Newsletter:

Subject:	August market comment
Date:	03 Aug 08

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In his August market view, the manager of the Equinox Managed Funds, Barry Shamley describes the July markets which were characterized by a dramatic sector rotation out of resource shares and into financials. He says that the dramatic rotation was triggered by a sharp drop in the oil price.

'Brent crude ended -11.53% at $123.24 and further downside is expected after key technical support was broken. Financials ended the month up 12.75% while our resource index was down -19%. Global markets were mostly lower but most were not down as severely as the JSE Allshare which lost -8.86% due to its heavy weighting of resource shares,' he writes.

Click onto the Market View on our home page to find out possible reasons for current rand strength.

New funds on the Equinox platform this month include a range of four Kruger funds, managed by veteran fund manager Hein Kruger. These funds include the Kruger Prudential Fund of Funds, the Kruger Global Fund of Funds, the Kruger Flexible Fund of Funds and the Kruger Balanced Fund of Funds. A fifth new fund on the platform is the Marriott Money Market Fund, managed by Michael Ronald.

Investors in Sanlam Funds and the Blue Bay Visio Actinio Portfolio should check our homepage for details of name changes of these funds.

If you are interested in finding out which 'deep value' shares the fund manager of the value-orientated Cadiz Mastermind Fund invests in, click on the link below. The article offers an insight into the companies selected by fund manager Mark Ansley.

And if you always thought that fund management and poker playing had something in common, you are not alone. Read the article on the successive victories of some of the world's best poker players and what investment managers can learn from them.

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The Cadiz Mastermind Fund - Unlocking the Deep Value
Paul Hutchinson, Head of Collective Investments at Cadiz Wealth explains the rationale for the investment in top 16 shares by value in the Cadiz Mastermind Fund. He says that it is worth noting that these shares also account for the majority of the top ten holdings in the Cadiz Balanced, Inflation Plus and Equity Ladder Funds.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2010.html

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On fund managers and poker players
Matthew de Wet, Head of Investments, Nedgroup Investments writes that surprisingly, there are striking similarities between successful fund managers and professional poker players.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2011.html

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Stanlib: A perfect storm of difficulties, but reasons for optimism
Stanlib economist Kevin Lings writes that a look at the economy reveals a definite tale of two stories as the consumer faces a near 'perfect storm' of difficulties; whilst investment spending by the private and public sectors is actually accelerating.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2006.html

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Best Regards
The Equinox Team

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