The Long Game: The new trade order is forcing investors to rethink everything

Loading player...
In the latest episode of Money, Markets and Masterminds, academic and investment specialist Adrian Saville returns to the Citywire South Africa studio for a wide-ranging conversation on what he calls a ‘Through the Looking Glass’ moment in global economics.

Drawing parallels with Lewis Carroll’s surreal classic, Saville argues that the rules of the economic game are being rewritten in real time – and warns investors against clinging to outdated playbooks.

As Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs rock markets, Saville unpacks why the recent drop in the S&P 500 – erasing trillions of dollars in market value – is more than a cyclical correction, it is structural.

Instead, he outlines a disciplined strategy anchored in diversification, decorrelation and defensiveness. From shifting allocations away from overvalued US tech stocks to tapping opportunities in China, Japan and defensive sectors, Saville illustrates how his team has stayed ahead of the MSCI All Country World index this year by adapting early.

Listen to the discussion for more expert insight.
8 May 2025 English South Africa Investing

Other recent episodes

Advisers should not get distracted by the wrong things - DFM CEO

In this episode of Money, Markets, and Masterminds, Cogence CEO and CIO Jonel Matthee-Ferreira explains advisers risk making poor decisions if they react to short-term volatility instead of staying focused on long-term outcomes. She further unpacks the firm’s move into private markets for retail investors, arguing that access to unlisted…
23 Mar 24 min

Why markets are trading the wrong war

Markets are reacting to missiles and oil spikes, but what if that is exactly where investors go wrong? In the first 2026 episode of the Long Game series, Adrian Saville, investment strategist and professor of economics and finance at GIBS, unpacks why the real drivers of returns sit far beyond…
20 Mar 30 min

FSCA’s frontline warning to pension fund trustees

In episode two of the Regulatory Rulebook series, Takalani Lukhaimane, who leads the Financial Sector Conduct Authority's Retirement Funds Frontline Conduct Supervision team, highlights where boards are falling short - from section 13A breaches to weak oversight and rising unclaimed benefits. She points to persistent red flags, including superficial minutes,…
23 Feb 27 min

How this DFM engineers portfolios when markets lose their nerve

When markets panic, most investors react. Discretionary fund managers are meant to do the opposite. In this episode of Money, Markets, and Masterminds, Philip Bradford, chief investment officer at PortfolioMetrix Asset Management, explains how his team constructs portfolios built to withstand volatility rather than chase trends. From managing concentration risk…
11 Feb 20 min

Why top DFMs would rather miss rallies than lose clients

In this episode of Money, Markets, and Masterminds, Analytics Multi-Manager CIO Daniel Schoeman argues that the real test of a fund manager comes during periods of stress and underperformance, when philosophy, process and decision-making discipline are exposed. He explains why diversified portfolios are intentionally designed to avoid extreme drawdowns, even…
29 Jan 18 min