There’s more to the global stock indices than meets the eye

Where is SA's top-rated fund manager seeing risk and opportunity?

Written by: Cornelius Zeeman, Portfolio Manager at Fairtree Asset Management.
12 June 2020

Valuations are relative

As a result of the S&P 500’s recovery of 42.7% from its lows leaving it -0.3% year-to-date, there are many articles out there flagging that the US market is trading at lofty valuations when looking at its price earnings (P/E) ratio. The Price/Earnings graph (Graph 1) below shows that the S&P 500 (blue line) is trading on a forward PE of 22.5x, which last happened in 2000. It is also trading at a record premium (grey area) of 57% versus Emerging Markets (orange line), trading on a more palatable 14.3x.

Continue Reading

Recent Posts

Subscribe to receive our latest updates

Grethe Fourie

Business Development Manager

Grethe joined Fairtree in 2025 as a Business Development Manager in the Distribution team. She focuses on cultivating strong, long-term relationships with financial advisers and identifying opportunities for meaningful growth. Prior to joining Fairtree, Grethe spent eight years at PPS, where she held several leadership roles, including Regional Sales Manager, Regional Specialist Support Manager, and ultimately National Manager of PPS Wealth Advisory. In her most recent role, she led the Wealth Advisory team nationally, overseeing strategy, operations, reporting, and key stakeholder relationships. She also served as a Key Individual on the FSP licence and chaired the Best Practice Committee. Earlier in her career, she worked as a financial adviser for seven years. She is passionate about empowering women in finance and previously led the Women in Finance initiative at PPS. Grethe holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning from Stellenbosch University and is a Certified Financial Planner® professional.

Stephan Venter

Investment Specialist

Stephan joined Fairtree in 2025 as an investment specialist in the Distribution team. He began his career at Deloitte in 2006 as an accountant. He then joined Discovery Invest as an Investment Specialist, before moving to Sanlam Investments, where he spent nine years as a portfolio manager. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from the University of Pretoria, an Honours degree and CTA in Accounting from the University of South Africa, and an Honours degree in Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management from the University of Cape Town.

Logo Icon White

Contact us

Get in touch with our experienced hedge fund team to navigate your investments. Have a question? We’re here to help.

Logo Icon White

Contact us

Get in touch with our experienced hedge fund team to navigate your investments. Have a question? We’re here to help.