Global Market Themes: Developed Market equities fall; Emerging Markets post modest gains The Federal Reserve doubles down on interest rate policy stance Eurozone inflation accelerates, exacerbated by soaring energy prices Chinese economic activity continues to slow, despite marginal policy easing SA Market Themes: Equities lose ground while bonds flat-to-positive Inflation accelerates to an annualised 7.8% in July GDP contracts in the second quarter SA faces potential grey listing by global money monitoring watchdog

Here are this month’s highlights: The MSCI China and MSCI China A Onshore indices were down 9.4% and 6.0% respectively for the month. Value-style managers are starting to show improved results. More than two-thirds of the bottom quartile managers have outperformed the median since January 2021. Operational setup can be as important as investment acumen when evaluating a manager.

Global Market Themes: Global equities bounce back with the MSCI World gaining just short of 8% United States (US) equities lead the charge (+9.2%), closely followed by European counterparts (+7.9%) Emerging Markets were modestly lower (MSCI EM -0.3%), but widely divergent within EM performances – MSCI BRIC 3.6% lower, as MSCI China dips nearly 10% Politics at play in the United Kingdom (UK) as beleaguered (ex) Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves office Oil price softens modestly, industrial metals gain ground SA Market Themes: Unprotected strike action leads to unprecedented levels of loadshedding Efforts s to alleviate pressure on existing grid ramped up Shifting political landscape under the spotlight as President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm robbery continues to make headlines Some respite for motorists at the petrol pump South African inflation continues to tick higher, further rate hikes on the cards Financials consequently continue strong year-to-date (YTD), performance, but Industrials deliver the strongest sectoral performance.

Here are this month’s highlights: Chinese equities are behaving very differently to developed markets. Mortgage defaults have become the latest focus for investors in China.

Global Market Themes: Global markets experience their worst first half in decades Global recession fears rise Central Banks remain steadfast in their resolve to tame inflation Sovereign debt and fragmentation risks flare up in Europe Japanese Yen weakens to multi-decade lows SA Market Themes: Resources bleed as global commodity prices fall Eskom implements Stage 6 loadshedding Inflation breaches the 6% level

Here are this month’s highlights: In May, global equity markets continued their declines from April before, recovering most of the losses in the second half of the month. According to eMarketer, China accounts for 52% of all ecommerce transactions worldwide, with total online sales of over $2 trillion (about three times the US market) in 2021. Live streaming e-commerce market value grew a hundredfold between 2017 and 2021 to reach an estimated $315billion in 2021, representing roughly 16% of the online retail market in China.

Global Market Themes: Elevated volatility amidst central bank action, Russia-Ukraine conflict – global equities mixed United States (US) equities gain modestly (0.2%); Emerging Markets (EM) tick higher (0.4%); United Kingdom (UK) bourse rides the oil-wave (1.1%); but Europe flounders (Eurostoxx -0.8%) Tightening global monetary policy – Rate hikes by United States (US) Fed and Bank of England (BoE) Energy prices continue to hot up – European embargo of Russian seaborne oil adds fuel to the fire Chinese equities gain ground as Omicron-induced restrictions let up somewhat in major cities SA Market Themes: Recurring rolling blackouts, likely to continue throughout winter, suppress green shoots of economic recovery South African Reserve Bank (SARB) hikes rates by 50 basis points (bps), in line with expectations Bonds and Inflation Linked Bonds (ILBs) consequently tick higher, gaining roughly 1% and 2% Financials fly high on rate hikes, subindex 3.5% higher, while industrials and resources dip South African equities end modestly higher, gaining 0.5% in May A volatile Rand hits a fresh yearly low against the dollar at mid-month, before clawing back to R15.58/USD

Here are this month’s highlights: In April, global markets experienced a major sell-off amid a weakening growth outlook due to heightened inflation, rising interest rates, a slowdown in China and geopolitical uncertainty. The offshore China market fared better than its A-share counterpart, with the MSCI China index returning -4.1% versus -10.2% for the MSCI China A Onshore index. At RisCura we believe in diversification across different styles and avoid any persistent bias to Value or Growth across most asset classes.