The South African All Bond Index (ALBI) gained a mediocre 51 basis points (bps) during the month of September with the R186 and R2030 bond yields widening by 10 and 6.5 bps respectively. Local equties, represented by the Top 40 total return, experienced a large intra-month swing rising by as much as 5.76% mid-month only to end the month flat at 1 bp positive. STEFI returned 59 bps for the month.

The Fairtree Albi Plus Prescient Fund tracked its benchmark well, ending the month 49 bps positive and underperforming its benchmark by a mere 2 bps. While the shorter term bonds in the ALBI benchmark struggled, the negative impacts on the index were somewhat minimised by the longer term bonds holding their own.

Looking forward, we continue to focus on tracking the interest rate risks of the ALBI benchmark whilst additionally searching for credit opportunities.