Why the Bok defeat is bad for your money

Johannesburg - Amid all the controversy about the selection of the Springbok team, your money needs them to win.

Global trading platform IG conducted research into how sport successes affect the markets (check it out at ig.com).

IG concluded that when a country’s sportspeople outperformed, so did their countries’ stock markets.

In 2013, when Andy Murray completed the first win at Wimbledon for Britain in 75 years, the FTSE 100 rallied 5.1% during the tournament and the value of Scotland’s 10 biggest companies rose by 7.5%.

When Spanish golfer José María Olazábal led Europe to victory in the 2012 Ryder Club and dedicated his win to Spanish golfing legend Seve Ballesteros, who had died the previous year, the Spanish markets rallied.

From the beginning of the tournament on September 28 until the end of the year, the Spanish Ibex (Spain’s main index) rose by 3.2% compared with a negative return from the US Dow Jones and a 2% return from the UK FTSE 100. The euro rallied 2.4% against the dollar over the same period.

England’s most recent rugby World Cup victory came in 2003 and coincided with a major rally for the FTSE and the pound.

Closer to home, when the Springboks won the 2007 rugby World Cup, the rand rose 4.3% against the dollar and 7% against the British pound in the week after the tournament.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, shares in SABMiller, South Africa’s biggest beer brewer, increased by 7.5% during the tournament.

IG’s head of premium client management, Travis Robson, says that given these trends, there are several companies he will watch with interest during the rugby World Cup. SABMiller has already had a spectacular run, although that had more to do with a possible buyout by rival Anheuser-Busch InBev.

“I’ll be following other related companies in the alcohol business as well,” says Robson.

He is also watching any hotel or property stocks that have a link to the UK property or stock market, such as retail, accommodation, merchandise or restaurants.

“Beyond that are healthcare companies like Life Healthcare or Netcare, and gaming or sports betting businesses,” says Robson