This passive fund tracks the PPS Balanced Index which itself is a composite benchmark of made up of South African (SA) and foreign equities (both developed and emerging), SA property, SA bonds (both nominal and inflation-linked) and SA cash. The benchmark is constructed to be Regulation 28 compliant, and weighted towards growth assets.
Over the investment horizon of the Fund (the fund does not yet have a five-year track record) the PPS Balanced Index returned 6.2% p.a., and 6.1% p.a. over three years. The fund is expected to track the index before fees, and holds the underlying indices of the PPS Balanced Index in the appropriate proportions. SA equities make up a significant proportion of the Fund (the strategic weight to SA equities is 45%) and subdued returns from this asset class (up just 3.7% p.a. over five years, and 3.5% p.a. over three years) has weighted down on returns. Over this period, the Fund has benefited from its exposure to both developed and emerging market equities, while nominal bonds have also contributed to returns.
For 2019, foreign equities (up 23.1%) have continued to outperform SA equities (up 6.8%), while SA nominal bonds (up 10.3%) have outperformed both SA cash (up 6.9%) and SA inflation-linked bonds (up 2.6%). Through the cycle our expectation is that SA equities should deliver double-digit returns and contribute more meaningfully to performance.
Currently, due to the mismatch in performance, the index is overweight foreign equities and underweight SA equities relative to the strategic weight. The benchmark weight of the PPS Balanced Index is rebalanced annually to its strategic weight, and the next rebalance will take place on the 15th of July.