In this episode of Magic Markets, Mohammed Nalla and The Finance Ghost decided to each choose three companies from the recent research in Magic Market Premium, with the goal being to discuss some of the most interesting insights that came out of each one. Both chose Berkshire Hathaway (predictably), so there were actually only five companies to discuss. Luckily, this left more than enough meat on the table. This podcast highlights some of the best insights from research into Berkshire Hathaway, ...
Jun 25, 2025•28 min•Ep. 230
There's a lot going on in the world right now, giving us a great opportunity to let Moe wax lyrical about the key macroeconomic indicators and trends in the US, Europe, China and Japan. We also touched on markets like the UK and India as part of this world tour. Of course, there's nothing Ghost enjoys more than a share price chart when it comes to the markets, or in this case an index chart going back many years. Looking at the relative returns of these markets over the past 25 years tells quite...
Jun 18, 2025•29 min•Ep. 229
Magic Markets listeners have become familiar with AnBro's approach to building global equity portfolios with different mandates. Titans is just one such example, focusing on an equal-weighted portfolio of best-of-breed stocks across various sectors. With Titans now available on Mesh.Trade's platform alongside the other AnBro offerings, it was the perfect opportunity for Craig Antonie of AnBro to join us to talk about the fund strategy, accompanied by Connie Bloem of Mesh.Trade to talk about the ...
Jun 11, 2025•33 min•Ep. 228
After a few weeks of Formula One races every weekend, many sports fans have been bombarded with two brands: Saudi Aramco and Ferrari. This gave us a great opportunity to talk about both listed companies - from fossil fuels to fast cars! Our view is that Ferrari is without a doubt the better business in terms of brand strength and long-term prospects, but why is that? And just how much does Formula One actually matter to them anyway? This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not fina...
Jun 04, 2025•28 min•Ep. 227
Muofhe Kwinda is a Magic Markets listener who reached out to us because he has an interesting story. He's made the leap from being a financial analyst in the investment space to being an entrepreneur, with business interests in mining and agriculture. We couldn't resist the temptation to tap into what he's learnt by moving from desktop analysis of companies into the "real world" where you can actually taste the effect of working capital pressure. There's a big difference between thinking of a be...
May 28, 2025•22 min•Ep. 226
The US credit downgrade by Moody's wasn't a huge surprise, as they are just playing catch-up to what other ratings agencies already did. The complacency in the market in response to the downgrade is interesting though, as it became the catalyst for us to talk about the dollar as the world's reserve currency. In the same week, a JPMorgan investor day provided an excellent opportunity to dig into the wisdom of not just Jamie Dimon, but CFO Jeremy Barnum as well. Aside from some insights into JPMor...
May 21, 2025•26 min•Ep. 225
After a wonderful year in 2024 for property funds (especially in South Africa), the sector has taken a breather in 2025. That's not surprising given how much things have changed, particularly when you consider that 2024 really did create the perfect opportunity for local REITs. In this review of the sector, we talked about concepts like whether tariffs actually affect property, how yields work in this space and what the effect of inflation is. We looked at yields across the US and South Africa, ...
May 14, 2025•23 min•Ep. 224
In an incredible contrast of wisdom, this episode focuses primarily on insightful comments from Warren Buffett at the latest Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, before ending off with the latest chaos on tariffs - this time, Trump's comments on potential tariffs on the film industry, a sector in which the US enjoys a trade surplus! You can't make this stuff up. Thankfully, we have Buffett's endless wisdom and excellent humour to enjoy, along with his comments on their investment strategy and thei...
May 07, 2025•34 min•Ep. 223
Our very own Mohammed Nalla thought that the recent tariff volatility would be an excellent opportunity to dust off the day trading strategy that worked pretty well during COVID. Unlike the average Instagram influencer, we are all about authenticity here at Magic Markets - and that's why Moe bravely volunteered to dedicate a show to his learnings from the strategy and specifically why it didn't work out as well this time around. The markets are hard and day trading is even harder. This show is p...
Apr 30, 2025•30 min•Ep. 222
As the recent trend in IPOs and delistings on public markets tells us, an increasing number of companies are looking to private markets for their capital raising needs. This means that retail investors are being shut out of these opportunities, which is particularly problematic as these early-stage opportunities usually offer the highest potential returns. Mesh.Trade is committed to increasing access for investors, which is why the platform is designed to enable issuers to raise debt and/or equi...
Apr 23, 2025•35 min•Ep. 221
With markets bouncing around like crazy practically every day at the moment, most of the focus among investors is usually on the equity indices. But what about the bond markets? Aren't they just as important, if not even more important? Does the carry trade play a role? What about foreign ownership of assets, both fixed income and equities? And what is one really important characteristic that investors should consider when looking at buy-the-dip candidates? All this and more in this week's episo...
Apr 16, 2025•24 min•Ep. 220
With the markets all over the place and practically impossible to predict, Moe is busy with a day-trading strategy and Ghost has bought a few dips, ranging from technology through to golf. Is there method in this madness? What is really going on out there? And should we be thinking more and more about China? Volatility can be wild, but it's also a key feature of the markets and a very exciting time for those who like to see action on the screens. In this episode, our passion for the markets real...
Apr 09, 2025•27 min•Ep. 219
The first quarter of the year was an unhappy one for most consumer stocks. Tariffs are top of mind, as is the pressure that many brands have been facing in China. Inflation is a risk and consumer sentiment is weak. Against this backdrop, is there opportunity in this sector, or is it better to sit this one out and let the volatility do its thing? And does it make a difference to look at discretionary vs. defensive stocks? Find out in this episode of Magic Markets.
Apr 02, 2025•20 min•Ep. 218
As we continue to look beyond the US to demonstrate the opportunities available elsewhere in the world, our gaze turns to Africa. Firmly a currencies story, it's all about whether the macroeconomics will improve in 2025. This is what some of the banking groups have predicted, so South African corporates with African exposure will be hoping that this comes to fruition. But which South African listed companies are these? Which ones stand to benefit? And in line with a broader offshore theme for So...
Mar 26, 2025•25 min•Ep. 217
These days, the narrative has shifted from US Exceptionalism to one of punters working through the list of European companies to try and find something exciting to buy. Defence stocks seemed to be where momentum traders found their desired home, with incredible returns in those stocks. But what about the rest of Europe? Is there something there to justify this Europhoria? Are there other place to look, like China? And are you willing to allow Moe to invent the term Amexit? All this and more in t...
Mar 19, 2025•26 min•Ep. 216
Tristanne Farrell isn't shy to admit it: she's mildly obsessed with art. As a Senior Wealth Manager at Investec Wealth & Investment International, her day job is to help clients build diversified, successful portfolios. Thankfully, with art as one of the more interesting (and certainly most visually stimulating) alternative assets out there, she gets to enjoy some overlap between her passion and her career. As the host of the Art in Focus podcast series, part of the excellent Investec Focus ...
Mar 12, 2025•28 min•Ep. 215
If there's one thing the markets taught us recently, it's that gold remains as relevant as ever. Mesh Trade brings you a new way to invest in this store of value, giving you a perfect example of tradition combined with tech. For a limited time, Mesh investors can buy Krugerrands at the best retail price in the market and on a fractional basis using blockchain technology. Mesh also offers a wide range of tokenised financial assets, giving investors a multi-asset solution on a single platform. To ...
Mar 05, 2025•34 min•Ep. 214
Having covered MercadoLibre in Magic Markets Premium this week, we had Latin America on the brain. Combined with the mess around the South African budget speech (or complete lack thereof), this triggered the idea to consider whether the reforms seen in Argentina under Javier Milei could work in South Africa. Moe certainly took this assignment seriously, with a detailed discussion on the approach taken in Argentina and exactly which bits might work in South Africa - and which ones are a step too ...
Feb 26, 2025•23 min•Ep. 213
Wandile Sihlobo is an agricultural economist, an advisor to President Ramaphosa and one of the leading voices in the agriculture space in South Africa. We value his balanced views and his approach to what he does, so we invited Wandile to join us at a time when South Africans are divided rather than united. Dealing with topics like expropriation, the view of Afrikaans commercial farmers in response to the US approrach to offering refugee status, the rate of transformation in land ownership as we...
Feb 19, 2025•36 min•Ep. 212
For companies seeking capital, founders wanting to exit their stake and investors who desire diversification and solid returns, private debt and equity markets offer a vibrant ecosystem. Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us to discuss activity across the capital stack and some of the key trends coming into 2025, as well as the general levels of adoption of this asset class in South Africa and abroad. To learn more about Westbrooke and to connect with the team, visit...
Feb 12, 2025•30 min•Ep. 211
Given the widespread impact on the companies that we follow, it's hard to ignore the geopolitical fires that are raging around Trump and the countries that he has been targeting. Canada, Mexico and now South Africa - is anyone safe? Of course, these issues are nuanced and the relative negotiating power of each country becomes relevant. In this show, we talk about the response of Canada (where Moe has a front-row seat) and Mexico, as well as Ghost's concerns around how this is all coming at a bad...
Feb 05, 2025•27 min•Ep. 210
As we sign off on January, it's been a month of major moves in markets. Globally, the valuation risks in AI were thrust into the spotlight in recent days based on the emergence of DeepSeek. Geopolitical risks are also a major feature of 2025, with some of Trump's recent actions showing that we are in for a bumpy ride. And yet, there are some turnaround stories out there that had a great January. Is the market looking for value opportunities in unusual places based on fear of how far tech has run...
Jan 29, 2025•21 min•Ep. 209
The banking industry is part of the fabric of any economy. This is both good and bad, as success in that sector therefore depends on broader economic activity. This has been the problem for most of the South African banking sector options over the past decade, but could that change in 2025? And what are the key metrics to look out for? With reference to key macro points as well as more granular analysis into banks, we talked about topics ranging from the differences between US and South African ...
Jan 22, 2025•26 min•Ep. 208
Stories like Nike and Walgreens in the international market (both recently covered in Magic Markets Premium), as well as Pick n Pay in South Africa, tend to grab the imagination of investors as they go through a turnaround. In this episode, we start off with some of the key macroeconomic indicators that investors and traders use to assess the health of the retail industry. We then go into the process of a typical turnaround, along with the milestones that are usually seen. Turnarounds in the ret...
Jan 15, 2025•23 min•Ep. 207
To kick off the year, we couldn't resist talking about the major themes that have carried over from 2024 into a new calendar year. US - China relations, interest rates, frothiness in equity valuations - it's all in here, along with a sobering discussion that gives context to the JSE performance last year vs. global alternatives. Get excited about the markets this year in this episode of Magic Markets, with a fast-paced overview of the big stuff that you should be following. This podcast is for i...
Jan 08, 2025•25 min•Ep. 206
In our final free show for the year, we look back on a year that has been dominated by gold and bitcoin, along with US equities that have shot the lights out. We consider a strong finish for China, along with the ongoing disappointment of Europe. And of course, we talked about the positive surprise of South Africa this year and how political change can drive investment returns. As we look forward to another exciting year in the markets in 2025, this is the perfect way to cap off the Year of Elec...
Dec 11, 2024•23 min•Ep. 205
Although the terms blockchain and crypto are often used interchangeably, this hides the diverse use cases for blockchain technology - even in traditional applications like financial markets. On this podcast, Connie Bloem (co-founder and managing director of Mesh.trade) joins regular Magic Markets guest Justine Brophy of AnBro Capital to explain how blockchain technology on Mesh.trade is making it easier for investors to invest in funds managed by AnBro. For more information, visit the AnBro webs...
Dec 04, 2024•30 min•Ep. 204
As the year of global elections draws to a close, Dino Zuccollo of Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management joined us to look back on how global trends impacted the alternative lending space in markets where Westbrooke has a presence: South Africa, the UK and the USA. Covering important topics related to economic activities, portfolio diversification and the impact of decreasing interest rates on structures like senior debt and mezzanine funding, there's much to learn here about the world in whic...
Nov 27, 2024•28 min•Ep. 203
Start your engines has quickly become start your batteries - or has it? Are electric vehicle adoption rates problematic everywhere, or are some companies seeing better adoption than others? Where does this leave hybrids? Where does this leave manufacturers that seem to lack clear strategic direction? Along with a discussion on European vs. American vs. Japanese manufacturer performance, we dealt with all these topics in this episode of Magic Markets. For a whirlwind overview of the automotive se...
Nov 20, 2024•28 min•Ep. 202
With the dust barely settled on the US election, Dimitri Zabelin of Pantheon Insights joined us to bring his international geopolitical lens to the show. We talked about the possible impacts of Trump's economy and social policies on inflation, interest rates and the strength of the US economy. We also talked about a few trade ideas related to the Trump victory, as well as the positioning of Elon Musk in all this. You can connect with Dimitri on X or LinkedIn , or learn more about Pantheon Insigh...
Nov 13, 2024•26 min•Ep. 201
