Though Jacob Zuma’s tenure as leader of SA is generally regarded as an economic disaster, investors would still have nearly trebled the value of their nominal investments on the JSE over the 10-year timeframe of his time in office. "The grass is not always greener on the other side, and investors should keep in mind that South African listed-equity markets still deliver competitive returns," says GraySwan Investments analyst Duncan Theron. Local equities, which are dominated by the rand hedges, had performed in line with developed markets over the past 10 years, returning an average of 11% a year in rand terms, Theron says. Over this period, the rand depreciated by an average of 6% a year against the dollar. When Zuma took over as president in May 2009, the all share was at 21,705 points. By the time he left, it had hit a high of 61,776.70 points. The nearly threefold rise obscures a number of developments which could have made an investment risky. For example, any exposure to minin...
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