Investing is the new normal
Consumers may demand speedier online services and surviving firms look leaner in post-Covid SA, but social behaviour won’t change too much, writes Shawn Stockigt
The crisis we are living through, though unprecedented, will pass. The degree to which life returns to some form of normality is, however, an open question and will largely be determined by if, and when, a vaccine is developed so that normal daily activities can safely resume.The one thing the past few months has taught us is that it was easier to go into lockdown than it will be to emerge from it.The exact path the infection will take is still uncertain and there is a risk that despite best efforts, finding a vaccine or more effective treatment may remain a challenge for some time. If this is the case, the economy will need to adapt to living alongside the virus, which will obviously have dire consequences for many businesses and will test the ability of management teams to adapt.If a vaccine is, however, made widely available in the next 12 to 18 months, a degree of normality would likely rapidly return. As equity investors are forward-looking creatures, it’s worth spending some t...
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