Metope In The News

It’s no secret that shopping centre owners have had a horrible two years. Profits have been eroded on multiple fronts and led to the demise of Stuttafords, a brutal restructuring at Edcon, as well as closure of international stores including River Island, Topshop and Victoria’s Secret. All the while, utility costs and municipal rates are rising and electricity is intermittent. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Latest shopping centre performance metrics released by some JSE-listed mall owners suggest that many are using the downturn to boost flagging sales and footfall. Metope Investment Analyst Kelly Ward comments.

The end of February marks the start of the new tax year and it’s time for investors in a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) to either make their lump sum investment of R33 000 or a series of regular investments in order to take full advantage of the tax benefits offered by SARS for these type of savings vehicles. For those investors looking to generate an income from their investments, and who can maximise their TFSA allocations for the next 15 years, tax free property income funds can be used to provide an attractive income in the future. They are ideal for those investors who do not have a pension fund or whose pensions may not be sufficient and need to be supplemented. Liliane Barnard and Aimee Glisson at Metope Investment Managers elaborate.

Markets move in cycles. Anyone currently invested in a portfolio of local equities or listed property would know that we’re currently in a prolonged downturn, where returns over the last 3-5 years have been dismal. In times like these, the last thing you want is to be drawing down capital, locking in those losses. Whether you’re retired and require an income to live off, or are saving for a future goal, investing in a portfolio that delivers an income stream means you can ride out these storms. Metope CEO Liliane Barnard elaborates.

The JSE's battered real estate sector appears dirt cheap but property investors need to tread with caution. Analysts say there is significant value to be had for patient investors with a longer-term horizon but there is also a clear message: headwinds could still affect property returns over the next 12 to 18 months. Metope investment analyst Kelly Ward comments.

SA companies’ offshore track record may well be questionable, but Eastern Europe is one destination where a number of South Africans have been able to successfully replicate their business models. Mall owner Nepi Rockcastle is a case in point. Kelly Ward, analyst at Metope Investment Managers, comments.

As one of the most seasoned female fund managers in the listed property sector, Liliane Barnard, CEO of Metope Investment Managers, has invested in listed property throughout all cycles. Therefore, when she reflects back on the exceptionally difficult period in the listed property sector last year, she is level-headed. She points out that 2018 was marked by an ongoing confluence of negative factors that occurred throughout the year, and which resulted in investors taking flight. Read the full article below.

After a strong start to 2019 when listed property soared 9.2% in January, hopes for a solid recovery for the sector have since been dampened. Recent company results have been disappointing, with growth in dividends slowing almost across the board, and indeed going backwards in some cases. However, on closer examination of the results to May 2019, it appears that the underlying physical property is bearing up in what is a very tough market. Negative company earnings and disappointing growth numbers are largely due to once-off and non-recurring issues, or capital items which are not reflective of the underlying property performance. Metope CEO Liliane Barnard gives her views.

Stor-Age Property REIT is a fully integrated and internally managed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), specialising in self-storage properties. The company listed on the JSE in November 2015, becoming the first and - to-date - only self-storage REIT listed on any emerging market exchange. In March 2019 Stor-Age was incorporated in a number of JSE indices, including the All Share, All Property and SA REIT indices. Metope investment analyst Kelly Ward comments further.

Echo Polska Properties (EPP) is a pure Polish property play, with listings on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and the JSE. The company was listed in SA in September 2016 in the Real Estate Holdings & Development Sector and offers investors exposure to the growth in the Polish economy through a portfolio of mostly retail assets. While EPP follows the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) formula and structure, it is not a REIT, and therefore subject to corporate tax. Metope investment analyst Kelly Ward elaborates further.

It took a while for real estate investors to warm to Stor-Age Property Reit when it made its debut on the JSE in November 2015. Back then, few regarded self-storage as a serious asset class. How times have changed. These days Stor-Age regularly tops fund managers’ stock-pick lists: it is one of less than a handful of property stocks still delivering inflation-beating dividend growth. Metope investment analyst Kelly Ward comments.