Worldwide flexible unit trust · South Africa
Merchant West SCI Worldwide Flexible Fund
Creating wealth and preserving it require different approaches. The fund focusses squarely on the latter. It is a liquid, diversified investment strategy designed to protect your capital’s purchasing power first and grow it over time.
Built to preserve wealth. Designed to endure.
Its objective is straightforward: to generate returns above inflation in US dollar terms, while limiting volatility and building resilience to extreme market events.
How it works
The portfolio allocates 25% to each of four asset classes. Each serves a different purpose, preparing the portfolio for a range of economic conditions without depending on a forecast.
Equities
A broad, diversified basket of stocks. The growth engine of the fund.
Hard assets
Gold, platinum-group metals, crypto, and land. The foundational assets of the fund.
Bonds
Selected with attention to governments’ incentives to preserve the value of their debt.The income-generating assets of the fund.
Cash
Spread across selected currencies and short-term instruments. The anchor assets of the fund.
The equal allocation reflects a simple principle: preparing for different futures instead of betting on one.
What unitholders can expect
How the targeted return is built, asset class by asset class.
| Asset class | Role in the portfolio | Expected return, in real terms | Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equities | Participate in economic growth through owning productive businesses. | 4%–6% | 25% |
| Hard assets | Protect purchasing power against inflation and currency debasement through holding scarce assets. | 3% | 25% |
| Bonds | Provide income and protection in deflationary conditions. | 2% | 25% |
| Cash | Provide liquidity, a buffer during market stress and capital to deploy when opportunities emerge. | 0–0.5% | 25% |
The return the portfolio could be expected to generate, in US$ terms after inflation
Overall, the portfolio could be expected to generate 2% to 3% in real US$ terms. Since this strategy has been employed, it has returned slightly better.
What makes it durable
Diversification
Assets respond differently to inflation, growth, deflation and market stress. Combining them reduces dependence on any single investment or economic outcome.
Avoiding catastrophic losses
Leverage and excessive concentration can destroy capital and interrupt compounding. The strategy focuses on avoiding these sources of portfolio failure.
Lower volatility
A steadier investment experience makes it easier to remain invested through difficult periods, reducing the temptation to sell in fear or buy after a surge.
Liquidity
Wealth should be available when needed. The strategy uses a liquid fund structure so investors can access their capital at relatively short notice.
Patience and cost discipline
Keeping costs low and allowing investments time to compound are central to the approach.
The intended outcome
The fund aims to deliver long-term real returns of approximately 2–3% a year in US dollar terms: growth above inflation that preserves and gradually increases purchasing power.
This is a long-term objective, not a guaranteed return. The portfolio can lose value, and individual asset classes will experience difficult periods.
Success means capital that retains its usefulness, remains accessible and continues compounding through changing conditions. For investors who have worked hard to build their wealth, the fund offers a disciplined approach to protecting it.
Fees
Maximum annual advice fee: 1.15%
More information
To find out more about the fund and to invest, visit the Merchant West website.
Merchant West Investments ↗Statutory information
Fund objective
This portfolio will be a worldwide multi-asset flexible portfolio with specific focus on generating returns in excess of inflation. The primary objective of the portfolio is to seek above average returns with below average risk for investors.
Fund strategy
The portfolio will invest in a flexible combination of securities in the equity, bond, money and property markets. The portfolio will be managed with assets being shifted between various investment markets to reflect the changing economic and market conditions, in order to maximise returns for investors. The Manager will be permitted to invest on behalf of the Merchant West SCI Worldwide Flexible Fund in offshore investments as legislation permits. The portfolio may include participatory interests of portfolios or other forms of participation in collective investment schemes or other similar schemes registered in South Africa or operated in territories with a regulatory environment which is to the satisfaction of the Manager and Trustee and of a sufficient standard to provide investor protection at least equivalent to that in South Africa. The portfolio may also invest in listed and unlisted instruments (derivatives) as allowed by the Act.
Disclaimer
Sanlam Collective Investments (RF) (Pty) Ltd is a registered Manager in terms of the Collective Investment Schemes in Securities. A schedule of fees can be obtained from the Manager. Charges of the most expensive fee class, maximum fund charges include (incl. VAT): Manager initial fee (max.): 3.45%; Manager annual fee (max.): 1.15%; Total Expense Ratio (TER): 1.28%. The Manager retains full legal responsibility of the third-party portfolio. The registered name of the fund is Merchant West Sanlam Collective Investments Worldwide Flexible Fund. The Management of this portfolio is outsourced to Merchant West Investments (Pty) Ltd, (FSP) License No. 44508, an Authorised Financial Service Provider under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002. The fund invests in equities and commodities and therefore moderate to high risk. Additional risks due to foreign investments might be applicable such as potential constraints on liquidity and repatriation of funds, macroeconomic risk, political risk, foreign exchange risk, tax risk, settlement risk as well as potential limitations on the availability of market information. Merchant West Investments (Pty) Ltd, (FSP) License No. 44508 is an Authorised Financial Services Provider under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002.
Merchant West Investments (Pty) Ltd accepts no liability of any sort resulting from reliance being placed upon information contained in this document by any person. Whilst every effort is made to represent accurate financial and technical information on an ongoing basis, inadvertent errors and typographical inaccuracies may occur. Information, laws, rules and regulations may also change from time to time. Information contained is therefore made available without any express or implied representation or warranty whatsoever, and Merchant West Investments (Pty) Ltd disclaims liability for any expenses incurred, or any damage, claims or costs sustained by users arising from the reliance being placed on the use of services or any information or representations contained in this document. The materials contained on these pages are provided for general information purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any loss or damage which may arise from reliance on information contained in these pages.
The document should not be seen as an offer to purchase any specific product and is not to be construed as advice or guidance in any form whatsoever. Investors are encouraged to obtain independent professional investment advice before investing. Investors should be aware that investing in a financial product entails a level of risk which depends on the nature of the investment. The merits of any investment should be considered together with the investor’s specific risk profile and investment objectives. Collective Investment Schemes are generally long-term investments. Merchant West Investments (Pty) Ltd does not provide any guarantee, either with respect to the capital or the return of a portfolio. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. Fluctuations in exchange rates and underlying investments may cause the value of international investments or underlying investments, if included in the mandate, to go up or down. Illustrations are not guaranteed but are for illustrative purposes only.