From the beginning of last year, Stanlib Investment Managers’ focus has been on persuading potential investors not to expect too much from their one to two-year investments. Having looked at the performance trends in the two bourses in South Africa and Namibia during the past 12 months, Stanlib is changing its tunes.

Eino Emvula, Investment Analyst at Stanlib Investment Managers

This year potential investors are told not to panic and let go their equities. Not at this point in time when the value of many equities has been knocked down to undervalued levels, says Eino Emvula, an Investment Analyst at Stanlib Investment Managers. And for those who want to buy shares, this is the most opportune time, he says.
Emvula says shares in FirstRand, Absa and Bidvest have fallen back to the levels of 2006. For those with securities in such companies, a decision to sell will see them losing between N$10 and N$40 per share.
For those who want in on such securities, this is the time as prices are low with promising future earnings per share.
As with the threat of a recession in the United States of America, Emvula says the US economy may slip into recession, but it is not something he anticipates. This is because of expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates dramatically to stave off recession.
“On balance there’s plenty of ‘fight-back’ potential against a recession,” says Emvula.
However, he does recognise that in recent weeks, markets experienced a major correction largely due to fears of a recession in the USA. This was also one of the reasons why, in late 2007, major shares on the NSX and the JSE traded lower to the levels of 2006.