IT'S TIME TO VENTURE OFFSHORE

Could it be that American retail giant Walmart is eyeing South Africa's Masmart? The notion is far from preposterous said Alphen Asset Management's fund manager Greg Hopkins who, with CEO Adrian Clayton, presented an overview of global investment opportunities at the Victoria Country Club last night. Using the overseas retail sector to highlight the underpriced value of some global equities, Hopkins said multinational chains like UK-based Tesco and Walmart offer excellent investor value, and feature in their investment portfolios. Other attractive stocks are Otis, Guinness, John Deere, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson that share a global presence, sound track record, consistent growth, and a low price/earnings ratio. Clayton and Hopkins said the poor performance of overseas equities the past 10 years point to anticipated growth going forward. To this end, Alphen Asset launched its own fund, the PSG Global Fund, to capitalise on investment opportunities, said Hopkins, adding that strategic partners Finplanning.com and Sandy Wingfield-Turner and Associates are helping to roll it out. Speaking of currencies, Hopkins said any firm prognosis on likely movement is virtually impossible. “The behaviour of the Rand is a case in point; we can speculate about the flow of money into resource-rich markets like here, or its 20% overvaluation, but it doesn't explain its continued strength,” he said.

(L-R) Steve Ikin (Finplanning.com), Sandy Wingfield-Turner (SWT&A), Adrian Clayton (Alphen Asset Management), and Greg Hopkins (Alphen Asset Management).