Johannesburg, 25 March 2021 – Specialist index tracking asset manager 1nvest, a collaboration between Standard Bank, Liberty and STANLIB, is proud to announce that three of its commodity Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) received top honours at this year’s South African Listed Tracker Funds Awards (SALTAs). The 1nvest Rhodium ETF, a consistent winner at the SALTAs, was recognised alongside the 1nvest Gold ETF and 1nvest Platinum ETF.
Sponsored by the JSE, Refinitive, Profile Data and etf.co.za, the SALTAs showcase top-performing index tracking funds (unit trusts and ETFs) across a wide variety of criteria such as capital raising, total return performance and tracking efficiency. The winners for 2021 were announced during a virtual ceremony, held on the evening of March 24.
This is the fourth consecutive year in which the 1nvest Rhodium ETF has received an award at the SALTAs for the returns it has delivered to investors. The ETF was honoured for its total return performance in the five year Foreign and Commodity ETFs category while it also received the award for total return performance in the three year Commodity ETFs category. The fund, which is currently the only of its kind on the African continent and one of two in the world, returned a remarkable 187.14% to investors in 2020 – up from 140.9% in 2019. Over the last three years, it delivered an annualised return of 124.96%.
Meanwhile, the 1nvest Gold ETF was awarded for tracking efficiency in the three year Foreign and Commodity ETFs category. This award recognises the efficiency of ETFs to deliver, as close as possible, the performance of their reference index. The ETF returned 29.93% to investors in 2020, and 19.99% over three years, providing the most accurate return by an ETF tracking the Gold spot price.
The 1nvest Platinum ETF was awarded for capital raising over one year in the Commodity ETFs category, gathering R 2,2 billion of inflows in 2020.
Johann Erasmus, Executive Director of 1nvest, says that the awards highlight the strength and breadth of the 1nvest offering, which includes unique, well-established funds with impressive track records. “With many milestones achieved in a short space of time, we are truly delighted to be recognised by the SALTAs. The awards received reaffirm the direction that we are taking as a business.”
Launched in 2019, 1nvest combines the Standard Bank Group’s existing index funds, experience and expertise to provide clients with a consolidated and comprehensive range of 28 index tracking funds across multiple asset classes and geographies. Erasmus says that these unit trusts and ETFs can be used to enhance investors’ portfolios by providing access to diversification at a low cost.
With R1.4 billion assets under management, the 1nvest rhodium ETF has attracted much attention for its outstanding performance recently. Erasmus says that rhodium’s impressive run can be attributed in large part to the implementation of stricter vehicle emission regulations, which has resulted in high demand for the metal that is outstripping supply. There are only about 1 million ounces of rhodium are produced annually, with South Africa producing about 80% of this supply, he explains.
“We have seen a marked increase of use of the 1nvest commodity ETFs by our clients wishing to trade precious metals,” Erasmus says. “Due to the increased liquidity provided by Standard Bank, we saw more than ZAR22 billion of 1nvest commodity ETFs change hands on the JSE by end 2020.”
While each metal has its own unique risks and opportunities, silver, like gold, is considered a low-risk investment. During times of intense volatility such as what we have experienced recently, Erasmus says that there has been a flight to safety through commodity ETFs such as the 1nvest Gold ETF as markets continued to take strain.
Since launching in 2019, 1nvest has quickly built on its offering. It marked its first birthday last year by celebrating the listing of the 1nvest Gold ETF and 1nvest Platinum ETF on the Namibian Stock Exchange. In the same year, it acquired Shari’ah compliancy certificates for its commodity ETFs.
“The diversity of our product offering at 1nvest is a demonstration of the value that is unlocked for investors. Most importantly, our award-winning expertise combined with the backing of the larger Standard Bank Group means that our clients are assured that we place their interests first when providing them with the best-in-class index investment products,” concludes Erasmus.
The 1nvest index funds are available through Standard Bank stockbrokers or Online Share Trading.
