Efficiency of the South African equity market

The article examines long memory in equity returns and volatility for South Africa using the ARFIMA-FIGARCH model in order to assess the efficiency of the market. The sample considered encompasses a period of equity market reform in order to ascertain if such reforms promoted efficiency in the market. The results show that volatility exhibits a predictable component in both sample periods, while returns in both sample periods do not. This suggests that equity market reforms had a benign impact on the market.