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Blending passive and active investing

Published: June 27, 2019

By: Hayley Brown, PPS Investment Executive: Business Development

 

Cape Town, 27 June 2019In the face of the current economic climate, many investors will seek the most cost-effective opportunity and weigh up the pros and cons before choosing a suitable investment product or service. Similarly, as an investor, you may also be increasingly more fee-conscious when considering an investment.

 

Initiatives such as the Effective Annual Costs (EAC) standard, introduced in 2017 by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) members enable

investors to compare the fees and costs of investment solutions from various service providers.

 

EAC provide a standard disclosure of the charges that an investor will most likely incur when investing and holding a specific financial product.  The most recent change of the EAC, which became effective from 1 March 2019, compels all financial service providers and retirement funds to comply with the standard on retirement savings cost disclosures.

 

Both standards endorse full disclosure of costs levied by administrators, advisers and asset managers. This level of disclosure empowers and educates investors on their investment choices in the pursuit of wealth creation.

 

Active Investment

 

This aims to find opportunities to outperform the market. Skilled portfolio managers gather, analyse and interpret data and select companies they believe are likely to beat a predetermined benchmark. Asset managers rely on extensive research, professional judgment and industry experience to actively buy, hold and sell securities in seeking to generate alpha (returns in excess of a market index). The downside of the active approach is that many managers find it difficult to deliver on this objective consistently.

 

Passive Investment

 

This involves investing in baskets of securities that replicate a market index or benchmark (also referred to as an ’index tracker’ and Exchange Traded Fund), instead of trying to outperform the market. In other words, an index tracker seeks to match market returns as closely as possible. Passive investments are generally more cost-effective, due to simpler administrative requirements resulting in lower transaction fees and a saving on research costs.

 

 

 

 

Why choose one when you can combine both passive and active investments

 

The active versus passive conversation has had very strong arguments on both ends of the spectrum. Despite all the great thinkers contributing to the debate, the answer is not active or passive but it’s both.

 

A strategic blend of active and passive allows a more holistic approach. Combining them decreases dependency on the market cycle. In addition, using passive investment in active portfolios reduces costs.

 

The below example blends the PPS Balanced Index Tracker Fund (A2 class) with three of the most popular retail funds of the last year based on ASISA retail flows. The table illustrates the reduction in fee that the client experiences when introducing a passive fund to an existing active portfolio.

 

Fund

Total investment cost (TIC)

Active Manager

(no passive)

Blended portfolio

Fund A

2.10%

33.33%

25.00%

Fund B

1.10%

33.33%

25.00%

Fund C

1.53%

33.33%

25.00%

PPS Balanced Index Tracker A2

0.80%

0.00%

25.00%

Estimated TIC*

 

1.58%

1.38%

*TIC consists of the Total Expense Ratio (TER) and the Transaction Costs (TC)

 

 

PPS Balanced Index Tracker Fund

 

The PPS Balanced Index Tracker Fund is a passive multi-asset high equity option for long-term investors, based on the carefully constructed PPS Balanced Index. There will be times when the PPS Balanced Index will underperform active managers, but we believe a portfolio tracking this index will provide a useful diversification for investors seeking to combine active managers with a core tracking portfolio in the solutions they construct. The portfolio has been constructed as an appropriate Regulation 28-compliant solution for South African investors saving for their retirement.

 

The PPS Balanced Index Tracker Fund has grown to over R500 million, and the increased scale has allowed us to reduce the management fee to 40 basis points (bps). As a result, the total investment cost is expected to drop from the current 80 bps to around 65 bps.

 

Fee and cost structures within investments are now clearer and more standardised across investment service providers as aligned to government’s ongoing retirement reform, but we recommend that you consult a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

 

Media contact:        Leigh-Anne Sa Joe

                                    Meropa Communications

                                    011 506 7300/079 553 8429

 

About PPS Investments:

PPS Investments, established in 2007, is part of the 78-year old PPS Group, South Africa’s largest multidisciplinary society of graduate professionals with around 150 000 members. PPS Investments offers a comprehensive range of competitive investment solutions designed to empower investors at all life stages to plan, protect and provide for their financial goals. Having been the forefront of progressive, transparent investments since inception, the dynamic asset manager carefully designs its investments with the input and feedback from the graduate professional market – a client centric approach which both graduate professionals and general investors can benefit from. Its flagship is the PPS Portfolio range which offers diversification across optimally combined, complementary asset managers. PPS Group is mutual financial services company and shares 100% of its profits with its members. Thus, when PPS members invest with PPS Investments, whether in its single- -manager funds or PPS Portfolios, qualifying members benefit from increased profits into the PPS Profit-Share Account. http://www.ppsinvestments.co.za/

DISCLAIMER: The information, opinions and any communication from PPS Investments, whether written, oral or implied are expressed in good faith and not intended as investment or financial advice, neither does it constitute an offer or solicitation in any manner. Furthermore, all information provided is of a general nature with no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any person. It is recommended that investors first obtain appropriate legal, tax, investment, financial or other professional advice prior to acting upon such information. Collective Investment Schemes in Securities (CIS) are generally medium to long term investments. The value of participatory interests may go down as well as up and past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. CIS are traded at ruling prices and can engage in borrowing and scrip lending. A schedule of fees and charges and maximum commissions is available on request from the PPS Investments. Commission and incentives may be paid and if so, would be included in the overall costs. Professional Provident Society Investments Proprietary Limited (39270) and Professional Provident Society Multi-Managers Proprietary Limited (28733) are both licensed financial services providers.

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