A market that keeps changing shape Equity indices are extremely dynamic. In the 1990s, the largest companies in the S&P 500 were ExxonMobil, Philip Morris, Walmart and Coca-Cola. Today, the index is led by Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and the rest of the...
The meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been the defining theme in global equity markets for the past few years, with investors agonising over how to separate winners from losers. Much of the value to date has accrued to the providers of...
For most investors, investing for retirement is the longest-term financial endeavour they will undertake. Success depends less on finding the perfect strategy and more on sticking to a sound one. This calls for alignment between objectives and investment...
Little of this quarter’s news is genuinely new law for retirement funds. It is more a shift in how the existing rules are enforced, and a reminder from both the courts and the Adjudicator that accountability only counts when it lands on the right person and...
For decades, employee benefits have largely been viewed through a transactional lens. Employers provided benefits, insurers assessed claims and employees accessed support when something went wrong. While this model has served an important purpose, today’s...
When I joined the Board of the Institute of Retirement Funds Africa (IRFA) in 2013, I could not have imagined the extent of change that our retirement industry would experience over the next decade. When I was elected President and Chairperson in 2021, we...
Section 37C of the Pension Funds Act (“the Act”) is familiar territory for boards of funds but remains a difficult terrain to navigate. Trustees know the required stages: identify dependants and nominees, assess their circumstances, make an equitable...
For many South Africans, a pension fund is understood in simple terms: contributions are paid, assets are invested, and one day those savings or promises provide an income in retirement. At one level, that remains true. But beneath that familiar picture, the...
Nokwazi Dube works as an accountant in small-town KZN. Her round-trip commute to work takes around two hours a day. However, if the bridge connecting two key roads on her route was repaired, the daily journey would be just 40 minutes. Nokwazi, as a trustee...
As we all know, the primary purpose of a retirement fund is to provide retirement benefits to its members and death benefits to their dependents. It is for this very reason that retirement benefits are strictly protected. However, Section 37D(1)(b) of the...