South African investors showed renewed appetite for equities in the second quarter, with general equity portfolios attracting R5 billion in net inflows – their first inflow in the 12 months to the end of June.
The shift formed part of a broader recovery in the collective investment schemes industry, which recorded R63.6 billion in net inflows in the second quarter and ended June with R4.6 trillion in assets under management.
South African multi-asset portfolios remained the main destination for investors, accounting for R138bn of the R227bn in net inflows over the 12 months.
The CIS industry statistics for the quarter and the year to the end of June 2026, released by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) this week, show that new investments accounted for R30.4bn of the second-quarter net inflows, while reinvested income declarations, comprising dividends and interest, contributed a further R33.2bn.
Total net inflows for the 12 months to the end of June amounted to R227bn, comprising R92bn in new investments and R135bn in reinvested income.
CIS management companies that submit their quarterly data to ASISA offered South African investors a choice of 1 945 local CIS portfolios at the end of June.
Diversification remains the dominant strategy
South African multi-asset portfolios continued to attract the largest share of investor money. These portfolios are designed to provide diversification across different asset classes and include eight categories: Flexible, High Equity, SA High Equity, Medium Equity, Low Equity, Income, SA Income, and Unclassified.
Multi-asset portfolios attracted R138bn of the R227bn in net inflows over the 12 months to the end of June. They attracted a further R39bn in the second quarter alone.
SA Multi Asset High Equity portfolios attracted the largest share of the 12-month inflows, at R53.3bn, followed by SA Multi Asset Income portfolios at R51.7bn.
Sunette Mulder, chief of staff at ASISA, says the figures indicate that investors were seeking growth while retaining the benefits of diversification, with a balanced mix of equities and interest-bearing investments predominantly within the SA Multi-Asset category.
At the end of the second quarter, 51% of assets under management in South African portfolios were invested in SA Multi Asset portfolios. SA Interest Bearing portfolios accounted for 29%, SA Equity portfolios for 19%, and SA Real Estate portfolios for 1%.
Equity appetite returns
The R5bn net inflow into general equity portfolios in the second quarter provides a notable contrast with the preceding 12 months.
Mulder says this was the first net inflow into general equity portfolios over the 12 months to the end of June, indicating renewed investor demand for equity exposure despite the market volatility during the quarter.
The broader figures, however, suggest that the renewed appetite for equities did not represent a wholesale shift away from diversified portfolios. Multi-asset portfolios continued to account for most assets and inflows.
Offshore portfolios see outflows
Locally registered foreign portfolios increased their assets under management to R1.2 trillion over the 12 months to the end of June. These portfolios had crossed the R1trn mark in the second quarter of 2025.
The portfolios recorded net outflows of R5.59bn in the second quarter, compared with net inflows of R2.74bn in the first quarter of 2026. They nevertheless recorded total net inflows of R19.45bn over the 12 months to the end of June.
There were 813 foreign currency-denominated portfolios available for sale in South Africa at the end of the second quarter.
Hedge fund industry
The South African hedge fund industry ended the second quarter with R213bn in assets under management, excluding fund of funds.
This was down from R216bn at the end of December 2025.
Despite the decline in assets over the six months, the industry recorded net inflows of R2.1bn in the first six months of 2026, according to Mulder.
The number of hedge funds increased to 222 at the end of June.
