Magic Markets

After a wonderful year in 2024 for property funds (especially in South Africa), the sector has taken a breather in 2025. That's not surprising given how much things have changed, particularly when you consider that 2024 really did create the perfect opportunity for local REITs. In this review of the sector, we talked about concepts like whether tariffs actually affect property, how yields work in...

In an incredible contrast of wisdom, this episode focuses primarily on insightful comments from Warren Buffett at the latest Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, before ending off with the latest chaos on tariffs - this time, Trump's comments on potential tariffs on the film industry, a sector in which the US enjoys a trade surplus! You can't make this stuff up. Thankfully, we have Buffett's endless...

Our very own Mohammed Nalla thought that the recent tariff volatility would be an excellent opportunity to dust off the day trading strategy that worked pretty well during COVID. Unlike the average Instagram influencer, we are all about authenticity here at Magic Markets - and that's why Moe bravely volunteered to dedicate a show to his learnings from the strategy and specifically why it didn't wo...

As the recent trend in IPOs and delistings on public markets tells us, an increasing number of companies are looking to private markets for their capital raising needs. This means that retail investors are being shut out of these opportunities, which is particularly problematic as these early-stage opportunities usually offer the highest potential returns. Mesh. Trade is committed to increasing ac...

With markets bouncing around like crazy practically every day at the moment, most of the focus among investors is usually on the equity indices. But what about the bond markets? Aren't they just as important, if not even more important? Does the carry trade play a role? What about foreign ownership of assets, both fixed income and equities? And what is one really important characteristic that inve...

With the markets all over the place and practically impossible to predict, Moe is busy with a day-trading strategy and Ghost has bought a few dips, ranging from technology through to golf. Is there method in this madness? What is really going on out there? And should we be thinking more and more about China? Volatility can be wild, but it's also a key feature of the markets and a very exciting tim...

The first quarter of the year was an unhappy one for most consumer stocks. Tariffs are top of mind, as is the pressure that many brands have been facing in China. Inflation is a risk and consumer sentiment is weak. Against this backdrop, is there opportunity in this sector, or is it better to sit this one out and let the volatility do its thing? And does it make a difference to look at discretiona...

As we continue to look beyond the US to demonstrate the opportunities available elsewhere in the world, our gaze turns to Africa. Firmly a currencies story, it's all about whether the macroeconomics will improve in 2025. This is what some of the banking groups have predicted, so South African corporates with African exposure will be hoping that this comes to fruition. But which South African liste...

These days, the narrative has shifted from US Exceptionalism to one of punters working through the list of European companies to try and find something exciting to buy. Defence stocks seemed to be where momentum traders found their desired home, with incredible returns in those stocks. But what about the rest of Europe? Is there something there to justify this Europhoria? Are there other place to...

Tristanne Farrell isn't shy to admit it: she's mildly obsessed with art. As a Senior Wealth Manager at Investec Wealth & Investment International, her day job is to help clients build diversified, successful portfolios. Thankfully, with art as one of the more interesting (and certainly most visually stimulating) alternative assets out there, she gets to enjoy some overlap between her passion a...

If there's one thing the markets taught us recently, it's that gold remains as relevant as ever. Mesh Trade brings you a new way to invest in this store of value, giving you a perfect example of tradition combined with tech. For a limited time, Mesh investors can buy Krugerrands at the best retail price in the market and on a fractional basis using blockchain technology. Mesh also offers a wide ra...

Having covered MercadoLibre in Magic Markets Premium this week, we had Latin America on the brain. Combined with the mess around the South African budget speech (or complete lack thereof), this triggered the idea to consider whether the reforms seen in Argentina under Javier Milei could work in South Africa. Moe certainly took this assignment seriously, with a detailed discussion on the approach t...

Wandile Sihlobo is an agricultural economist, an advisor to President Ramaphosa and one of the leading voices in the agriculture space in South Africa. We value his balanced views and his approach to what he does, so we invited Wandile to join us at a time when South Africans are divided rather than united. Dealing with topics like expropriation, the view of Afrikaans commercial farmers in respons...

For companies seeking capital, founders wanting to exit their stake and investors who desire diversification and solid returns, private debt and equity markets offer a vibrant ecosystem. Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us to discuss activity across the capital stack and some of the key trends coming into 2025, as well as the general levels of adoption of this asset...

Given the widespread impact on the companies that we follow, it's hard to ignore the geopolitical fires that are raging around Trump and the countries that he has been targeting. Canada, Mexico and now South Africa - is anyone safe? Of course, these issues are nuanced and the relative negotiating power of each country becomes relevant. In this show, we talk about the response of Canada (where Moe...

As we sign off on January, it's been a month of major moves in markets. Globally, the valuation risks in AI were thrust into the spotlight in recent days based on the emergence of DeepSeek. Geopolitical risks are also a major feature of 2025, with some of Trump's recent actions showing that we are in for a bumpy ride. And yet, there are some turnaround stories out there that had a great January. I...

The banking industry is part of the fabric of any economy. This is both good and bad, as success in that sector therefore depends on broader economic activity. This has been the problem for most of the South African banking sector options over the past decade, but could that change in 2025? And what are the key metrics to look out for? With reference to key macro points as well as more granular an...

Stories like Nike and Walgreens in the international market (both recently covered in Magic Markets Premium), as well as Pick n Pay in South Africa, tend to grab the imagination of investors as they go through a turnaround. In this episode, we start off with some of the key macroeconomic indicators that investors and traders use to assess the health of the retail industry. We then go into the proc...

To kick off the year, we couldn't resist talking about the major themes that have carried over from 2024 into a new calendar year. US - China relations, interest rates, frothiness in equity valuations - it's all in here, along with a sobering discussion that gives context to the JSE performance last year vs. global alternatives. Get excited about the markets this year in this episode of Magic Mark...

In our final free show for the year, we look back on a year that has been dominated by gold and bitcoin, along with US equities that have shot the lights out. We consider a strong finish for China, along with the ongoing disappointment of Europe. And of course, we talked about the positive surprise of South Africa this year and how political change can drive investment returns. As we look forward...

Although the terms blockchain and crypto are often used interchangeably, this hides the diverse use cases for blockchain technology - even in traditional applications like financial markets. On this podcast, Connie Bloem (co-founder and managing director of Mesh.trade) joins regular Magic Markets guest Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital to explain how blockchain technology on Mesh.trade is making it...

As the year of global elections draws to a close, Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us to look back on how global trends impacted the alternative lending space in markets where Westbrooke has a presence: South Africa, the UK and the USA. Covering important topics related to economic activities, portfolio diversification and the impact of decreasing interest rates on s...

Start your engines has quickly become start your batteries - or has it? Are electric vehicle adoption rates problematic everywhere, or are some companies seeing better adoption than others? Where does this leave hybrids? Where does this leave manufacturers that seem to lack clear strategic direction? Along with a discussion on European vs. American vs. Japanese manufacturer performance, we dealt w...

With the dust barely settled on the US election, Dimitri Zabelin of Pantheon Insights joined us to bring his international geopolitical lens to the show. We talked about the possible impacts of Trump's economy and social policies on inflation, interest rates and the strength of the US economy. We also talked about a few trade ideas related to the Trump victory, as well as the positioning of Elon M...

With most of the big names in tech having just released earnings around the same time as US elections, there's so much to consider in the market. We steered clear of the politics for now, focusing on the key drivers of the Magnificent 7 (and Netflix!) and how we are positioned in these stocks. As our subscribers in Magic Markets Premium know, we don't always agree on the stocks that we cover. Ther...