CoreShares lists Top 50 ETF
Grindrod Bank’s passive investment management business CoreShares, in partnership with S&P Dow Jones Indices, today listed a Top 50 ETF focused on South African equities.
“The new investment fund will track the S&P South Africa 50 Index, which represents about 90% of the capitalisation of the South African equity market,” said Gareth Stobie, head of the CoreShares franchise. “Given how the South African market has matured, we believe there is wisdom in tracking this wide scope of equities.”
In addition to broad market exposure, the Top 50 ETF with its 0.2% service charge offers the benefit of investing at low cost, as well as lower manager risk. The ETF is also aligned with CoreShares’ Core-Satellite investment approach, in which index investments form the majority – or core – of an investment portfolio.
“Many would argue that a simple market cap weighted index should be included in a Core-Satellite approach,” said Stobie. “The Top 50 ETF enables both retail and institutional investors to position active or other passive strategies, such as smart beta, listed property, offshore or fixed income, around a core holding of 50 stocks.”
Michael Orzano, director of Global Equity Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices, said, “We are delighted to be working with Grindrod Bank once again in providing the underlying S&P South Africa 50 Index. We constructed the Index to include the most liquid large cap stocks listed on the JSE. The Index is designed to have broad market coverage and be efficiently replicated.”
This is the sixth low-cost index product in CoreShares’ range. If an amalgamation agreement entered between CoreShares and Nedgroup Beta Solutions (NBS) in February 2015 gets regulatory approval, CoreShares will offer two additional ETFs later this year.
