Allan Gray Podcast

From persistent loadshedding to deteriorating national infrastructure, South Africa’s challenges are well known. The recurring negative headlines have prompted many investors to look into increasing their offshore exposure as they ask themselves whether investing in the local market is still worth the risk. In conversation with portfolio manager Tim Acker, investment analysts Siphesihle Zwane and Jithen Pillay discuss the impact of the major local challenges on various industries. They share their thoughts on the South African investment landscape and the global themes that are shaping the local opportunity set, and explain why Allan Gray remains optimistic about a number of attractive JSE-listed companies.

Companies, and their shareholders, are facing increasing levels of scrutiny from the media, activists and the public for the impact they have on the environment and society. As we consider many of the recent headline-grabbing corporate failures, it becomes clear that companies that fail to consider and manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors often prove to be poor investments and destroy shareholder value over the long term. In conversation with Nshalati Hlungwane, a manager in the Institutional Clients team from Allan Gray, ESG analyst Raine Adams and governance analyst Nicole Hamman separate the fundamentals from the fads, as they explain our approach to investing with ESG in mind.

Over the last five years, deteriorating domestic conditions and rapidly developing global trends have seen some well-known stocks, and even entire industries and markets, fall in and out of favour. From Ramaphoria and the COVID-19 pandemic, to the collapse of Steinhoff and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, investors have been tasked with figuring out who the winners might be in a very complex environment.See Allan Gray for more info

In conversation with Tamryn Lamb, Allan Gray portfolio manager Tim Acker and Graeme Forster, portfolio manager at our offshore partner, Orbis, explain why we share the belief that good, undervalued businesses with fewer hurdles to overcome remain the best bet for long-term investors.

In conversation with Allan Gray's portfolio manager Rory Kutisker-Jacobson, Matthew Spencer from our offshore partner, Orbis, explains why the investment team believes that the stock market boom over the last few years is making way for a global stockpicker’s paradise. As the deflation of the “Everything Bubble” continues, long-term investors who remain focused on understanding the fundamentals of the companies they invest in are well placed to be rewarded in years to come. In an effort to make sense of the current environment, Rory and Matthew delve into the major global market shifts that are shaping the opportunity set and unpack some of the portfolios’ most compelling ideas.

Retirement reform is on the horizon as the National Treasury takes steps to implement the proposed “two-pot retirement system”. The proposed system has the dual aim of creating limited access to retirement fund assets to help savers cope with short-term emergencies and improving the preservation of retirement savings – ultimately producing better retirement saving outcomes. Allan Gray’s head of Assurance, Richard Carter, joins Umbrella Fund specialist Mica Townsend to discuss the challenges with the current system, the complexities of the proposed changes and what the two-pot system will mean for investors, administrators, advisers and the country’s savings pool. Making sense of the proposed two-pot retirement system · Navigating a changing retirement savings system · Upcoming changes to provident and provident preservation funds

In the latest episode of The Allan Gray Podcast, portfolio manager Thalia Petousis and Sandy McGregor, the longest-serving member of the Allan Gray Investment team, reflect on a range of macroeconomic issues as they explain how the current geopolitical dynamics and tightening monetary policy regime are impacting the long-term investment environment.

When it comes to investing, marginal improvements can make a significant difference to investment returns over time. James Aitken, the founder of Aitken Advisors, has spent three decades gaining a deep understanding of the global financial system’s plumbing. He has carefully studied markets and investors to identify the subtle differences that can help us become “a little less wrong” and produce meaningfully better outcomes over time. In conversation with Allan Gray’s chief investment officer, Duncan Artus, James shares the key things investors need to keep in mind as they traverse global markets. Allan Gray website · More insights from Allan Gray · 50 years of creating long-term wealth for our clients

Buoyed by the ongoing excitement around artificial intelligence, the so-called “magnificent seven” (Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, MSFT, Nvidia and Tesla) have been able to count themselves among this year’s biggest winners. And it is easy to understand why: They are great businesses at the forefront of the latest tech developments, and they are expected to deliver exceptional growth. That said, history reminds us that it is exceptionally hard to exceed high expectations over the long term – particularly when they are already baked into a company’s share price.



In conversation with Tamryn Lamb, Allan Gray portfolio manager Tim Acker and Graeme Forster, portfolio manager at our offshore partner, Orbis, explain why we share the belief that good, undervalued businesses with fewer hurdles to overcome remain the best bet for long-term investors. They also delve into some of their favourite global investment ideas. Orbis Global Equity: Value in a changing Japan · Local investment update: Balancing caution and optimism

Over the last five years, deteriorating domestic conditions and rapidly developing global trends have seen some well-known stocks, and even entire industries and markets, fall in and out of favour. From Ramaphoria and the COVID-19 pandemic, to the collapse of Steinhoff and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, investors have been tasked with figuring out who the winners might be in a very complex environment. In conversation with investment analyst Siphesihle Zwane, portfolio manager Jacques Plaut and investment analyst Pieter Koornhof discuss some of the notable winners and losers of the last five years. With the benefit of hindsight, they share some enduring lessons that investors can glean from the not-so-distant past and explain how we apply our investment approach in the current environment. Capitec: The way to build a bank · Four contrarian investment questions to ask in 2023