This is his legacy that the ANC is reaping. Although great strides have been made by President Ramaphosa to work at things, the softly, softly approach has been unseated by a populace that realises they can drive change themselves.
It is also great to see our Judiciary standing firm in all of this and are presiding over many challenges to our democracy. They have told JZ to come back to prison for contempt of court. These and may other decisions on instruments of capture, nepotism and just plain uselessness are all around. These cases must be monitored and we will see whether political will can manipulate this system to their own ends. Something to watch…
All good local indicators of a country standing up for itself and being definitive about what they want. Now it comes to delivery and whether we can see these politicians putting their own desires behind them and delivering on this mandate to govern and govern according to the needs of the people.
I see this in our asset management industry as well. People are voting with their feet and looking for places for their money’s where they feel looked after and that there is a deep understanding of their needs. Often this is on their own as they feel they can no longer trust an industry that is mired on opaqueness and complication. We, at Perspective Advisory, have always understood this frustration and as such have sought to democratise this through low-cost, passive strategies. This strategy removes that once aspect of asset management – fees. By following a passive, or index, strategy, you reduce costs as these are run through algorithms or set strategies that do not change. There is no bias or emotions in an investment decision and no people to pay for their expertise. As such the costs are kept low and this enhances your return as you track a market that we cant control anyways. Especially not in SA. Noting that a passive strategy is one espoused by legendary investors such as Warren Buffet and Jack Bogle.
What has been shown to us recently is how big data, your investment data, can be used to increase transparency even more. Through bringing Raymond Chorn and his fledgling FinTech start-up, Signifier, we are looking to provide you a way to understand your investments simply and also to enhance your returns by analysing this data and asset managers equally. A lofty goal and one we will roll out slowly while making sure that what we are promising we can deliver on.
We have always looked for investment partners that can deliver value and returns. This was why we looked at Affinity (a DFM – Discretionary fund manager)to manage portfolios for our clients. There was a restructuring in this business and we felt that this reduced their compelling offering to our clients. Costs within these portfolios have always been a bugbear of ours and hence with this new change we are moving away from them and looking at Morningstar as a replacement. In the end through our Big Data approach we want to be able to compare all DFM’s and asset managers equally so that we can benefit from their combined wisdom – I mean why not?
It has always been a dream of mine to educate while we manage your investments. These articles and my initial ones were exactly that. Then while building this business I had no capacity to write and as such these became less frequent. With this new partnership we are looking at a communication strategy that ensures you are always informed and educated. That way you will be able to enhance your own returns through investing on your own and also by understanding the nature of this industry.
So please expect to see us soon to discuss this with you in person. We will not rush into anything and will make sure that whatever we are doing is in your best interests. Please also note that The Perspective Advisory team is always here to look after your best interests and if you feel that we are not living up to that mantra then we hope you will hold us to account. It is only through a combined approach of openness and honesty that we can forge long-term relationships that see each other through tough times. And goodness knows, these last two years have been tough and look, we are both still here!
Warm regards,
Duncan & the Perspective Advisory Team!
