Investments

Life stage (default)

The fund applies a life stage model which automatically takes members through different investment portfolios i.e. aggressive to more conservative portfolios as they near retirement age. The life stages are as follows:

Members younger than age 55 - Aggressive Growth portfolio
Members age 55 and older, but younger than age 62 -Capital Growth portfolio
Members age 62 and older - Stable Growth portfolio

The fund has implemented a phasing-in approach for default switches. Read more

The first 25% switch to the new recommended portfolio will commence at the end of a member’s birthday month. As a result, it will take 12 months for a total portfolio switch to be completed. After the 12 month phase-in period, all future member contributions will automatically accrue to the new default life stage portfolio. See an illustration of a default switch from the Aggressive Growth portfolio to the Capital Growth portfolio below.

*The first 25% switch to the new recommended portfolio will commence at thee end of a member's birthday month.

Member investment choice

The fund also allows flexibility in providing our members with the option to elect any of the individual investment portfolio options available.
Investment switch form

Aggressive Growth Portfolio

Investment objective: To maximise capital growth over a long-term investment horizon. Members should acknowledge that this strategy could deliver volatile and negative returns over the short-term. This strategy is suitable for members with more than 10 years to retirement.

Capital Growth Portfolio

Investment objective: :To target capital growth over a medium to long-term investment horizon. Members should acknowledge that this strategy could deliver volatile and negative returns over the short-term. This strategy is suitable for members with 5 to 10 years to retirement.

Stable Growth Portfolio

Investment objective: To target stable returns over a medium-term investment horizon with low volatility and a low probability of negative returns. This strategy is suitable for members with 1 to 5 years to retirement.

Capital Protector Portfolio

Investment objective: To provide capital security with very low volatility and an extremely low probability of negative returns. This strategy is suitable for members with less than 1 year to retirement where capital protection is absolutely necessary

Shari’ah portfolio

This portfolio is suitable for Muslim investors requiring a Sharia-compliant investment portfolio. The portfolio will be invested in a variety of domestic and international asset classes. The underlying investments will comply with Shari'ah requirements as prescribed by the Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions. The portfolio targets capital growth over the long-term while limiting short term market fluctuations.

Latest investment returns

Economic Commentary: February 2026

Heightened geo-political risk, a growing unease relating to AI developments, and increasing uncertainty in the US labour market contributed to a challenging investment environment resulting in a divergence of returns for global markets.

In the US, the economy faced a complex mix of resilient growth data, strong job numbers, and mounting policy uncertainty. Inflation eased to 2.5% year-on-year in January, yet a surge in producer price inflation to 3.6% year-on-year, likely from increasing tariff passthrough suggests that consumer inflation may rise. The Supreme Court decision striking down President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs dealt a major blow to his economic agenda and brought new uncertainty to global markets struggling to adapt to his volatile trade policies. This was compounded when Trump invoked a never-before-used law known as Section 122 to impose a new flat 10% tariff (later raised to 15%) on all imports. US GDP meanwhile grew at an annualised 1.4% in Q4, down sharply from Q3’s 4.4% surge, as a decline in government consumption and investment due to the 42-day shutdown weighed heavily on economic activity. The private sector components however indicate economic output remains largely in line with its longer-term growth trend. While personal consumption expenditure decelerated due to a contraction in spending on durable goods, business investment accelerated thanks to equipment and intellectual property products spending. These tech-related categories have driven business investment growth since Q4 2023, while private fixed investment in physical infrastructure has detracted since Q1 2024. On international trade, both exports and imports declined. While consumer confidence increased in February, the data appears skewed to higher earners that have benefited from strong stock market returns and a steady rise in house prices. The labour market also appears increasingly fragile with January’s strong numbers attributed to temporary seasonal factors. While surveys suggest jobs remain plentiful, technology companies have significantly intensified workforce reductions, with over 51,000 jobs cut in the first two months of the year alone.

Global market returns diverged in February as a spike in volatility amid concerns of AI overspending, heightened geo-political risk, and trade developments resulted in a marked shift of capital away from US growth stocks to global value stocks. The MSCI World Index ended the month with a gain of just 0.7% as gains in “old economy” sectors such as materials, energy, consumer staples and healthcare offset losses in communication services, information technology, and consumer discretionary stocks. US markets reached record levels early in the month driven by AI hardware demand, but sentiment soured later in the month as concerns grew regarding AI's potential for business model disruption and the S&P500 and NASDAQ ended the month with losses of 0.8% and 2.3% respectively. Emerging markets surged 5.5% in February as double- digit gains in South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand offset losses in China, Colombia, and Argentina. Asian stocks, including India, now account for over 80% of the MSCI EM Index, with South Africa representing just 3.5%. Global bonds gained 1.1% as yields on the US 10yr Treasury dipped below 4% as safe-haven buying increased, while global property stocks gained 6.5% for the month as investors rotated capital from overextended technology stocks into undervalued, high-yield assets.

In South Africa, inflation dipped slightly to 3.4% year-on-year in January, from 3.5% in December, as transport prices declined on the back of lower oil prices. The costs of housing and utilities, financial services, and food continue to rise at higher rates despite a moderation in maize meal prices. The 2026 National Budget Speech, which focused on fiscal discipline and household tax relief, was well-received by market commentators. Financially stressed consumers can expect some relief thanks to the adjustment of the taxable salary bands (although no change to the tax rates) and savers will benefit from increases in the tax-free investment annual contribution limit and the retirement annuity deduction limit. While South Africa recorded another trade surplus in January as the nation continues to benefit from elevated precious metals prices and low oil prices, economic activity remains sluggish with GDP growth of just 1.6% expected for 2026. A welcomed increase in mining production in December was offset by a decline in manufacturing production that was driven by weakness in the automotive, chemicals and metals sectors. Retail sales also undershot expectations, with year-on-year growth of just 2.6% recorded in December as online gambling takes an increasing chunk of disposable income.

The All Share Index gained 7% for the month – the twelfth consecutive month of gains – as gold and platinum miners continued to rally thanks to record commodity prices. The 13.4% gain in resources stocks was driven by a 30% gain in AngloGold Ashanti, a 22% gain in Valterra Platinum and a surprising 27% gain in Sasol. The 7.4% gain in financials was driven by both banks and insurers as Nedbank surged 18% and Discovery jumped 11%. Industrials were flat for the month as Naspers and Prosus’ 11% decline and continued weakness in retailers Pick ‘n Pay and Spar (both down 20%) offset gains in healthcare and telecoms stocks. The rand strengthened 1.3% for the month as the currency continued to benefit from capital flowing to high-yield government bonds and precious metals stocks. A constructive medium-term budget, outlining positive fiscal developments, contributed to the yield on the 10yr government bond dipping below 8% in the month resulting in a gain of 1.7% for the All Bond Index. Listed property stocks meanwhile surged 6.6% thanks to a positive fiscal outlook, low industrial vacancies, and improving growth.