Coronation still sees long-term value in SA equities despite Russia fears, battered economy

Long-term focused asset manager Coronation says while SA's savings pool continues to shrink and load shedding batters small and large firms alike, it still is seeing value in local equities, given many JSE-listed companies have strong management teams.

Coronation - which hasn't seen net inflows since 2014, and whose shares have halved over the past five years - reported a 97% crash in its profits for its half-year to end-March, hit by a provision stemming from a tax dispute with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) that will likely take years to resolve.

The group saw R28 billion in net outflows in its six months to end-March, and didn't pay an interim dividend. But it grew its assets under management 9% to R623 billion - a performance CEO Anton Pillay described as "very resilient" given a troubled global backdrop. Developed markets had seen general outflows during the period, he said during an investor presentation, with the US asset management industry, for example, only seeing two months of aggregate inflows during the past twelve.