The ETF Investor

There has been a sudden surge in interest in precious metal ETFs in recent months, especially in platinum. What is driving this demand? Why can only some banks, and no asset managers, be issuers of commodity ETPs? In addition to platinum, we cover gold, silver, palladium and rhodium in this podcast.

The options for income and yield in an investment portfolio continues to expand, and in this episode we feature two new ETFs available to investors for consideration. The JSE is also getting its first actively-managed ETF, decisively crossing the divide between index tracking and active management in exchange-traded products. There is no such thing as "passive" in investments.

The appeal of dividends in an investment strategy is well-known, and arguably timeless, but supplementing this strategy with share buybacks is perhaps less well-known, and certainly not one that has been easily accessible for retail investors. The range of investment strategies available through the Actively-Managed Certificate (AMC) wrapper, listed on the JSE, continues to expand, and now also allows for easy access to an enhanced yield strategy, combining dividends and share buybacks in one portfolio.

Liquid Private Credit in the US market is an investment opportunity not readily available to South African investors in any form other than an actively-managed certificate (AMC). Prior to the global financial crisis in 2008, most companies raised capital and financing by traditional means such as either banks or via public debt, but subsequent regulatory changes restricted the amount of bank lending to smaller and riskier businesses. In simple terms, that's where private credit stepped in to fill the gap thus created in the market.

"Diversification is the only free lunch in town". This statement is famously attributed to Nobel laureate Harry Markowitz, and is often cited as your best defence against market risk. But what does diversification mean in practice, and how can we use ETFs to achieve this in a portfolio?

Commodities represent an investment opportunity that is quite different from the more traditional asset classes such as equities and bonds, but one that is arguably not as well understood, and often quite difficult to access. Considering the current global inflation backdrop, as well as the synchronicity of traditional asset class performance, now is a good time to look for sources of uncorrelated risk-adjusted returns, such as those offered by a diversified basket of commodity exposures.

One of the most universal investment objectives is the attractiveness of dividends, especially if this can be earned in addition to capital growth, and during times of increased uncertainty the value of dividends in support of total return become even more valuable. Given the high inflationary environment in which we find ourselves, with talks of a possible global recession thrown in, many investors are searching high and low for returns with the hope of preserving capital, especially in real terms.

ETFs, ETNs, AMCs – three-letter acronyms that all fall under the umbrella of ETPs (exchange-traded products). It all sounds complicated and can become quite confusing. As an investor, how do you know which ones to invest in, and should you be concerned about the specific product structure of the investment? Simply put, ETPs offer the ability to diversify your portfolio by being invested in a basket of shares across different sectors and geographies, or get exposure to hard to come by commodities. Actively Managed Certificates, or AMCs, are also considered ETPs, so it offers many of the same benefits, but there are also some pertinent differences.

Socially Responsible Investments, and specifically strategies designed to focus on Reduced Fossil Fuel, are to some extent a subset of a broader ESG focus on investment strategies. On the surface it ticks all the right boxes for retail and institutional investors alike. But what are some of the nuances of which investors should be aware, and how do you assess it for suitability in your investment portfolio, perhaps alongside exposure to physical commodities?

Inflation has risen sharply around the world due to the twin effects of very accommodative monetary policies and supply chain disruptions post Covid lockdowns, only to be compounded by the sharply higher energy and agricultural prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Inflation-linked bonds represent a possible hedge against the impact of rising prices in both our lives as consumers, but also in our investment portfolios.