Rob Formby

Rob Formby

Rob was employed at Allan Gray from 2009 to July 2022 and was chief operating officer when he left. When he joined, he took on joint responsibility for the Retail business, specifically operations, technology and financial management. Prior to joining Allan Gray, he was employed at the Mvelaphanda Group as a strategy consultant. Rob holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town.

Articles by Rob Formby

Quarterly Commentary home page

2022 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 26 Apr 2022

Reading time: 6 mins

Over the past quarter, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has dominated our minds, eclipsing lingering COVID-19 concerns and increasing the inflationary heat that h...

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2021 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 27 Jan 2022

Reading time: 7 mins

I was recently reminded about a project initiated in 2014 by Scottish artist Katie Paterson. Termed “Future Library”, the aim is that a famous author will...

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2021 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 11 Oct 2021

Reading time: 8 mins

Even as vaccine roll-outs gather pace globally, and some countries begin to open up, the “what happens next?” question looms large. According to the World...

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2021 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 26 Jul 2021

Reading time: 6 mins

I write this during a devastating week for South Africa, with looting and riots in KZN and Gauteng destroying businesses and livelihoods. The rule of law and...

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2021 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 22 Apr 2021

Reading time: 7 mins

A lot can happen in a year. Twelve months ago, we put the Quarterly Commentary together under Level 5 lockdown. Most of our employees were working from home,...

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2020 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 27 Jan 2021

Reading time: 7 mins

There seem to be fewer articles in mainstream media this year encouraging people to set goals for the year ahead. With COVID-19 prevailing, it feels less lik...

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2020 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 16 Oct 2020

Reading time: 6 mins

As the economy opens under lockdown Level 1, we are starting to see a return to normality, while keeping a close watch on what is happening around the globe....

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2020 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 01 Jul 2020

Reading time: 8 mins

When I wrote my comments in mid-April, we were just about one month into lockdown. We have now passed 100 days, with the health and economic crises leaving a...

Insights categories - Corporate citizenship

Investment team update

By Rob Formby on 01 Jul 2020

Reading time: 3 mins

We take this opportunity to bid farewell to some of our investment team colleagues and announce a number of resultant promotions.

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2020 Q1 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 23 Apr 2020

Reading time: 7 mins

This is the 80th edition of our Quarterly Commentary, which was launched in the first quarter of 2000. Each issue has been printed and sent to you via post o...

Insights categories - Corporate citizenship

Allan Gray will continue to operate during the COVID-19 lockdown

By Rob Formby on 24 Mar 2020

Reading time: 2 mins

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of a 21-day country-wide lockdown as of midnight on 26 March 2020, we would like to reassure you that Alla...

Insights categories - Corporate citizenship

Our commitment to business continuity during COVID-19

By Rob Formby on 17 Mar 2020

Reading time: 1 min

With so much uncertainty in the markets as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we recognise the importance of being available to our clients.

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2019 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 29 Jan 2020

Reading time: 5 mins

This issue of our Quarterly Commentary is dedicated to our founder, Allan William Buchanan Gray, who sadly passed away in November. He lived a life of purpos...

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2019 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 28 Oct 2019

Reading time: 6 mins

I recently attended a presentation by trend analyst Dion Chang. He spoke passionately about the way the world is transforming as industries digitise and...

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2019 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 29 Jul 2019

Reading time: 6 mins

You’ve probably heard the saying, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. This modern proverb is as true for investing as it is for you...

Insights categories - Personal investing

Investors need to block out 'noise' ahead of elections

By Rob Formby on 06 May 2019

Reading time: 3 mins

It is understandable for investors to feel jittery in the run-up to the national elections, but giving too much air time to market noise is never a good idea...

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2018 Q4 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 25 Jan 2019

Reading time: 6 mins

2018 was a difficult year for local investors, with the FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI) delivering -8.5%.This result caught many investors off guard as 2017...

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2018 Q3 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 17 Oct 2018

Reading time: 6 mins

A lot can happen in 20 years. The iPhone was introduced in 2007, 11 years ago. Facebook and WhatsApp, which started in 2004 and 2009 respectively, have been...

Insights categories - ESG

Steinhoff class action

By Rob Formby on 28 Sep 2018

Reading time: 1 min

Allan Gray, along with other South African institutions, is participating in a class action case being run in the Netherlands by Dutch law firm BarentsKrans ...

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2018 Q2 Comments from the Chief Operating Officer

By Rob Formby on 30 Jun 2018

Reading time: 7 mins

This is my first issue of Quarterly Commentary in my new role as chief operating officer. I am excited and privileged to help lead Allan Gray forward,...

Insights categories - Personal investing

Thinking about your view of risk

By Rob Formby on 19 Apr 2018

Reading time: 7 mins

Our primary concern as an investment manager is creating wealth for clients. To do this, we need to balance investment performance for clients with the risk...

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