OPINION: Shun equities at your peril

By Anet Ahern

JOHANNESBURG – The most recent figures released by the Association for Savings and Investments South Africa (Asisa) show a historic influx of investment into local unit trusts over the last quarter.

In fact, according to Asisa, this is the highest net quarterly inflow on record, at R88 billion.

Of this amount, around R44bn was invested by individual investors and a big portion of that was brand new money that had not been invested before.

This influx of investment may come as a surprise to many, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s important to look at what kind of investment has gained the most ground. South African Interest-Bearing Money Market portfolios attracted by far the biggest share of investment. This reflects a highly defensive mindset, which is in line with what we would expect given the impact of Covid-19 on markets and the economy as a whole.

Source: iol.co.za