HOW TO READ THE PERFORMANCE TABLE ON PAGE 4

You will find your fund listed alphabetically in its category by looking in the FUND NAME column. Where a fund has multiple classes – for example, an “A” class with unregulated annual service fees and an “R” class with regulated annual service fees, but in which only existing investors can invest – only the details of the “A” class have been published. Readers who want information on other classes can go to /www.fundsdata.co.za/navs/

An asterisk (*) in front of a fund’s name means it complies with regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act and is suitable for investors who are saving in a tax-incentivised retirement fund.

The NET ASSET VALUE (NAV) PRICE is calculated by taking the total market value of all assets in the unit portfolio including any income (interest or dividends) that has accrued and has not yet been distributed to unitholders and less all expenses payable from the fund such as the annual management fee. This amount is divided by the number of units in issue to obtain the price.

As a result of space constraints, the table does not include the INITIAL COST, which is the maximum amount (including VAT) expressed as a percentage of your investment that you could pay in upfront charges. It excludes advice fees, some or all of which may be avoided by investing directly. Many asset managers no longer charge an initial fee; however, you should check a fund’s factsheet to see whether or not the fee applies.

The DIVIDEND YIELD column shows any distributions (income earned by the assets in the fund) announced in the past 12 months as a percentage of the current price (NAV). A hash (#) means that an estimate has been used for a recent dividend because the actual dividend amount is not yet available. This also has a small effect on performance figures.

The TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO, or TER, column shows the portion of your investment in a fund which has been used to pay the fund’s operating costs over the past year, including annual management and performance fees; trading costs, such as taxes and brokerage costs; trustee and custody fees; audit fees and bank charges; liquidity costs; and in the case of funds of funds, the cost of investments in underlying funds.

In the case of funds that charge PERFORMANCE FEES, this fee for the past year is also shown separately as a percentage of the TER, as performance fees may vary significantly from one year to the next.

The PLEXCROWN ratings column shows at a glance how a fund has fared over time compared to the other funds in its category on a risk-adjusted return basis. The ratings incorporate not only returns and standard risk measures but also measures of downside risk and managerial skill. The PlexCrowns range from one to five with the topperforming funds being allocated the highest rating. A full description of the PlexCrown ratings is provided at www.plexcrown.co.za, or contact info@plexcrown.co.za or telephone 011 728 5510.

The performance figures of your unit trust are given for each of one year and three years. The first figure shows what R100 would be worth if you had invested it in that fund for that period – that is one year or three years. This figure is worked out without taking the initial costs into consideration. The performance figures also assume you re-invested any income you made on the funds on the ex-dividend date. The second figure shows how the fund is ranked in terms of this performance in relation to other funds.

Unclassified funds are not ranked, because their performance is not comparable. If a fund has been reclassified, its performance history is scrapped and started afresh in the new category.