When the JSE revised its Listings Requirements in October 2022, it quietly modernised South Africa’s exchange-traded ecosystem. Similar reforms in the US and Europe had already fuelled record inflows into active ETFs, and local timing proved ideal. After years of easy money and post-pandemic volatility, investors were searching for vehicles that could adjust faster than static indices.
The first Actively Managed ETFs (AMETFs) arrived in 2023, attracting both retail traders on EasyEquities and institutional allocators running retirement assets. By 2024, Coronation had joined the movement, signalling that major active houses now viewed ETFs not as rivals but as distribution partners.
South Africa’s reform also aligned with a broader policy shift from a savings culture toward true investment participation. The FSCA’s approach echoes the United States’ 1940 Act framework that enabled active ETFs to thrive there—clear oversight, daily transparency, and investor protection. For local pension and preservation funds, it marks a natural extension of Regulation 28’s push for diversified, well-governed exposure.
The South African ETF story mirrors the global shift from replication to purpose. When the Satrix 40 listed in 2000, it introduced low-cost index exposure. Two decades later, Prescient’s co-named ETF platform made it possible for smaller managers to launch active, thematic, or ESG-aligned funds without building new infrastructure.
Overseas, managers such as J.P. Morgan, Dimensional, and Fidelity have turned active ETFs into a USD 500 billion segment. South Africa is following that trajectory, merging systematic design with manager discretion. The ETF has evolved into an active engine: efficient, transparent, and capable of tactical decisions in real time.
At a glance, AMETFs trade like any other ETF—listed, priced intraday, and settled on the exchange. Inside the wrapper, however, they function much like traditional active funds.
Transparent AMETFs publish holdings daily. Non-transparent versions reveal portfolios monthly or quarterly but release an intra-day Net Asset Value (iNAV) every few minutes. Independent firms such as S&P Global calculate the iNAV, anchoring fair prices and preventing wide trading spreads.
Transparent funds rely on market makers to post bids and offers, while non-transparent funds manage liquidity internally through creation and redemption based on the iNAV. The model, already proven in Europe and the US, protects intellectual property while maintaining market depth.
Traditional unit trusts strike a once-daily Net Asset Value after market close. ETFs—and AMETFs—stream a live iNAV throughout the session, allowing real-time execution. Because creations and redemptions are done in kind rather than in cash, investors typically avoid capital-gains events triggered by underlying trades, improving tax efficiency over time.
AMETFs fall under both CISCA and JSE Listings Requirements, supervised by the FSCA. Investors receive the same legal safeguards as unit-trust holders together with the immediacy of exchange trading.
Institutions prize efficiency, and AMETFs deliver it.
Multi-asset managers use them for short-term exposure shifts or transition trades when rebalancing between mandates. Intraday liquidity means no idle cash and no T + 2 delay.
Active bond and credit AMETFs let managers fine-tune duration or credit quality—vital when yields swing sharply. The blend of oversight and tradability has made them a natural fit for treasury desks.
Real-time pricing and same-day settlement simplify governance and cash-flow management. For fund-of-funds structures, that transparency reduces reconciliation risk and administrative drag.
A single JSE listing reaches both institutional and retail buyers, widening channels without additional platforms.
In 2024, a South African multi-asset manager executed a R500 million transition trade through an income AMETF while changing custodians. The ETF’s intraday liquidity allowed exposure to remain intact, avoiding roughly 40 basis points of potential slippage—proof that active ETFs can serve as operational bridges as well as investments.
AMETFs are becoming part of the institutional toolkit: liquid, auditable, and adaptive.
When a large pension fund restructured its balanced mandate, the manager used a listed income AMETF as temporary exposure. Over three trading days, roughly R480 million rotated through the ETF with spreads below 10 basis points and full settlement by T + 0.
The manager reports that without the AMETF, the transition would have required derivative overlays or short-term money-market holdings—each carrying extra cost and counterparty risk. The ETF provided transparency, daily pricing, and minimal disruption. For institutions navigating liquidity events, AMETFs are proving to be tools of execution, not just vehicles of allocation.
For individual investors, AMETFs flatten the playing field.
Each ETF has a single Total Expense Ratio (TER), so a R100 buyer and a pension fund pay the same percentage fee. The simplicity builds trust.
Platforms such as SatrixNOW, EasyEquities, and Wealthport let users trade in seconds and track holdings on mobile dashboards. For a generation accustomed to instant transactions, real-time investing feels natural.
South Africa’s household savings rate remains below zero. ETFs—particularly AMETFs with fractional access—offer a practical route to disciplined saving. Engagement grows because results are visible, not abstract.
A 30-year-old teacher in Johannesburg invests R250 a month into a global-income AMETF through EasyEquities. She can see her dividends accumulate and reinvest automatically—something few legacy savings products offered. Stories like hers are multiplying: ETFSA data show retail investors now account for roughly one-third of the R250 billion South African ETF market, up from less than 10 percent a decade ago.
Surveys by the World Economic Forum show most investors value clarity above all. The more platforms embed concise, plain-language explainers, the faster adoption grows.
Fintech platforms are lowering entry barriers and normalising investing for first-time savers. For many South Africans, their first exposure to markets now comes through an ETF, not a bank savings product—an encouraging shift toward long-term asset ownership.
ETFs once promised only to mirror the market; AMETFs promise to manage it.
Managers can trim exposure, raise cash, or rotate into higher-quality assets when volatility spikes—moves that pure index trackers cannot make. During the March 2025 sell-off, a global-income AMETF shifted into short-dated sovereign bonds, cushioning losses relative to passive peers.
Other funds are pursuing thematic exposure in renewable energy, global infrastructure, or dividend-growth strategies while keeping the liquidity of a listed vehicle. Smart-beta factors such as quality or value now sit alongside discretionary calls, turning diversification into an ongoing process rather than a static mix.
Cost efficiency remains a hallmark but not a guarantee.
Listing fees, iNAV services, and market-making require scale. ETFs above roughly R100 million in assets usually reach cost parity with similar unit trusts; above R500 million, many reduce total-expense ratios by up to 30 basis points.
Larger funds also stabilise bid–ask spreads. Tight spreads attract institutional flow, and that depth trickles down to retail investors as lower trading costs. Scale isn’t just an efficiency metric—it’s a signal of market maturity.
Not always. Active oversight adds expense, yet investors gain liquidity and transparency. What matters is value for access—how effectively a structure delivers on its goal at a fair overall cost.
White-label platforms and shared administration allow smaller managers to reach viability sooner. Instead of competing on infrastructure, they compete on insight.
Unit trusts still serve investors needing bespoke reporting or lower-turnover mandates. AMETFs simply widen the spectrum of choice.
Inward-listed ETFs have become South Africa’s gateway to the world. Because they trade in rands, they do not consume offshore allowances, giving everyday investors global reach without foreign-exchange transfers.
Institutional funds use them to expand international exposure while staying within Regulation 28’s 45 percent limit—a rare case where regulation and innovation align.
Early 2025 saw the TBI Global Multi-Asset Income AMETF list on the JSE, offering global diversification and rand-denominated income streams. BlackRock, already approved for 24 ETFs, is expected to follow—a move that could double foreign participation.
By June 2025 the JSE hosted 281 exchange-traded products—92 ETFs and 29 AMETFs—with another wave awaiting FSCA approval. Rival exchanges such as the Cape Town Stock Exchange are exploring ETF listings to improve liquidity and pricing competition.
Elsewhere in Africa, Botswana’s NewGold ETF remains one of the most traded securities on its exchange, while Namibia and Kenya are piloting ETF frameworks of their own. These efforts highlight the JSE’s advantage: a mature clearing infrastructure and regulatory depth that could make South Africa the hub for cross-border ETF listings across the continent.
The divide between active and passive investing has blurred into something more useful—adaptive. AMETFs retain the discipline and transparency that built investor trust while re-introducing the judgment that markets still need.
They give retail investors access to institutional-grade strategies, provide asset managers with efficient distribution, and equip allocators with flexible tools for diversification and risk control.
Looking ahead, further FSCA refinements—such as clarity around crypto-linked ETPs, ESG-reporting standards, and digital issuance—are likely to extend this momentum. Analysts already project that South Africa’s exchange-traded market could surpass R300 billion by 2026.
The reform that began quietly in 2022 has triggered a structural upgrade in how South Africans invest. What started as replication has become interpretation—and that evolution is where the next decade of growth will come from.
As South Africa’s exchange-traded market evolves, Reitway Global continues to champion innovation in listed real estate investing. Through our range of ETFs and unit trusts, we give investors transparent, regulated access to global property markets—combining active insight with disciplined portfolio design. In a landscape where active management and efficient structures are converging, Reitway remains committed to helping investors participate in the growth of global real estate through accessible, listed solutions.
ETFs are no longer just mirrors of the market; they are instruments shaping it.
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