In this episode we take a closer look at the Sygnia Itrix Solactive Healthcare 150 ETF, and the investment case for healthcare exposure in long-term investment portfolios. How does this compare to other global ETF options already available on the JSE, and how can you decide if it deserves a place in your wealth-building strategy?

Listed real estate investments have been under quite a bit of pressure over the last year or two, and the global lockdown due to Covid pandemic just added insult to injury. Even global real estate stocks, although arguably more diversified than local investments, were weighed down by the strength in the rand which has appreciated more than 20% against the US dollar over the past year. But not all real estate indices are created equally, and in this industry, forced to adapt very quickly, there is a case to be made for indices that are also more responsive to change. What are custom indices and how do they work?

The returns we get from investments come in two parts – capital gains (or an increase in the price) and distributions, which could be either dividends or interest. It is easy to see the first part of this return equation, the price changes, from your investment platform or stockbroking account, but how do distributions work for ETFs?

Investors are often told to “do your homework”, to “understand what you invest in before you do so”, or even just “do your own research”, but what exactly does that mean, and how should ETF investors evaluate an ETF to decide if it’s right for you? In this episode we take a closer look at fact sheets, how to read it and identify the important information to help guide your investment decisions.

In this episode we turn our attention to an asset class that is at best not well understood by most investors, or at worst, a complete unknown, and that is African sovereign bond markets. We also discuss the ballot process required to change the investment strategy of an existing ETF.

In this episode we metaphorically dust off our passports to embark on a round-the-world-trip, through a quick reminder of the global ETF investment opportunity set available to South African investors on the JSE, in general, and then taking a closer look at the latest offering in this space, the CoreShares Total World Stock Feeder ETF (share code: GLOBAL).

In this episode we follow on with the theme of episode 20, being ESG ETF investments, by looking at the specific options available to South African investors on the JSE. Sygnia recently listed the third ESG ETF on the JSE – the Sygnia Itrix S&P Global 1200 ESG ETF. How does this differ from the other two options already available?

In this episode we focus on ESG investments, as in Environmental, Social and Governance, and how to get exposure to this strongly growing global trend via ETFs. But what is ESG, other than the clarification of the acronym, and why should you care? Is this a trend that is easily captured in index form, and therefore through an ETF, or is this best left to active investment management?

In this episode, the final one for 2020, we finish off with a nice Christmas bonus for investors in Tesla. The electric vehicle company will be included in the S&P500 index from the start of trading on Monday 21-Dec-2020. We discuss why now, and what this means for investors in S&P500 ETFs.

In this episode we are going back to basics to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Having said that, even if you are an old hand at ETFs, there may be some new insights for you in this episode, such as investing in cryptocurrencies via ETFs.