Simon’s weekly wrap: Making the right selection

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

I chatted with Jonathan Brummer from RisCura about benchmarks and the importance of selecting the right one. He commented that CPI+ and peer-based benchmarks are not very useful. Rather, he suggests using proper equity indices and ensuring that they fit your risk profile and requirements (read the transcript).

Tharisa had another good year and I spoke with CEO Phoevos Pouroulis about its annual results to end September. It’s expanding into Zimbabwe which will in time double its platinum group metals production. I also asked about chrome demand, especially out of China, which Pouroulis says is robust as port stocks remain low (read the transcript).

Kevin Brady is the CEO of the relatively new exchange, A2X, and I chatted with him about regulatory developments assisting his business. We also talked about the process and costs of getting a new company to take a secondary listing on the A2X (read the transcript).

Roland Gräbe of Old Mutual Wealth helped me understand the role of discretionary fund managers (DFMs) and how using indexing as a core portfolio tool enables you to take on riskier and more volatile assets as well. With a passive core you have strong expectations and riskier assets can add return without making the portfolio overly risky (read the transcript).

Also this week:

Ricki Allardice of upnup discusses how the profusion of crypto fraud is tainting legit companies. He advises investors to stay away from altcoins, and hold their Bitcoin in their own self-custody (read the transcript).