The total assets invested in South African collective investment schemes (CIS) ended the first quarter of 2021 at a record R2.9 trillion. The growth in local assets followed a strong recovery in the South African stock market for the year ended March 2021. Over that year, the FTSE/JSE All Share Index gained 49%. That drove an average 31% gain for funds in the South African multi-asset high equity category, and a 17% average return for local multi-asset low equity funds. the majority of CIS investments made in the year ended March 2021 missed out on the strong stock market recovery as most of the money went into interest-bearing portfolios. South African interest-bearing variable and short-term portfolios attracted R98.6 billion in net inflows for the 12 months, while South African interest-bearing money market portfolios attracted R53.1 billion. South African multi-asset income portfolios attracted R28.5 billion. Over the year ended March 2021, South Africa multi-asset income funds returned an average 9%, while local interest-bearing and money market unit trusts returned between 5% and 6% on average.
CISs recorded net inflows of R204 billion, the highest ever achieved by the CIS industry over a rolling 12-month period. Total inflows over the three months ended March 2021 were R13.7 billion. Of this total, R180.2 billion went into interest-bearing portfolios. The shift towards interest-bearing unit trusts has significantly increased the market share of these funds. At the end of March, South African interest-bearing portfolios held 33% of CIS assets, compared with 24% in March 2016. Money held in local equity portfolios has dropped from 21% in March 2016 to 18% at the end of March 2021. Funds held in South African multi-asset portfolios have dropped from 51% in March 2016 to 47% in March 2021.