Sylvester Kobo

Sylvester Kobo joined STANLIB Asset Management in 2013 on the Money Market desk and was promoted to Deputy Head of Fixed Income in 2021. In this role, he co-manages the team and co-ordinates portfolio management activities across various specialities. He is also the primary portfolio manager for nominal bonds and income funds.

Sylvester began his career in 2009 at Absa Capital as a quantitative analyst, focusing on pricing and risk management of derivative products.

Sylvester holds a BSc (Honours) in Pure Mathematics and a master’s degree in finance and Investments, both from the University of the Witwatersrand. He has also completed the Management Acceleration Programme at INSEAD.

Articles by

Sylvester Kobo

Trust your manager to navigate through volatile fixed income markets

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October 27, 2025

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In the fifth episode of our The More You Know vodcast series, Sylvester Kobo, Deputy Head of Fixed Income at STANLIB Asset Management, explores how the Fixed Income team is actively managing duration in its bond holdings to respond to new information and filtering out information that is not relevant. He warns investors to “get comfortable with discomfort” for the foreseeable future and avoid focusing on short term ups and downs.

Revised South African National Budget 2025/2026

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October 27, 2025

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The South African Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, presented the third iteration of his fourth National Budget on Wednesday, 21 May 2025. This followed the withdrawal of the second attempt amid ongoing disagreement within the Government of National Unity (GNU) cabinet on the amended proposed increase of the VAT rate by one percentage point over two years.

Budget Review: key takeouts:

The Minister significantly reduced SA’s 2025 GDP growth rate from 1.9% in the March Budget Review to only 1.4%.
Instead of VAT increases, the Minister withdrew the expansion of zero-rated items; increased the general fuel levy; and will propose another R20 billion in tax measures for 2026/2027.
Proposed additional spending has been reduced by R52.5 billion over the medium term, mainly affecting education, health, defence, correctional services, and home affairs.
Government debt-to-GDP is expected to peak in 2025/26 at 77.4% of GDP rather than 76.2% projected in March 2025.

Trust your manager to navigate through volatile fixed income markets

Author name

October 27, 2025

Reading time:

Read time

Revised South African National Budget 2025/2026

Author name

October 27, 2025

Reading time:

Read time

Budget Review: key takeouts:

The Minister significantly reduced SA’s 2025 GDP growth rate from 1.9% in the March Budget Review to only 1.4%.
Instead of VAT increases, the Minister withdrew the expansion of zero-rated items; increased the general fuel levy; and will propose another R20 billion in tax measures for 2026/2027.
Proposed additional spending has been reduced by R52.5 billion over the medium term, mainly affecting education, health, defence, correctional services, and home affairs.
Government debt-to-GDP is expected to peak in 2025/26 at 77.4% of GDP rather than 76.2% projected in March 2025.