Newsletter:

Subject:	Turn down the geyser, drive slower, work harder and save more
Date:	06 Jan 08

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Weekend reading of the FT Weekend, Sunday Times and the Sunday Independent on the year’s financial prospects is probably best summarised by Professor Mathew Lester in his weekly column in the Business Times, supplement of the Sunday Times.

He writes that he is going to model himself on the Dickens character Scrooge this year. He promises to turn down the geyser, drive slower, work harder and save more. Probably a good strategy for all of us.

In what promises to be a volatile year we would urge investors to stick to long term investment plans. Remember that you will probably live longer than you expect to and that you need the growth of equity markets to grow your capital. If you are worried about market volatility, consider choosing funds that are less aggressively exposed to equities such as those in the asset allocation flexible or prudential category.

New reading this week includes an interview with one of the leading general equity fund managers over the 2007 calendar year, Patrice Rassou of Sanlam Investment Managers.

Keep your eyes on our website during the week, the best general equity fund manager of the year, Brett Bishop has promised us an interview which should be posted on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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The SIM Top Choice general equity fund: contrarian, aggressive and successful
After 12 months of managing the SIM Top Choice Equity Fund, fund manager Patrice Rassou has boosted the fund's performance to rank third of all general equity unit trusts over a year. The fund was launched in August 2006 and currently has R158 million under management.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1890.html

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Market volatility in last week changes 2007 rankings
Unexpected market volatility caused by a number of factors, including the assassination of Pakistan leader of the opposition, Benazir Bhutto has changed the end of year fund rankings as reported in our earlier article posted on 27th December.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1889.html

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Leading fund managers tell us the lessons they learned in 2007
When they were asked about the lessons of 2006 last year, some of our leading fund managers said that in retrospect, they had been too skittish about the US market. A common response was that they had underestimated the power of the global economy, and the emergence of the emerging world.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1886.html

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Best Regards
The Equinox Team

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