ESG: Quantifying impact and avoiding green washing
The groundbreaking research by EY into the “Social return on impact” produced by the Live Easy affordable rental housing brand, makes for interesting reading in this article in the prestigious Today’s Trustee, written by Tshepiso Appie, Investment Associate at Mergence Investment Managers.
Telkom to use R6,75 bn Swiftnet cash to cut debt and invest further
Commenting on Telkom’s sale of its masts and towers business Swifnet, Mergence Investment Managers Head of Equities Peter Takaendesa said the deal would give Telkom a debt relief “breather” although shareholders would not likely see any of the proceeds.
What are opinion polls telling us about the SA general election?
2024 is set to be the year of elections. Time Magazine reports that at least 64 countries, representing about half of the world’s population, will hold elections this year. This, of course, includes South Africa, and with less than three months until South Africa goes to the polls in the 2024 general election, we take […]
Telkom to sell tower business to global investment firm and Royal Bafokeng for nearly R7 bn
What will Telkom do with its towers disposal windfall? Mergence Investment Managers Head of Equities Peter Takaendesa says debt reduction and capex will both be positives, even if shareholders don’t get a dividend.
Due diligence: A social return on impact for an affordable housing investment
In this podcast on Classic Business, well-known anchor Michael Avery talks to Tshepiso Appie, Investment Associate at Mergence Investment Managers, and Jeffrey Froome, co-founder of the Live Easy affordable rental housing lifestyle brand. They discuss the EY research report commissioned to quantify the social return on impact (SRIO).
Thank goodness for rooftop solar
The chart below shows the growth of South Africa’s rooftop solar installed capacity since 2022 and compares it to installed capacity for solar and wind (independent power producers) IPPs over the past five years. The growth of rooftop solar has been very rapid, so much so that we estimate that it is currently responsible for […]
Forecasting equity returns without forecasting
The famous American baseball coach Yogi Berra is often quoted as saying “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future”. But any investment decision is inherently a prediction about the future. By buying one asset over another you are predicting that that asset will outperform the other. But predicting the future is hard, so can […]
Mergence Lesotho Making An Impact
Making an impact in Lesotho. An article was published in Lesotho Times, showing the growth of the Mergence Lesotho team and also the impact created both by ourselves in various investments and the impact on communities created by investee companies in terms of their corporate social investment.
An update on the USDZAR
The Rand has weakened by about 80 cents to the US dollar since the beginning of the year. With an upcoming election, the resurgence of load shedding, the recent budget speech, and uncertainty over the timing of Fed interest rate cuts, it is difficult to attribute moves in the currency to domestic or global factors. […]
Budget 2024 | Perspectives
By Fabian de Beer, Chief Risk Officer, Mergence Investment Managers The Finance Minister presented the 2024 Budget last week within the most challenging and difficult economic and socio-political environment, possibly since 1994. He had to strive for a delicate balance, tackling difficult fiscal choices after more than a decade of low growth. Given weak growth […]
SROI study for an affordable housing investment
The SAVCA Conference is a highlight of the investment services calendar. This year, an article from Mergence was carried in the conference magazine. It focused on the Live Easy investee company where Mergence and Live Easy commissioned EY to do a first-of-its-kind report in SA on quantifying the social return on impact created by this […]
SAFM Market Update
SABC TV Market Update – as a regular commentator, Mergence CIO Brad Preston gave his views on the markets in general, including the concentration of US tech stocks, prospective Fed rates cuts, US-Sino relations and more. The Sasol share price drop was also discussed, as well as the outlook for other stocks.
