The financials sector on the JSE is a substantial contributor to the overall index. Although banks make up the bulk of the sector, there are also major businesses in areas like insurance and wealth management.

With South Africa's difficult macro backdrop, there isn't a rising tide that lifts all boats in this sector. Instead, it tends to reward stock pickers who understand the nuances across the various businesses, including their relative exposure to South Africa vs. offshore markets.

In this episode, we dug into some of the key concepts to keep in mind when looking at the banks, large diversified financial services groups and businesses that earn fees from assets under management.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. Please speak to your personal financial advisor.

The "capital stack" refers to the mix of debt and equity that provides the funding for a business. With so many options on the spectrum from senior debt to pure equity, companies and investors come together in search of optimal solutions for all involved.

Westbrooke's approach makes use of various funding mechanisms, with hybrid capital as a particular favourite. This aims for debt-like risk and equity-like returns, while providing capital for lower- to mid-market deals in markets like the UK.

Dino Zuccollo, Head of Investor Solutions at Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management, joined us on this episode to update us on the alternative asset market, recent deal trends across markets and the exciting news of the R3.8 billion WDO UK Fund II, raised by Westbrooke in partnership with RMB.

To learn more about Westbrooke and to connect with the team, visit their website here. Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management is an authorised Financial Services Provider, FSP number 46750. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. Please speak to your personal financial advisor.

Drawing charts like orange juice and cheese futures might be fun, but there's an important underlying influence that soft commodities have on inflation. Even if you don't trade commodities, there are useful things to learn.

And of course, when we get to the hard commodities that are actively traded every day, we move from jokes about the cheese spread to very real analysis around the drivers of the platinum price and what this is doing for stocks like Sibanye-Stillwater, where our resident Ghost is looking forward to finally breaking even after a long and painful period in the PGM cycle.

Join us for a fun show that is ultimately an ode to commodities and the sheer breadth of opportunities available on the market.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice. Please speak to your personal financial advisor.