Income is a dominant driver of most asset class returns over the long run. John Stopford and Jason Borbora, co-portfolio managers of the Ninety One Global Multi-Asset Income Fund, recently wrote a thought piece¹ in which they said; “given the importance of income, the decline in yields on most asset classes since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and the further fall during the COVID-19 crisis, appears to bode ill for conservative investors … The good news, however, is that there are still attractive opportunities across a range of asset markets and securities.” They conclude, that the key to thriving in this income desert is to build a diversified portfolio by selecting attractively priced individual bonds and equities offering decent yields, but whose income payments are comfortably covered by sustainable cash flows.

1 – Thriving in an income desert, July 2020.

Income also dominates as a driver of total returns when deconstructing the make-up of South African equity, property and bond index returns. In fact, over the past 10 years, capital has detracted from the total return generated by South African property and bond indices, while reinvested dividends are typically responsible for approximately one third of cumulative total returns for SA equities, as evidenced in Figure 1. Importantly, this is at an index level and does not represent the opportunities available at an individual security level to bottom-up stockpickers. While we do not have index data going back 10 years for South African investment grade corporate credit, we would expect the picture to be similar to that of government bonds, being that the income received exceeded the total return due to a portion of capital being lost to corporate defaults.

Current income environment

Official interest rates have been cut to very low or negative levels in most developed countries and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has rapidly followed suit. Year-to-date, the SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee has cut the repo rate by a substantial 3%, from 6.5% at the start of the year to the current rate of 3.5%. This collapse in the repo rate will have a material impact on the returns investors can earn from money market and cash-like investments; we can expect the average money market unit trust fund to trend down towards the current repo rate of 3.5%². And while South African government bond yields have spiked, this is not entirely a good thing as it reflects an increase in the perceived risk of lending to the South African (SA) government.

At the same time, in the wake of Covid-19 and the related recession, many companies have suspended the payment of dividends. Globally dividends were down 22% in quarter 2, 2020, the biggest 3-month fall since 2009³. Share buyback programmes have also been widely halted. In South Africa, the South African Reserve Bank went so far as to advise SA banks to preserve capital by not paying dividends, and real estate companies are deferring dividends as they attempt to shore up their balance sheets. Glencore, Capitec, Investec, Redefine, Rand Merchant Bank and Sasol are all examples of companies that have suspended the payment of dividends this year. Unfortunately, quantifying the resultant economic damage will take considerable time and therefore it is too early to know when many of these companies will be able to reinstate their dividends.

Simply put, the income desert has come to South Africa.

2 – See Cash trending towards trash, May 2020.

3 – Janus Henderson.

Preventing desertification requires an innovative approach

As a drastic response to the growing desertification of western and north-central Africa, countries across the region implemented the extraordinary idea of transforming their degraded landscapes through a “Great Green Wall” stretching across the width of Africa, from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East. The aim of this Great Green Wall of trees 10 miles wide and 4 350 miles long is to create a barrier against climate change and for it to form a transitional zone between the arid Sahara Desert to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south.

Investment managers, on behalf of financial advisors and investors, will need to look to a similarly innovative response to ensure real returns for conservative investors. Fortunately, there are attractive opportunities across a range of asset classes and underlying securities, which continue to be identified and exploited by the Ninety One Quality capability’s structured, disciplined and effective investment approach.

In constructing portfolios, the Quality team seeks to balance risk and returns, and considers more than just income (and any potential for income growth) when evaluating individual securities within the various local and offshore asset classes available to them – equities, bonds, credit, property and cash. Where appropriate they also consider the potential for any capital appreciation and the impact of any currency movement in calculating the individual security’s expected total return, increasingly important in this lower yield world. Understanding how the various securities and asset classes behave in a holistic portfolio is also a key consideration, as is considering any downside sensitivities.

By way of example, the US dollar acts as a through-the-cycle shock absorber for SA portfolios and there is a negative correlation between SA bonds and high-quality global equities.

The Ninety One Cautious Managed Fund

The Ninety One Cautious Managed Fund (the Fund) is the ideal vehicle for investors who require a low risk, conservative investment option that still has the potential to beat inflation substantially and take advantage of rising markets. The Fund has a strong focus on capital preservation and absolute returns driven primarily by income through active asset allocation and stock selection decisions; the Fund’s impressive track record is evident in figure 2 below, which illustrates that the Fund has only had 1 negative 18-month return out of 151 rolling 18-month periods.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, losses may be made. Source: Morningstar, dates to 30 June 2020, performance figures above are based on lump sum investment, NAV based, inclusive of all annual management fees but excluding any initial charges, gross income reinvested, fees are not applicable to market indices, where funds have an international allocation this is subject to dividend withholding tax, in South African Rand. * Inception date 31 March 2006. Annualised performance is the average return per year over the period. Individual investor’s performance may vary depending on actual investment dates. Highest and Lowest returns are those achieved during any rolling 12 months over the period specified. Since inception: Feb-10: 23.8% and Feb-09: -6.8%. The Fund is actively managed. Any index is shown for illustrative purposes only.

Rather than trying to outperform other conservative funds or the market, the portfolio manager aims to achieve inflation-beating returns at the lowest possible risk – the fund targets inflation plus 4% over rolling 3 years. When making investment decisions the possibility of losing money is a more important consideration than the potential investment gain. This risk-cognisant approach is not only reflected in our approach to asset allocation, but also in terms of our equity stock selection.

Current positioning

In a recent report back, co-portfolio manager and head of SA Quality, Duane Cable, emphasised that we continue to focus on the highest quality opportunities. In the context of South African assets this means select government bonds, given the high coupon (real yield of approximately 6%) and resultant attractive risk/return characteristics, especially compared to SA equities and cash (and even considering downside risks to the fiscus). We then balance this with growth assets in the form of high-quality global equities with low leverage and low economic sensitivity. We favour those businesses that generate high and sustainable returns on invested capital in excess of their cost of capital. Importantly, these quality stocks tend to outperform in difficult market circumstances because of their balance sheet strength and more resilient earnings. Validating the strength of this approach, Microsoft, which is the second largest offshore holding in the Ninety One Cautious Managed Fund, has joined the list of top 10 global dividend payers for the first time.

In summary, we do not believe it appropriate to position the Ninety One Cautious Managed Fund for any event or crisis. Instead, we maintain a balance of exposures which offers protection against a range of potential outcomes, while generating inflation-beating returns over the medium to long term. As always, we remain unwavering in our commitment to growing capital in a prudent manner.

Paul Hutchinson

Sales Manager

Important information

All information and opinions provided are of a general nature and are not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. We are not acting and do not purport to act in any way as an advisor or in a fiduciary capacity. No one should act upon such information or opinion without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of a particular situation. This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any particular security. Collective investment scheme funds are generally medium to long term investments and the manager, Ninety One Fund Managers SA (RF) (Pty) Ltd, gives no guarantee with respect to the capital or the return of the fund. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of participatory interests (units) may go down as well as up. Funds are traded at ruling prices and can engage in borrowing and scrip lending. The fund may borrow up to 10% of its market value to bridge insufficient liquidity. A schedule of charges, fees and advisor fees is available on request from the manager which is registered under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act. Additional advisor fees may be paid and if so, are subject to the relevant FAIS disclosure requirements. Performance shown is that of the fund and individual investor performance may differ as a result of initial fees, actual investment date, date of any subsequent reinvestment and any dividend withholding tax. There are different fee classes of units on the fund and the information presented is for the most expensive class. Fluctuations or movements in exchange rates may cause the value of underlying international investments to go up or down. Where the fund invests in the units of foreign collective investment schemes, these may levy additional charges which are included in the relevant TER. Additional information on the funds may be obtained, free of charge, at www.NinetyOne.com. Ninety One SA (Pty) Ltd (“Ninety One SA”) is an authorised financial services provider and a member of the Association for Savings and Investment SA (ASISA). Investment Team: There is no assurance that the persons referenced herein will continue to be involved with investing for this Fund, or that other persons not identified herein will become involved with investing assets for the Manager or assets of the Fund at any time without notice.

Investment Process: Any description or information regarding investment process or strategies is provided for illustrative purposes only, may not be fully indicative of any present or future investments and may be changed at the discretion of the manager without notice. References to specific investments, strategies or investment vehicles are for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon as a recommendation to purchase or sell such investments or to engage in any particular strategy. Portfolio data is expected to change and there is no assurance that the actual portfolio will remain as described herein. There is no assurance that the investments presented will be available in the future at the levels presented, with the same characteristics or be available at all. Past performance is no guarantee of future results and has no bearing upon the ability of Manager to construct the illustrative portfolio and implement its investment strategy or investment objective. In the event that specific funds are mentioned please refer to the relevant minimum disclosure document in order to obtain all the necessary information in regard to that fund. This presentation is the copyright of Ninety One SA and its contents may not be re-used without Ninety One’s prior permission.

How Big Tech Makes Their Billions

The world’s largest companies are all in technology, and four out of five of those “Big Tech” companies have grown to trillion-dollar market capitalizations.

Despite their similarities, each of the five technology companies (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Alphabet) have very different cashflow breakdowns and growth trajectories. Some have a diversified mix of applications and cloud services, products, and data accumulation, while others have a more singular focus.

But through growth in almost all segments, Big Tech has eclipsed Big Oil and other major industry groups to comprise the most valuable publicly-traded companies in the world. By continuing to grow, these companies have strengthened the financial position of their billionaire founders and led the tech-heavy NASDAQ to new record highs.

Unfortunately, with growth comes difficulty. Data-use, diversity, and treatment of workers have all become hot-button issues on a global scale, putting Big Tech on the defensive with advertisers and governments alike.

Still, even this hasn’t stopped the tech giants from (almost) all posting massive revenue growth.

Revenues for Big Tech Keep Increasing

Across the board, greater technological adoption is the biggest driver of increased revenues.

Amazon earned the most in total revenue compared with last year’s figures, with leaps in almost all of the company’s operations. Revenue from online sales and third-party seller services increased by almost $30 billion, while Amazon Web Services and Amazon Prime saw increased revenues of $15 billion combined.

The only chunk of the Amazon pie that didn’t increase were physical store sales, which have stagnated after previously being the fastest growing segment.

Big Tech Revenues (2019 vs. 2018)

Services and ads drove increased revenues for the rest of Big Tech as well. Alphabet’s ad revenue from Google properties and networks increased by $20 billion. Meanwhile, Google Cloud has seen continued adoption and grown into its own $8.9 billion segment.

For Microsoft, growth in cloud computing and services led to stronger revenue in almost all segments. Most interestingly, growth for Azure services outpaced that of Office and Windows to become the company’s largest share of revenue.

And greater adoption of services and ad integration were a big boost for ad-driven Facebook. Largely due to continued increases in average revenue per user, Facebook generated an additional $20 billion in revenue.

Comparing the Tech Giants

The one company that didn’t post massive revenue increases was Apple, though it did see gains in some revenue segments.

iPhone revenue, still the cornerstone of the business, dropped by almost $25 billion. That offset an almost $10 billion increase in revenue from services and about $3 billion from iPad sales.

However, with net income of $55.2 billion, Apple leads Big Tech in both net income and market capitalization.

Big Tech: The Full Picture

Bigger Than Countries

They might have different revenue streams and margins, but together the tech giants have grown from Silicon Valley upstarts to global forces.

The tech giants combined for almost $900 billion in revenues in 2019, greater than the GDP of four of the G20 nations. By comparison, Big Tech’s earnings would make it the #18 largest country by GDP, ahead of Saudi Arabia and just behind the Netherlands.

Big Tech earns billions by capitalizing on their platforms and growing user databases. Through increased growth and adoption of software, cloud computing, and ad proliferation, those billions should continue to increase.

As technology use has increased in 2020, and is only forecast to continue growing, how much more will Big Tech be able to earn in the future?

Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-big-tech-makes-their-billions-2020/

The importance of good saving habits

As we emerge from the stringent lockdown restrictions of the past 100 plus days, many of us are now facing a world that looks quite different from what we were used to merely months ago. For many of us, things have changed drastically, especially financially. With July being “National Savings Month” in South Africa, it is perhaps time to pause and dwell a bit on the topic of savings.

Countless individuals have been faced with and/or might still face retrenchment, having to take unpaid leave, drastic salary cuts or the possibility of losing their business. This reality hits home hard. Due to the unforeseen and devastating aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, many individuals have been forced to tap into their savings. The current circumstances have made people acutely aware of how important it is to have an emergency fund and/or contingency plan.

With this in mind, let’s unpack the famous words of the well-known investor, Howard Marks: “you can’t predict but you can prepare”.

Prediction is a fool’s game

The first point to highlight is that trying to predict the market is fool’s game, however, it is human nature to try to find comfort in some sort of prediction of an outcome. This is because humans like to think they know what is going to happen next.

Using a very simple mathematical example, the below equation illustrates how the odds are against you when trying to predict an outcome. Firstly, you have to predict the event correctly, and secondly, you have to predict how the market will react as a result of the event. If you don’t get both right you won’t be able to capitalize on the opportunity. Let’s say you are exceptionally good at predicting and you get it right 70% of the time, the odds are still the same as flipping a coin.

Probability of predicting the event correctly x Probability of predicting the market’s reaction correctly

= 70% * 70%

= 49% (same odds as flipping a coin)

The table below details two examples of recent events that an investor could have predicted accurately, but most people got the second prediction – how the markets will react – wrong.

As we reflect on the events of the past couple of months, one thing is certain: it was impossible to predict the events that have unfolded this year and the resulted reaction of markets, governments and economies.

The only thing we can do is to do our best to prepare for times like these.

Preparing for the unknown

In a world filled with randomness and uncertainty a far better strategy than to prepare for the unknown is to focus on the known. What is known is that there are three primary drivers of results in life:

1) Your luck (randomness).

2) Your strategy (choices).

3) Your actions (habits).

Only two of these three drivers are within your control – your strategy and your actions. By focusing your efforts on your choices and habits, you take ownership of your finances, instead of leaving it up to chance.

The best way to prepare for these unknown and unprecedented times is to build up a nest egg. The most obvious way of doing this is by saving and taking advantage of the power of compounding.

In the words of Warren Buffett – “Do not save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving”. Unfortunately, many investors tend to spend first and save what is left. Often these investors also make the mistake of not saving the little that is left, as they believe it won’t make a difference.

In January 2020, Victoria Reuvers, managing director of Morningstar Investment Management South Africa wrote an article in which she shows that anyone has the ability to become a millionaire. What it requires are two simple, but not easy, habits – firstly, start and stick to the habit of saving and secondly, be patient. Most investors’ path to becoming a millionaire is not by investing in the next big thing and making a quick buck overnight. For most of us, it is about building good habits and being disciplined when it comes to saving – even if it is just R200 a month.

We encourage investors to use July as an opportunity to re-think their budget, savings and spending habits and encourage their children to practice good habits from a young age. Think about a good savings habit like brushing your teeth. Twice a day for two minutes is all it takes, and although it may not feel like a big action at the time, the long-term positive effects are enormous. The problem when you don’t do it is that you only see the damage your poor habits have caused after a long period of time.

Some practical ideas to start saving

In South Africa, you can save R36,000 per annum in a tax-free savings account, and a maximum of R500,000 over a lifetime. This is probably the easiest vehicle to ensure you get the benefit of investment returns without the concern of a tax bill at the end of the financial year. Another effortless way to save is to set up a monthly debit order to an investment account. Not only do you then save first and spend after saving, but you also have the option to increase this amount annually and/or make lump sum contributions as well.

Other tips to start saving money every month:

• Assess what you are paying in bank charges and if you are using all the additional services. You can perhaps switch to a cheaper offering.
• Contact your insurance provider to re-negotiate your monthly premium.
• Cancel any memberships that you don’t use.
• To save electricity consider replacing all your lightbulbs in the house with energy-efficient ones and use gas appliances where possible.
• Reduce discretionary spend: Try to buy clothes, furniture, appliances and other discretionary items only when they go on sale and don’t buy these items on credit.
• Buying groceries in bulk can greatly reduce your grocery bill.
• When going on holiday, shop around for special deals on flights and accommodation and search for discount coupons in the area that you are visiting.

These are just a few examples and there are many more ways to save a couple of Rand every month. Don’t ever think that it is too little to have an impact. There is a lot of power in compounding value.

Conclusion

In unusual times like these, investors might feel vulnerable and powerless. But it is often during times like these that we should try to form new healthy habits and leave behind bad habits. Let’s try to kick the practice of trying to predict everything and kickstart the habit of saving, even if only in small increments.

Debra Slabber, CFA®

Business Development Manager

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Risk Warnings

This commentary does not constitute investment, legal, tax or other advice and is supplied for information purposes only. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Reference to any specific security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information, data, analyses, and opinions presented herein are provided as of the date written and are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd makes no warranty, express or implied regarding such information. The information presented herein will be deemed to be superseded by any subsequent versions of this commentary. Except as otherwise required by law, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the information, data, analyses or opinions or their use.

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially and/or substantially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa Disclosure

The Morningstar Investment Management group comprises Morningstar Inc.’s registered entities worldwide, including South Africa. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 45679) regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and is the entity providing the advisory/discretionary management services.

We live in eventful times. During these tough economic times, it can certainly feel like the glass is half empty. The disconnect between the current economic environment and the recent rally in equity markets has left many people scratching their heads. Is this the start of a strong bull market or merely a slight recovery from the aggressive sell-off we saw in March 2020?

The world was overturned in March when outbreaks of Covid-19 started accelerating and affecting most markets across the globe. This saw almost one-third of the world’s population going into lockdown and many companies coming to a complete standstill.

During this time most financial markets sold off aggressively due to the uncertainty around the effect on businesses both locally and abroad. This resulted in some of the most aggressive local and global sell-offs seen in history and, in turn, also resulting in one of the fastest sell-offs in history. With this being said – in the weeks post 18 March, markets have also seen some of the strongest returns, resulting in most equity markets clawing back most of its losses.

So, the question begs, is the sell-off/risk-off trade done?

Let’s look at previous sell-offs and their subsequent recoveries in the South African equity market, namely 1998 (emerging markets) 2003 (technology) and 2008 (financial crisis) as well as 2020.

The graph below demonstrates the four above mentioned crises, the time the sell-offs started and the period it took for all capital losses to be recouped.

In other words, if an investor invested R100 on the day the sell-off started, the below graph shows how long it took (measured in days) the investment to reach the bottom (lowest amount) along with the subsequent recovery (in other words, how long it took for an investor to get back to the initial R100 investment). The x-axis signifies the number of days and the y-axis the change in the value of the initial R100 investment.

From the above graph, it becomes clear that the most recent sell-off was one of the most aggressive sell-offs, but the rebound has also been one of the quickest.

So, is it the end? Unfortunately, it is unlikely. Remember that share prices reflect the future earnings expectations of companies. So while prices of shares might have adjusted, companies haven’t realised earnings yet. There might still be some further headwinds that the market will have to digest as companies release their earnings results and the real impact of the lockdown is realised.

From the above graph, we can see that it can take anything from 190 days to 600 days to make up previous losses. You can get cycles during a 12-month time frame that feel like they should actually be playing out over the course of 12 years.

Once you start digging into the historical numbers you begin to realize the equity market is even more unsystematic than advertised. Surprisingly, huge up and down moves happening in the same year is not out of the ordinary.

Investments with more cyclical equities (such as airlines, banks and energy companies, to name but a few) are typically more volatile. That’s because a share’s return is based on the business’ profitability, which is difficult to predict. In uncertain market environments, like the current one, investors tend to be especially pessimistic about how businesses will perform, which can result in an overreaction (to the downside) in the share price.

So, why would you want to own equities when there is so much uncertainty? Because you’re likely to be rewarded with a higher return over the long haul if you can remain calm and stomach the volatility and noise.

When your portfolio’s value has declined amid this volatility, you might think that you’ve taken on too much risk. However, you shouldn’t necessarily conflate volatility with risk. Risk could be better defined as the permanent loss of capital (which is realised if you exit at a low point) and the chance that you won’t meet a financial goal. Even though a portfolio that is heavily tilted toward equity might bounce around in volatile environments like this, your total portfolio asset allocation might not be overly risky.

By reducing your exposure to more volatile or “risky” assets such as equities, you could significantly limit your portfolio’s potential return over the long run. If you have decades left to invest, a lower return could prevent your rands from multiplying at the necessary pace to reach your investment goals.

It’s easy to overplay the significance of volatility because it means we can address the overwhelming feelings of anxiety that occur in times of market stress. But with volatility comes opportunity, especially for the patient and sensible investor. Ultimately, equity market gains have offset shorter-term losses during market turmoil, and market volatility can be an opportunity to buy equities at a low price.

Eugene Visagie, CFA®, FRM®

Client Portfolio Manager

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Risk Warnings

This commentary does not constitute investment, legal, tax or other advice and is supplied for information purposes only. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Reference to any specific security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information, data, analyses, and opinions presented herein are provided as of the date written and are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd makes no warranty, express or implied regarding such information. The information presented herein will be deemed to be superseded by any subsequent versions of this commentary. Except as otherwise required by law, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the information, data, analyses or opinions or their use.

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially and/or substantially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa Disclosure

The Morningstar Investment Management group comprises Morningstar Inc.’s registered entities worldwide, including South Africa. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 45679) regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and is the entity providing the advisory/discretionary management services.

What to understand about downmarket jargon.

Market downturns leave many investors hopeless for various reasons. Portfolio values and income levels that have declined, the confusion as to what to do about it, a bombardment of information from various sources, and explanations by industry experts using terms you have never heard before. How should you know what to do if you don’t even understand what the problem is in the first place?

While it is impossible to control what happens in markets, you can make sense of these events by gaining a better understanding of relevant investment terms. In the following article, we look at a few financial terms that are often used during market downturns with the hope of assisting investors to make better sense of the myriad of terms being used.

Recession

The term “recession” in its strictest definition means that an economy experiences two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth as a result of a significant decline in general economic activity.

During a recession, businesses experience less demand (i.e. they sell fewer products and/or services). These businesses then usually react to this by cutting costs and sometimes laying off staff in order to protect the bottom line and profitability of the business. When staff are retrenched, this leads to higher unemployment rates.

Generally, a recession does not last as long as an expansion does. Historically, the average recession (globally) lasted 15 months, compared to the average expansion that lasted 48 months.

Causes of a recession can vary. While COVID-19 has certainly put a drag on the global economy, it remains to be seen whether it will have lasting effects on economic output. It is important to realise that recessions are a normal part of an economic cycle and every person will experience a few in their lifetime.

Bear Market

A bear market is when a market experiences a decline of at least 20%, usually over a two-month period or longer. Bear markets often arise from negative investor sentiment because the economy is slowing or due to the expectation that it will slow down. Signs of a slowing economy may include a decrease in productivity, a rise in unemployment, a decrease in company profits and lower disposable income. When someone talks about having a “bearish” view, it means they have a pessimistic outlook.

While a recession and a bear market often go hand in hand they are associated with different issues. The distinction between a bear market and a recession is that a recession is measured by a decline in economic output (also known as gross domestic product or GDP), whereas a bear market is identified by a decline in stock market values in excess of 20% over a prolonged period as a result of negative investor sentiment.

Some other terms that you might come across when reading up on market downturns include:

• A pullback, which is a short-term price decline within a longer-term trend of price increases.
• A correction, which is when an asset’s price falls by at least 10%.
• A market crash, which is a drastic market decline over a short period.
• A depression, which is a long-term recession that can last multiple years.

Volatility

Markets have been highly volatile of late, meaning equity prices have bounced up and down rather severely from one day to the next. Volatility marks how much an investment’s price rises or falls. If an investment’s price changes more dramatically and/or more often, it’s considered more volatile.

Price volatility is usually expressed in terms of standard deviation, or how much an investment’s price has fluctuated around its average price over a certain period. A higher standard deviation implies an investment’s price is more volatile.

Investments with more uncertain outlooks, like equities, are typically more volatile. That is because equity returns are based on a company’s profitability, which is difficult to predict. In uncertain market environments, like the current one, investors tend to be especially pessimistic about how businesses will perform, which can result in steep market declines.

So, why would you want to invest in a more volatile investment? Because you are likely to be rewarded with a higher return over the long-term.

Risk

Volatility and risk are terms often used interchangeably, although they are very different. Risk should be defined as “permanent capital loss” or the chance that you won’t meet your financial goal.

For a retiree, one risk might be not taking on enough risk. By reducing your exposure to more volatile or “risky” assets such as equities, you could significantly limit your portfolio’s potential return over the long run. By remaining in cash for prolonged periods of time you run the risk of increasing your tax bill significantly (due to interest earned being fully taxable) or losing purchasing power due to the eroding effects of inflation.

Even though a more equity orientated portfolio will experience more volatility in environments like what we are facing now, your asset allocation might not be overly risky. If you’re far away from retirement, you have time to ride out your portfolio’s short-term volatility and take advantage of longer-term gains that equity markets will generate.

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is the theory that investors feel more pain when they lose a certain amount of money than they feel pleasure when they gain an equal sum. In other words, you would feel more discomfort from losing R1,000 than pleasure from gaining R1,000.

Time and time again it has been proven that selling your investments in a downturn and giving up on your long-term financial plan is detrimental to a successful investment outcome.

So where does that leave investors?

Things might not be so hopeless after all. Recessions, bear markets, drawdowns and volatility are all part of the world of investing and building long-term wealth. What matters most is our actions and habits during this time. These can either hurt you or help you, but most importantly always remember that “this too shall pass”.

Debra Slabber, CFA®

Business Development Manager

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Risk Warnings

This commentary does not constitute investment, legal, tax or other advice and is supplied for information purposes only. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Reference to any specific security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information, data, analyses, and opinions presented herein are provided as of the date written and are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd makes no warranty, express or implied regarding such information. The information presented herein will be deemed to be superseded by any subsequent versions of this commentary. Except as otherwise required by law, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the information, data, analyses or opinions or their use.

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially and/or substantially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa Disclosure

The Morningstar Investment Management group comprises Morningstar Inc.’s registered entities worldwide, including South Africa. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 45679) regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and is the entity providing the advisory/discretionary management services.

As South Africans, we want our country to prosper and the quality of life for all those living within our borders to improve. Millions live in total poverty and rely on family or intermittent work to get by: life is tough, and often short, as malnutrition and hardship take their toll. The most effective way to lift people out of poverty and improve quality of life is through education and economic growth. 

I am concerned that our government’s lockdown approach and the subsequent economic hardship inflicted on our people will cost more lives than it can save. I realise this is a controversial statement in a context where people are very fearful and understandably concerned about their health and the wellbeing of their families. An effective government must make difficult decisions that involve trade-offs and cost-benefit analysis. I am not saying we should trade lives for economic growth; I am saying we must consider how we can save as many lives as possible and give better lives to as many South Africans as possible with our limited resources.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s initial lockdown decision was justified to buy time in order to gather our health resources and prepare our hospitals. It was never meant to be a strategy to eliminate the COVID-19 virus – this is an impossibility. The idea behind lockdown is that the same number of people get ill, but the infections are spread over a longer time in an effort not to overwhelm the health system. Our government’s lockdown strategy has morphed into something else entirely.

As new information emerges, it seems the virus mortality rate is substantially less than many feared, and many of the more alarmist predictions that led to lockdowns across the globe have proven to be flawed. The government must absorb this information, particularly given the youthful South African population.

There are two important questions:

• How many COVID-19 fatalities can be avoided through the lockdown?
• What is the economic, and therefore human, cost of the lockdown?

I will not go into detail on the potential number of lives saved by the lockdown. There is a great deal of information available* that indicates the lives saved by this strategy will be minimal unless the lockdown means the number of infections can be supressed until a vaccine becomes available. Data indicates the mortality rate for those below 70 years of age is less than 0.2%; only 2.9% of South Africa’s population is older than 70. Furthermore, lockdowns or a lack thereof, seem to make little difference to the total number of cases a country experiences. It sounds tragic and defeatist, but it is not possible to make the virus disappear through lockdown, particularly in a country like South Africa.

Economic and human costs are two sides of the same coin. Studies indicate that mortality rates double with job losses. A smaller economy means fewer resources to allocate to healthcare and education in future. National Treasury thinks up to seven million people could lose their jobs. This could lead to tens of thousands of additional deaths.

The stimulus package outlined by the government is R500bn. SARS thinks tax collection could fall by R250bn this year as a result of the shutdown. Given government reallocations, this means additional debt of approximately R500bn in a single year. The economic damage will linger, tax collections are unlikely to recover to previous levels for years to come. The R50bn interest bill on this additional debt burden means R50bn less to spend on education, healthcare or other services – not just in 2020, but in perpetuity.

An extreme worst-case scenario for South Africa is 150 000 COVID-19 deaths (most models indicate worst-case scenarios of 50 000). This is based on 50% of people contracting the virus with a 0.5% fatality rate. (A more likely worst case is a 0.2% mortality rate of 50% of the population, which is 60 000). This is a huge number of deaths and a great tragedy. Let’s assume the lockdown manages to reduce the number of fatalities by 50% by supressing the illness until a vaccine is discovered: This would be an incredible success. 75 000 lives would be saved. The direct cost per life saved in this scenario is R6.6 million; indirect costs will be far greater. I know this puts a price on human life but, unfortunately, this is what government has to do every day when allocating resources. On  the other end of the spectrum, if the disease can’t be stopped, and a vaccine is not discovered, then almost no lives will be saved from COVID, but we will have destroyed the economy, increased government debt by R500bn, and lost a great number of lives through higher mortality not related to COVID. South Africa’s 2020 budget called for healthcare spending of R229bn and police expenditure of R221bn: small amounts in comparison.

Sadly, because South Africa is a poor country, we have a very high mortality rate, and therefore low life expectancy. 410 000 South Africans die from natural causes each year, including 37 000 people from TB and 32 000 from diabetes. In addition, 15 000 die in road accidents and 21 000 are murdered. These deaths are equally tragic and perhaps even more so as they are often preventable.

Unlike Europe, South Africa has a limited social security net and an informal economy. Many people have no savings and have lost their livelihood with the lockdown. Hunger is an immediate reality. Malnourished children are disadvantaged for the remainder of their lives due to stunting. The government provides a child grant, but there are millions of immigrant children who have no access to this grant.

Just as economic growth and prosperity save lives, economic destruction and poverty cost lives.

So why am I writing this now? Firstly, every week the lockdown continues, the economic cost compounds. Since the lockdown was enacted six weeks ago, I have urged government to consider the full picture, including the human and economic costs of their decisions, and I have provided them with balanced data. I have detailed how this data indicates the lockdown strategy is tragically flawed. We can no longer afford to blame “the virus”, when the vast majority of the job losses and suffering is the consequence of a strategy that has not fully accounted for the human cost of the lockdown on the economy. I hope that in making this commentary I am contributing to a heightened awareness of the issues, not emotion, underpinning this discourse. 

Secondly, it is to reiterate how we think about managing your portfolios against this backdrop. We all have our views on what is the right or wrong strategy for government. However, most importantly for us as investors, we must deal with the situation as it is, and invest your funds accordingly to protect capital and maximise long-term returns. 

The above comments represent my personal opinions and I understand that many people may strongly disagree with my views. 

Andrew joined Allan Gray in February 2001 as a fixed interest trader and moved to the Investment team as an equity analyst in February 2003. He was appointed as fixed interest portfolio manager in June 2006, began managing a portion of client equity and balanced portfolios in February 2008 and was appointed as chief investment officer in March 2016. He also manages African equities. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting, both from the University of Cape Town, and is a CFA^® charterholder.

Link to Original Article: Click Here

On 26 February 2020, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered the annual budget speech, providing an update on South Africa’s finances. Despite the budget speech highlighting the fragile state of the country’s fiscal position, the finance minister announced some much-needed relief for South African citizens. There were no major tax increases on individuals, while ambitious plans were announced to reduce expenditure over the next three years.

A high-level summary of the key points from the budget speech has been included below:

KEY TAKE OUTS

Revenue and deficits

• Low growth has led to an R63 billion downward revision to estimates of tax revenue in 2019/2020 relative to the 2019 budget.
• The consolidated budget deficit is now estimated to be 6.3% for the 2019/20 fiscal year and move lower to 5.7% for the 2022/23 fiscal year, with debt to GDP expected to rise to 72% over this period.

Taking a look at tax

• There will be above-inflation increases in the personal income tax brackets and rebates (for the first time since 2014) which will provide relief to taxpayers.
• There will be no changes to the tax-free portion of interest income (R23,800 for under 65’s and R34,500 for over 65’s).
• The annual limit for investments in tax-free savings accounts will be increased to R36,000 and the lifetime limit will be kept unchanged at R500,000.
• There will be no change to the corporate income tax or VAT rates, however, the minister announced that the corporate tax system will be restructured over the medium term, with the rate likely to be reduced.
• The cap on the exemption of foreign remuneration earned by South African tax residents will be increased to R1.25 million from 1 March 2020.
• In terms of capital gains tax (CGT), the inclusion rate remains at 40%, the annual exclusion remains at R40,000 and the exclusion for the sale of a primary residence remains at R2 million.
• In terms of transfer duty on property, the purchase amount free of transfer duty increases to R1 million.
• The deductible monthly medical aid contributions were increased to R319 for the first two members and R215 for each additional dependent.

Expenditure

• National Treasury announced plans to reduce expenditure by R261 billion over the next three years, including a reduction in the wage bill of national and provincial departments and national public entities of R160 billion.

Levies, duties and charges

• The fuel levy will be increased by 25c per litre, which will consist of a 16c per litre increase in the general fuel levy and a 9c per litre increase in the RAF levy.
• Excise duties on alcohol and tobacco will increase by between 4.4% and 7.5%. Government will also introduce a new excise duty on heated tobacco products, which will be at 75% of the cigarette excise rate.

State initiatives

• Government will move ahead with plans for a sovereign wealth fund, which will initially have a targeted capital amount of R30 billion.
• The establishment of a state-owned bank will involve the amalgamation of existing state-owned banks, including Postbank, with the aim of lending money to lower-income consumers and small businesses at favourable interest rates and terms.

In closing

Overall, the budget speech was well received by market participants, with both the rand and local bond yields reacting favourably on the day. The budget was largely pro-consumer, with no additional taxes being announced for individuals. In a surprise move, above-inflation increases in the tax brackets for individuals were also announced for the first time since 2014. The business sector will most likely welcome the state’s plans to restructure the corporate tax system over the medium term.

The most ambitious element of the budget speech was no doubt the plan to reduce the public sector wage bill by R160 billion over the next three years. With expenditure on public sector wages currently making up 35% of total expenditure, implementation of this reduction will be key.

Michael Kruger

Investment Analyst

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Risk Warnings

This commentary does not constitute investment, legal, tax or other advice and is supplied for information purposes only. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Reference to any specific security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information, data, analyses, and opinions presented herein are provided as of the date written and are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd makes no warranty, express or implied regarding such information. The information presented herein will be deemed to be superseded by any subsequent versions of this commentary. Except as otherwise required by law, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the information, data, analyses or opinions or their use.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially and/or substantially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa Disclosure

The Morningstar Investment Management group comprises Morningstar Inc.’s registered entities worldwide, including South Africa. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 45679) regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and is the entity providing the advisory/discretionary management services.

After 20 years, TFSA investors realise an additional 20% return due to these tax benefits.

Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) are a great initiative from government to encourage savings in South Africa. Jaco van Tonder,¹ Advisor Services Director at Investec Asset Management, has previously discussed how to maximise the value of the TFSA tax benefits, which are well documented. You pay no tax on dividends and interest received, and no tax on capital growth. As a result, you benefit from increased compounding of returns. Jaco’s article shows that after 20 years, TFSA investors realise an additional 20% return due to these tax benefits. But little continues to be said about the potential retirement and estate planning tax benefits.

The first choices

Anyone retiring from a provident, pension, provident preservation, pension preservation or retirement annuity fund needs to decide what portion of their retirement benefits they would like paid out as a cash lump sum.

• Provident and provident preservation fund members can currently² elect to have their entire retirement benefits paid out as a cash lump sum.
• Pension, pension preservation and retirement annuity fund members can elect to have up to a third of their retirement benefits paid out as a cash lump sum.

Where there is a balance remaining, this must be used to purchase an annuity, either a guaranteed or living annuity, which pays a monthly income that is taxable at the annuitant’s marginal tax rate.

How can a TFSA help reduce this potential income tax liability?

A TFSA can help a retiring member who has chosen a living annuity reduce their marginal tax rate, hence maximise their after-tax income.

¹ TFSAs – how to maximise the value of the tax benefit? Taking Stock Spring 2017.

² Changes to the tax treatment of provident funds, introduced as part of broader retirement reforms in 2015 by National Treasury, have been postponed. The proposal is that on retirement, members of provident funds will only be permitted to take up to a third of their retirement benefit, with the balance used to purchase an annuity, i.e. provident funds will be treated the same as pension and retirement annuity funds. The proposed changes will only apply to contributions made to a provident fund after the implementation date.

³ A sensible income strategy is critical for living annuity investors. Jaco van Tonder, Taking Stock Winter 2018.

Having established the income required in retirement, retiring members next need to determine how to access this income in a tax-efficient manner. As indicated above, a minimum income rate of 2.5% per annum must be taken from the living annuity, taxable at the individual’s marginal tax rate. Any income required in excess of this 2.5% can then be drawn from the TFSA. This income is not taxable and therefore minimises the retiring member’s marginal tax rate, as long as capital remains in the TFSA.

Drawing additional income from a TFSA means more money in your pocket for the same level of gross income drawn from the living annuity and TFSA combined.

Maximise the compounding growth of your retirement capital

Not only does this strategy reduce your marginal tax rate but it also ensures that your living annuity capital continues to compound faster, as your capital is eroded more slowly than it would be were you

drawing more than the minimum. Importantly, as with TFSAs, no income or dividend withholding tax is levied in the living annuity and capital gains tax is not applicable in terms of current legislation – only income paid by the living annuity attracts tax. As is the case for TFSAs, retirement capital invested in living annuities therefore benefits from increased compounding returns.

Minimise any estate duty liability

Estate duty is an important consideration for investors. On death, it would be preferable from an estate duty perspective to have depleted your TFSA (and other discretionary savings), while maximising the capital growth of your living annuity. This is because you may nominate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to receive the benefit on death, which in turn confers tax benefits on them. Beneficiaries may choose to receive the benefit as an annuity, a lump sum (subject to tax) or a combination of the two. Both lump sum and annuity benefits are free from estate duty. Bear in mind that disallowed contributions (retirement fund contributions in excess of a maximum allowable deduction) may be subject to estate duty where such contributions were made after 1 March 2015.

We encourage financial advisors and investors to carefully consider all the financial, retirement and estate planning benefits that TFSAs provide, including when used in combination with living annuities. By investing in a TFSA with Investec IMS, investors benefit from a competitive fee structure, transparent pricing and a wide range of funds from Investec Asset Management.

Investec IMS TFSA fast facts

These benefits are increasingly being recognised, as illustrated by the following summary data of the Investec IMS TFSA as at 31 December 2020 (31 December 2019 details in brackets):

Important information

All information provided is product related and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. We are not acting and do not purport to act in any way as an advisor or in a fiduciary capacity. No one should act upon such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of a particular situation. This is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any particular security. Collective investment scheme funds are generally medium to long term investments and the manager, Investec Fund Managers SA (RF) (Pty) Ltd, gives no guarantee with respect to the capital or the return of the fund. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of participatory interests (units) may go down as well as up. Funds are traded at ruling prices and can engage in borrowing and scrip lending. The fund may borrow up to 10% of its market value to bridge insufficient liquidity. A schedule of charges, fees and advisor fees is available on request from the manager which is registered under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act. Additional advisor fees may be paid and if so, are subject to the relevant FAIS disclosure requirements. Performance shown is that of the fund and individual investor performance may differ as a result of initial fees, actual investment date, date of any subsequent reinvestment and any dividend withholding tax. There are different fee classes of units on the fund and the information presented is for the most expensive class. Fluctuations or movements in exchange rates may cause the value of underlying international investments to go up or down. Where the fund invests in the units of foreign collective investment schemes, these may levy additional charges which are included in the relevant Total Expense Ratio (TER). A higher TER does not necessarily imply a poor return, nor does a low TER imply a good return. The ratio does not include transaction costs. The current TER cannot be regarded as an indication of the future TERs. Additional information on the funds may be obtained, free of charge, at www.investecassetmanagement.com. The Manager, PO Box 1655, Cape Town, 8000, Tel: 0860 500 100. The scheme trustee is FirstRand Bank Limited, PO Box 7713, Johannesburg, 2000, Tel: (011) 282 1808. Investec Asset Management (Pty) Ltd (“Investec”) is an authorised financial services provider and a member of the Association for Savings and Investment SA (ASISA). A feeder fund is a fund that, apart from assets in liquid form, consists solely of units in a single fund of a collective investment scheme which levies its own charges which could then result in a higher fee structure for the feeder fund. The fund is a sub-fund in the Investec Global Strategy Fund, 49 Avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and is approved under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act. This document is the copyright of Investec and its contents may not be re-used without Investec’s prior permission. Investec Investment Management Services (Pty) Ltd and Investec Asset Management (Pty) Ltd are authorised financial services providers. Issued, January 2020.

When asked who wants to be a millionaire, anyone would undoubtedly answer yes! However, the belief is often that this is impossible – unless through some stroke of luck or good fortune you get a windfall of money. We would like to disprove this theory and show you that it is indeed possible to become a millionaire through diligent saving.

What it requires are a few simple, but not easy, habits.

1) Start and stick to the habit of saving
2) Be patient

At Morningstar, we did some work to look at the amount of time it would take for your investment to grow to R1 million based on two factors –

Factor 1: The amount of money saved each month.

We looked at realistic contributions starting at R200 per month. R200 per month is equal to sacrificing roughly two coffees per week. A small sacrifice in the quest to become a millionaire. The monthly contributions used in our analysis ranged from R200 per month to R10,000 per month.

Factor 2: The return generated from your portfolio.

As investors, we naturally want the best performing portfolio and believe this is what will make the difference in our journey to wealth creation. (Park this thought for a moment as we are going to show you something very interesting in our analysis and return to the focus on performance.) The analysis used a range of return outcomes varying from the current return investors can achieve by putting their money in a bank account up to a maximum of 17% per annum. Realistically, many investments can deliver higher returns in short periods of time, but 17% per annum was considered a large annual return and a prudent maximum, as delivering such a strong outcome would require some meaningful risk-taking.

The table below shows the number of years it takes for your investment to reach R1 million based on the two variables above – your monthly contribution and the annual return thereof. Please note, it is a broad simplification and does not account for inflation and assumes a constant return and a constant contribution.

There are two interesting observations from this exercise. The first is that even with a mere R200 monthly saving into a savings account at the bank and generating a return of 6% per annum, if you start early enough, you can build your wealth up to R1 million. It may take you 55 years, but it proves that starting the habit of saving and being patient works.

The second observation is that if you look at the far right-hand column, you can see that by saving R10,000 a month, you reach that R1 million goal quickly and the return from your portfolio (on the left-hand axis) did not materially affect the time taken to become a millionaire. The power of compounding and the large contributions made all the difference.

This brings us back to the point raised earlier about focusing purely on performance. Yes, performance is important, particularly when monthly contributions are small, but what this exercise shows is that, more important than performance, is a consistent contribution and the size of the monthly contribution. I will agree with those who say R10,000 per month is a lot to invest, but even if you scale down to R1,000 per month, the goal of becoming a millionaire ranges from 17 to 33 years.

It is, of course, also important to remain mindful of the risk associated with investments. The above analysis assumes that your returns are achieved in a straight line, which is seldom the case. To achieve more than cash, it is likely you’ll have to absorb at least one setback in your wealth journey, which can distort the outcome. With that said, remember to focus on the long-term goal and not to be deterred by short-term market movements.

In the words of Elizabeth Gilbert – “There’s a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging, “Dear saint-please, please, please…give me the grace to win the lottery.” This lament goes on for months. Finally, the exasperated statue comes to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust, “My son-please, please, please…buy a ticket.” The same goes for saving!

Bottom line, it is both possible and plausible to generate R1 million in savings by changing our behaviour. It starts with the decision to save on a monthly basis with no immediate gain in sight. The second behavioural change is practising the discipline of delayed gratification. Waiting. Patiently. And letting the eighth wonder of the world, compound interest, work its magic.

Victoria Reuvers

Senior Portfolio Manager

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Risk Warnings
This commentary does not constitute investment, legal, tax or other advice and is supplied for information purposes only. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Reference to any specific security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. The information, data, analyses, and opinions presented herein are provided as of the date written and are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd makes no warranty, express or implied regarding such information. The information presented herein will be deemed to be superseded by any subsequent versions of this commentary. Except as otherwise required by law, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the information, data, analyses or opinions or their use.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially and/or substantially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa Disclosure
The Morningstar Investment Management group comprises Morningstar Inc.’s registered entities worldwide, including South Africa. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 45679) regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and is the entity providing the advisory/discretionary management services.

The Impact of Coronavirus for Investors

Public health outbreaks and epidemics like the recent coronavirus can quickly scare investors and, eventually, affect economies and businesses. The recent coronavirus outbreak has shut down airports, halted trade, and led to the rapid construction of new hospitals in China. The effects of the outbreak may push China’s economy into a period of slower growth, with stocks trading lower as investors seek protection.

So, what does that mean for the portfolios we run?

Key Takeaways

• At Morningstar Investment Management, we are watchful. We continually monitor over 250+ markets, looking at everything from fundamental risks to contrarian opportunities.

• Looking at nine major outbreaks since 1998, there is little evidence linking global epidemics with long-term investment fundamentals.

• The Chinese economy may slow, perhaps even meaningfully, but that is not a reason to invest or divest. Long-term investing is often best disconnected from short-term economic reactions, so we implore investors to maintain their focus on what matters.

• Across the portfolios we run, we do have a relatively small exposure to Chinese assets (both directly and indirectly) but remain confident these holdings will deliver positive outcomes for long-term investors.

Epidemics and Investing

To understand the potential impacts of an outbreak, we must make a forecast—formally or casually. This is a complex task if done correctly, and outside the scope of this piece. But it’s important to acknowledge that we’re trying to peer into the future, which is wrought with intellectual danger. No one can predict the future, but plenty of research suggest ways that forecasts can be improved.¹

One way to improve the accuracy of a forecast is to start with base rates. How often do outbreaks become epidemics? What effect do epidemics have on economies or markets? For this latter question, we look to Exhibit 1 to provide a sense of base rates—market returns following major epidemics in recent history.

Exhibit 1 Investors Tend to React to Epidemics, But the Long-Term Picture is Positive

As depicted, market participants tend to react to such unforeseen outbreaks, but markets tend to recover by the six-month mark. This suggests that sentiment drives early losses, but sustained economic impacts are less than perhaps investors feared at the onset.

Another way to improve forecasts is through humility—especially knowing what you don’t and can’t know. Expert epidemiologists might be able to produce base rates on spread rates, mortality rates, and so on, but no one can predict how unknowable factors might affect the spread of this or any outbreak. That’s not to mention knowing how fear might affect markets.

So how can we make a reasonable assessment of the potential impact of the coronavirus? As long-term, valuation-driven, fundamentally based investors, our concern is any potential impact to businesses’ cash flows.² For example, will the collective impact of the outbreak (fewer flights, less trade, loss of productivity, etc.) affect a few businesses, a few industries, or entire markets? That’s the question we’re asking.

Our answer is that, at this stage, we have to assume the outbreak will take a similar path to other recent epidemics, and thus we feel there’s no reason for investors to be alarmed. Note that there’s no “safe” approach for investors—for example, exiting stocks in favor of cash has its own risk, namely crystalizing any losses suffered to sentiment while almost surely missing out on a rebound if the virus were to be contained quickly. So we want to proceed by assuming what we consider to be the most likely scenario, while taking other possible outcomes into account.

Ultimately, we are very watchful but aren’t taking any action. Our core ambition is to help investors reach their goals, which requires a measured and repeatable process to investing. Across our portfolio range, we may hold exposure to Chinese stocks, emerging-markets stocks, emerging-markets debt, and companies that sell into China to varying degrees depending on the portfolio mandate. Even so, we are still expecting that these holdings will deliver positive outcomes over the long term, and it would require a clear impact to fundamentals for our view to change.

Note that once the facts change, we would expect to change our minds. If we were to see a clear and significant potential impact to investment fundamentals, we would carefully study the situation, conduct rigorous scenario analysis, and try to incorporate the new information into our portfolios. Until then, we remain vigilant.

Final Thought

With lives at stake, it would be uncaring to call the coronavirus “noise.” Yet, if we focus on the investor’s perspective, we believe it is not time to act. Moreover, we remain confident in our portfolio holdings because they reflect a solid base of research and resemble a well-reasoned way to invest. We certainly won’t be hitting the panic button and we hope you won’t either.

Further information

If you have questions on discussions in this piece or want to propose a pressing question for our investment staff, please contact your financial advisor.

Since its original publication, this piece may have been edited to reflect the regulatory requirements of regions outside of the country it was originally published in.

About Morningstar, Inc.

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and institutional investors in the private capital markets. Morningstar provides data and research insights on a wide range of investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed companies, private capital markets, and real-time global market data. The company has operations in 27 countries.

About the Morningstar Investment Management Group

Morningstar’s Investment Management group, through its investment advisory units, creates investment solutions that combine award-winning research and global resources with proprietary Morningstar data. With more than USD$220bn in assets under advisement and management as of 30 September 2019, Morningstar’s Investment Management group provides comprehensive retirement, investment advisory, and portfolio management services for financial institutions, plan sponsors, and advisers around the world.

Morningstar’s Investment Management group comprises Morningstar Inc.’s registered entities worldwide including: Morningstar Investment Management LLC; Morningstar Investment Management Europe Limited; Morningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd; Morningstar Investment Consulting France; Ibbotson Associates Japan, Inc; Morningstar Investment Adviser India Private Limited; Morningstar Investment Management Asia Ltd; Morningstar Investment Services LLC; Morningstar Associates, Inc.; and Morningstar Investment Management Australia Ltd.

Important information

The opinions, information, data, and analyses presented herein do not constitute investment advice; are provided as of the date written; and are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but Morningstar makes no warranty, express or implied regarding such information. The information presented herein will be deemed to be superseded by any subsequent versions of this document. Except as otherwise required by law, Morningstar, Inc or its subsidiaries shall not be responsible for any trading decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the information, data, analyses or opinions or their use. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. The value of investments may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. Reference to any specific security is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or will outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Neither diversification nor asset allocation ensure a profit or guarantee against loss. It is important to note that investments in securities involve risk, including as a result of market and general economic conditions, and will not always be profitable. Indexes are unmanaged and not available for direct investment. Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future.

This commentary may contain certain forward-looking statements. We use words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially and/or substantially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason.

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1 – See Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner. The Notes section cites numerous studies, including those done by Tetlock and his partner, Barbara Mellers.

2 – Note that as investors have a particular focus on fundamentals. As humans, we care deeply about the loss, suffering, and fear brought by this or any outbreak. But we mustn’t let our emotions drive investment decisions—now or in any circumstance.