On May 20th, Brown Advisory held its biennial client conference, entitled Navigating Our World, or NOW. As before, NOW 2010 brought together a collection of outside speakers to explore some of the secular trends that are shaping our world and influencing our investment thinking. Over the course of the day, we immersed ourselves and our clients in topics around three themes: emerging markets, sustainable solutions and the technology horizon. The full agenda can be downloaded here:
When people think of Africa, investing there is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. But Ritesh Anand, who spoke at NOW 2010 about investing in Africa, tried to debunk some of the myths and misperceptions about the continent.
Africa is big. Really big. In fact, you could fit the US, China, India, and Europe inside of Africa, and still have room for Argentina. It’s rich in natural resources – among other things, it has 90% of the world’s diamonds, and 50% of its gold. Its economic growth has been strong. Over the last 15 years, Africa has one of the highest GDP growth rates in the world. And its equity returns have outperformed the emerging markets, and Asia in particular, over the last 10 years.
Anand refuted the common criticisms on Africa – that it’s a constant underachiever, too small and poor to matter to the rest of the world – without minimizing the challenges it faces. He noted that it’s a continent full of diverse economies and countries; and despite conventional wisdom, not one monolithic bloc.
So, is Africa today similar to Asia in 1980, poised to embark on a path of long-term sustainable growth? Anand wasn’t ready to go that far, but he did say that many influential factors, from demographics to politics, are now heading in the right direction, and that Africa represents vast opportunity investors shouldn’t ignore.
Ryland Sumner
Open Architecture Analyst
Ritesh Anand, Founder & CEO, Invictus Investment Management
Investing in Africa: Myth vs. Reality Slide Presentation (PPT)
Brown Advisory -- Navigating Our World 