Optimal Asset Allocation Strategies for South African Pension Funds

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-53
Author(s):  
J D van Heerden ◽  
F J Koegelenberg
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Allocation Strategies

scholarly journals A comparison of retirement saving using discretionary investment and Regulation 28

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizelle D. Willows ◽  
Thomas Burgers ◽  
Darron West
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Retirement Savings ◽  
Primary Reason ◽  
Risk And Return ◽  
Retirement Saving ◽  
Retirement Fund

Background: There is growing uncertainty in global society with regard to how retirement savings should be approached. The primary reason for this is that most societies do not save enough and their citizens run out of money during retirement. Aim: This study investigates whether the limitations imposed by Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act of South Africa encourage optimal asset allocation and reduce investment risk for retirement savings when contrasted with discretionary investment. Setting: The study looks at hypothetical individuals who are subject to tax and retirement consequences as administered by South African legislation. Methods: A quantitative risk and return analysis was performed while considering two hypothetical investors who are identical in all aspects other than their choice of investments. Results: The findings indicate that Regulation 28 is effective in reducing the investment risk of retirement savings; however, it may also force the investor to sacrifice wealth. Conclusion: Depending on the tax bracket in which the investor sits, discretionary investment may be preferential to investing in a retirement fund under the mandate of Regulation 28.

scholarly journals Mitigating the South African retirement-income shortfall crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriaan E. Pask ◽  
Johan Marx
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
Retirement Income ◽  
Ceteris Paribus ◽  
National Budget ◽  
Investment Returns ◽  
Retirement Fund ◽  
Retirement Wealth ◽  
Income Shortfall

Orientation: National Treasury acknowledges that 90% of all South African retirees will not have adequate financial resources in order to sustain themselves.Research purpose: This study aimed to address the retirement income shortfall by assessing possible changes to prudential retirement fund regulations.Motivation: Asset allocation plays a pivotal role in achieving the required rate of return of any portfolio. However, the restrictions on asset allocation imposed by article 28 of the Pension Funds Act of 1956 limits pension funds’ ability to achieve adequate returns.Research approach: A survey was conducted among chief investment officers (CIO) of the top 25 South African investment management companies.Main findings: The study proposes changes to the Income Tax Act, the Collective Investment Scheme Control Act and Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act.Managerial implications: The proposed framework should result in fewer pensioners becoming dependent on the state for their pension and empower pensioners to have greater amounts of post-retirement savings.Contribution: The contribution of this article is the proposed changes to the regulatory framework, which could – ceteris paribus: (1) Enable SA retirement fund investors to contribute to the retirement wealth pool in an unconstrained manner. (2) Enable SA retirement fund assets to increase investment returns by as much as 1.21% per annum. (3) Increase the average SA GRRs from the current projected 10.0% to 10.7% by 2045. (4) Increase the efficacy of the existing tax incentives. (5) Reduce spending requirements for grants in the national budget.

Asset Allocation Strategies: Enhanced by Micro-Blog

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zryan Sadik ◽  
Gautam Mitra ◽  
Shradha Berry
Keyword(s):  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Allocation Strategies

Asset Allocation Strategies and Commodities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Boido
Keyword(s):  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Central Banking ◽  
Fixed Income ◽  
Fixed Income Securities ◽  
Asset Classes ◽  
Alternative Beta ◽  
Asset Managers ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Allocation Strategies

As a result of the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and subsequent central banking decisions, the asset management industry changed its asset allocation choices. Asset managers are focusing their attention on the search for new asset classes by taking advantage of the new opportunities to capture risk premia with the aim of exceeding the returns given by traditional investments, including traded equities, fixed income securities, and cash. By doing so, they are trying to improve the selection of alternative assets, such as commodities that sometimes have relatively low correlations with traditional assets. The chapter begins by describing the principles of asset allocation, distinguishing between passive and active asset allocation, also focusing on beta and alternative beta. It then concentrates on how investors can gain exposure to commodities through different investment vehicles and strategies.

scholarly journals Assessing Market Risk in BRICS and Oil Markets: An Application of Markov Switching and Vine Copula

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
John Weirstrass Muteba Mwamba ◽  
Sutene Mwambetania Mwambi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
South African ◽  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Markov Switching ◽  
Tail Dependence ◽  
Lower Tail ◽  
Oil Market ◽  
Oil Markets ◽  
Vine Copula

This paper investigates the dynamic tail dependence risk between BRICS economies and the world energy market, in the context of the COVID-19 financial crisis of 2020, in order to determine optimal investment decisions based on risk metrics. For this purpose, we employ a combination of novel statistical techniques, including Vector Autoregressive (VAR), Markov-switching GJR-GARCH, and vine copula methods. Using a data set consisting of daily stock and world crude oil prices, we find evidence of a structure break in the volatility process, consisting of high and low persistence volatility processes, with a high persistence in the probabilities of transition between lower and higher volatility regimes, as well as the presence of leverage effects. Furthermore, our results based on the C-vine copula confirm the existence of two types of tail dependence: symmetric tail dependence between South Africa and China, South Africa and Russia, and South Africa and India, and asymmetric lower tail dependence between South Africa and Brazil, and South Africa and crude oil. For the purpose of diversification in these markets, we formulate an asset allocation problem using raw returns, MS GARCH returns, and C-vine and R-vine copula-based returns, and optimize it using a Particle Swarm optimization algorithm with a rebalancing strategy. The results demonstrate an inverse relationship between the risk contribution and asset allocation of South Africa and the crude oil market, supporting the existence of a lower tail dependence between them. This suggests that, when South African stocks are in distress, investors tend to shift their holdings in the oil market. Similar results are found between Russia and crude oil, as well as Brazil and crude oil. In the symmetric tail, South African asset allocation is found to have a well-diversified relationship with that of China, Russia, and India, suggesting that these three markets might be good investment destinations when things are not good in South Africa, and vice versa.

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