What a lovely sight to see the JSE’s All Share Index (ALSI) notching up 100,000 points last week.
The JSE press release pointed out that the ALSI is now 1,000 times higher than its start at 100 points in 1960. The few truly long-term investors still around must be extremely happy campers — assuming they weathered the many crashes and corrections that befell the JSE and other markets over the past 65 years.
The ALSI stood at around 51,000 mid-2015, and had only reached around 57,000 at the end of 2020. The past few years — including Covid — have proved fairly rewarding for investors who held on to the JSE’s bigger counters.
That said, I am probably not the only punter thinking that a correction might be on the cards. With so many complex — and frankly unpredictable — geopolitical forces able to sway sentiment both locally and abroad, I remain cautiously light on equities. I have taken great reassurance in my (over) bearishness that the Rupert-controlled companies — Remgro, Reinet and Richemont — are all sitting on sizeable cash piles.
Speaking of which, I’m still dumbfounded that Remgro and Vodacom’s Maziv fibreoptic network transaction took so long to clinch. There are still a few small hurdles to clear, but the main competition concerns have been finally placated and the transaction should go ahead.
The cost of dragging the deal forward must have tested both Remgro and Vodacom. I’d hate to see the final tally of legal costs. I’d hope the competition authorities realise this kind of delay is damaging to deal-making and investment.
Remgro, of course, is known for its patience and I’m sure the executive team will be relieved that the fibreoptic plans can be accelerated after a frustrating slowdown to ensure gearing remains at acceptable levels.
I’m not sure how many Remgro shareholders — especially those who see the fibre push as a potential game changer — exercised the same patience. I might have flipped in and out of Remgro three or four times as the Maziv deal dragged on … but don’t quote me.
The July edition features the Top Private Banks & Wealth Managers survey for 2025. Krutham has once again produced authoritative and insightful research into this vibrant niche. Sterling job, chaps!
Finally, I owe readers an apology. I promised we’d try to meet reader requests to cover certain companies. We covered quite a few bases, but space constraints due to the survey meant we had to push some coverage out until the August edition. A thousand apologies.
Please keep the company coverage requests coming — we’ll do our best to include them in upcoming editions.
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