Why now is the time to bet on the JSE
SA equities are cheaper than they’ve been in a long while after a terrible 2018. But picking the right stocks, and building a diverse portfolio, will be key to how well investors do in any recovery
So much for Ramaphoria. When Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Jacob Zuma as president in February, there was giddy expectation that he would move quickly to stop the rot in the government and fix the economy. Of course, it didn’t work out that way. Instead, the new president took his time sorting out the problems, and the economy stalled and briefly went into a recession.The equity markets suffered. The share prices of heavyweight stocks tumbled. For the year to early December, Naspers is down 24% to R2,750, Shoprite has fallen 14% to R183 and British American Tobacco plunged 46% to R490.Nor were these exceptions. The JSE’s all share index (Alsi) has fallen by 10.18%. The largest shares, represented by the top 40 index, have slumped 14%.Looked at another way, 308 of the JSE’s 456 listed instruments are negative for the year so far, says Keith McLachlan, fund manager at AlphaWealth.McLachlan says there are several factors still affecting the economy, which makes it difficult to figure out th...
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