Ruan Stander

Ruan joined Allan Gray as an equity and quantitative analyst in 2008 and left the company in 2021. He began managing a portion of the equity and balanced portfolios earmarked for associate portfolio managers in 2013 and was appointed as portfolio manager in 2015. He also managed the optimal portfolios. Ruan holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Actuarial Mathematics from the University of Pretoria. He is an FRM^® and a qualified actuary.

Articles by Ruan Stander

Naspers: It simply doesn’t add up

By Ruan Stander and Stefan Magnusson on 16 Oct 2020

Reading time: 7 mins

The discount between Naspers’ share price and the value of its underlying assets has widened further and now looks quite extreme. Being a large holding in bo...

How to invest in challenging times

By Ruan Stander on 22 Jan 2020

Reading time: 4 mins

A braai over the weekend inevitably reminds us of the significant challenges our country faces – there is lots of negative news to talk about.

Equity Fund update: Taking a look at British American Tobacco

By Ruan Stander on 08 Feb 2019

Reading time: 3 mins

2018 was a disappointing year for South African equity investors, with the FTSE/ JSE All Share Index returning -9%. The good news is that based on our resear...

An investment case for Naspers

By Ruan Stander on 17 Oct 2018

Reading time: 9 mins

As at 30 September 2018, Naspers made up 18.2% of the JSE. Whether you are for or against the stock, adequate time needs to be devoted to considering the...

Equity Fund update: Patience is key in investing

By Ruan Stander on 10 Nov 2017

Reading time: 3 mins

Despite the high price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI), our bottom-up investment process is finding attractive opportunities th...

An investment case for Life Healthcare

By Ruan Stander on 31 Dec 2016

Reading time: 8 mins

Recent news about private hospital operator Life Healthcare’s international investments has created negative sentiment about the company’s ability to allocat...

Equity Fund update: Volatility presents opportunity

By Ruan Stander on 25 Jul 2016

Reading time: 3 mins

The economic outlook deteriorated during the second quarter, exacerbated by the British referendum. Although the market’s perception of near-term headwinds m...

Diamonds in the rough

By Leonard Krüger, Ian Liddle, Birte Schneider, Victor Seanie and Ruan Stander on 31 Mar 2014

Reading time: 10 mins

Small- and mid-cap companies make up 16% of the FTSE/JSE All Share Index, but 25-30% of our clients' South African equity holdings. Although many of these...

Buy OUTsurance

By Ruan Stander on 31 Mar 2013

Reading time: 6 mins

In capitalism it is most often the case that competitive advantages do not last. One only needs to think about the ongoing competition between cellphone...

Tobacco economics

By Ruan Stander on 30 Jun 2012

Reading time: 8 mins

Most industries have a single factor that helps investors to understand them better. Unfortunately for investors looking for easy wins, it does not necessari...

Sanlam justifies heavy weighting

By Ruan Stander on 31 Mar 2010

Reading time: 7 mins

The recent financial crisis was a stark reminder of the impact that management has on the wellbeing of a financial services business. With complex products a...