We are now well into 2023, and this year has been filled with mixed messages. The global economy is still in flux, and we are all feeling the pinch as the cost of goods in supermarkets continues to rise. This is primarily due to extremely high inflation rates, last seen at these levels 14 years ago.

February was a busy time for us as we travelled around the country for the Jeremy Gardiner Roadshow. We enjoyed this opportunity to provide our clients with an update on Chartered and also learn about their activities in the last 12 months. The events we held in Knysna and Cape Town were well-attended by our growing Chartered community, indicating that the Western Cape remains an attractive destination. Jeremy is well-known in Chartered circles and continues to be well-received as he shares his perspectives on the local and global political and economic fronts.

While so much hinges on the ANC resolving the many issues in South Africa, the good news is that the local and global markets had an extremely positive January and a neutral February. This has helped boost your investment returns following a somewhat negative 2022. Although sentiment-wise, it is hard to understand the positive turn in markets, the peaking of inflation and the reopening of China following its strict Covid lockdown protocols seem to be contributing factors. Glen Baker shares some perspective in this newsletter on the sudden market movement over the last few days, which we trust our investment consultants (Morningstar, Portfoliometrix and Old Mutual) to navigate us through.

Our resilience as South Africans continues to increase as we navigate through extreme load-shedding schedules with minimal expectations of improvement. Dinner party conversations have become a way to gauge our current state, and it is evident that the discussions on Covid and lockdown from the past few years have transitioned to solar power. Over the past few months, I have met with several solar providers as the reality sets in that solar is the only answer if we are going to remain sane while living in South Africa. Not surprisingly, all these service providers had already achieved their annual budgeted figures by the end of February. We have also noticed many clients drawing on their investments to install solar in their homes. It would seem that a suitable solar solution for most homes would range between R150 000 and R300 000. There are a couple of options for renting, financing or outright purchase. In this edition of the Beacon, Jason Appel explores the topic of whether to rent or buy solar in more detail. Fortunately, at Chartered, we have a generator. However, due to increased demand, running costs have soared to unsustainable levels from both a cost and environmental perspective, so we are exploring solar as an alternative.

South Africa being greylisted was expected, and while we don’t see this impacting you or ourselves, we are anticipating more questions from international providers regarding investing offshore. This generally involves additional paperwork.

Thank you for your continued engagement with Chartered. We have so much to be grateful for and remain hopeful for a positive 2023. We are here to support you, so please be in touch with us should you have anything you would like to discuss.

Warm Regards,
John