Ghost Stories

Due diligence is often described as "doing your own research" before an acquisition, but the reality is far more complex. In this episode of Ghost Stories, The Finance Ghost is joined by Althea Soobyah, Bongiwe Mbunge and Johan Marais from Forvis Mazars to unpack what a modern due diligence process really looks like. From financial and tax diligence through to ESG and HR considerations, the discus...

Volatility feels like risk. The daily noise, the red screens, the uncomfortable drawdowns - these are the stress points for investors. This is what might keep you out of the market altogether. But what if the real risk was avoiding the markets over the long-term, rather than managing the bumps along the way? In this episode, Satrix CIO Kingsley Williams joins The Finance Ghost to unpack one of the...

The Finance Ghost sits down with Tokollo Tau from Nedbank CIB to unpack how South Africa’s energy landscape is evolving beyond the dark days of load shedding. What once felt like a permanent crisis has receded into the background, but the real story now is what’s being built in its place (like power wheeling and aggregation). Against the backdrop of the Africa Energy Forum, the conversation explor...

The Finance Ghost welcomes Altron CEO Werner Kapp fresh off a standout capital markets day that left a strong impression: this is a business whose growth story isn’t tightly tethered to South Africa’s traditional economic constraints. From FinTech and HealthTech to telematics and IT security, Altron operates a portfolio of platform businesses that quietly underpin everyday life, even if most consu...

In this episode of Ghost Stories , The Finance Ghost sits down with Investec’s Brian McMillan, fresh off collecting the “Best Issuer in Africa” award in Stockholm on behalf of the Investec Structured Products team. The team's product innovation and ability to earn a place for structured products in modern portfolios is being increasingly recognised. The latest such product example is the Investec...

In this episode of Ghost Stories , we welcome Old Mutual Investment Group to the platform for the first time. The Finance Ghost sits down with Maahir Jakoet, lead manager of the Old Mutual Global Islamic Equity Fund, to look back on a decade of top quartile performance. As part of Old Mutual Investment Group’s Championing the Unseen campaign, this podcast lifts the lid on how Shari’ah-compliant in...

In this episode of Ghost Stories , I was joined by Satrix’s Nico Katzke to unpack a global market that feels eerily calm in the face of rising risk. From Middle East tensions and the growing threat of energy disruption to the curious resilience of equity markets, the conversation explores whether investors are underpricing just how fragile the current environment really is. With oil prices climbin...

In this episode of Ghost Stories , The Finance Ghost goes beyond the headline numbers and gets under the hood of WeBuyCars with Deputy CEO Wynand Beukes and CFO Chris Rein. Instead of rehashing the latest earnings, the conversation focuses on what really matters: how the business is adapting to a rapidly shifting automotive market, from the rise of Chinese brands to increasing pressure on pricing...

Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Richard Stewart has stepped into the top job at a time when the company is printing money in its gold and PGM operations. But success during the favourable times in the cycle is driven by what a mining company does  through  the cycle. From cost control measures through to strategic commodity investments, there are many strategies that Sibanye-Stillwater uses to create long-...

Reeza Isaacs is the newly appointed CEO of SPAR. As hot seats go, this one is warmer than a freshly-baked bread at your local store. With plenty of experience in difficult retail settings, Isaacs is excited for the challenge. He believes strongly in the independent retail model that forms the underpin of the SPAR wholesale business. Through a focused strategy on Ireland and South Africa, SPAR is c...

In this episode of Ghost Stories , we get stuck into the world of fixed income - a space that retail investors often overlook in favour of equities. Yusuf Wadee of Satrix concurs with  The Finance Ghost's cricket analogy: fixed income returns act as the singles that keep the scoreboard ticking over. But that doesn't mean that investors should default to low-yield cash accounts. Veteran fixed-incom...

At Forvis Mazars in South Africa, the team is actively working on AI-driven solutions for clients. Shane Cooper (Head of Digital Advisory) is spearheading this effort, with one of the applications of this technology being in the portfolio management space. Institutional investors with complex structures face multiple challenges in managing their investments. As Shane explains in this podcast, it's...

Private markets are playing a growing role in global investing. Private equity, private credit, infrastructure and private property investments are a significant part of economic activity. And with more companies remaining private for longer, investors will need to look deeper for the opportunities of tomorrow. These markets come with challenges related to daily price discovery, liquidity and due...

The ocean is a mystical place that has captured our imagination as a species for as long as anyone can remember. And although there are many fish in the sea, unlocking that resource in a sustainable and profitable way really isn’t that simple. Sea Harvest has signed off on an incredible year that demonstrates the depth of the strategy - quite literally. The way they think about the various seafood...

Get ready for a masterclass in retail from Pieter Engelbrecht, CEO of South Africa's largest employer. If you're ready to learn about the secrets to Shoprite's success, you're in the right place. It starts with the culture and commitment to delivering value to customers. You can then add the power of investment in data and systems, creating the foundation for an omnichannel model that has position...

South Africa’s 2026 Budget Speech announced a mix of bold, interesting and ultimately positive changes - especially for small businesses and South African investors. With pro-business policies that signal economic stability, could this be a turning point for the country? Described affectionately by Tertius Troost (Associate Director - Tax Consulting at Forvis Mazars) as a "boring" budget, this is...

The team at Satrix has clearly been busy. They've launched two brand new ETFs to help South Africans tweak their exposure to offshore markets. If you're ready to learn more about Europe and Japan, then you're in the right place. Why does it matter? For most South African investors, offshore exposure is really just a proxy for US tech names. It's hard to avoid this outcome, as Big Tech has been the...

Ian Norden, CEO of Intengo Market, returns to Ghost Stories to talk about the sector of the market that he is passionate about: listed and private credit. Corporate credit (or "debt" from the company perspective) is a key source of funding for companies and can drive higher returns for equity investors if used properly. For investors in these credit instruments, optimising yield and risk are key. ...

The first Ghost Stories podcast in 2026 opens the door to global property investments with Satrix. In this lively and insightful discussion with Lauren Jacobs, Senior Portfolio Manager at Satrix, you'll learn about how Satrix is broadening the range of property investment opportunities for investors. Aside from a discussion on the various property strategies followed by investors (ranging from buy...

In the year 2000, a lot happened. There was some questionable pop music. There was also the Dot-Com Crisis, followed by a period that saw incredible equity returns in South Africa until the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2007/2008. And during that important period in our local market, we also saw the emergence and initial growth of ETFs in South Africa, spearheaded by Satrix. To reflect on 25 year...

Cell C has been on quite the adventure in its efforts to carve out a sustainable competitive position. The telcos space can be brutal, with historically high levels of capital investment required to compete. This has thankfully changed, with Cell C having created a profitable business model that goes well beyond the MVNO operations that the market tends to focus on. In this podcast, CEO Jorge Mend...

As we look back on a fascinating year in the markets, Nico Katzke (Head of Portfolio Solutions at Satrix) delivered a fantastic mix of insights on this podcast that can be applied to your strategy in 2026 and beyond. For example, it's so important not to learn the  wrong  lessons from a particular investment or observation. It's also important to avoid complexity for the sake of complexity - if th...

Sirius Real Estate is a great example of a JSE-listed property fund that gives local investors a chance to participate in offshore markets. With a strategy focused on the UK and Germany, Sirius follows an “always-on” mentality to the opportunities in those markets. Whether following megatrends like defence spending and the further industrialisation of the German economy, or being open to opportuni...

DIY investing is all the rage and certainly has a place in the market, but so does financial advice. As a new generation of investors power through the market and look to build on the knowledge and wealth gained in recent years, there’s an opportunity to pause and consider whether it wouldn’t be better to do this with a broader financial plan in place. After all, you might love decorating a home,...

A decade ago, barely anyone you knew would even have heard of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, let alone blockchain technology. But today, the tokenisation of digital assets is so important that regulators around the world are paying increasing attention to it.  Dr Wiehann Olivier is passionate about the financial guardrails that need to be in place for digital asset adoption to increase. Having comple...