Ever heard of a search fund? I hadn't either, to be honest. When we came across Sibusiso Mbonambi in our efforts at bizval (the startup I'm involved in that specialises in helping SMEs with valuations and exit strategies), we learnt all about this predominantly American structure that has now come to our shores. Mbonambi is the Managing Partner at Cosworth Capital and he has much to share on this topic. For those interested in how a search fund works and how it can help business owners achieve a more efficient exit, the bizval webinar this Wednesday at midday is perfect. Register here to attend>>>

We' ve had such a busy run in Unlock the Stock. I will be releasing a couple more recordings this week, so make sure you're up to date by watching the recordings of the recent events with Barloworld (available here) and Curro Holdings (available here). Brought to you by A2X, this is a wonderful learning opportunity for any investor, retail and institutional alike.

Would you like to invest in the world's 100 most valuable brands with a single investment on the JSE? That does sound rather appealing, let's be honest. AnBro is launching a new product that achieves exactly this outcome and Justine Br ophy joined us to talk about it on Episode 142 of Magic Markets. Find out more about this opportunity here>>>

There's a new Ghost Wrap podcast episode coming tomorrow. Don't miss the opportunity to listen to Episode 45 featuring my views and the latest news on Bell Equipment, Transaction Capital, Capitec, Caxton & CTP, City Lodge and Sun International. Brought to you by Mazars, you'll find it here>>>

Index harmonisation at the JSE

Nico Katzke at Satrix has shared a really interesting article on index harmonisation at the JSE and what this means for investors. Performance differences between the SWIX and ALSI have been significant in recent years. This causes issues when comparing the performance of active managers to these broad market benchmarks, with the difference almost entirely explained in the last year by the ALSI's comparative overweight to one company, Richemont.

From March 2024, this is set to change. Nico explains why and how this is happening in detail in this great article>>>

Investors are getting something OUT

OUTsurance Group is a reminder that there are excellent companies on the local market. The group has also bucked the trend for South African companies in Australia, pulling off a great outcome in Youi. Growth of 39.3% in the share of earnings from OUTsurance (the actual operating company) is fantastic and a significant cut in head office costs has helped too, as the group sold off non-core assets and rebranded the listed company in the past year.

Other news on Friday included more disappointments from York Timber. I remain convinced that the best use of those trees is to create a conservation site and focus on mountain bike income. It just never seems to go well. If you can believe it, the problem here was an increase in log prices!

Other news came in from Gold Fields (a delay at Salares Nortes) and results from Putprop, where the traded discount to NAV is enormous.

As always, you can get everything you need on the latest company news in Ghost Bites with a single click at this link>>>

The rand ended the week where it started

After a busy week of data last week, the rand managed to finish up where it started. Mid-week gains were erased by Retail Sales and PPI data, with the Michigan Consumer Sentiment numbers disappointing at the end of the week and causing the dollar to fade.

TreasuryONE notes that the markets have extended their focus to this week's FOMC meeting, with local CPI and SARB rate announcements due on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Have a great start to your week!