Umbrella funds have been growing in popularity over the last couple of years and are especially valued by employers who prefer a lighter touch approach to their employee benefit arrangements. There will always be a place for large, credible free standing...
Many boards of trustees of standalone funds face a decision on whether or not to move into an umbrella fund. There are many possible reasons to make such a move including: Lower expenses Reduced responsibilities Reduced liability Reduced time and...
In my September 2020 article on umbrella funds a number of shortcomings in umbrella funds were highlighted. Has anything changed? My last article for Pensions World SA on umbrella funds highlighted a number of shortcomings, how the actual costs in an...
Over the past two decades, there has been a notable shift from standalone retirement funds to commercial umbrella funds. This transition has been driven by increased cost pressures, tighter regulatory requirements, increased demands on trustees, the desire...
Increased flexibility In the old days, joining an umbrella fund meant a very limited set of investment options for participating employers – and the cost of any customisation outweighed its benefits. Today, many umbrella funds offer participating employers a...
Passive investing involves investing in index funds or exchange-traded funds where investment securities are selected to match those of an index or a segment of the market, rather than being actively chosen by a portfolio manager with the goal of...
A global investing revolution has been underway for the past few decades. Increasingly, trillions of assets belonging to pension funds, institutions and retail investors have moved away from active fund managers. As fund performance transparency has...
According to Morningstar global research, passive (or index-based) funds in the US matched active funds in assets under management at the end of 2023. This emphasises the monumental rise in this investment approach and comparative market share which has...
South Africa vs global trend Not all trends are worth following, but the passive investment one may well be worth taking note of. In the investment market in South Africa we have seen slow uptake of passive investments. However it should be noted that we have, in the...
In the world of investing, the adverse impact of high fees on long-term returns is well documented. Just as compound returns work their magic to create wealth over time, compounded high fees have a stunting effect on growth in the long term. This understanding is...
