Newsletter:

Subject:	July Market View; What's in store for our commodities?
Date:	06 Jul 08

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There is very little dissention among market commentators at present, most seem to agree that we should stick to long term investment plans, but invest new money in money market accounts until the turbulence passes.

In his July market view, the manager of the Equinox Managed Funds, Barry Shamley writes that we have been spared the brunt of the global sell off due to the outstanding performance of our miners, but that our currency is becoming more vulnerable as short term commodity peaks seem more possible.

He says that most astute market watchers suspect that the price hikes enjoyed by many of the miners may be coming to end and with rising costs, margins are likely to come under pressure. As a result, the Equinox portfolios will retain high exposures to money markets with the possibility of increasing our USD exposure at attractive levels.

A number of boutique funds have recently been posted on the Equinox platform. One of these is the De Fay Equity Fund. Launched in 2005, this leading domestic equity general fund offers a viable alternative to an index fund. To read more about the fund, click on the link below.

In another article, Nic Andrew, of Nedgroup Investments writes that certain industrial and financial stocks appear to be trading at attractive historic valuations. Is this the case? See what some of the Nedgroup ‘best of breed managers have to say by clicking on the link below.

While the highest yielding money market funds are producing yields of 12.58% at the moment, our Equinox Money Market Fund, which is a blend of three money market funds, (offering another level of security) is offering yields of 10.62%. To find out more about this product, call our call center on 0860 378 466 or send us an email on direct@equinox.co.za.

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The De Fay Equity Fund: A viable alternative to buying the index
The De Fay Equity Fund is the leading general equity fund over 12 months, with a rolling performance of 13.8%.* The fund was launched in July 2005, has R20 million under management and is managed by Adrian de Fay.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1985.html

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Investec: Buy cheap, sell expensive
Jeremy Gardiner, director of Investec Asset Management writes that the second quarter of 2008 continued along a theme that is becoming all too familiar, and is a trend that has now been in place for seven years. Simply put, if you weren't in commodities, you didn't make any money. In fact, you probably lost money.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1984.html

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How risky are industrial and financial stock valuations?
Nic Andrew of Nedgroup Investments writes that certain industrial and financial stocks appear to be trading at attractive historic valuations (for example certain retailers and banks). On the other hand, these companies have operated in a very favourable environment for the last five years and have been experiencing historically high levels of profitability (margins and return on equity).

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1982.html

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Property - still a relatively low risk asset class?
Nic Andrew, head of Nedgroup Investments writes that for a long time South African investors have been handsomely rewarded for investing in property and many regarded this as a relatively "risk-less" asset class. The property market has had a poor run and returned negative 20% for the last 12 months, and many investors are now realising the true risks of their investments.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_1987.html

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Best Regards
The Equinox Team

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