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A fast-evolving global landscape

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2025 is shaping up to be a year of significant transformation as shifting policies and geopolitical decisions are being felt across major economies.
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The South African market rebounds

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Trump’s initiation of tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada came as no surprise in January.
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Uncertainty set to continue

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Donald Trump prepares for a second term as US President as the US remains resilient and markets cheer campaign promises to cut tax and regulation.
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Trump 2.0

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US equity markets responded positively to a Trump victory in November as campaign promises to cut taxes support the immediate US earnings outlook.
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Resilience amidst uncertainty

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The US remained resilient in October while heightened election uncertainty led to market volatility.
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The rate cutting cycle began in earnest

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With one quarter of 2024 to go, the US economy, while slowing, still remains remarkably resilient.
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Market and investment insights from our team

Truffle aims to keep investors informed on how we think and why we make investment decisions.

Retiring Japan’s widowmaker

  • Reading time: 5 mins
The period of predictable, low-cost Yen appears to be over, while artificially low global interest rates are coming to an end.
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Staying grounded to achieve success

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Truffle’s co-founder, Hannes van der Westhuyzen, unpacks critical aspects that have shaped business success over the last 17 years.
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Will SA Property thrive in ‘25

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Whilst the market has correctly captured this upside in the 2024 rally, leaving the sector at a fairer overall value, 2025 introduces a new set of global geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
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On the bright side

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Resilience and ongoing delivery are certainly required to tackle well-established issues and drive economic reform in South Africa.
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Adding value to income

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A Q&A with fixed income portfolio manager, Raihan Allie
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Don’t buy a lemon! Why information asymmetry is critical to investment success

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An investment or purchase of poorer quality than you were led to believe is frequently referred to as “buying a lemon”.
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Are we heading towards a copper supply cliff?

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Copper has long been referred to as Dr Copper as the price of this conductive, versatile metal provides a good barometer of the health of the global economy given its myriad of end use applications.
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Are real returns beyond the passport gates

  • Reading time: 4 mins
While Emerging Market players share similar characteristics and in aggregate should benefit from the cutting cycle, however local idiosyncratic challenges mean risks will differ across each region, building the case for diversification.
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Investment Case for Japan

  • Reading time: 7 mins
Japan is emerging from two decades of deflation following collapsing asset prices off the 80’s asset bubble. In 2024, many Japanese companies are trading at significant low price to book relative to other geographies.
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Making light of a dark situation

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As we navigate global and local risks, its important to keep a spotlight on investment opportunities.
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Bonding with Inflation

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In 2021 as the world adjusted to a post-pandemic environment, the global narrative of transitory inflation shifted to persistent with Central Banks motivating “higher-for-longer” rates given the stubborn resilience of inflation globally.
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Celebrating 15 years of Truffle!

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Truffle Asset Management was founded in April 2008 by Louis van der Merwe and Hannes van der Westhuyzen. The business has successfully grown its capabilities, client base and assets under management over the past 15 years.
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Is Emerging Market debt retaining its appeal?

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Investors in search of real yields over the last decade had a significantly simpler decision when choosing to invest between Developed Market (DM) and Emerging Market (EM) fixed income assets.
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A fast-evolving global landscape

  • Reading time: 3 mins
2025 is shaping up to be a year of significant transformation as shifting policies and geopolitical decisions are being felt across major economies.
Read More

The South African market rebounds

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Trump’s initiation of tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada came as no surprise in January.
Read More

Uncertainty set to continue

  • Reading time: 5 mins
Donald Trump prepares for a second term as US President as the US remains resilient and markets cheer campaign promises to cut tax and regulation.
Read More

Trump 2.0

  • Reading time: 3 mins
US equity markets responded positively to a Trump victory in November as campaign promises to cut taxes support the immediate US earnings outlook.
Read More

Resilience amidst uncertainty

  • Reading time: 3 mins
The US remained resilient in October while heightened election uncertainty led to market volatility.
Read More

The rate cutting cycle began in earnest

  • Reading time: 5 mins
With one quarter of 2024 to go, the US economy, while slowing, still remains remarkably resilient.
Read More

Ready for rate cuts?

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The US economy is slowing, however remains resilient and with certainty around imminent rate cuts, US markets performed well in August.
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Rebounds and swings

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South African financial markets were buoyed by positive election sentiment in July and by the end of the month the Rand had strengthened by 2% year to date.
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Cracks revealed, slowdown ahead?

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Buoyant US economic activity continued, however cracks in US consumer data became apparent towards the end of June.
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The dawn of a new era for SA politics

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Elections in South Africa took centre-stage in May, with SA equities (ALSI) initially up 3.4%, only to lose 2.4% in the last two trading days as the election results came through.
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A strong month for metals

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The US economy remains resilient, four months into 2024. April did, however, bring further moderation to interest rate expectations and a summer US rate cut now appears unlikely.
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Gold glitters and US stays strong

  • Reading time: 7 mins
The strength of the US economy continues to propel investor optimism even though interest rates appear set to stay higher for longer.
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Persistent resilience

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Trends across the main economic regions accelerated in February, particularly in the US where employment data was again resilient.
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Economic themes of 2023 have carried into 2024

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US markets gained in January on positive sentiment with the S&P 500.
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Equity markets make a comeback

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Global equity markets (except for China) made a comeback in the fourth quarter, spurred by fresh optimism of imminent US rate cuts following a two-year hiking cycle.
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Markets in good spirits

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Falling inflation data signalled a peak in interest rate hikes across developed markets in November, lifting spirits ahead of the holidays and driving a market turnaround.
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Geopolitical risks rising

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Weakening market sentiment led global bond and equity markets lower in October given heightened geopolitical risks and expectations that interest rates will stay higher for longer
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South Africa’s progress amidst looming global risks

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Incremental improvements in the SA economy could have a meaningful impact on growth going forward despite a weakened fiscus.
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Market volatility makes a comeback

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Following a strong July, global markets proved volatile in August and by month end, both Developed and Emerging equity markets had struggled to deliver positive returns.
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Positive sentiment amidst record heat

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July proved to be one of the hottest months on record in the Northern Hemisphere. It was also a month of rising global equity markets.
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US stronger for longer

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The broader US economy is yet to succumb to pressure from higher rates, remaining buoyant through a quarter of sustained tight monetary policy and declining inflation.
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What we are watching

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Global markets once again waited eagerly for new data prints to come through in May to guide potential turning points in the economic cycle.
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Are we reaching the tipping point?

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While economic data and DM equity markets showed resilience over April, leading indicators continue to signal a US slowdown ahead.
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Global banking sector under strain

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Market volatility continued to run high into March, this time precipitated by a mini yet significant crisis in the banking sector.
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Global resilience means longer rate path

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Resilient economic data across global markets in February suggests expectations of an imminent pause to interest rate hikes (and the start of rate reductions) need to be reassessed.
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Chinese consumers are back on the street

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Against a “new” backdrop of pro-growth economic policy and more business-friendly regulation, Chinese PMI statistics, mobility data and spend on services are showing notable improvements.
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China reopening gathering steam

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The much-anticipated reopening of the Chinese economy ignited markets as the Chinese government, pressured by social unrest, adopted a surprising full-scale reopening of the economy as opposed to an expected slow-phased approach.
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Significant economic challenges weigh on the world

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Financial markets reacted positively and swiftly to stabilising US inflation figures printed in November and hints from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) that the much-anticipated “pivot” on rate hikes (or slowing of increases) is indeed in sight.
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Party congress outcomes negative for Chinese assets

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Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third term leadership at China’s 20th Communist Party Congress held in October with a speech indicating a continued trend of less market-friendly policies in favour of political and ideological control.
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Rates have risen, but inflation is still too high

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It’s been a tough few months for Central Banks around the world. Not only is inflation proving more resilient than anticipated, but currency weakness and fiscal stimulus have added further complications.
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The global energy crisis deepens

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It seems increasingly clear that Russia does not intend to reopen the key Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline before the approaching Northern hemisphere winter. This has resulted in European gas prices fluctuating wildly and temporarily increasing by over 30% in August to €1000 per megawatt hour.
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Will weakening economic conditions cause Central Banks to pause interest rate hikes?

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Global market outlook

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Balancing carbon tax

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Active stewardship is becoming an increasingly important aspect for asset managers and forms a key element of Truffle Asset Management’s approach to responsible investing. An important theme informing our current ESG research and engagement activity is the evolution of regulation relating to environmental protection.
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The Environmental Pressure Cooker

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Truffle has created a glossary of key terms that are now common language in the environmental space and important policies that are turning up the heat on the management of climate change worldwide.
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A Force to be Reckoned With

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According to the Emergency Event Database, in 2022, there were 387 natural hazards and disasters worldwide.
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The more things change, the more they stay the same

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ChatGPT was asked by Quantdare whether ESG is important when building a portfolio. Its response was fairly similar to Truffle’s own thinking around it.
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Not everything that counts can be counted

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Fall back, JIBAR, ZARONIA is here!

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South Africa's banking sector is undergoing a major shift.
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Simplifying Two-pot

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Bold steps to change retirement savings in South Africa
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Why invest in a unit trust?

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There are many options available to investors looking for financial gains, however, not every option is accessible, and many options have significant risks.
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Truffle CIO: High equity market concentration can lead to lower long-term returns

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Iain Power cautioned investors to guard against periods of concentration and elevated valuations.
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No ‘death by committee’ – how Truffle wins at investment

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Truffle team at the FundHub awards, joined by Kevin Hinton, director at the Collaborative Exchange.
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Video Interview – Nicole Agar

  • Reading time: 21 mins
Nicole Agar sheds light on Truffle’s consistent top quartile performance.
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Staying grounded to achieve success

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Truffle’s co-founder, Hannes van der Westhuyzen, unpacks critical aspects that have shaped business success over the last 17 years.
Read More

Could 2025 be a year of double-digit SA equity returns?

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Alexforbes: Truffle AM trumps absolute return peers

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Balancing carbon tax

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Active stewardship is becoming an increasingly important aspect for asset managers and forms a key element of Truffle Asset Management’s approach to responsible investing. An important theme informing our current ESG research and engagement activity is the evolution of regulation relating to environmental protection.
Read More

Are real returns beyond the passport gates

  • Reading time: 4 mins
While Emerging Market players share similar characteristics and in aggregate should benefit from the cutting cycle, however local idiosyncratic challenges mean risks will differ across each region, building the case for diversification.
Read More

Local equity: Still a waiting game?

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Truffle shares its views on the outlook for the SA market.
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Truffle: Very little upside in US equities

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Truffle: Very little upside in US equities

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We are not finding value in US equity, said Nicole Agar, co-portfolio manager of the Nedgroup Investments Balanced fund.
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Tailwinds that helped bond markets are gone

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Truffle shares its views about low equity funds.
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Amplify managers see value in four key SA equity sectors

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Truffle sees opportunities in local equities but have warned investors to be patient.
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Truffle: Last year the cheap just got cheaper

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The boutique remains focused on areas of the market where assets trade at deep discounts to their intrinsic value.
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Citywire SA Awards 2023: Best fund award winners

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For the second consecutive year, Truffle wins the SA equity group award.
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Citywire South Africa Awards 2023: Nominees for best fund manager

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Truffle is nominated for the South African equity group Citywire award.
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Momentum buys 100% of RMI Investment Managers

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Momentum gains increased indirect minority stakes in several local boutique fund managers via the deal.
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Top investors profit from resurgent Prosus on 38% discount

  • Reading time: 6 mins
Shares in Dutch technology investor Prosus are rallying thanks to a share price recovery in its huge Tencent stake and management efforts to rein in its discount.
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Why we’re maintaining a hedge on the S&P 500

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Truffle portfolio managers on the R5.9bn Nedgroup Investments Balanced fund are adopting a cautious approach to the Chinese, South African and US economies.
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Truffle: ‘We’re biding our time’

  • Reading time: 4 mins
CIO Iain Power remains conservatively positioned in the Amplify SCI Wealth Protector fund, but believes that opportunities will emerge later this year and into 2024.
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Why Truffle continues to prefer nominal bonds over inflation-linkers

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Portfolio manager Raihan Allie sees only short-term benefits in holding ILBs.
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Is it finally takeover time for Quilter?

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Several years of restructuring have cleared the decks at Quilter but the company still faces many operational challenges. Could bidders now rush in?
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Truffle hires institutional distribution professional

  • Reading time: 1 mins
Thandi Zwambila joins the boutique from Benguela Global Fund Managers.
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Truffle scores record win at Morningstar awards

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The boutique took home more silverware than any manager in the history of the awards.
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Morningstar Announces Winners for 2023 Morningstar Fund Awards – South Africa | Morningstar, Inc.

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Truffle recognised with four awards at 2023 Morningstar Fund Awards.
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Truffle appoints new non-executive director

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The boutique has also aligned the boards of the asset manager and its holding company.
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Truffle sees equity and bond market divergence as a major ‘red flag’

  • Reading time: 3 mins
The asset manager believes two sets of investors are rowing their boats in different directions.
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Truffle: Why we’re focused on yield right now

  • Reading time: 5 mins
The Truffle SCI Flexible fund is notably more conscious of cash flows and dividends than its peers.
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These are the only 9 funds to beat inflation every year since 2018

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Less than 1% of local unit trusts have achieved this feat.
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Takeaways from the Raging Bulls shortlist

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The industry landscape has fundamentally shifted.
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Top performers show up on Large Manager Watch survey

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Truffle, NinetyOne, and M&G enjoy continued success in the December 2022 Alexforbes survey.
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Are local equity funds destroying value by holding offshore stocks?

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Truffle joins the list of top performing SA equity funds over a 5-year period.
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Truffle hires fixed income PM from Counterpoint

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Truffle Asset Management has appointed Raihan Allie as a portfolio manager in its fixed income team.
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Elite stock: Prosus – the digital play on the consumer of the future

  • Reading time: 9 mins
Top investors bet on Prosus’s buyback plan to narrow its discount.
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These are SA’s most consistent equity fund managers

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Truffle is named as one of the few most consistent equity fund managers between 2015 to 2022.
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Truffle: This will be a disappointing year for earnings

  • Reading time: 3 mins
The asset management firm believes global equity will suffer as the effects of the tighter monetary policy feed through to the real economy.
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The five most consistent balanced fund managers in SA

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Truffle is one of the five local managers that have managed to produce positive returns in each of the past five years.
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What will be the most important asset allocation decisions in 2023? Top SA managers give their views

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Saul Miller of Truffle Asset Management states what he believes will be the most important asset allocation in the coming year.
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Citywire South Africa’s 2022 fund manager awards: Some key takeaways

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Truffle stands out in Citywire South Africa’s 2022 fund manager awards.
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Citywire South Africa Awards 2022: Best fund group award winners

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Truffle wins in the Best Fund category.
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Citywire South Africa Awards 2022: Best fund manager award winners

  • Reading time: 5 mins
Truffle is named as one of the winners in nine categories in the second annual Citywire South Africa awards.
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Citywire South Africa Awards 2022: Nominees for best fund group

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Truffle is shortlisted in the nine categories for the best fund group awards.
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Citywire South Africa Awards 2022: Nominees for best fund manager

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Truffle is shortlisted in the nine categories for the best fund manager awards.
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Top boutiques on their asset allocation calls

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Truffle, manager of the Amplify SCI Wealth Protector fund, discuss heightened global risk and the outlook for local assets.
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This is SA’s top low-equity fund over one, three and five years

  • Reading time: 5 mins
Truffle, the manager of the Amplify Wealth Protector fund, places great emphasis on capital protection.
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Top fund selectors give their multi-asset fund picks

  • Reading time: 5 mins
Glacier Invest give their views on Truffle’s multi-asset strategy.
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Why Truffle has bought Meta and Alphabet

  • Reading time: 4 mins
The boutique has started to nibble at selected big tech firms as their shares have come off.
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Women in asset management: Local industry should celebrate its success stories

  • Reading time: 5 mins
The AA-rated duo of Nicole Agar and Sophié-Marié van Garderen are part of the Truffle Asset Management team named as the best equity fund managers in the country at the same awards.
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Truffle: We’re prepared to invest across growth, value, or anything else

  • Reading time: 3 mins
CIO Iain Power explains the firm’s investment philosophy.
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The top-rated flexible fund managers in SA

  • Reading time: 6 mins
Truffle is named as one of flexible fund managers with the highest Citywire ratings.
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Truffle: We expect a Chinese recovery to support the JSE

  • Reading time: 4 mins
The managers of the Nedgroup Balanced fund see potential for gains on the JSE off a low base.
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Reg 28 changes: NinetyOne, Coro, and Truffle all unlikely to increase offshore exposure right now

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Local equities remain more attractive than global.
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Morningstar Awards: Pictures of all the winners

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Truffle wins at this year’s Morningstar Awards.
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Where Truffle is finding value

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CIO Iain Power has re-emphasised his view that investors should avoid ‘expensively-priced growth shares’.
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Truffle: You can’t ignore that the war has increased a range of market risks

  • Reading time: 3 mins
Iain Power thinks that risks to economic growth, energy prices and consumer spending have all ‘ratcheted up’.
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Alexander Forbes replaces Foord in its R190bn flagship fund

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Old-school manager replaced by two younger counterparts: Truffle and Aluwani.
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Truffle: Why we’re hot on commodities

  • Reading time: 3 mins
In his latest column, Iain Power looks at the outlook for ‘dirty’ energy and PGM investments.
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Truffle hires quant analyst from Novare as part of ongoing expansion

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After filling six new roles, the asset manager has grown its staff complement to 25.
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Truffle: SA equity opportunities in 2022 lie in the companies that took a Covid hit

  • Reading time: 3 mins
‘We prefer the value side of markets over the growth side.’
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Truffle: The investment themes we’ll be watching in 2022

  • Reading time: 4 mins
In his final column of 2021, Truffle CIO Iain Power looks ahead to the big themes that he believes will shape markets next year.
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‘Our international portfolio remains very stacked to value’

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Laurium and Truffle prefer stocks where prices are supported by good yields and undemanding multiples.
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Truffle: China’s good intentions could be destructive

  • Reading time: 5 mins
In his latest column for Citywire, Truffle's Iain Power looks at the potential impact on Chinese investments after recent announcements from the Chinese government.
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Truffle duo the only SA managers in exclusive global group

  • Reading time: 4 mins
Nicole Agar and Sophié-Marié van Garderen are the only South Africans to make Citywire’s list of top women managers worldwide.
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Truffle: You no longer have to pay up for growth

  • Reading time: 4 mins
In his latest column, Iain Power of Truffle Asset Management, discusses whether we will see real inflation hit our wallets and the implications for the financial markets.
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Truffle: We identified the opportunity before anyone else did

  • Reading time: 5 mins
Portfolio manager Hannes van der Westhuyzen looks at the success of the Truffle SCI Income Plus fund and why he is happy to sit tight through the current cycle.
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Truffle: What the US shift on climate regulation means for investors

  • Reading time: 5 mins
Iain Power looks at the questions investors need to be asking as the US adds its weight to the climate agenda.
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Truffle: Why the yield curve might be the biggest influencer of asset class returns in 2021

  • Reading time: 5 mins
In his latest column Truffle CIO Iain Power looks at why the yield curve really matters this year.
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Truffle: Shift to value is about more than chasing returns

  • Reading time: 6 mins
CIO Iain Power is also aware of the need to manage risk in the current environment.
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Truffle: Does the emerging market rally have legs?

  • Reading time: 5 mins
In his first monthly column for Citywire, Iain Power looks at whether the surge in emerging market equities since the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines is sustainable.
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Stay up to date

Fund literature

February 2025

A fast-evolving global landscape
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January 2025

The South African market rebounds

December 2024

Uncertainty set to continue

November 2024

Trump 2.0

October 2024

Resilience amidst uncertainty
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January 2025

Annual Investor Letter
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August 2024

Mid-year newsletter

February 2024

Annual Investor Letter

August 2023

Mid-year newsletter

March 2023

Board changes and brand refresh
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Truffle has a select range of investments focused on achieving consistent results.

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We aim to keep investors informed on our current thinking.

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