2019/09/16 00:00:00

SA equities, represented by the FTSE/ JSE Dividend Plus Index, rose by 2.08% in the the second quarter of 2019. The Rand strengthened by 2.86% against the U.S. Dollar for the period. The Fund has performed in line with the index as it mirrors the constituents of the index.
South African equity markets continued their positive momentum in the second quarter of 2019. The JSE Allshare TR index was up 3.92%, with the financial sector being the star performer returning just over 7% over the quarter. Stable inflation, a positive election result and a dovish bias on the repo rate was positives for the market. A fresh accounting scandal at Tongaat Hulett, weak economic growth, 5G spectrum and unemployment are major detractors of performance. SA reported a surprise 3.2% QoQ annualised decline in GDP in the first quarter, which is the biggest quarterly fall in economic activity since the first quarter of 2009.
Global markets had positive second quarter of 2019 despite renewed trade war tension in May. The MSCI Word Index was up 1.03% and the MSCI EM Index was down 2.14% over the quarter. South Africa was one of the best performing emerging markets during the quarter even though it lagged behind developed markets performance. Gold and the precious metals sub-sector gained ground due to global growth uncertainty.
The fund tracks the performance of the FTSE/JSE Dividend Plus Index containing 30 high dividend paying shares.