---
title: "Why investors should pay more attention to consistency"
description: "Lose 20% of your money and you need a 25% gain just to get back to where you started."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Sponsored Content"
author: "Alexforbes"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/alexforbes/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-06-why-investors-should-pay-more-attention-to-consistency/"
published: "2026-10-06T13:54:48"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 922
---

# Why investors should pay more attention to consistency

> Lose 20% of your money and you need a 25% gain just to get back to where you started.

By Alexforbes · Published 6 October 2026, 15:54 SAST

## Content

Lose 30% and you need almost 43%. Lose half your money and you need to double what remains simply to return to your starting point. The mathematics of investing is unforgiving. The deeper the loss, the greater the recovery required.

Yet this reality often receives less attention than annual performance rankings and lists of top-performing funds. Investors are frequently encouraged to focus on who generated the highest returns over the past year, rather than on whether those returns can be sustained through changing market conditions.

### **Why annual rankings tell only part of the story**

Every year, performance tables are published and attention naturally shifts to the managers and funds at the top of the rankings. There is nothing wrong with performance data. The challenge lies in how it is interpreted.

A one-year ranking reflects which investment approach was best suited to the market conditions of a specific period. It says far less about how that approach may perform when economic conditions, interest rates, investor sentiment or market leadership change.

Markets are constantly evolving. Investment styles move in and out of favour, sectors rise and fall and leadership rotates over time.

Investors who make decisions based solely on recent performance often run the risk of buying after gains have already occurred and selling after periods of weakness. The cost of this behaviour is rarely visible, but it can have a significant impact on long-term outcomes.

### Building portfolios for different market cycles

Alexforbes Investments does not set out to predict which investment style or manager will dominate over the next year. The objective is to build portfolios that can remain competitive across a range of market environments while carefully managing risk.

This is achieved through a multi-manager approach. Rather than relying on a single investment manager, extensive research is conducted to identify, select and combine managers with different strengths and investment styles.

The process involves ongoing assessment of local and global managers, focusing not only on performance but also on the quality of decision-making, the consistency of investment processes and the ability of managers to navigate changing market conditions.

The aim is not to identify a short-term winner. It is to create portfolios that can continue to deliver competitive outcomes through multiple market cycles.

This approach was recognised in 2025 when Alexforbes Investments was named South African Manager of the Year at the Raging Bull Awards.

The company also received recognition for its Superior Yield portfolio, which won the award for Best South African Interest-bearing Fund on a risk-adjusted basis. Risk-adjusted measures are particularly important because they assess not only the returns achieved, but also the level of risk required to achieve them.

### The evidence behind consistency

Awards are important, but long-term consistency provides a more meaningful measure of investment success.

One way to assess consistency is through rolling-period analysis. Rather than examining only a handful of fixed measurement dates, rolling analysis evaluates performance across multiple one-year, three-year, five-year, seven-year and ten-year periods, each with different starting points.

This presents a more demanding test because it measures performance across a broader range of market conditions.

As at 31 July 2026, Alexforbes Investments' specialist growth portfolios demonstrated strong consistency across these rolling periods:

![Source: Alexforbes Investments. Data as at 31 July 2026. Top 25% of peers refers to portfolios ranked in the highest quarter of their respective peer groups over multiple measurement periods. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/32op8xf56yY8P6MfKChI1bIinFQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2998/Screenshot2026-10-05at130449_203727.png)

These results span significantly different market environments, including periods characterised by changing interest-rate cycles, shifts in investor sentiment and varying levels of economic growth.

The significance of the findings lies not in any single period of outperformance, but in the ability of the portfolios to remain competitive across a wide range of conditions.

### Why consistency does not happen by accident

Consistency is rarely the result of a single investment idea or an extended period of favourable market conditions. It is typically the outcome of a disciplined investment process.

As a multi-manager, Alexforbes Investments continuously evaluates the managers selected for its portfolios. This includes assessing whether investment processes remain effective, whether competitive advantages remain intact and whether portfolio construction continues to support long-term objectives.

When the evidence suggests that changes are required, adjustments can be made.

The result is a portfolio structure that is designed to avoid dependence on any one manager, investment style or market theme.

Diversification alone does not guarantee success, but it can help investors navigate a wider range of market environments and reduce dependence on a single source of performance.

### A different way of thinking about investment selection

Many investors spend considerable time trying to identify which manager is most likely to outperform in the future. An alternative approach is to focus on the strength of the process instead.

Markets will continue to change. Investment styles will continue to move in and out of favour. The managers’ leading performance rankings today may not be the same managers leading them a few years from now.

For investors, the more important question may not be who is currently winning, but whether the investment process is robust enough to adapt as conditions change.

Consistency rarely attracts the same attention as exceptional short-term performance. Yet over time, strong outcomes are often built through disciplined decision-making, thoughtful portfolio construction and the ability to remain competitive across multiple market cycles.

In investing, it is not always about identifying the next winner. It is about building a portfolio that can continue to work when the winners inevitably change. **DM**

*Author: Yuvern Dokie, Investments Product Owner at Alexforbes*