MBABANE – The Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s (FSRA) first-quarter 2025 bulletin shows continued growth in the non-banking financial sector across both collective investment schemes (CIS) and assets under advisory.
The report shows that the value of assets under collective investment schemes rose slightly by 0.07 per cent during the quarter under review, moving from E8.91 billion in the last quarter of 2024 to E8.92 billion by the end of March 2025.
Collective Investment Schemes are pooled investment vehicles where multiple investors combine their money to be managed by a professional fund manager. This allows for diversification across various assets like shares, bonds and property, reducing risk for individual investors. Investors purchase units in the scheme, and the price of these units reflects the performance of the underlying investments.
The FSRA attributed the marginal increase in CIS assets to several factors, including a rise in retail client funds, which grew by 11.37 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Short-term insurers also recorded growth in their funds, increasing by 10.38 per cent over the same period.
The bulletin noted that the maturity of local bonds contributed to the increase in funds under management. External factors such as the strengthening of the Rand and the continuous positive performance of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) also played a role in boosting the value of assets.
Retirement funds remained the largest contributors to CIS assets, owning 37.73 per cent of the total during the quarter. This marked a slight decrease from the previous quarter, where retirement funds held 38.88 per cent.
Companies owned 17.18 per cent of total assets, down from 18.66 per cent in the preceding period. The changes reflect minor shifts in the sources of funds across the various investor categories during the quarter.
Stanlib maintained the largest market share among CIS managers, holding 47.38 per cent in the quarter under review. This was an increase from 45.93 per cent in the previous period. The growth in Stanlib’s market share was driven by a 32.61 per cent rise in retail investor funds and a 12.16 per cent increase in funds from short-term insurers.
Full article available in our publication.
Leave a comment