Investors on the hunt for the best returns cannot afford to focus on large capitalised shares and ignore smaller players SMALLER-CAP shares have taken a back seat of late, leaving the JSE top 40 index driven by the likes of Naspers, Steinhoff, Sasol and Mondi to set the pace. But experience suggests the top 40 index's performance leadership is an exception to the rule. "The small- and mid-cap sectors grow faster than the big-cap sector over the long term," says Evan Walker of 36One Asset Management. "Our general equity fund will always have a 25%-30% exposure to small- and mid-caps." Hammering his point home, the top 40 index's highly respectable 333% total return over the past 10 years was no match for the small-cap index's 649% total return or the mid-cap index's 606% total return during the same period. "The trick is to pick tomorrow's winners," says Investec Emerging Companies fund manager, Richard Middleton. To pull off the trick often demands targeting companies shunned by m...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.