The German KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has launched the African Local Currency Bond Fund (ALCB Fund) to invest in local currency bonds in Africa.
Many fund managers based outside the EU (42%) do not plan to raise capital from European investors in the near future, with 59% of this group avoiding the region due to concerns about the AIFMD, according to Preqin.
African debt remains attractive, even though many investors are sitting on the sidelines and waiting for clarity in light of the current global uncertainty, according to Standard Bank.
Botswana’s Choppies is well positioned to benefit from the growth of the formal retail segment in much of Africa, according to Peter C. Thoms, Founder & Portfolio Manager at Africa Capital Group.
South Africa’s newest majority black-owned and controlled asset management business with R62bn ($5bn) AUM, in which MMI Holdings will be a shareholder, is set to commence operations in October 2015, according to CEO Designate Sibusiso Mabuza.
Allan Gray’s Africa ex-SA Equity Fund has generated negative returns for the last quarter, however the asset manager believes that the fund’s largest holdings Econet Wireless, Umeme and Zimplats offer attractive buying opportunities.
Africa from an investment perspective is by no means a finished product, but in a world of low growth and mature markets, it is essential for global minded investors to understand its potential, Rory Ord, Principal at RisCura, has said.
High profit margins and returns tend to sustain longer in Namibia than in some other African regions, Cavan Osborne, Portfolio Manager, Old Mutual Equities at Old Mutual Investment Group, has said.
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has approved a $1m grant to launch the first phase of a Green Mini-Grids (GMG) Market Development Program (MDP), which will be implemented by the SE4ALL Africa Hub in coordination with SE4ALL’s Clean Energy Mini-Grid High Impact Opportunity stakeholder group.
CDC Group, the UK development finance institution, has launched an updated and fully-web enabled version of its environmental social and governance (ESG) Toolkit for Fund Managers at the 2015 Responsible Investment Forum.
South African hedge funds are at risk of regulatory and enforcement action if they do not register as a collective investment scheme in accordance with new legislation, the Financial Services Board (FSB) has warned.
The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) has voiced concern over the reputational damage to the SA Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) industry caused by the inaccurate information contained in the Morningstar’s report.
The majority of South African equity funds invested in both the domestic and international markets lagged their respective benchmarks over a one-year period, according to the S&P; Dow Jones Indices’ SPIVA South Africa Scorecard.
South African investors remain optimistic about the domestic stock market, with 53% thinking that the market will rise in 2015, according to the 2015 Franklin Templeton Global Investor Sentiment Survey.
