Head of multi-strategy at Sanlam Mike Pinggera speaks to Mike Sheen about how the firm’s multi-asset portfolios and Real Assets fund have held up during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and how our
working lives might change when the crisis subsides.

The question of whether the market contraction offers a great entry point into equities depends on one’s view of the economic impact that Covid-19 will have and whether any of that impact will be permanent

An investor’s journey has always been one of facing the unknown in the quest for sufficient reward in return for taking on risk – primarily defined as uncertainty. And increasingly, clarity about the future is becoming rare. As we prepare to enter the next decade we turn to trends that are already visible to understand where our ultimate direction and focus should lie.

Having spent much of 2019 worrying about the very real possibility of a global recession, investors are heading into the holiday period feeling slightly more relaxed about the outlook for next year. Interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, and an easing of monetary policy around the world, appear to have seen off a full-blown recession in favour of a more palatable slowdown in growth.

This time last year it was hard to escape the prospect of a global recession. Twelve months later and we are looking forward to a recovery in global economic growth, thanks to progress in finding a US-China trade compromise, and the likelihood that President Trump will be economically supportive leading up to the presidential election in November.

Congratulations to Pieter Fourie, Head of Global Equities, for picking up an FE fundinfo Alpha Manager rating for a second year in a row.