Explore every episode of the podcast Magic Markets

Muofhe Kwinda is a Magic Markets listener who reached out to us because he has an interesting story. He's made the leap from being a financial analyst in the investment space to being an entrepreneur, with business interests in mining and agriculture.

We couldn't resist the temptation to tap into what he's learnt by moving from desktop analysis of companies into the "real world" where you can actually taste the effect of working capital pressure. There's a big difference between thinking of a bear case and experiencing the day-to-day operational risks of doing business.

This is a highly insightful discussion that helps bridge the gap between financial and operational roles in business. You can connect with Muofhe on LinkedIn.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. Please speak to your personal financial advisor.

The US credit downgrade by Moody's wasn't a huge surprise, as they are just playing catch-up to what other ratings agencies already did. The complacency in the market in response to the downgrade is interesting though, as it became the catalyst for us to talk about the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

In the same week, a JPMorgan investor day provided an excellent opportunity to dig into the wisdom of not just Jamie Dimon, but CFO Jeremy Barnum as well. Aside from some insights into JPMorgan's view on the economic outlook, Barnum delivered an absolute masterclass in capital allocation.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. Please speak to your personal financial advisor.

These days, the narrative has shifted from US Exceptionalism to one of punters working through the list of European companies to try and find something exciting to buy. Defence stocks seemed to be where momentum traders found their desired home, with incredible returns in those stocks.

But what about the rest of Europe? Is there something there to justify this Europhoria? Are there other place to look, like China?

And are you willing to allow Moe to invent the term Amexit?

All this and more in this episode of Magic Markets! 

Harry Scherzer of Future Forex is back on Magic Markets to give us an update not just on crypto arbitrage, but on the Future Forex business and the direction being taken.

After a difficult period in which the arbitrage needed to be temporarily closed down to manage counterparty risk amidst uncertainty in the global banking system, the team is offering the arbitrage once more. They have also evolved the Future Forex business model to offer additional services to clients and move the business into a new area.

The discussion included:

• A brief recap of why the crypto arbitrage exists in the first place, as well as the risk of an arbitrage opportunity closing over time.
• Some of the drivers of recent arbitrage spreads and why that can change.
• Recent regulatory changes at SARS regarding the process of taking more than R1 million out of South Africa, with a surprising benefit for Future Forex clients.
• The versatility of the Future Forex business model and the benefit of relationships creating with banking partners over the years, which enables the company to offer attractive forex solutions to clients for both corporate and personal needs.
• The “fee” saving opportunity for clients, once the extent of the bid-offer spread on forex is understood as a genuine cost of transacting.
• Potential future areas of expansion for Future Forex.

Future Forex is a Financial Services Provider leveraging innovation and automation to provide cutting-edge forex services at exceptional rates to South African SMEs and high net-wealth individuals.

As part of their forex service, they offer FEC cover, foreign currency accounts, complimentary AIT applications and more.

If you’d like to get in touch, call them on +27 21 518 0558 or visit their website www.futureforex.co.za

Craig Antonie is certainly no stranger to Magic Markets listeners. The team at AnBro Capital Investments regularly join us to talk through stocks that are either in the portfolio or on the watchlist.

As AnBro manages more than one type of fund, the watchlist can range from exciting growth stocks through to dividend paying compounders.

This week, Craig decided to focus on strong dividend payers that are on the watchlist.

The first is International Flavors and Fragrances (NYSE: IFF), a group that manufactures a wide range of products that are used in the food and cosmetics industry. One of three yoghurts sold in the world includes a product made by this company!

Although it is a long way up in the value chain and is a “picks and shovels” business rather than a miner, there’s been a significant unwind in the multiple during a destocking phase in consumer businesses. The dividend yield is significantly higher than the long-term average, so it earns a place on the watchlist.

The second is Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ: RWAY), a small financial services firm in the US that provides growth capital to small business. There are specific regulatory requirements in the US that create the opportunity in this space, ranging from the need to lend to smaller firms through to a requirement to pay out a high percentage of profits as a dividend. With a strong founder behind the business, the future of this group looks interesting.

With some of the significant recent challenges faced by smaller US lending groups as interest rates have spiked, any financial services firm needs significant due diligence. That is why this company is still only on the watchlist.

With great underlying insights into concepts ranging from watchlist strategies through to being patient through cycles, this is another excellent learning opportunity with the team at AnBro.

Episode 125 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

You've heard from Alexander Weiss before on Magic Markets. The impressive young market analyst at Trive South Africa has returned to the show to delve into the stocks that are at the forefront of artificial intelligence.

The initial excitement around ChatGPT shows no signs of slowing down. If anything, user growth has surpassed all expectations. This trend has the potential to shape the next decade of technology investing in the same way that smartphones and cloud computing shaped the last decade.

The Five with Trive concept sees us cover five stocks on the show. This time around, Alexander took us through Nvidia, AMD, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta. It just shows that the leading technology platforms tend to be at the cutting edge of whatever the next big thing is, as one would expect.

If you are looking for a new trading and investment platform, or if you are new to the game and figuring out where to start, visit the Trive South Africa website for more information. Trive South Africa is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 27231.

Note: as always, nothing you hear on Magic Markets should be taken as advice and you should always do your own research.

Growth vs. value is one of the most stereotypical debates in the market. This is with good reason, as these styles ebb and flow and the popularity of each style is usually just a function of how the market is behaving!

There’s so much to learn from these two approaches, so we used the opportunity this week to discuss this topic and look at some of the core differences. This included real-world examples of various companies that we have covered in Magic Markets Premium, like Meta.

Also look out for discussions on Netflix, Disney and JPMorgan Chase & Co – again, companies we’ve covered before in Magic Markets Premium.

When we are drawing five-year charts and debating them live on the show, you know it’s going to be fun. For just as much fun and far deeper analysis, consider subscribing to Magic Markets Premium for a weekly report and podcast on global stocks.

In Episode 122 of Magic Markets, we welcomed the familiar voice of Dino Zuccollo to the show. Dino is the Head of Product Development and Distribution at Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management and we’ve learnt a great deal about alternative assets over a number of podcasts with Westbrooke.

This time around, we were joined by two investment professionals from Anchor Capital who were able to give us a view on alternative assets from another perspective. Matthew Norwood-Young is the Head of Strategic Development at Anchor Group. Peter Little is on the Global Fund Management side of Anchor Capital.

With such experienced guests, we took the opportunity to discuss topics like:

• The appeal of alternative assets for investors and how they contribute to a portfolio management strategy.
• The level of understanding among investors and what their general perspective is on this asset class.
• The trends in yield-focused and equity-focused assets.
• The extent of typical allocations to alternative assets and the hurdles to increasing this further.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.com to find out more. You can also find Westbrooke on LinkedIn. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

In Episode 121 of Magic Markets, we took the time to reflect on some of the recent insights we’ve uncovered in our research for Magic Markets Premium and our general activities in the markets.

Specifically, we discussed:
• The poor use of share buybacks by US companies and how this relates to stock-based compensation, allocation of capital and artificially low dividend payout ratios
• The divergence in performance between national and regional banks in the US
• Why we look for optionality in a business model, with Apple’s announcement of a savings product as a great example
• A view on pure-play businesses like Winnebago and how to use these cyclical companies in a portfolio
• The recent popularity of the luxury sector, why investors are buying these companies and the risk of chasing the hype

This is just a taste of the types of discussions that we have in Magic Markets Premium. If you enjoyed these insights and if you want to learn more about global companies, subscribe to our library of Premium research that gets updated weekly at www.magic-markets.com.

With an obvious passion for the markets and the psychology behind them, Alexander Weiss from Trive South Africa joined us for a discussion on the banking industry.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is still fresh in our minds, prompting a discussion around the key differences between the risk embedded in US banks vs. local (South African) banks. There are great insights here around the basic risks of fixed income instruments and the importance of asset-liability matching at financial institutions.

We also looked at common metrics used in analysing banks, helping investors understand their relative valuations. Price/Earnings, Price/Book and other approaches were referenced.

For anyone looking to boost their knowledge of the banking sector, this discussion is a worthwhile investment of time.

For more information on Trive South Africa, visit the website at www.trive.co.za or check out their social media pages (@trive_sa).

When most investors think of growth-style funds, they imagine software-as-a-service businesses and artificial intelligence. Sometimes, growth can be found in industries that are as old as time itself, like the medical field.

Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments returned to the show to recap two companies that we’ve talked about previously.

The first is Dexcom, a company that focuses entirely on devices for management of diabetes. With an ambassador-led model and adverts at the Super Bowl, the business is building a brand that treats diabetes as a manageable part of any lifestyle. This fast-growing stock benefits from the unfortunate growth trend in diabetes, a function of poor health globally. It’s a difficult stock to trade, but AnBro is in it for the long haul.

The second is STAAR Surgical, a company that has sold over 2 million lenses worldwide. This is the gift of sight, with the company designing and manufacturing lenses that reduce reliance on glasses or contact lenses for patients. The trick here is the look-through to China as the key market, with lockdowns in China as a major driver of the STAAR share price.

Listen to this episode to learn not just about $DXCM and $STAA, but about how the team at AnBro thinks about investing.

Episode 118 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

In Episode 118, we brought the sunshine to Magic Markets.

Saul Maserow and Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us to talk about Westbrooke’s response to the solar financing opportunity that has been thrust into the limelight (or sunlight?) by the failure of South Africa’s national power utility.

Westbrooke’s approach is a little different, focusing on the equity layer in the capital stack. Equity can be difficult to raise, particularly as most funding in the market seems to focus on debt for these opportunities.

Although Westbrooke’s activities in this space are not open to the public for investment, there is much to learn from Westbrooke’s approach. Perhaps most importantly, Westbrooke welcomes conversations with project owners who are looking for equity investment in significant solar projects.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. You can also find Westbrooke on Twitter @WAAM_SA or on LinkedIn. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

With a background at Roubini Global Economics and extensive experience across developed, emerging and even frontier markets, Rachel Ziemba brings a wealth of macroeconomic and geopolitical experience to Magic Markets.

Having worked several times in the past with our very own Mohammed Nalla, Rachel agreed to join us for a discussion on general global trends and the perception of South Africa on the international stage.

We covered topics including:

• Thoughts on where we are in the cycle, including global optimism around China and commodities despite some dissenting voices who think we could be heading back to a 2008/2009 scenario.
• The additional complexity and dynamics of global sanctions and some of the winners we have seen in this environment, like shipping companies.
• Where pressure points have manifested, ranging from commodities through to other players in the value chain and who the winners might be over 3 – 5 years.
• The importance of doing proper research into mining companies before just blindly adding them to a portfolio based on a broader commodity thesis.
• A note on the relative weakness of global balance sheets, as most mark-to-market moves on bonds would currently be negative.
• A discussion on how a push into green energy and a potential decrease in other energy prices could affect the “petrodollar” structure globally.
• Central bank policy and the need to “fail safely” or keep rising rates until something breaks.
• Commentary around geopolitical strategies of certain countries linked to the war in Ukraine and the behaviour of various countries in the east, not least of all China.
• Global perceptions of South Africa and how we have benefitted from a deterioration in some of our peer countries that have become “uninvestable” – like Russia.
• How our greylisting is seen by global banks, both practically and in terms of sentiment towards South Africa.

For those looking to understand the music that is playing on the stock-picking dancefloor, an appreciation for macroeconomics and geopolitics is key. This episode is a great way to learn about some of the key themes and complexities.

You can follow Rachel on Twitter for more insights and you can follow her work on her website.

Tristanne Farrell isn't shy to admit it: she's mildly obsessed with art. As a Senior Wealth Manager at Investec Wealth & Investment International, her day job is to help clients build diversified, successful portfolios. Thankfully, with art as one of the more interesting (and certainly most visually stimulating) alternative assets out there, she gets to enjoy some overlap between her passion and her career.

As the host of the Art in Focus podcast series, part of the excellent Investec Focus Radio offering, Tristanne is no stranger to podcasts. She joined us to talk about art as an investment, bringing a mix of genuine passion and solid insights into this asset class. And of course, at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, you get a chance each year to see this in action.

Ready for something different? Listen to this episode dedicated to the world of art. If you enjoy it, be sure to check out the Art in Focus series for more insights. 

If there’s one thing we are learning in Formula One this year, it’s that Fernando Alonso has more resilience and staying power than many international companies! Now driving for Aston Martin, a strong result in the opening race of the year certainly gave the brand a boost. It also led to many momentum and sentiment traders pulling the stock up on their screens on Monday morning, using it as an effective alternative to a bit of sports betting!

“Betting” may well be the word here, as Aston Martin’s financial history is more checkered than the flag at the end of the race. The brand may be on track, but is the company on track as well?

With Barry Dumas of Trive South Africa as our guest, we delved into the world of luxury automobiles and debated whether Aston Martin offers anything close to the investment case of the likes of Ferrari.

For more information on Trive South Africa, visit the website at www.trive.co.za or check out their social media pages (@trive_sa).

Trive South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an Authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 27231.

In this episode of Magic Markets, Craig Antonie of AnBro Capital Investments joined us to discuss a few energy opportunities in the US that the AnBro funds have positions in. There are both dividend- and growth-oriented funds available at AnBro, so there is something for (almost) everyone.

The energy theme is a major driver of global markets at the moment, with a clear push towards clean and green energy (not always the same thing) and inflationary pressure in fossil fuel prices as a result. With a major regulatory move in the form of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the US is the place to be when it comes to investing in energy.

With natural gas as the largest current contributor, one can realistically expect clean and green energy sources to attract the bulk of investment in years to come. There are shovel-in-the-gold-rush opportunities in this space, like power management companies. There are also the utilities or the technology companies in the renewable energy industry.

Craig walked us through the investment thesis for NextEra Energy Partners ($NEP) and First Solar ($FSLR) in detail, with a passing mention of Constellation Energy ($CEG) as good examples of how this sector offers opportunities for different types of investors.

Episode 115 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

Regular listeners of Magic Markets have learnt a great deal about alternative investments and private deals, thanks to the various professionals at Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management who have joined us on the show.

Richard Asherson and James Lightbody join us this week to update us on the UK market and the conditions under which the Westbrooke Yield Plus fund operates. The focus of the fund is capital preservation, and with it now turning 5 years old and having consistently delivered in the target return band of cash plus 5% to 7% in GBP, we wanted to go deeper into the success and challenges.

The fund delivers an asymmetric risk/return profile to investors, by focusing on providing loans to lower and middle-market UK companies and real estate sponsors. 

We touched on topics including:
• The way property valuations behave in a time of rising interest rates and lower cap rates
• Pricing for risk in the capital stack, particularly as loan-to-value ratios change over time
• The importance of being strict and saying no to marginal opportunities, with a lovely quote in the show that “deals are like busses – one comes around every five minutes!”
• The way in which Westbrooke competes against traditional banks in debt-led structures
• The relative appeal of debt vs. equity in this environment
• The evolution of market conditions: post-COVID vs. pre-COVID
• A couple of real-world examples of transactions that Westbrooke has been involved in

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. You can also find Westbrooke on Twitter @WAAM_SA or on LinkedIn. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

In Magic Markets, we try to eat our own cooking. When we cover stocks in Premium, it’s either because we already have a position in them or because we are interested in taking a position and want to do further research. In this episode of Magic Markets, we took advantage of a “just the two of us” situation to talk about some of the positions in our portfolios.

Moe opted to talk about Visa, Disney and Simon Property Group, as well as Fedex as an example of a trade that got away.

The Finance Ghost spoke about Hasbro as a mistake, alongside Accenture and Ferrari as much happier stories.

Authenticity has always been our focus in Magic Markets. We learn even more from our mistakes than we do from our wins and we love sharing those learnings with our listeners.

If you like what you hear this week, consider joining us in Magic Markets Premium for a weekly, in-depth look at global companies. At only R99 per month or an annual deal of R990 for the year (two months for free), it's the best value you'll find in your research journey and perhaps the best investment you’ll make!
Click here or on the banner below to look beneath the surface.

A multi-asset investment platform is a complicated animal to build and operate. With considerations like getting the balance of automation and human involvement just right, through to the need to meet numerous legislative and compliance requirements, the engine room of a brokerage carries a major responsibility. For anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes reality at a financial services institution, this is a great show.

At Trive South Africa, that responsibility rests of the shoulders of Marius Grobler, who is as passionate about his role as he is capable. In this episode of Magic Markets, we took the opportunity to delve into the nuts and bolts of Trive and what makes it different.

For more information on Trive South Africa, visit the website at www.trive.co.za or check out their social media pages (@trive_sa).

Trive South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an Authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 27231.

Guess what? The hype machine is back in the market, this time focused on the exciting new world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some of the intelligence is artificial indeed, with any company that has “AI” in its name trading higher this month, regardless of what AI stands for!

There’s nothing more dangerous than a market that is chasing the Next Big Thing. Momentum traders have a field day, but the good ones know when to get out of the way. For investors, scrutiny is needed.

Together with Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments, we took a deeper look at AI and what it practically means for investors. This is a great follow-on from our recent Magic Markets Premium report on Microsoft, a company at the forefront of this new technology.

Episode 111 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

For founders and executives, raising capital is always a hot topic. Cash is the lifeblood of any organisation and the “capital stack” is an important and complicated area of finance that far too many entrepreneurs don’t have a proper understanding of.

After several podcasts with the Westbrooke team members, in which we have learnt about the different investment mandates in the group and how they operate, we welcomed Jonti Osher back to the show alongside Brent Blankfield both of whom focus on flexible capital solutions. If you ever wanted to know how to make your business more attractive to an investor like Westbrooke, you’re in the right place.

We discussed topics like:
• The critical importance of the management team and the need to build partnerships around the companies that Westbrooke invests in
• The extent to which Westbrooke performs a due diligence on the management team, not just the business
• The niche in which Westbrooke plays, focusing on speed of execution and an ability to do value-adding lending transactions that are usually too small for investment banks
• The approach taken in assessing a business for a debt-led investment strategy, with an equity kicker for Westbrooke as part of a hybrid funding strategy
• The ways in which to make a business more investable for Westbrooke

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in understanding more about capital raising and the relationship between risk and return.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. You can also find Westbrooke on Twitter @WAAM_SA. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

As we get ready to sign off on the first month of 2023, Petri Redelinghuys from Herenya Capital Advisors joined us to talk about the mood of the traders in the community and some of the ideas and strategies that they are putting in place.

We also talked about the South African economy and the obvious impact of load shedding, with some long-term silver linings thrown in for good measure.

As the founder of Herenya Capital Advisors, Petri is committed to upskilling traders and helping people find success in the market. To learn more about their offering, visit the Herenya website and follow them on Twitter. Herenya Capital Advisors is an authorised financial services provider, FSP number 47080.

Trive South Africa offers a gateway to the JSE and global markets. Providing an in-depth online trading experience, Trive exists to empower progression. You can simply and securely trade and invest in JSE and US stocks and leveraged products, or invest in tax free savings accounts.

Travis Robson is the CEO of Trive South Africa and he joined us on Magic Markets to discuss:
• The types of stockbroking clients and how the industry has evolved
• The key differentiators of Trive and particularly how the group will combine new-age tech with the best of old-school service (telephone brokers, anyone?) to deliver a great customer experience
• The importance of building a community around Trive and how that will be achieved through research and other means
• The extent of the offering on the platform, including the number of securities available and the mix of asset classes and derivatives

For more information on Trive South Africa, visit the website at www.trive.co.za or check out their social media pages (@trive_sa).

Trive South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an Authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 27231.

If you can imagine the worst possible year for anything, then you’re starting to understand what 2022 was like for investors in growth stocks. The combination of rising interest rates and inflated valuations at the start of the year meant that investors suffered drops of 30% (and more) across many of the “growth” names in the portfolio, including the world’s leading tech companies.

Investing requires a longer-term lens than this and a strong stomach, although we all know that seeing these drops isn’t fun. Together with Craig Antonie of AnBro Capital Investments, we recap why 2022 was a perfect storm and what the outlook is for 2023 for stocks.

Episode 107 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

If there's one thing the markets taught us recently, it's that gold remains as relevant as ever. Mesh Trade brings you a new way to invest in this store of value, giving you a perfect example of tradition combined with tech.

For a limited time, Mesh investors can buy Krugerrands at the best retail price in the market and on a fractional basis using blockchain technology. Mesh also offers a wide range of tokenised financial assets, giving investors a multi-asset solution on a single platform.

To learn more about the investment case for gold, Mohammed Nalla will be presenting on a Mesh Trade webinar on 10th March. Registration is free at this link>>>

Mesh Trade (Pty) is a licensed Financial Services Provider, FSP number 53710. Please do your own research and remember that nothing you hear on Magic Markets is advice, nor should you treat this as an endorsement.

If you’ve looked at your portfolio even once this year, you’ll know that 2022 has proven how vital a solid geopolitical analytical framework can be in generating returns.

As the author of the book Geopolitical Alpha, Marko Papic is a global geopolitical expert and partner at Clocktower Group, who advises some of the largest pension funds and investors globally. As a friend of Moe's, we were able to twist his arm to share some of his views on global geopolitics and the risks and opportunities they currently present for investors.

Having travelled to South Africa many times, Marko also has a particular affinity for the country (and its kudu carpaccio), sharing his views with us on how SA stacks up in the overall emerging markets space.

In this incredible episode, we also discussed fascinating views on China, oil prices and the importance of multi-polarity in the modern world. You do not want to miss this, even if this is a longer episode than normal.

In Episode 105 of Magic Markets, Petri Redelinghuys of Herenya joins us to recap 2022.

And what a year it was – with themes like energy and inflation playing out in the markets and plenty of volatility from the Fed on one end of the world and China on the other. These volatile conditions were both treacherous and potentially highly rewarding.

Whilst touching on topics as diverse as banks and Chinese tech stocks, the hosts also talked about trades that went badly. We all have those!

As the founder of Herenya Capital Advisors, Petri is committed to upskilling traders and helping people find success in the market. To learn more about their offering, visit the Herenya website and follow them on Twitter. Herenya Capital Advisors is an authorised financial services provider, FSP number 47080.

In this episode of Magic Markets, we took the opportunity to run through key elements of our research process in Magic Markets Premium. In doing so, we shared insights into important areas of focus for investors.

Topics covered include:

• Why do we present a bull case and a bear case on every company?
• What do we learn by looking at insider selling?
• In terms of financial analysis, what approach do we take to the numbers?
• Many recognise that technical analysis is important, but few understand it – what are some of the key concepts that we use?
• In fundamental analysis, why do we focus on historical traded multiples as an important metric?
• Do we think that quarterly reporting in the US drives the right behaviour (vs. six-monthly reporting in South Africa)?

In addition to giving you a flavour of the type of work we do in Magic Markets Premium, this show is a great resource for any investor or trader who does their own research.

Like what you heard this week? Join us in Magic Markets Premium for an even greater in-depth look at some of the companies mentioned. At only R99 per month or an annual deal of R990 for the year, an effective 2 months free, it's the best value you'll find in your research journey. Click here or on the banner below to look beneath the surface.

Ever wanted to know what wealth managers think about alternative investments and how they are using them in clients' portfolios? Regular Magic Markets listeners have become familiar with the Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management team and the types of investments that they specialise in. This week, we look beyond the team to find out what independent wealth managers think about alternative assets.

Based on the results of a survey of wealth managers that was arranged by Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke, we were able to discuss points like:

• What types of alternative assets are popular?
• What is the priority for investors – yield, capital growth or a combination of the two?
• Do investors prefer offshore or local exposure within the alternative asset portfolio?

Perhaps the most surprising insight of all related to the popularity (or lack thereof) of traditional real estate as an asset class. All these insights and more are available in Episode 103 of Magic Markets.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

As the dust settles on the Big Tech earnings season, we look back on what we’ve learnt from covering the leading tech companies in Magic Markets Premium in the past year, including recent shows on Meta, Amazon and Apple.

The fight for eyeballs is dominating this industry. The “attention economy” is lucrative and technology platforms have found various ways to monetise it, ranging from advertising to subscription business models.

If you are interested in uncommon insights, then this show is for you. Instead of focusing on the obvious elements of Big Tech earnings, we highlight some of the trends and themes that can only be identified through doing detailed research.

Like what you heard this week? Join us in Magic Markets Premium for an even greater in-depth look at some of the companies mentioned. Click on the banner below. 

Magic Markets listeners are familiar with the wonderful team at AnBro Capital Investments. We regularly welcome Justine Brophy and Craig Antonie to the show to talk about the growth stocks in the Unicorn portfolio.

In Episode 101 of Magic Markets, there’s exciting news from the team at AnBro. Chief Investment Officer, Craig Antonie joined us to talk about the Dynamic Compound portfolio, a new investment product that brings more of a value flavour to AnBro’s toolkit.

With a focus on compounders (companies that have disciplined capital allocation track records) that have proven to be resilient dividend payers, the Dynamic Compound portfolio gives investors a way to access global investments through a JSE-listed structure. Alongside Unicorn, this gives investors a choice of investment styles when investing with AnBro.

Learn about this exciting portfolio by visiting https://www.dynamiccompounding.com/ for more information.

Episode 101 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

In our centenary show of Magic Markets, it was fitting to celebrate market milestones with a fellow entrepreneur in the market.

In the Intellidex Top Securities Brokers in South Africa 2022 report, Herenya Capital Advisors was awarded 1st position as broker for the 'Traditional Investor archetype'. That wasn't all. The team also achieved 2nd position in the 'People’s Choice Award' and a solid outcome of 5th Overall among 101 competitors in this space! 

Regular listeners have gotten to know Petri Redelinghuys and his style in building the community within Herenya. In this show, we chat through the secret sauce at Herenya and the success of many of the traders. We also talk about recent market movements and have our usual amount of fun.

As the founder of Herenya Capital Advisors, Petri is committed to upskilling traders and helping people find success in the market. To learn more about their offering, visit the Herenya website and follow them on Twitter. Herenya Capital Advisors is an authorised financial services provider, FSP number 47080.

In the latest episode with the team from Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management, Richard Asherson joined us from the UK to talk about market conditions on the ground. The UK has been extremely topical this year and macroeconomic challenges are felt in private and public markets.

Apart from asking whether his money was on Liz or the lettuce, we touched on a number of fascinating topics:

• What does it mean to look for asymmetrical returns in a debt-led structure?
• How do current rates in the UK compare to long-term averages?
• What are the impacts of inflation on dealmaking and debt in company structures?
• How do private company portfolios perform in this environment?
• To what extent are UK consumers and businesses under pressure?
• How does Westbrooke add value to partners?
• How do exit strategies evolve over time?

There’s a great deal to learn from this podcast.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

We love engaging with our audience on Magic Markets. This week, we asked on Twitter for people to send through their questions.

Other than the classic “when moon?” for crypto (which we opted to ignore), there were great questions around our portfolio strategies and position sizing. We also answered fun questions like what we would go back and tell our 20-year-old selves.

With a mix of solid investment insights and some light-hearted fun, we loved recording this episode and we hope you enjoy listening to it.

In this episode of Magic Markets, we decided to look at some of the common mistakes made by investors and traders in the market.

We covered topics like:
• Not knowing whether you are a natural trader, investor or hybrid of the two
• The risks of not diversifying into different asset classes
• The trouble with panicking during tough times
• Checking your portfolio too often
• Assuming that certain industries are always a good investment
• Focusing too much on dividends without looking at how they are funded
• Not critically assessing the strategy of the entity and only focusing on the numbers instead
• The importance of flexibility, openness to new ideas and information and the conviction to follow through

We all make mistakes in the market. The more we talk about them, the better we all become.

Having covered MercadoLibre in Magic Markets Premium this week, we had Latin America on the brain. Combined with the mess around the South African budget speech (or complete lack thereof), this triggered the idea to consider whether the reforms seen in Argentina under Javier Milei could work in South Africa.

Moe certainly took this assignment seriously, with a detailed discussion on the approach taken in Argentina and exactly which bits might work in South Africa - and which ones are a step too far! The conversation then evolved into points around the effect of reforms on growth and the ability for platform businesses to scale effectively within South Africa.

One of the greatest challenges in the market is to maintain a cool head and a consistent strategy even when it feels like everything is against you. Clearly, this has been a terrible year for technology stocks. By focusing on the fundamental growth drivers rather than the share price movements, investors can identify the winners of the next decade.

In this episode of Magic Markets, Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments joins us to talk about why he feels good about the future. With specific examples of stocks that they are looking at, there’s always so much to learn from the team at AnBro.

Episode 96 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

Invest in the future. Invest in growth. Visit investinunicorns.com for more information.

One of the benefits of trading is that you can make money in a bear market, as long as you are either prepared to take short positions or wait for an elusive bear market rally. Those rallies can disappear as quickly as they arrived, taking many victims with them along the way.

In this markets discussion with Petri Redelinghuys of Herenya Capital Advisors, we talked about everything from his oil view through to the risks in the UK property market. We also discussed the advice he gives most of the traders at Herenya, which is to be careful during a bear market and err on the side of caution.

As the founder of Herenya Capital Advisors, Petri is committed to upskilling traders and helping people find success in the market. To learn more about their offering, visit the Herenya website and follow them on Twitter. Herenya Capital Advisors is an authorised financial services provider, FSP number 47080.

Alternative assets have been a key discussion point for us this year, as a means to diversify the portfolio as well as hedge against listed assets through achieving uncorrelated exposure.

We’ve had a fantastic time learning about the various alternative asset strategies with Westbrooke. We've welcomed the team over several episodes since the first appearance on Episode 59. 

We’ve covered a great deal of ground since that show, so we thought it would be useful to our listeners to take a more holistic view and wrap this into a recap of some concepts while probing developments in the market so far this year.

In this episode, we ask Dino Zuccollo to reflect on whether demand for alternative assets this year has been in line with expectations. We also talk about trends like local vs. offshore allocations in this space.

With reference to the eight previous shows, we recap elements of the alternative asset strategy. Of course, we couldn’t resist discussing our favourite Westbrooke shows thus far and why!

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

The US CPI print was slightly different to market expectations, though you would never say so based on the mayhem that ensued. The sell-off was brutal, hitting tech stocks the hardest. Risky assets (like the rand) also took a knock.

In this episode, we discuss macroeconomic concepts not just around inflation in the US, but also around China and Europe. For bonus points, we also touch on South African companies that have exposure to Europe.

Magic Markets is your invitation to be part of the dealing room conversations that are usually closed off from public ears. Join us and learn!

The team from AnBro Capital is back, this time with Craig Antonie joining us to discuss an interesting company in the Unicorn portfolio that has nothing to do with tech.
That’s right – there’s more to Unicorn than just tech companies!

Patria is thought of as the Blackstone of Latin America. This asset management business plays in the alternative asset space, operating in the private equity, infrastructure, real estate and credit verticals.
With a long and successful track record, Patria ticks the boxes for the Unicorn fund.

Learn more about this company and the way the team at AnBro thinks about investments by listening to this episode.

Episode 92 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

Invest in the future. Invest in growth. Visit investinunicorns.com for more information.

In the investment equivalent of chasing the sun, we meet the team at Westbrooke responsible for the solar investment strategy. Clearly, this is an asset class that resonates with South Africans who are used to being in the dark. Ryan Rittoff and Saul Maserow are clearly passionate about what they are doing.

In typical Westbrooke fashion, the group is investing and gaining real-world experience in this space before opening it up to external investors. In the meantime, Westbrooke would love to chat to you if you have commercial or industrial solar projects that need funding.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

In addition to the trading community that Herenya Capital Advisors is known for, founder Petri Redelinghuys and his team also manage portfolios on behalf of clients. We took the opportunity to dig into the portfolio holdings and discuss some of the companies and strategies included in the local and offshore portfolios.

As the founder of Herenya Capital Advisors, Petri is committed to upskilling traders and helping people find success in the market. To learn more about their offering, visit the Herenya website and follow them on Twitter.

Herenya Capital Advisors is an authorised financial services provider, FSP number 47080.

In Magic Markets Premium, we’ve developed a research process that we apply every week in analysing global stocks. In this episode, we give you insights into that process.

We talk about the importance of forming a bull case and a bear case, as it forces you to challenge your view and question what might go wrong (or better than expected). We also discuss why we look at both the tenure and trading history of the management team. The competitive environment is important of course, as is an analysis of recent financial results.

We finish off with a discussion on the importance of combining technical and fundamental analysis.

You can subscribe to Magic Markets Premium at this link for R990/year or R99/month if you prefer dipping your toes in before committing for a full year.

In Episode 88 of Magic Markets, Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital Investments joined us to look back at the stocks that we talked about in Episode 80 with the AnBro team.

The performance of those stocks has been strong, highlighting the importance of stock picking in a volatile and difficult market. Through this process, we get insights into AnBro’s investment process and the way that the investment team looks at these opportunities.

In a world of exciting tech companies that make big promises about the future, it’s important to only invest in business models that you understand. This has been one of the secrets of success for AnBro.

Episode 88 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

Invest in the future. Invest in growth. Visit investinunicorns.com for more information.

Investing in mobile home parks is a wonderful example of how far the definition of an alternative asset can be stretched. It sounds odd, yet when you dig into this asset, you’ll find that it is simply a different way of getting exposure to residential property.

Westbrooke’s investments in this asset class have delivered strong USD-based returns. As we learnt on this show, some of the biggest names in the investment industry have exposure to this market, including Warren Buffett!

Get any thoughts of Jerry Springer out of your mind and prepare yourself for a great learning experience with Jonathan Loeb from Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management.

For more information on Westbrooke’s alternative asset strategies, be sure to visit www.westbrooke.co.za to find out more. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750.

Wandile Sihlobo is an agricultural economist, an advisor to President Ramaphosa and one of the leading voices in the agriculture space in South Africa. We value his balanced views and his approach to what he does, so we invited Wandile to join us at a time when South Africans are divided rather than united.

Dealing with topics like expropriation, the view of Afrikaans commercial farmers in response to the US approrach to offering refugee status, the rate of transformation in land ownership as well as common misconceptions around AGOA, this is a hard-hitting discussion that adds to the current discourse in South Africa.

As always, our goal is to drive constructive debate. This podcast is well worth your time, as Wandile is a true expert in this space. As South Africans, the most important thing we need to do is keep talking.

The markets are a combination of art and science. Knowing the science is important, especially when it comes to the types of trades in the market and the differences between platforms.

In this episode of Magic Markets, trading expert Petri Redelinghuys joins us to discuss concepts like trading DMA vs. OTC, stop-losses in forex vs. equity trades and the way auctions work on the market.

As the founder of Herenya Capital Advisors, Petri is committed to upskilling traders and helping people find success in the market. To learn more about their offering, visit the Herenya website and follow them on Twitter.

Herenya Capital Advisors is an authorised financial services provider, FSP number 47080.

It’s just the two of us on Episode 85, which gave us a great opportunity to talk about all kinds of things, really. We started off with macroeconomics because there’s just so much going on in that space. Inflation, interest rates and even copper are top of mind for traders and investors alike.

This led us into a discussion about banking regulation and how capital is being sucked out of the system by putting higher equity capital requirements on banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. We talked about capital buffers and the impact they have on risk and returns.

We also talked about US consumers and particularly how direct-to-consumer strategies are paying off handsomely for retailers like Nike, Levi’s and Lululemon – companies we have covered before on Magic Markets Premium. For anyone interested in retail, this is a great learning opportunity.

We finished off with a discussion on the key themes we will be watching in this round of earnings releases. Concepts like JAWS and discretionary spending came up in the discussion.

If you enjoy Magic Markets, you’ll love Magic Markets Premium where we unpack business models and financial attributes of global stocks. We always include a technical and fundamental analysis as well, ending off with whether we would take a position in the company at the moment.

At R99/month or R990/year, it’s one of the best investments you can make. Subscribe here.

In the past six months, the markets weren’t a happy place. Whether you were in bonds or in stocks, you suffered. The bull and bear markets of 2020 - 2022 have been severe, driven by unprecedented levels of stimulus and macroeconomic volatility.

In difficult times, it’s important to lift your head and (try to) shut out the noise. The team from AnBro Capital Investments has done exactly that. They have released research around the impact on different sectors of this bear market vs. the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) that marked the end of a multi-year bull market in 2007. Growth stocks have suffered the most this year. Importantly, this is a function of valuation rather than underlying performance, as multiples had simply run too hot by the end of 2021.

In this episode, we discuss the different sector impacts as well as the differences between this bear market and the GFC. We also discuss the investment thesis that drives the thinking in the Unicorn portfolio that is managed by AnBro.

Episode 84 of Magic Markets is brought to you by AnBro Capital Investments, an authorised Financial Services Provider FSP number 48371.

Invest in the future. Invest in growth. Visit investinunicorns.com for more information.