South African bonds as an alternative diversification asset for developed bond markets

Abstract

Staff (2013) explains that modern finance is plagued by a host of unrelenting, risk-promoting scenarios. Whether it is the introduction of new global risk factors or greater wealth accumulation expectations, investors are desperately attempting to find new ways to reduce financial risk (Staff 2013). A particular manner to do so, as highlighted by this study, is through diversification. Statman (1987) defined diversification as the reduction of one’s risk by dispersing one’s investments into unrelated securities.