Newsletter:

Subject:	Christmas reading, end of year greetings and trading hours
Date:	19 Dec 11

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2011 has been an eventful year for the markets, staff and clients of EFS Investment Solutions. In May this year, EFS was acquired by PSG Asset Management , a wholly owned subsidiary of PSG Konsult and part of the listed PSG Group. We have exciting plans to ensure that Equinox clients will be introduced to a wider variety of new services and investment vehicles, including access to direct share ownership, Exchange Traded Funds and a range of insurance products.

Few unit trust investors could have been unaware of the market volatility during 2011. Measured on Dec 19th on a rolling 12 month basis, domestic equity index trackers turned in a performance of nearly 3% while the top-performing actively managed equity funds turned in a performance of 11..7%. With one exception the 50 top performing funds on the Equinox platform were funds mandated to invest offshore, either in the ‘foreign category’ or the ‘worldwide category. The leading domestic funds were those in the asset allocation, targeted return, property and bond categories.

Looking ahead to 2012, it is difficult to make sense of conflicting data. Recently released figures suggest that the US may well avoid slipping into a recession. Unemployment figures are down and consumers are seemingly more confident as they spent a record $52 billion during the annual ‘Black Friday’ (the day following Thanksgiving Day and traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season) shopping spree. However on the negative side, US house prices fell by an unexpected 0.6% (y-o-y, seasonally adjusted).

The Indian and Chinese economies seem to be slowing, but concerns of a ‘hard landing’ seem to be misplaced. And in Europe, a new treaty expected by March 2012 is likely include a new rules committing national governments to balanced budgets.

In South Africa, recent figures indicate that there was a modest increase in credit growth and quarterly unemployment figures calculated by Stats SA were slightly down. On the negative side inflation (now at 6.1%) has breached the target range and the trade deficit grew more than expected.

Please take note of our festive season office hours, and more importantly, cut off times, which are on our website or click here .

All that remains is for us to wish you, our clients, and your families a peaceful festive season and a prosperous 2012. Enjoy reading the articles that appear below, the one on suggested reading might be especially useful.

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Some suggested Christmas reading from some of our favourite fund managers and market commentators.
PSG Online asked some of our leading fund managers and market commentators what they would recommend for a gift to someone interested in learning more about investing. Some took the trouble to suggest two or three books, while others have suggested non-investing choices.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2969.html

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The year that was: Tricky but triumphant
Adrian Clayton of PSG Asset Management writes that in the final PSG newsletter of 2011, he would give readers feedback on three fronts – what has happened around the world this last year, what has taken place in markets across the world and then conclude with a bit about what has happened within our own business.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2971.html

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Cannon Asset Manager’s stocking fillers
Adrian Saville, CIO of Cannon Asset Managers, suggests shares to buy with your December bonus

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2968.html

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Endgame
Vincent Hey of Seed Investments writes that John Mauldin recently wrote a book called “Endgame” which is about the end of the debt supercycle and how it changes everything which he found an interesting read.

More at http://www.equinox.co.za/article_2973.html

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Best Regards
The Equinox Team

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