The theme for 2024 was “the year of elections”. But most notably for our clients and portfolios, the forming of the GNU in South Africa and the re-election of Donald J Trump in the USA. The former gave renewed vigour and optimism to our local economy. This saw the JSE All Share Index gain 13.44% for the year, even after losing some ground in October. But the standout asset class was SA Listed Property, gaining 28.96% for the year (all in ZAR terms). The optimism was not specific to South Africa though, as risk assets performed well in most economies across the world. The MSCI ACWI Index jumped 17.49% in USD terms with the S&P 500 Index returning 28.47% for the year. The global optimism had dampened by December 2024 as the outlook for future rate cuts looks less doveish than most anticipated and the unpredictability of Trump’s presidency making the global market a volatile place heading into 2025.
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