Comparative performances of capital protection strategies in the South African market

Du Plessis, Richard Michael

Comparative performances of capital protection strategies in the South African market

Master Thesis

2015

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Finance and Tax

Faculty

Faculty of Commerce

Abstract

The performance of cash protection strategies implemented in the South African market are investigated in order to establish if investors are able to add value through the use of dynamic portfolio insurance methods. The analysis is performed, using monthly data, from January 1961 to August 2014 using six alternative methodologies including both a Fixed Rate and Rolling Average Stop-Loss approach, a Lock-In approach, a Constant Mix strategy, a Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance ("CPPI") approach and an alternative CPPI approach using a Ratchet mechanism. The results indicate that the use of such cash protection strategies can markedly improve portfolio performance from a risk return perspective compared to a pure diversified investment strategy. Notably, the use of older, simpler trading strategies such as the Stop-Loss and Lock-In approaches at optimum threshold levels can still offer investors higher risk to reward benefits with less commitment required. These strategies, though, lack the flexibility observed with the more recently developed dynamic trading strategies in terms of providing for varying risk appetites.