South African investors continued putting money into collective investment schemes in the first quarter of 2026 despite sharp market volatility triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, suggesting many stayed invested rather than pulling back during the uncertainty.
Statistics released by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) on 27 May show that investors added a net R51 billion to CIS portfolios in the three months to 31 March 2026, even as weaker markets pushed assets under management slightly lower over the quarter.
AUM declined by 1.2% from R4.58 trillion at the end of December 2025 to R4.52 trillion at the end of March.
The quarter unfolded against a volatile market backdrop.
The FTSE/JSE All Share Index (ALSI) reached a record high of 128 455 points on 27 February 2026, before military action by the United States and Israel against Iran on 28 February triggered a sharp shift in global markets that wiped out most of the gains recorded during the quarter. The ALSI ended March at 114 067 points.
Despite the market swings, ASISA chief of staff Sunette Mulder said investors continued adding money to CIS portfolios.
The numbers suggest many investors remained focused on longer-term investing rather than responding to short-term market movements.
Of the R51 billion in net inflows during the quarter, R13bn came from new investments, while reinvested income declarations, including dividends and interest, contributed R38bn.
Over the 12 months to the end of March 2026, net inflows into CIS portfolios reached R199.31bn, consisting of R68.06bn in new investments and R131.25bn from reinvestments.
At the end of March, South African investors had access to 1 943 locally registered CIS portfolios.
Diversification remained the dominant theme
The data also suggests investors continued favouring diversified investment options rather than concentrating their money in a single type of asset.
By the end of the first quarter, half of all assets under management in South African portfolios were invested in multi-asset portfolios.
Interest-bearing portfolios accounted for 29% of assets, while equity portfolios represented 20%. Real estate portfolios made up the remaining 1%.
Mulder said annual investment patterns suggest investors were looking for a balance between income-producing investments and equity exposure, largely through multi-asset portfolios.
Investors have a choice of eight multi-asset categories, including flexible, high equity, SA high equity, medium equity, low equity, income, SA Income, and unclassified portfolios.
Over the 12 months to March 2026, SA multi-asset income portfolios attracted the highest net inflows at R51.7bn, followed by SA multi-asset high equity portfolios with R45bn.
Investors moved away from one of the strongest-performing categories
One of the more notable trends was that investors withdrew money from a category that nevertheless delivered strong returns.
SA equity SA general portfolios recorded, on average, net outflows of R27.4bn over the 12 months to March despite delivering average returns of 29.9% over the same period.
The SA equity SA general category was introduced in October 2024 to create a more comparable category for portfolios invested exclusively in local shares.
Previously, these portfolios were grouped together with general equity portfolios that also included offshore exposure, where exchange-rate movements could have a meaningful impact on performance.
Offshore portfolios remained above the R1-trillion mark
Locally registered foreign portfolios held assets under management steady at R1.1 trillion during the quarter, remaining above the R1 trillion threshold first crossed in the second quarter of 2025.
However, interest in offshore portfolios eased. These portfolios attracted net inflows of R2.74bn in the first quarter of 2026, substantially lower than the R21.62bn recorded in the final quarter of 2025.
At the end of March, 800 foreign currency-denominated portfolios were available for sale in South Africa.
