Investec Investec Focus Radio SA

NOW Ep116: Markets in dissonance | What 2025 taught us

Loading player...
The year-end episode of the No Ordinary Wednesday podcast confronts a familiar contradiction: markets that looked buoyant, and an economy that often didn’t. In conversation with our Chief Investment Strategist Chris Holdsworth, we dissect the year’s dissonance and the lessons it leaves behind - above all, that in a noisy world, valuation discipline and diversification remain the investor’s most dependable anchors.

Podcast key moments:

00:00 - Introduction
01:51 - What is the Global Investment Strategy Group (GISG)?
02:59 - What are the core principles that anchor the GISG investment philosophy?
04:20 - What defined global markets in 2025?
06:04 - Why hold back at a time when markets appear optimistic
07:04 - What does the GISG expect for the global economy in 2026?
08:03 - What are the big risks ahead?
08:52 - Outlook for the dollar
09:49 - How should investors be thinking about constructing portfolios
10:14 - What is South Africa’s risk score?
11:10 - How does the GISG investment philosophy guard against behavioural errors?
11:58 - What has 2025 taught you about investing in uncertain times?

Read more on www.investec.com/now

Hosted by seasoned broadcaster, Jeremy Maggs, the No Ordinary Wednesday podcast unpacks the latest economic, business, and political news in South Africa, with an all-star cast of investment and wealth managers, economists and financial planners from Investec. Listen in every second Wednesday for an in-depth look at what's moving markets, shaping the economy, and changing the game for your wallet and your business.
Chapters
  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:51 What is the Global Investment Strategy Group (GISG)?
  • 02:59 What are the core principles that anchor the GISG investment philosophy?
  • 04:20 What defined global markets in 2025?
  • 06:04 Why hold back at a time when markets appear optimistic
  • 07:04 What does the GISG expect for the global economy in 2026?
  • 08:03 What are the big risks ahead?
  • 08:52 Outlook for the dollar
  • 09:49 How should investors be thinking about constructing portfolios
  • 10:14 What is South Africa’s risk score?
  • 11:10 How does the GISG investment philosophy guard against behavioural errors?
  • 11:58 What has 2025 taught you about investing in uncertain times?
2 Dec 2025 English South Africa Business · Investing

Other recent episodes

Macro Monday Ep112: Markets aren’t pricing in ‘stagflation’

Ordinarily, you’d expect an oil shock to lead to not only higher inflation, but also weaker equities and a lower growth outlook. However, markets aren’t pricing in a stagflationary outcome. Chris Holdsworth, Chief Investment Strategist, at Investec Wealth & Investment International, examines this apparent anomaly.
20 Apr 9 min

NOW Ep125: Capital meets reform | Is South Africa investable again?

South Africa’s reform momentum is becoming more visible but so are the constraints that could stall it. In the latest episode of No Ordinary Wednesday, Jeremy Maggs is joined by Rudi Dicks, Head of the Project Management Office in the Presidency; Martin Meyer, Head of Energy and Infrastructure Finance at…
15 Apr 30 min

Macro Monday Ep111: Global growth and inflation outlooks deteriorate

Standing in for Chris Holdsworth, Osagyefo Mazwai discusses the latest on the conflict in Iran, and against this backdrop, signs of deterioration in both growth and inflation in the world’s major economies. While markets are not yet pricing in rate hikes in the US, they are in the Eurozone.
13 Apr 7 min

What Next? Bridging the trust gap

In this episode of What Next?, Professor Mike Kenny (Cambridge) and Jacinta Koolmatrie examine the breakdown of trust between communities and institutions. They discuss how centralised governance and economic shifts have driven local grievances, and argue that rebuilding trust requires sharing power, working at community pace, and supporting locally led…
2 Apr 52 min
All episodes