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: March 2026

And then came the war. After months of stable growth, contained inflation and the potential for interest rate cuts globally, the relative calm of the global investment environment was shattered by a US-Israeli strike on Iran.

In the US, the economy faces a challenging few months as high oil prices – US gasoline crossed the psychological $4 a gallon level in March – exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis in which many US consumers find themselves. While US inflation was stable as 2.4% year-on-year in February, the war in Iran complicates the picture as high oil prices will result in more expensive diesel, jet fuel and fertilizer which will eventually feed into higher costs for travel and food, with the price of many food items such as beef and coffee already experiencing double-digit annual increases. Additional tariff pass-through could put further pressure on US households. Yale University estimates that tariffs alone have already added between $1900 and $4700 to a typical US household’s annual expenditure. Recent retail sales data shows growth in spending among US consumers has already moderated, with core retail sales increasing by just 0.3% in January as, although US households' finances are generally intact, spending growth remains increasingly uneven. At the same time, the labour market has cooled significantly as the US has entered what economists call a "no-hire, no-fire" mode of low job growth and low hiring. Recent data showed that February's hiring rate of 3.1% was the lowest since the depths of the pandemic, while layoffs in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors continue. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meanwhile voted 11-1 to keep interest rates on hold at its March meeting as it manages a difficult balancing act of containing high inflation while the economy risks losing growth momentum. Despite stubborn inflation and uncertainty around the impact of the war, the FOMC signalled one rate cut later in the year, although this is largely dependent on how long the conflict continues. The FOMC also raised its growth forecast for the US to 2.4% for the year.

Global markets fell sharply in March as the war broke out in the Middle East. No matter how quickly the war ends, there is bound to be some economic disruption and investors are increasingly worried that high energy prices will dampen demand and lead to stagflation – high inflation and low growth – across the developed world. The MSCI World Index ended the month with a loss of 6.4% (-3.6% for the first quarter) as a broad sell-off affected all sectors except energy. Global energy stocks gained 12% in aggregate while Industrials and Materials stocks shed 10% in March. Technology stocks and Communication Services stocks shed 5% and 7%, respectively, as concerns over massive AI spending and revenue questions, combined with a rethinking of Gulf monarchy spending and the perceived threat from Anthropic, forced investors to re-evaluate the earnings prospects of global technology companies. Country returns varied widely depending on the sensitivity to energy prices. US markets were relatively resilient with the S&P500 and NASDAQ ending the month with losses of just 5% and 4.8%, respectively, as investors deemed the US less exposed to surging energy prices and priced in a quick end to the war, while Japan’s Nikkei shed over 12% as the nation is heavily reliant on imported oil. Emerging markets dropped 11.3% in March as a 25% loss in South Korea, and large double-digit losses in South Africa, Indonesia, and India among others offset gains in energy-exporters Argentina, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia. Global bonds fell 3.1% (-1.1% for Q1) as yields on the US 10yr Treasury rose above 4.5% despite increased safe-haven buying as investors demanded more compensation for holding US assets, while global property stocks declined 7.8% for the month (+1.5% for Q1) as investors rotated capital into relatively safer yield assets.

In South Africa, inflation dropped to 3% year-on-year in February, from 3.5% in January, as food inflation slowed and fuel prices declined. The delay in administering medical aid increases also contributed to the lower reading. Inflation is however expected to rise sharply in April due to the recent surge in oil prices, with analysts predicting a temporary spike to 4.5% in the near term. The SARB acknowledged the impact of rising oil prices on inflation and left interest rates unchanged at the MPC’s March meeting, noting that the standard response to a supply shock is to look through first-round effects, which are unavoidable and cannot be stopped by interest rate changes. The Bank is however worried about second-round effects and may need to raise interest rates if oil remains above $100 per barrel for an extended period. GDP meanwhile rose by 0.4% in Q4 and 1.1% for 2025, a welcomed increase from 2024’s 0.5% annual growth rate but still below expectations and potential. The main contributors to growth were finance, real estate and business services, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and trade, catering and accommodation. The manufacturing, electricity, gas, water, and construction industries recorded negative growth in 2025. Household expenditure was robust, increasing at 3.6%, while gross fixed capital formation declined over the period. This trend continued into the new year with retail sales increasing at a steady 4.2% year-on-year in January, up from December’s meagre 2.5% increase, as households took on more credit. Corporate borrowing has also surged, rising 16.6% for the year, driven by strong demand for unsecured loans, overdrafts, and property-related funding as business confidence hit a 13-year high. This positive momentum could quickly change if the war in the Middle East drags on.

After twelve months of gains, the All Share Index shed 10.5% in March (-0.6% for Q1) as the war in the Middle East forced investors into safe-haven assets. Resources stocks, having gained 180% in the preceding twelve months, bore the brunt of the selling as the prices of precious metals fell sharply. The Resources Index lost 16.5% for the month, while gold and platinum miners shed over 20% as speculative demand waned on the back of high prices and expectations for higher inflation. Energy companies Sasol and Thungela, up 55% and 51%, respectively were among a handful of resources stocks in the green as oil prices surged. Financials and Industrials shed 10% and 5%, respectively, with the latter benefiting from gains in tobacco, tourism and private education stocks. The rand weakened 6% for the month (2% weaker for Q1) as investors liquidated emerging market assets in favour of the relative safety of US Treasuries. The large outflow of capital led to the yield on the 10yr government bond spiking above 9% in the month resulting in a loss of 6.8% for the All Bond Index for the month ( 3.4% for Q1). Listed property stocks meanwhile fell 11.4% (-4.9% for Q1) despite strong fundamentals, as investors priced in higher funding rates.