Investors return to equities as CIS inflows strengthen
General equity portfolios recorded their first net inflow in a year, while multi-asset funds continued to attract the bulk of investors’ money.
ASISA
Planning for survival: How medical advances are reshaping insurance claims
Old Mutual says advisers should focus more on the financial impact of surviving illness, as recovery increasingly brings prolonged income and healthcare pressures.
ASISA insurers pay out 94% of death claims in 2025
Beneficiaries received R44.2 billion last year, with most declines linked to non-disclosure, fraud, unpaid premiums or policy exclusions.
Investors kept buying despite first-quarter market sell-off
South African investors committed R51 billion to collective investment schemes in the first quarter of 2026 despite heightened market volatility.
Life insurers top R5 trillion as growth masks rising risk pressures
Strong market performance lifts assets to record highs, but lapses and protection gaps persist beneath the surface.
JSE delistings: ASISA-commissioned study challenges popular narratives
Research finds that mergers and restructuring drive nearly half of JSE delistings and highlights that the determinant of listing activity is economic growth.
Investors pull R16.5bn from local equity funds despite 42% ALSI rally
Multi-asset and interest-bearing portfolios dominated inflows in 2025 as South African investors continued to favour diversification.
Retail hedge funds overtake qualified investor funds as industry hits R216bn
Retail investors are increasingly shaping South Africa’s hedge fund industry, driving inflows and pushing retail portfolios into the lead for the first time.
Visible risk, invisible cost: advisers urged to pair sun safety with financial cover
With high melanoma rates and limited cover, Momentum Life says summer is the time for advisers to translate health messaging into critical illness conversations.
Second-highest quarterly CIS inflows on record in Q3
For the first time since 2020, a meaningful share of the quarterly inflows came from new capital rather than reinvested income.
Affordability pressures to drive innovation as insurance gap hits R50 trillion
The Insurance Gap Study finds SA’s life and disability shortfall has swelled to R50.4 trillion, with the average earner holding only 39% of the cover their dependants would need.
Huge shortfall in critical illness protection leaves most income earners exposed
ASISA’s research shows formally employed South Africans face a major liquidity risk: R4 trillion in earnings versus only R1.1 trillion in critical illness cover.
Treasury urged to retain tax relief for manager-initiated unit trust transactions
ASISA says further consultation is needed to avoid negative consequences for investors and the collective investment schemes market.
Slight increase in life insurance policies in first half of 2025
Recurring-premium risk policies grew modestly, while the number of endowment policies and retirement annuities declined, ASISA statistics show.
ASISA report: ownership gains, management equity lags, new targets raise pressure
The misalignment between the FSC benchmarks and stricter government employment equity targets is set to increase the transformation pressure on life offices and asset managers.
Average living annuity drawdown rate drops below 6% for the first time since 2011
Strong market returns and rising balances have prompted many retirees to reduce withdrawals – a trend ASISA encourages annuitants to maintain.
Life insurers pay out R39.5bn, with 95.6% of death claims honoured
Policies subject to underwriting had the highest payout rates in 2024, reflecting lower fraud and non-disclosure and the value of comprehensive risk assessment.
