Flagship Asset Management

02/09/2026

Webinars | Offshore Investment Management Webinars

We are pleased to announce that Flagship Asset Management will be participating in Fundrock Collective Investments' Offshore Investment Manager Webinar Series on 23 September 2026.

As part of Group 3, Flagship will join leading international investment managers sharing perspectives on the global economy, financial markets and the opportunities they are seeing across global markets.

📅 23 September 2026 | Group 3
🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/dtxdZDSk
📄 View the Group 3 agenda: https://lnkd.in/dZBG2E5s

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from global investment specialists as they explore the opportunities shaping markets.



https://lnkd.in/p/eUXRzvCM

🌍 Join us this September for the Offshore Investment Manager Webinar Series We are pleased to invite you to a three-part webinar series taking place on 9, 16 and 23 September 2026 at 08:30AM (SAST), featuring 26 leading international investment managers. These online sessions will provide in-dept...

01/09/2026

Japan’s 30-year round trip
For more than two decades, Japan was the global outlier: near-zero interest rates, massive central-bank intervention and an abundant source of extraordinarily cheap capital.

Japan’s 10-year government bond yield is now approaching 3% - its highest level since 1996 - as markets price persistent inflation, a weak yen and further Bank of Japan tightening.

Why it matters
For decades, cheap Japanese funding helped fuel the yen carry trade - borrowing cheaply in yen and investing in higher-returning assets elsewhere.

As Japanese yields rise, keeping capital at home becomes more attractive. That matters globally: Japanese investors are major owners of overseas assets, including US Treasuries, so capital returning home could put upward pressure on global bond yields and create volatility across currencies and other risk assets.

For decades, Japan exported cheap money to the world. If that money starts coming home, global markets may feel the difference.

25/08/2026

America's debt problem is becoming increasingly structural

U.S. federal debt has now surpassed $40 trillion, more than doubling in less than a decade. But the headline number is only part of the story.

An ageing population is increasing the demands on Social Security and Medicare, while U.S. healthcare costs remain exceptionally high. At the same time, government spending is persistently running ahead of revenues, creating deficits that require still more borrowing. As the debt stock grows, interest costs themselves become another increasingly powerful driver of future deficits - net interest has already become the second largest federal budget item.

Why it matters

$40 trillion makes the headline. The forces driving the next $40 trillion are the bigger story.

The U.S. can sustain a large debt burden because of the size of its economy and the dollar's unique position in the global financial system. But debt cannot indefinitely grow faster than the economy without consequences. Higher interest costs consume an increasing share of government revenues, reduce future fiscal flexibility and ultimately leave policymakers facing an uncomfortable choice: spend less, tax more, tolerate more inflation - or keep borrowing.

For investors, the question is therefore no longer simply how much America owes, but what price markets will eventually demand to keep financing it.

18/08/2026

Gold Has Become More Than an Interest-Rate Trade

For much of the past two decades, movements in US real yields explained a significant portion of gold's price behaviour. Since 2022, however, that relationship has weakened noticeably. While real yields remain elevated, gold continues to trade at levels well above those implied by historical relationships, suggesting that structural factors, including central bank reserve diversification, fiscal concerns and geopolitical uncertainty, have become increasingly important drivers of long-term value.

Why it matters
Gold remains sensitive to changes in real yields over shorter horizons, but investors may increasingly need to think of it as a strategic reserve asset rather than simply an interest-rate hedge.

17/08/2026

JAMES HAYWARD | BusinessDay: Look beyond AI for global investment opportunities

Investors should explore global markets and companies with different growth drivers.

Much of today’s market attention is concentrated on a relatively narrow group of companies and themes, particularly AI. But the global investment universe is vast.

In his latest article, published in BusinessDay, Flagship Fund Manager James Hayward explores how looking across sectors, geographies and supply chains can uncover compelling opportunities beyond the themes dominating market attention.

The point isn’t to ignore AI or today’s market leaders, but to remember just how much opportunity exists beyond them.

Read the full article in BusinessDay:
https://www.businessday.co.za/opinion/2026-08-17-james-hayward-look-beyond-ai-for-global-investment-opportunities/

BusinessDay subscriber access is required.

14/08/2026

Looking beyond short-term market moves.

Markets delivered mixed returns in July as investors navigated heightened volatility, central bank decisions and renewed geopolitical tensions.

From diverging global equity market performance and a closely watched US earnings season to shifting interest rate expectations and rising oil prices, our July Monthly Commentary explores the key events shaping global markets.

Read the full commentary: https://flagshipsa.com/monthly-commentary-july-2026/

Our mission is to be the navigators and global authority of your complete investment future, wherever it may lead.

11/08/2026

Analysis
US equity returns are becoming increasingly broad-based after several years of exceptional concentration in a handful of mega-cap technology companies. The equal-weight S&P 500 has begun outperforming the traditional index, while the proportion of stocks beating the benchmark has risen to 45%, its highest level in four years. This suggests improving market breadth and healthier underlying participation in the rally.

Why it matters
Broadening market participation is typically a positive sign for the durability of an equity bull market and creates a more favourable environment for active stock selection.

04/08/2026

US Treasury Yields | Insights

The Treasury market has shifted into a structurally higher-rate regime since 2022, ending more than a decade of ultra-low interest rates. Since early 2025, yields have continued to rise across the curve, with long-term Treasury yields leading the move. Higher 2-year yields suggest markets have pushed back expectations for near-term Fed rate cuts, while the 30-year yield has reached its highest level since before the Global Financial Crisis, highlighting growing concerns around persistent inflation, fiscal sustainability and a higher long-term term premium.

Why it matters

Higher Treasury yields raise borrowing costs across the economy and increase the discount rate applied to financial assets, impairing equity valuations. Rising yields at both the short and long end suggest markets are pricing a more restrictive interest-rate environment than previously expected.

28/07/2026

America's AI leadership is translating into real economic investment​​

The United States attracted almost $286 billion of private AI investment in 2025 - more than 20 times the level recorded in China and substantially exceeding the combined investment of every other major economy. The depth of US private capital markets continues to provide a significant competitive advantage, allowing companies to fund large-scale AI infrastructure, software and model development at a pace unmatched elsewhere.​

While AI-related business investment has continued to accelerate, investment across the remainder of the US economy has slowed meaningfully. Rather than lifting overall capital expenditure uniformly, AI is increasingly accounting for a disproportionate share of new private investment.​

This divergence suggests that AI is no longer simply another technology investment cycle. It is becoming the principal source of incremental capital expenditure growth within the US economy, helping to sustain business investment despite a weaker backdrop for more traditional sectors.​

Whether this represents productive reallocation or the early stages of capital crowding-out remains an open question. If AI investment ultimately generates productivity gains and attractive returns, today's concentration of capital may prove entirely justified. However, if expected returns fail to materialise, the scale of investment could eventually come at the expense of broader corporate investment opportunities.

21/07/2026

Investor leverage has reached a new extreme.

NYSE margin debt has accelerated sharply since the Fed's pivot in late 2023, with 32-month growth approaching the fastest pace seen outside the Tech Bubble.

More importantly, margin debt has now risen to approximately 4.7% of US GDP - surpassing the peaks reached during both the Dot-com Bubble and the period leading into the Global Financial Crisis.

A more accommodative shift in policy under Chair Powell helped create an environment that supported increased risk-taking. With Chair Warsh signalling a stronger focus on inflation and a willingness to maintain tighter financial conditions if required, investors may face a very different policy backdrop over the coming quarters.

High margin debt doesn't predict when markets will turn, but it does suggest that investors are increasingly relying on borrowed money to maintain equity exposure. History shows that periods of elevated leverage often coincide with greater market fragility when conditions change.

As always, leverage can amplify gains on the way up - but it can also accelerate downside moves if sentiment or liquidity deteriorates. The charts are a timely reminder that the level of risk in the system may be higher than headline market performance alone suggests.

Why it matters: Rising leverage has historically increased the market's sensitivity to changes in liquidity, interest rates and investor sentiment. While it doesn't signal the timing of a reversal, it does suggest that future volatility could be amplified if conditions become less supportive.