JSE-listed ETF will enable South Africans to invest in global bonds

ASHBURTON Investments, the asset management arm of the FirstRand group, announced this week that it will list the Ashburton World Government Bond ETF on the JSE in March.

The exchange traded fund (ETF) will track the Citi World Government Bond Index (WGBI) which invests in fixed-rate, local-currency, investment-grade sovereign bonds from over 20 developed and emerging-market countries.

The JSE will be the first exchange in the world to list the WGBI ETF and the new listing will, for the first time, give South Africans the opportunity to invest in global bonds on the JSE.

Samantha Schoeman, head of index tracking at Ashburton Investments, says: “This is an especially exciting announcement, as the launch of a global bond ETF will provide retail and institutional investors with easy exposure to the world’s bond markets in one low-cost, taxefficient ETF.”

The biggest holdings in the ETF are United States government bonds at 33.6%, followed by Japanese bonds (19.7%) and French bonds (8.4%)

South African government bonds make up 0.5% of the value of total holdings.

The minimum investment amount will be R5 000 with increments of R1 000 thereafter.

The targeted total expense ratio is expected to be between 0.4% and 0.45%.