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- While markets panic, our clients are sleeping fine.
While markets panic, our clients are sleeping fine.
What's Happening in the Markets - and What to Do About It.
FinMeUp
May 05, 2026
A note from our CEO
Before we talk about what's happening in the world right now, we want to share something worth pausing on.
Over the past year, a significant portion of our clients' portfolios achieved an average growth of 20%. In a year that felt anything but certain, that's a result worth acknowledging, not to boast, but because it proves something important: discipline beats panic, every single time.
The clients who saw that kind of growth weren't the ones watching markets obsessively or making reactive calls. They were the ones who had a plan, stayed in it, and trusted that a well-structured portfolio, one that balanced South African opportunities with smart global exposure, would do its job. And it did.
We're sharing this because what comes next in this newsletter might feel unsettling. But we want you to read it through that lens: volatility is not a threat to people with a strategy. It's actually an opportunity.
What's happening right now?
The US has imposed sweeping tariffs that are rattling global trade confidence. Markets have reacted. The rand has felt it. South African investors aren't isolated from this, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn't being straight with you.
But here's the context that rarely makes the headline: markets have priced in bad news before, and they've recovered. Every single time. The investors who got hurt were the ones who sold at the bottom because the noise got too loud.
Is your money in the right place?
This is the real question, worth asking right now. Not out of fear, but out of good housekeeping. Here are three things to check:
Your cash position
Holding a lot in cash "to be safe"? Inflation is quietly eroding it. Cash has a role but it's not a hiding place.
Your local vs. global split
SA's financial services, resources and industrial sectors have held up well. But technology, healthcare and global infrastructure are underrepresented locally. Too one-sided? Now's the time to look at that.
Your asset class mix
Equities, fixed income, property alternatives - how they perform shifts with the environment. In a high-uncertainty, higher-rate world, your mix deserves a fresh look.
What should you actually do?
Three practical moves for right now:
Don't touch your long-term investments out of short-term anxiety. The 20% growth our clients experienced came from staying the course not from timing the market.
Use this as a portfolio check-in, not a portfolio overhaul. Look at your asset allocation. If it still reflects your goals and timeline, you're probably fine. If it doesn't, that's worth a conversation.
Start thinking in asset classes, not just accounts. Most young professionals have an RA and maybe a TFSA and that's it. Understanding where your money sits matters as much as how much you're putting away.
Latest Podcast - Now Live!
We sat down with one of SA's most respected market minds.
We unpacked exactly what's happening in the market and how it’s impacting you! This is the one you share with your partner or a friend who's been asking the same questions.
Note: This is not financial advice, merely observations. For personalised financial advice, you can book to speak to a financial advisor here (powered by a registered FSP: No. 51310).
Your money matters. Make it count.
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