​ Invest Archives - Amplify

Insights

With our teams’ combined decades of experience and skills, we’ve managed to build up a considerable wealth of knowledge about the world of investing.

Read about some of the insights we’ve gained and how we put our expertise to meaningful use.

Intelligent impact that matters
​
​
Sun Rising
Invest
Invest

23 Apr 2024

Volatility Creates Offshore Investment Opportunities For Active Managers
As half of the world’s population goes to the elections polls this year, war in the Middle East and Ukraine continues and inflation in most developed markets appears to be cooling, active managers are taking advantage of the volatility this creates to apply disciplined investment strategies. Amplify Investment Partners expects persistently high interest rates to be a headwind for global equity markets, especially the US where market valuations remain high relative to history and to emerging markets. “We have however seen that some companies in the tech industry (which has driven the total US market higher) have bucked the trend and continue to perform above market expectations as future earnings remain attractive,” Amplify’s head of positioning, Nico Janse van Rensburg says, adding that as bottom-up fundamental managers, Amplify’s fund managers look at share level to find opportunities.
READ THE ARTICLE
Views on asset class and equity sectors in the year ahead.
Invest
Invest

6 Feb 2024

Amplify Investment’s fund managers’ views on asset class and equity sectors in the year ahead.
Amplify’s managers say the trajectory or outcome of various events that are already known in 2024 hold high risks and uncertainties. These include local national elections, the power crisis, Transnet’s rail and ports crisis, war in Ukraine and the Middle East, US GDP growth and the Fed’s response and Chinese economic recovery. There is generally consensus among Amplify’s managers that the key lies in a balanced and adaptable approach with a diversified portfolio. Geopolitical risk globally, elections (notably in the US, Russia and the EU), local elections and continued local economic pressures point to continued uncertainty and volatility, and a relatively defensive portfolio positioning. Amplify’s managers, who have proven their ability to perform well during volatility, remain active and true to their philosophy and practice and remain cautiously optimistic for 2024.
READ THE ARTICLE
​
Naspers and Prosus
Invest
Invest

21 Feb 2024

FUND MANAGERS POSITIVE ON NASPERS AND PROSUS VALUE
Investor sentiment towards Naspers and Prosus appears to be warming in early 2024 after uncertainty over Chinese tech company Tencent weighed heavily on these shares in 2023. Naspers and Prosus trade at significant discounts to Tencent, in which they have a significant shareholding, and to their own net asset value. Their inability to unlock this value, and uncertainty over Tencent and the Chinese economy, has resulted in nervousness among investors, especially given their dominance in terms of value and trade on the JSE. In December 2023, the introduction of proposed draft gaming regulations by the Chinese regulator saw Naspers lose 9.7% and Prosus lose 10.6%, while Tencent was down 13% in rand terms. But there has been some recovery in January, after fund managers bought into the dip. Managers of Amplify Investment Partners funds consider Naspers and Prosus good value at current levels, and some used the opportunity to buy.
READ THE ARTICLE
Asset allocation and equity opportunity in 2024
Invest
Invest

2 Feb 2024

Investment Outlook 2024
Low risk instruments provide attractive returns with limited risk, and a more conservative position in the current environment is suitable. SA equities are extremely cheap compared to history, global markets, and emerging markets. There has been a structural change in terms of capital flow as Regulation 28 changes saw a lot of local managers increase offshore exposure at the expense of local, while foreign investors are not convinced on SA’s prospects. This leaves lots of opportunities on the local market, with companies on 6 or 7 PEs and decent dividend yields, and with some growth and prospects determined by themselves rather than macro conditions. This is positive for local equities, relative to especially the US which expensive, and the fund has increased its allocation.
READ THE ARTICLE

MORE INSIGHTS

Global Funds Hit the Floor Running
Invest
Invest

7 Nov 2023

Amplify’s Global Funds Hit the Floor Running

Amplify Investment Partners’ global equity funds are new to the market, but infused with the DNA of a fund with a 27 year history of outperformance.

Nico Janse van Rensburg, head of positioning at Amplify, said in a recent webcast on Amplify’s offshore developments that the Amplify Global Equity Fund (USD) and Amplify SCI* Global Equity Feeder Fund (ZAR) aim to invest in dominant companies in structurally-attractive industries which will grow their earnings at sustainable above average rates.

While benchmarked against the MSCI World index, the fund is run as benchmark agnostic, as the index is not used as a starting point to portfolio construction. The portfolio holds between 35 to 55 companies, of which the top 10 make up 40% to 50%. The focus is on industry-leading multinationals with large market caps and high daily trading volumes with sustainable, above average growth in earnings, cashflow and dividends
Amplify Global Equity Launch
Invest
Invest

21 Jul 2023

Introducing Amplify Offshore

Amplify Investment Partners has launched its first global equity fund to extend and diversify investment options for its clients.
“This is a natural progression for our fund offering,” says Amplify head Marthinus van der Nest. “We currently have funds that cover mostly the multi asset categories. Many investors are looking to diversify their local exposure and it has not been a space where we have had a fund.”
Amplify has added a dollar-denominated and a rand feeder fund to its existing range of unit trusts and hedge funds. Demand for offshore funds remains strong and changes to Regulation 28, increasing the offshore exposure limit to 45%, have created further opportunities for a good global manager, Van der Nest says.
Amplify’s dollar-denominated fund, launched this month, will be managed by Sarofim & Co, an independent, employee-owned global investment manager dedicated to high conviction, sustainable-growth investing with a 60-year successful long term track record of outperformance while taking lower risk.

Invest
Invest

16 May 2023

Hedge funds finding favour

A cautious hedge fund blend – including the Amplify SCI* Real Income Retail Hedge Fund, Amplify SCI* Income Plus Retail Hedge Fund, Amplify SCI* Absolute Income Retail Hedge Fund, Amplify SCI* Enhanced Equity Retail Hedge Fund and the Amplify SCI* Diversified Income Retail Hedge Fund, equally weighted, has significantly outperformed shares and bonds.
Invest
Invest

10 May 2023

Investing for a purpose reaps rewards

Amplify was recently recognised for both its investment performance at this year’s Raging Bull Awards and for its conservation impact at the South African National Parks (SANParks) Kudu Awards.
The Amplify SCI* Wealth Protector fund won the Raging Bull’s best multi asset equity fund on a risk-adjusted basis – the third consecutive year it has won a Raging Bull, reflecting its consistency delivering on its CPI + 3% benchmark and its clients’ expectations. Amplify’s entire range of independently managed unit trusts and hedge funds have performed strongly and continue to attract significant inflows.
The other side of these investment inflows is an allocated portion of the revenue to conservation projects as part of Amplify’s mandate of investing for a future, and for impact.
Invest
Invest

15 Mar 2023

BOUTIQUE MANAGERS: RETHINKING ACTIVE MANAGEMENT

Boutique managers are generally owner-managed, meaning that their managers have skin in the game. They have quick decision-making processes to take hold of opportunities as they arise. Most have a strong large manager, bank or hedge fund background, and the collective experience of the team is long and deep.
“Their focus is on putting runs on the board rather than aiming for sixes and this has proven to be a match-winning strategy,” Amplify head of positioning Nico Janse van Rensburg says. “Consistency is key. We are aiming to consistently provide top quartile performance over a three-year rolling period. Volatility hurts compounded returns – particularly in the more conservative multi-asset categories where investors need greater consistency.”
Invest
Invest

15 Mar 2023

ABOUT THE FUND | AMPLIFY SCI* ENHANCED EQUITY RETAIL HEDGE FUND

All Weather has managed a market neutral strategy since 2017.
​