The ETF Investor

The SA equity market is dominated by global companies that generate earnings and growth in global markets. To create an investment opportunity focused on the South African economy and consumer – the so-called SA Inc. investment exposure – requires a deliberate and structured rules-based approach beyond market cap.

The range of actively-managed ETFs continue to expand, giving investors on the JSE an ever-growing selection of opportunities across asset classes and geographies. The largest private asset manager in South Africa, Ninety One, has listed their first two AMETFs, with promises of more to follow, not just in SA, but perhaps also in their global franchise.

In celebration of Women's Month in South Africa, we explore the importance – especially for women – of having an independent financial plan that addresses both the near-term needs of living expenses and unexpected emergencies, and the longer term focus of building sustainable retirement savings and long-term generational wealth. And in all cases – there's an ETF for that!

You can trade your view on the gold price with physically-backed gold ETFs, but what about gold miners, gold mining companies? What are the options available to ETF investors? The Satrix RESI ETF, tracking the FTSE/JSE Capped RESI10 Index offers an intriguing opportunity.

2024 has been a stellar year for the ETP industry in South Africa. What stood out for us at ETFSA? Leading into another year of Trump, will it be a bump, or a dump? As ETF investors, we take insights from the past as we strive to thrive in 2025.

When one of the largest active fund managers in South Africa join the ETF industry, people take notice, and others ask questions. What's behind the Coronation strategy, and what's inside their range of AMETFs?

With the top of the global interest rate cycle in focus, we turn our attention to the outlook for listed property companies and REITs, and the range of exchange-traded product options available on the JSE. There is more to consider than just the interest rate cycle, and we investigate how active management can be applied in global property ETF investments.

For many investors the term ETF is synonymous with index-tracking, or so-called "passive" investments, and the concept of an actively-managed ETF therefore represents a contradiction in terms. But the term "active management" does not necessarily mean lots of activity or significant tracking differences to the reference index, and it offers opportunities to manage index-referenced investments more efficiently.

Financial advisors play an important and valuable role in the wealth creation and preservation journey. But can you DIY at least some of it, and if so, where and how? The ETFSA Investor Hub is the perfect combination of digital-when-you-want-it, and human-when-you-need-it.

There is so much more to investment on the stock exchange than buying shares in local companies, and the strong growth in bond ETFs are testimony to the attraction of a whole new world for investors. Whether you think "bonds are boring", or "the bond market is the smartest in the world", this discussion on actively-managed bond ETFs is bound to expand your horizons.

There has been a sudden surge in interest in precious metal ETFs in recent months, especially in platinum. What is driving this demand? Why can only some banks, and no asset managers, be issuers of commodity ETPs? In addition to platinum, we cover gold, silver, palladium and rhodium in this podcast.

The appeal of dividends in an investment strategy is well-known, and arguably timeless, but supplementing this strategy with share buybacks is perhaps less well-known, and certainly not one that has been easily accessible for retail investors. The range of investment strategies available through the Actively-Managed Certificate (AMC) wrapper, listed on the JSE, continues to expand, and now also allows for easy access to an enhanced yield strategy, combining dividends and share buybacks in one portfolio.

"Diversification is the only free lunch in town". This statement is famously attributed to Nobel laureate Harry Markowitz, and is often cited as your best defence against market risk. But what does diversification mean in practice, and how can we use ETFs to achieve this in a portfolio?