Introduction
Investing continues to evolve. While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have traditionally been associated with low-cost passive investing and index tracking, a new generation of ETFs is changing the way investors access professional investment management. On 25 May 2026, Anchor Capital listed its first actively managed exchange-traded funds (AMETFs) on the JSE: The Anchor EasyETFs Aspirant Global Equity AMETF (AAGEET) and the Anchor EasyETFs Aspirant SA Equity AMETF (AASAET).
These funds provide investors with direct access to Anchor Capital’s high-conviction local and global equity strategies through a transparent, cost-efficient listed structure. EasyETFs, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Easy Group, itself majority-owned by Purple Group, serves as the management company (ManCo) for both funds. The launch forms part of a broader partnership between Anchor Capital and EasyEquities, combining Anchor Capital’s investment management expertise with EasyEquities’ retail distribution platform.
A brief history of ETFs
The first ETF was launched in Canada in March 1990. The US followed shortly with the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) in January 1993, and SA’s first ETF, the Satrix Top 40, began trading on the JSE in November 2000. Since then, ETFs have transformed the investment landscape, growing substantially in both the number of products available and in total assets under management (AUM). There are now more than 4,500 ETFs listed in the US and more than 130 on the JSE (this includes both active and passive ETFs). Their appeal has always been built around simplicity: broad market exposure, transparency and cost efficiency.
For most of their history, ETFs have been associated almost entirely with passive investing: tracking an index, owning the market, and keeping costs low. That association is accurate but increasingly incomplete. AMETFs represent the next evolution. Like a unit trust, AMETFS are managed by investment professionals who make active decisions on which companies to own, which to avoid, and how to position portfolios. Like ETFs, they are listed on an exchange and can be bought or sold during the trading day through any stockbroking account.
Importantly, SA AMETFs are regulated collective investment schemes (CIS) under the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act, 45 of 2002 (CISCA), and subject to JSE Listings Requirements, providing investors with a familiar and well-governed regulatory framework.
The growth of AMETFs locally and globally
The first AMETF was launched in the US in 2008. Global growth has been significant since, with BlackRock projecting total global AMETF AUM to reach US$4.2trn by 2030, representing approximately 16% of the total ETF market.
AMETFs are newer to the SA market. Regulatory changes in 2022 enabled the first AMETF listing on the JSE in May 2023, and by June 2026, the number had grown to 48 products. AUM growth in the local AMETF segment has outpaced that of other ETF categories, with total AUM reaching R18.9bn by end-2025. Based on current industry trends, total industry AUM is expected to increase significantly over the coming years. The next generation of investors is more fee-sensitive than the older generation. That shift, combined with a preference for transparency and operational simplicity, has accelerated demand for ETFs as a mechanism for active management.
This growth is part of a broader product innovation story in SA’s financial services industry that has led to new listings on the JSE. The JSE’s company listings have declined sharply in recent decades – from around 850 listed companies in the 1990s to below 300 by 2024. This is a trend that reflects weak economic growth and a burdensome regulatory environment. AMETFs do not address those structural headwinds. But they do reflect the industry’s capacity to evolve in response to investor demand, and ultimately it is investors who stand to benefit from lower-cost, more transparent, easier-to-access products.
What do AMETFs offer investors?
For investors, the benefits of AMETFs include:
- Professional active fund management in the convenience of an ETF structure.
- The ability to buy and sell through any brokerage account, during market hours.
- They can be held alongside other listed instruments and monitored with greater transparency than most traditional fund structures.
- They disclose full portfolio holdings daily, rather than publishing only the top-ten positions monthly.
- Competitive fees compared with many traditional active strategies.
AMETFs are not a replacement for every unit trust, nor are they automatically superior to passive ETFs. They are another portfolio construction tool, one that gives investors more choice in how they access professional investment management. They are particularly suited for those investors who believe active management can add value through research, valuation discipline and selectivity, while still wanting the lower costs and greater transparency of an ETF.
Anchor Capital’s two funds: Strategy and rationale
Anchor EasyETFs Aspirant Global Equity AMETF (AAGEET)
The global fund is built around Anchor Capital’s growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) investment philosophy – a pragmatic framework that avoids both overpaying for growth and mistaking cheapness for value. The portfolio targets market-leading businesses with high earnings growth potential, strong cash generation, quality earnings profiles, and attractive valuations. Current holdings include Alphabet, Ferrari, Fortinet, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), and Uber, reflecting a concentrated, high-conviction approach to global equity selection.
The fund is rand-denominated, making it accessible to SA investors without the need for foreign currency accounts or offshore platforms. A US dollar-denominated version is under consideration should investor appetite warrant it.
Anchor EasyETFs Aspirant SA Equity AMETF (AASAET)
The local fund mirrors Anchor Capital’s established local equity house strategy. It represents a notable first for the local AMETF market – a fully discretionary local equity JSE-listed AMETF that does not employ factor strategies.
The investment process applies the same quality and valuation discipline as the global fund, adapted to suit the SA market. Opportunities on the JSE that meet these criteria are less common than offshore, and the index has become increasingly dominated by resource names. The fund therefore combines exposure to high-quality compounders (businesses with pricing power and strong earnings growth), together with select small and mid-cap companies where the stock-picking opportunity is compelling, and carefully manages exposure to the resources sector. Given how significantly macro factors drive local equity markets, the fund is managed with greater benchmark awareness than its global counterpart. The concentration risk present in sectors like gold, where a large active position can define performance in either direction, means that one has to be cognisant of sector benchmark weights.
Both funds carry a management fee of 0.7% (excluding VAT), offering a cost-efficient entry point relative to comparable active strategies. The objective is for the total expense ratio (TER) to start below 1% and to fall to around 0.8% as both funds scale, making them an attractive entry point into Anchor’s equity strategies for both retail investors and professional money managers.
Anchor Aspirant
The listing of these two AMETFs forms part of the broader Anchor Aspirant initiative – a programme designed to help young, new, or ambitious investors start their wealth-building journey with greater clarity and confidence. Aspirant guides investors through practical first steps: drafting a will, building an emergency fund, opening a tax-free savings account (TFSA) or retirement annuity (RA), saving toward specific goals, and starting an investment portfolio. The aim is to combine digital tools, investment education, and professionally managed portfolios into an offering that meaningfully lowers the barriers that typically prevent newer investors from getting started.
The partnership with EasyEquities is central to this. Of the R100bn on the EasyEquities platform, approximately R35bn is currently held in ETFs. Anchor Capital contributes institutional-quality investment management and research; EasyEquities provides a scalable, technology-driven platform with strong retail reach. The combination reflects a shared conviction: that professionally managed, high-conviction investment strategies need not be the exclusive preserve of high-net-worth investors.
Investors can now access the same portfolios based on Anchor Capital’s established investment philosophy and research process in a structure they can buy and sell on the JSE in seconds – at full transparency, and at a cost that is competitive with the passive alternatives many retail investors have defaulted to. That is what Aspirant is about.
The Anchor EasyETFs Aspirant Global Equity AMETF trades under the ticker AAGEET, and the Anchor EasyETFs Aspirant SA Equity AMETF under AASAET. These can be purchased like a share in any brokerage account.
For more information, visit anchorcapital.co.za/anchor-aspirant or contact any of the following:
Henning Holtzhausen – hholtzhausen@anchorcapital.co.za
Keiran Witthuhn – kwitthuhn@anchorcapital.co.za
Reko Nare – rnare@anchorcapital.co.za
