Allan Gray Money Market

Personal Finance (Independent Newspaper), Saturday National October 4, 2008, p. 3

If you have established a balanced portfolio with investments in a range of asset classes, the balance between asset classes is likely to be out to chat after the sharp recent fall in stock prices. It is time to rebalance by moving some money from, for example, liquidity in the shares?

Andrew Bradley, CEO of ACSIS, and Paul Stewart, CEO of Plexus Group, both said that we should be to rebalance your portfolio to ensure that the asset allocation is appropriate for you to meet your long-term objectives and matches your risk profile and investment horizon.

"This will significantly reduce your risk of long term and will offer greater certainty of your declarations," said Bradley. Stewart says that the value of the shares are currently down, you should consider rebalancing your portfolio today. He says you should maintain a diversified portfolio to minimize your risks and not base your asset allocation decisions solely on the fears and market rumors. Stewart also says you should remember that equities remain the key to long-term growth.

Jeremy Gardiner, director at Investec Asset Management, has a different view on rebalancing your portfolio. He said that because the markets are currently very volatile and should remain so for some time, you should not make any drastic rebalancing that things calm down. selling shares after the purchase and collapsed after running two of the most common errors committed by investors, he warns. Denzil Burger, a senior portfolio manager at Old Mutual Investment Group South Africa (Omigsa), said Omigsa encourages most investors have an investment professional to manage changes to their asset allocation by investing in diversified portfolios of asset allocation.

Urvesh Desai, an assistant portfolio manager at investment boutique strategy Omigsa macro, you said, as an average investor should not try to time the markets.

If you invest in an actively managed portfolio or fund, fund managers, who are experts with access to more and better information than what you have access, will be able to make appropriate decisions and asset allocation for you. Allan Gray does not make asset allocation calls, but follows a bottom-up "funds for its asset allocation. This means that its fund managers look for assets that offer the best value a horizon of three to five years and buy whatever the asset class.

Johan de Lange, general manager Allan Gray Unit Trusts, says Allan Gray can not therefore rebalance its portfolio, but is always looking for opportunities to add value to their portfolios.

However, De Lange said he would warn against "try this at home" because it requires a thorough analysis and stock picking skills.

Currently, Allan Gray Balanced Fund has an exposure of 61 percent for local action and exposure of 14.4 percent for foreign equities. - Laura du Preez