FACING 2023 WITH CONFIDENCE AND CLARITY
Firstly, on behalf of the directors, managers and staff at Warwick Wealth, may I wish you and your loved ones a very happy and prosperous 2023. As always, Warwick will be with you every step of the way throughout the year.
Before casting forward, let’s review local and international financial market performance for 2022. International markets ended 2022 on a softer note, with most international indices ending December lower, although still providing a positive fourth quarter return to cap a volatile year. The volatility was dominated by a combination of the aggressive hiking of interest rates, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the continuing spectre of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resurgence of cases in China. Global inflation rates have shown signs of peaking, however, which has led to less hawkish central bank comments and action.
The South African markets also trended weaker during December – down 2.4% – which constitutes a swift turnaround from the almost 13% gain made in November and delivering a decline of 0.9% for the year. The best performing index for the month was property, closing up 0.6%, yet down 7.3% for the year, while financials were weaker by 5.3% for the month, but still higher by 5% for the year.
As always, Warwick will keep a vigilant watch on global and local economic developments throughout the coming year, as well as maintaining a close watching brief on political developments within South Africa. In this regard, should you have any query or question of any nature, please contact your personal wealth specialist directly, or call us on our toll-free client care number: 0800 50 50 50.
Until next time, we wish you a great start to 2023.
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