Jacques Plaut
Articles by Jacques Plaut
Four contrarian investment questions to ask in 2023
Jacques Plaut, portfolio manager, shares the four questions investors should consider this year and discusses how the Allan Gray Balanced Fund is positioned ...
Which currency is a good store of value?
As the US dollar continues to make substantial gains on global currencies, Jacques Plaut, portfolio manager, discusses the factors investors typically consid...
Local investment update: Always pay the right price
Jacques Plaut and Duncan Artus discuss the positioning of our equity and multi-asset funds given the pre-existing trends exacerbated by the war in Ukraine....
Understanding the impact of the Ukraine crisis on your investments
Like everyone else, we have been watching with dismay as the war in Ukraine unfolds. While in this piece we address some of the economic and investment...
In pursuit of value
The current disparity in markets, both locally and offshore, is creating an opportunity for bottom-up investors like ourselves to generate meaningful returns...
Equity Fund update: Investing amid extreme price moves
The second quarter of 2020 saw further extreme moves in equities. An intraday price move of 20% is a rare event, especially for a large company. In the month...
An opportunity in television?
The Top 40 got a new member this quarter when MultiChoice was unbundled from Naspers. MultiChoice owns the dominant pay-TV business in South Africa, DStv, wi...
The value of bitcoin
The total market value of all bitcoins is US$80bn, which is more than the value of Richemont and triple the value of Anglo American. It is the topic on which...
Balanced Fund update: The importance of asset allocation
People often stress the importance of asset allocation. For example, we have heard it said that 90% of returns are directly due to asset allocation. We teste...
Balanced Fund update: What is a 'high-quality' company?
The Fund’s performance over the past quarter was helped by overweight positions in Standard Bank and Impala Platinum, and by underweight positions in SABMill...
Top quality
Richemont is one of the world’s top luxury goods companies. It sells watches, jewellery, pens, clothes, and even guns. Its most well-known brand is Cartier....
Deconstructing the investment case for property
The South African property sector has been a huge winner over the last decade, returning 22% per year compared with 18% for the FTSE/JSE All Share Index...
Money for everyone
Microlending has a history that can be traced back to 3 000 BC. Throughout this period people have shown a tendency to become over-indebted, and when this...
South African banks - Not just a bad debt story
Record-high bad debts are currently weighing on the banking sector. Typically, an industry experiencing depressed profits due to cyclical factors is a good...
