Rob Formby
Articles by Rob Formby
2022 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
Over the past quarter, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has dominated our minds, eclipsing lingering COVID-19 concerns and increasing the inflationary heat that h...
2021 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
I was recently reminded about a project initiated in 2014 by Scottish artist Katie Paterson. Termed “Future Library”, the aim is that a famous author will...
2021 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
Even as vaccine roll-outs gather pace globally, and some countries begin to open up, the “what happens next?” question looms large. According to the World...
2021 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
I write this during a devastating week for South Africa, with looting and riots in KZN and Gauteng destroying businesses and livelihoods. The rule of law and...
2021 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
A lot can happen in a year. Twelve months ago, we put the Quarterly Commentary together under Level 5 lockdown. Most of our employees were working from home,...
2020 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
There seem to be fewer articles in mainstream media this year encouraging people to set goals for the year ahead. With COVID-19 prevailing, it feels less lik...
2020 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
As the economy opens under lockdown Level 1, we are starting to see a return to normality, while keeping a close watch on what is happening around the globe....
2020 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
When I wrote my comments in mid-April, we were just about one month into lockdown. We have now passed 100 days, with the health and economic crises leaving a...
Investment team update
We take this opportunity to bid farewell to some of our investment team colleagues and announce a number of resultant promotions.
2020 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
This is the 80th edition of our Quarterly Commentary, which was launched in the first quarter of 2000. Each issue has been printed and sent to you via post o...
Allan Gray will continue to operate during the COVID-19 lockdown
Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of a 21-day country-wide lockdown as of midnight on 26 March 2020, we would like to reassure you that Alla...
Our commitment to business continuity during COVID-19
With so much uncertainty in the markets as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we recognise the importance of being available to our clients.
2019 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
This issue of our Quarterly Commentary is dedicated to our founder, Allan William Buchanan Gray, who sadly passed away in November. He lived a life of purpos...
2019 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
I recently attended a presentation by trend analyst Dion Chang. He spoke passionately about the way the world is transforming as industries digitise and...
2019 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
You’ve probably heard the saying, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. This modern proverb is as true for investing as it is for you...
Investors need to block out 'noise' ahead of elections
It is understandable for investors to feel jittery in the run-up to the national elections, but giving too much air time to market noise is never a good idea...
2019 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
The first quarter of 2019 was characterised by a lot of “noise”: political noise as parties gear up for the general elections, noise generated by our energy...
2018 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
2018 was a difficult year for local investors, with the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI) delivering -8.5%.This result caught many investors off guard as 2017...
2018 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
A lot can happen in 20 years. The iPhone was introduced in 2007, 11 years ago. Facebook and WhatsApp, which started in 2004 and 2009 respectively, have been...
Steinhoff class action
Allan Gray, along with other South African institutions, is participating in a class action case being run in the Netherlands by Dutch law firm BarentsKrans ...
2018 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer
This is my first issue of Quarterly Commentary in my new role as chief operating officer. I am excited and privileged to help lead Allan Gray forward,...
Thinking about your view of risk
Our primary concern as an investment manager is creating wealth for clients. To do this, we need to balance investment performance for clients with the risk...
Don't let good news headlines thwart your savings plans
Positive sentiment in the country is being fuelled by a change in political leadership, the stronger rand, a higher-than-expected GDP growth rate and a more...
Making sense of unit trust categories and intentions
We aim to ensure that our range of funds offers enough choice to meet your needs but remains manageable, without being confusing or creating too much overlap...
A balancing act
We have written at length about the perils of switching and trying to time the market, noting how investor behaviour plays an important role in investor...
Delayed gratification is priceless
Acknowledging your future financial needs and making concrete plans to meet these is a discipline that will benefit you and your family enormously. It is the...
Questions for personal investing
Rob Formby suggests five questions you may want to ask regarding your personal investments. Every person's situation is unique, so the list is not exhaustive...
Capital Gains Tax and how it affects unit trust investors
At Allan Gray, we focus on managing your investments. We acknowledge that there are important aspects of investing - such as tax on your investments - that a...
