GTC Trendline 2013

Seeing the wood for the trees 2013 will be a year potentially remembered by investors as a significant inflection point regarding investment market forces. When the dust and commentary have settled on the year, certain dominating influences including the United States and politically driven financial repression will remain. The biggest story of the quarter, and indeed of the year was the announcement of the starting date for the much feared taper. The Federal Reserve (Fed) announced that it would finally begin reducing the amount of securities purchased by $10 billion per month to $75 billion from January 2014. Market reaction to the announcement in December was mild in comparison to the “taper tantrum” experienced in May. Read the full article GTC Fund Performances The GTC Fixed Income Fund has continued to deliver strong returns relative to cash over all periods as well... Read More

Credit growth surprises market The growth of 1.6% (R39bn) in private sector credit during the month of August surprised market economists as the previous recording was a decline of 0.3% (R7bn) in July 2013. On an annual basis, private sector credit grew by 8.2% whilst the market expected just 7.2%. The major contributors were the increases in corporate credit which grew by over R30bn month on month and a renewed mortgage sector which added around R7bn to credit growth extension. This is the highest growth in mortgage loans since 2010. The mortgage sector credit growth shows consumers have returned to the local property market but the levels of credit extension are still restrained relative to the heydays between 2005 and 2008. Over the past 12 month mortgage credit has risen by a total of just over R22bn, which is still... Read More

Markets react to SA’s weak outlook A slew of economic data released in June 2013 showed South Africa as moving deeper into economic weakness following a slower than expected growth outlook while imports have continued to exceed exports. The trade deficit account has remained in negative territory for the past 17 months and the year to date deficit stands at R68.7bn, compared to the R46.2bn deficit for the first five months in 2012. Read the full article   GTC fund performances The GTC Fixed Income Fund has continued to deliver strong returns relative to cash and managed to outperform the short end of the bond market. The manager has increased duration in the fund to benefit from the improving yields, which have contributed to performance. The manager has also increased exposure to credit instruments which offer higher yields than the... Read More

Equity market jitters but ALSI delivers positive return The month of March revealed the fragility of the local equity market as investors faced continued pressure in holding equities. Although the industrial sector regained earlier losses, the sentiment changed mid-month, whereupon retail stock holders, in particular, decided to offload these into the marketplace. At the same time, South Africans saw the Rand weaken against all major currencies. Read the full article GTC fund performances The GTC Fixed Income Fund has produced returns in excess of cash over all annualised periods. Despite the low cash rate environment, the manager has used various yield enhancing strategies such as credit and duration to improve the fund performance. Although interest rates are unlikely to increase this year, the next move is likely to be higher, which will enhance the overall return for investors looking for... Read More