Ghost Stories

In the year 2000, a lot happened. There was some questionable pop music. There was also the Dot-Com Crisis, followed by a period that saw incredible equity returns in South Africa until the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2007/2008. And during that important period in our local market, we also saw the emergence and initial growth of ETFs in South Africa, spearheaded by Satrix. To reflect on 25 years of ETFs in South Africa, René Basson joined me to share the important milestones and fascinating stories that defined this journey. In doing so, it became clear just how much has changed in South Africa to make investing accessible to everyone. Join us as we look back on how Satrix made it possible for everyone to own the market. This podcast was first published here. Disclaimer: Satrix Investments (Pty) Ltd & Satrix Managers (RF) (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider. The information does not constitute advice as contemplated in FAIS. Use or rely on this information at your own risk. Consult your Financial Adviser before making an investment decision. While every effort has been made to ensure the reasonableness and accuracy of the information contained in this document (“the information”), the FSP’s, its shareholders, subsidiaries, clients, agents, officers and employees do not make any representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or suitability of the information and shall not be held responsible and disclaims all liability for any loss, liability and damage whatsoever suffered as a result of or which may be attributable, directly or indirectly, to any use of or reliance upon the information. For more information, visit https://satrix.co.za/products   

Cell C has been on quite the adventure in its efforts to carve out a sustainable competitive position. The telcos space can be brutal, with historically high levels of capital investment required to compete. This has thankfully changed, with Cell C having created a profitable business model that goes well beyond the MVNO operations that the market tends to focus on. In this podcast, CEO Jorge Mendes joined me to explain Cell C's business and how they plan to win across key verticals like Prepaid and Postpaid in addition to the exciting MVNO and other opportunities. We talked about why the turnaround is behind them and how Cell C plans to grow into the future. As a separately listed company with a much simpler balance sheet, Cell C is on the radar of investors and worth understanding in more detail. This podcast is an excellent resource in your research process. This podcast has been sponsored by Cell C. As always, I was given an opportunity to dig into the strategy and ask my own questions in my quest to learn more. You must always do your own research and speak to a financial advisor before making any decision to invest. This podcast should not be seen as an investment recommendation or an endorsement.

As we look back on a fascinating year in the markets, Nico Katzke (Head of Portfolio Solutions at Satrix) delivered a fantastic mix of insights on this podcast that can be applied to your strategy in 2026 and beyond. For example, it's so important not to learn the wrong lessons from a particular investment or observation. It's also important to avoid complexity for the sake of complexity - if there's a simple solution that works, then that's probably the right one.  Along with insights related to investment term, diversification, the AI "bubble" (a term that Nico isn't a fan of), US hegemony, gold and REITs, there's just so much in here. Get ready to apply more discipline and less drama to your portfolio decisions, assisted by the depth of knowledge and experience shared by Nico on this podcast.  This podcast was first published here. Disclaimer: Satrix Investments (Pty) Ltd & Satrix Managers (RF) (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider. The information does not constitute advice as contemplated in FAIS. Use or rely on this information at your own risk. Consult your Financial Adviser before making an investment decision. While every effort has been made to ensure the reasonableness and accuracy of the information contained in this document (“the information”), the FSP’s, its shareholders, subsidiaries, clients, agents, officers and employees do not make any representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or suitability of the information and shall not be held responsible and disclaims all liability for any loss, liability and damage whatsoever suffered as a result of or which may be attributable, directly or indirectly, to any use of or reliance upon the information. For more information, visit https://satrix.co.za/products  

Sirius Real Estate is a great example of a JSE-listed property fund that gives local investors a chance to participate in offshore markets. With a strategy focused on the UK and Germany, Sirius follows an “always-on” mentality to the opportunities in those markets. Whether following megatrends like defence spending and the further industrialisation of the German economy, or being open to opportunistic plays in business parks that offer attractive upside opportunities, Sirius is never too far away from a deal. To understand more about the strategy of the fund and how they win in these markets, I was joined by a full house of CEO Andrew Coombs, CFO Chris Bowman and CIO Tariq Khader. Get ready to learn all about Sirius and the opportunities for this fund. This podcast has been sponsored by Sirius Real Estate. As always, I was given an opportunity to dig into the strategy and ask my own questions in my quest to learn more. You must always do your own research and speak to a financial advisor before making any decision to invest. This podcast should not be seen as an investment recommendation or an endorsement.

DIY investing is all the rage and certainly has a place in the market, but so does financial advice. As a new generation of investors power through the market and look to build on the knowledge and wealth gained in recent years, there’s an opportunity to pause and consider whether it wouldn’t be better to do this with a broader financial plan in place. After all, you might love decorating a home, but wouldn’t you still use an architect to design it properly? Drawing on the benefits of DIY investing and financial planning leads to a best-of-both-worlds approach. You can have fun with investing and do so with the safety of guardrails provided by a proper financial plan. Kapil Joshi, Managing Director: Strategy and Proposition at Momentum Wealth, joined me on this podcast to talk about how these worlds should co-exist for investors who want to take a more active approach to their wealth creation. Momentum Wealth is part of Momentum Investments and Momentum Group Limited. Momentum Wealth (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider (registration number 1995/008800/07, FSP number 657). Momentum Metropolitan Life Limited is an authorised financial services and credit provider(registration number 1904/002186/06, FSP number 6406).