Performance Review — Light at the End of the Tunnel

The Foord International Fund is known for its resilience during market weakness. It is much more likely to lag in bull markets — and last year was no exception. In this article, Managing Director Paul Cluer discusses why the Foord global funds underperformed last year, when and how we expect them to recover, and how the Foord South African funds are positioned to generate inflation-beating returns in the year ahead.

Markets In A Nutshell — For February 2024

Investors showered US stocks with love this Valentine’s month, spurning bonds. The US S&P 500 Index surged 5.2%, closing above the 5,000 level for the first time. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones indices also achieved all-time highs. In contrast, US bonds fell on robust economic data and an uptick in US inflation — which again pushed out expectations for the timing of the US Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cuts.

Markets In A Nutshell — For February 2024

In our monthly podcast, ‘Markets in a nutshell’, Linda Eedes discusses what’s happened in global markets and economies over the past month, how we see things playing out and how Foord is positioned as a result.

Unpacking the 2024 Budget Speech: Two top take-aways

Faced with some very harsh realities – from a severely constrained economy and infrastructure challenges to lower commodity-driven revenue and expenditure running well above target – Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech was a mixed bag. At R1.73 trillion, tax revenue for 2023/24 is R56.1 billion lower than estimated in the 2023 budget; a shortfall largely attributed to the decline in corporate profits and revenue from taxes on mining. National Treasury did project optimistic revenue increases of R104 billion over the medium term however; this is due to higher tax buoyancy rates.

Quarterly Conversations Q4 2023 I Foord International Fund

Multiple-counsellor portfolio manager on the Foord International Fund, Brian Arcese talks to investment professional, Lind Eedes about the fund’s performance in 2023 and how it is positioned going forward.

Quarterly Conversations Q4 2023 I Foord Fixed Income Fund

Linda Eedes talks to portfolio managers Farzana Bayat and Rashaad Tayob about how Foord’s fixed income funds performed in Q4 2023, what’s happening in the market and how Foord is positioned going forward.

Quarterly Conversations Q4 2023 I Foord Equity Fund

Linda Eedes talks to portfolio manager Wim Murray about how Foord’s equity strategies have performed, what’s happening in the market and how Foord is positioned going forward.

Quarterly Conversations Q4 2023 I Foord Multi-Asset Fund

Linda Eedes talks to Foord South Africa Chief Investment Officer Nick Balkin about how Foord’s multi-asset strategies have performed, what’s happening in the market and how Foord is positioned going forward.

Quarterly Conversations Q4 2023 I Foord Asia ex-Japan Fund

Portfolio managers Brian Arcese and JC Xue provide an update on the fund’s performance through Q4 2023 and how Foord Asset Management navigates complex market conditions.

Markets In A Nutshell — For January 2024

January marked the beginning of a new year, but it did not herald a change in stock market momentum. US equity markets continued to defy gravity and the US S&P 500 Index again made new highs. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slumped further towards levels last seen 20 years ago.