BRENTHURST GLOBAL
BALANCED FUND COMING OF AGE
FIVE years ago we took the bold but audacious step to launch our own global balanced fund. The objective was to create a low-risk global balanced fund for our clients where we can have direct access to the fund managers and understand the investment process they follow.
We were fortunate enough to select Glyn Owen, one of London’s most experienced investment managers to head this fund, together with James Klempster, with a very specific mandate: do not take big risks as most of our clients are conservative investors.
WE ARE PROUD TO REPORT BACK TO YOU THAT THIS FUND HAS COME OF AGE AND IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS HAS BEATEN ITS BENCHMARK BY A SUBSTANTIAL MARGIN AND HAS DELIVERED A RETURN OF 9.37% IN US DOLLARS TERMS. ( YTD 12.45%)
It’s very difficult for any fund to beat its index due to the costs involved and there is no guarantee that this trend will continue, but we are very pleased with the performance of the fund. Even more satisfying is that this fund has beaten the returns of most other global balanced funds on offer by better known local fund managers. Long may this continue.
The Brenthurst Global Balanced Fund (The Fund) is medium risk balanced fund which investsand participates in portfolios which are well diversified in various asset classes such as cash,fixed income, equities, property and commodities. The fund is invested across multi currencies.
It is suited for an investor with a 5 year or longer time horizon.
The fund aims to provide the client with a balance between capital growth and preservation over the full investment cycle in local currency terms with a very low management fee of just 1.63%.
PORTFOLIO COMMENTARY:
The benign conditions we saw during the first quarter of the year continued through the second quarter. However most risk assets again made good upward progress. Volatility remained low, and equities and credit materially outperformed government bonds. Since the post Brexit referendum lows of mid 2016 equity markets have returned around 20%, taking a number of developed equity markets, including the US, to all-time highs.
With inflation low, debt levels high and confidence in the sustainability of the recovery still fragile, central banks maintained exceptionally loose policy. This combination of factors – accelerating growth, low inflation, few if any signs of excess or credit fuelled booms, and loose monetary policy – proved favourable for risk assets.
Developed equities, measured by the MSCI World index, returned 4.7% over the quarter, led this time by Japan and Asia, and emerging markets returned 4.9%, driven by Asia. Bond markets were also mostly in positive territory, US Treasuries returning 1.6% and corporate bonds 2-2.5%.
The fund manager’s preference for equities and credit over government bonds was therefore positive for performance over the quarter. Within equity, emerging markets outperformed developed markets and hence our current bias towards the latter was also positive, as was their positioning in the UK, Europe and Japan, all of which outperformed the US market in dollar terms.
Finally, looking at the underlying managers they have selected in the Fund, manager selection was positive overall and the majority of their equity managers outperformed their reference benchmarks during the second quarter in 2017, with Crux, our European equity manager, returning +13.7% in US dollar terms compared to +10.5% for the European equity market.
THE FUND MANAGER LOOKING FORWARD:
There are risks ahead: high global debt levels, China’s credit bubble, forces of populism and nationalism – all of which have been ongoing over the past 12 months. For the first time since the crisis however, we are now at the stage of the cycle where an unwinding of ultra-loose monetary policy is no longer speculation but reality.
The Fed is already tightening and the ECB has made its first move with a reduction in monthly asset purchases, with more certainty to follow. This process is likely to be a key determinant of short term market moves; too much tightening would cut short the expansion and damage markets, too little could let in the inflationary problem that excess liquidity in previous cycles has triggered. At the same time valuations of most assets are at historically high levels, leaving markets vulnerable to a correction in the short term.
However, the fundamentals for the global economy are good, the economic recovery generally is broadening on what appears to be a sustainable basis, and tightening of monetary policy from current very loose levels will be gradual. We therefore expect this cycle to be sustained for some considerable time ahead, supporting equities over bonds.
Megan joined the Brenthurst Wealth team in March 2026 as an Administrative and Fiduciary Services Assistant at our Val de Vie Office in the Western Cape. Prior to joining Brenthurst, Megan gained three years of experience in the retail sector, where she developed management and client service skills.
I obtained my National Diploma in Financial Information Systems from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 1999 and have worked in the wealth management industry since January 2000. Over the years, I have gained extensive experience in various roles, including Portfolio Manager Assistant, Planner Assistant, and Paraplanner.
Esmarelda Isaacs-Andreas joined the Brenthurst Wealth Stellenbosch office in October 2025, taking on the dual role of Receptionist and Fiduciary Administrator.
I obtained my National Diploma in Financial Information Systems from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 1999 and have worked in the wealth management industry since January 2000. Over the years, I have gained extensive experience in various roles, including Portfolio Manager Assistant, Planner Assistant, and Paraplanner.
Ashley joined Brenthurst Wealth in January 2025 as Office Administrative Assistant and Receptionist for the Stellenbosch Office.
René Heystek joined Brenthurst Wealth in November 2023, as receptionist and administrative assistant in the newly established George/Garden Route office.
Michelle Heystek has built a career in the financial services over the last two decades, after obtaining her B.Com degree in Financial Management in 2005. Once she joined Brenthurst in 2006, she continued her academic journey, obtaining her Certificate in Wealth Management from INSETA in 2007, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning from the University of the Free State. In 2008, she earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation.
Anelle joined Brenthurst Wealth as a Receptionist and Administrative Assistant to Brian Butchart in the Cape Town office in December 2023. She has a wealth of knowledge from working as a liaison between Financial Advisers and clients at TMA and Absa Investment Management Services (Aims) since 1998. She obtained her B. com degree from the University of Port Elizabeth in 1997.
ADMITTED ATTORNEY | FINANCIAL PLANNER & HEAD OF BRENTHURST FOURWAYS
Sanet was appointed in April 2020, joining our Cape Town team as an Executive Administration Assistant to Renee Eagar. She has been in the financial services industry since 1990. Her previous experience includes positions at Sanlam, BJM and ABSA. She spent her last 12 years working at Alexander Forbes Private Client Wealth as a Senior Wealth Management Assistant. She has received numerous accolades over the years which include but not limited to, Alexander Forbes Client Service Excellence – Silver award in 2014,2015 and 2017. Sanet has also obtained her Certificate in Wealth Management (NQF 5) in 2012 and achieved “Best Student of the Year” from Moonstone.
Maria Smit is a Certified Financial Planner® with over 10 years of experience in the financial planning industry.
