Maya Fisher French

Last week, the Presidential Working Group for Women and Old Mutual launched the Women’s Activism Balanced Fund, a women’s empowerment investment fund that follows last year’s launch of a domestic workers’ retirement plan. An injection of R70-million in seed capital will be made by Old Mutual into the fund.

So there’s no need for a further rate hike? The latest economic data show that consumers are suffering and a further rate hike would just be flogging a dead horse while having a negative impact on a corporate sector already dealing with power shocks, reports Maya Fisher-French.

The abolition of the means test for the payment of old-age pensions, mooted in last week’s budget, might be an incentive to save, says Elias Masilela, chief strategist of Sanlam Employee Benefits. The means test is a complicated calculation that penalises those who have saved for retirement by reducing the grant amount if the individual is already receiving a retirement income.

Undoubtedly one of the budget’s highlights was the removal of exchange controls for institutional investors, all but dealing a death blow to exchange control. Under the new provisions, foreign investment will be guided by prudential investment guidelines rather than the laager mentality that has driven exchange-control legislation.

The reduction of corporate tax from 29% to 28% is a welcome relief for companies entering a far more difficult economic environment. The tax burden on corporates has been increasing since 2000, despite the nominal tax rate dropping from 30% to 29% over the same period.

Independent actuary Rob Rusconi, who blew the whistle on the savings industry a few years back, leading to substantial reforms, has put forward 10 strategies to fix the pension fund and savings industry. In a paper entitled <i>Whose Money is it Anyway?</i> Rusconi questions why pension funds do not make more use of index tracking funds.

Tuesday was one of the most volatile days the JSE has ever experienced and it followed a bloody Monday that saw the market plunge more than 4%, wiping R130-billion off the stock market. If it were not for the unexpected and very welcome news from the United States Federal Reserve that it was cutting interest rates by 75 basis points, Tuesday could have been a lot worse with the market down a further 4% at one point.

As someone who works from home, I’ve lost two days of productivity over the past week. Like many small businesses, that means a serious drop in income. My stress levels are soaring because when the cuts come I do not know if they will be for a couple of hours or the whole day, writes Maya Fisher-French.

If you believe the market correction, which has seen the JSE all-share index down by 10% in the past five weeks, has provided a buying opportunity, Maya Fisher-French brings us some South African money managers’ best picks for 2008.

From the beginning of September to the end of November there were 26 new listings on the JSE — a whole mixed bag of them, too. The performances of the various listings is a reminder to investors that everything that lists is not necessarily a good investment. But if you choose your companies well it is an opportunity to get in at the beginning of a successful growth of a company.

Boardroom politics and reshuffling happen all the time, usually because of personal differences or conflicting strategic visions. In the past two years there have been numerous chief executives who have resigned for "personal reasons" or "to spend more time with the family". These reasons are often used as euphemisms by executives who no longer see eye to eye with the rest of the board.

The world’s largest bank last week announced it would take a 20% stake in Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank, in the biggest foreign direct investment by a Chinese company anywhere in the world. This means South Africa is now the top destination for Chinese foreign investment, ahead of Zambia and the Sudan.

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is not afraid to throw its weight around and rattle cages. A strong champion of shareholders can be a good thing, but when does size become dangerous? The PIC is the largest fund manager in South Africa. It controls about R791-billion, almost double its closest rival, Old Mutual, which manages R396-billion of South African assets.

Simon Stockley, who revolutionised the home loan industry in South Africa with the creation of SA Homeloans five years ago, has returned to South Africa after a stint in Saudi Arabia, bringing to market another mortgage lender with some interesting products.