Local vs global – Top 40, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 compared
Daily Investor analysed the performance of four Satrix exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the Satrix Nasdaq 100 ETF came out as the clear winner.
ETFs are similar to unit trusts, where money from many investors is pooled. However, instead of being under the control of a fund manager, it tracks a particular index.
The JSE Top 40 refers to the 40 biggest companies on the JSE by market and includes companies like Anglo American, Naspers, FirstRand, and MTN.
The S&P Quality South Africa index tracks high-quality stocks in the South African market by quality score, which is calculated based on return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio.
These companies include Outsurance, Capitec, Clicks, Exxaro, and BHP.
The S&P 500 tracks the stock performance of 500 of the largest companies listed on US stock exchanges.
This index includes well-known companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia.
The Nasdaq 100 is a stock market index made up of 101 equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
This index includes similar companies to the S&P 500, like Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and Meta, but is skewed towards technology growth stocks.
Daily Investor analysed four Satrix ETFs that track these four indexes to see which performed the best.
These funds are the Satrix 40 ETF, the Satrix Quality South Africa ETF, the Satrix S&P 500 Feeder ETF, and the Satrix Nasdaq 100 Feeder ETF.
The Nasdaq 100 ETF was the best-performing fund of the four analysed, having outperformed the others since inception, over 1 year and over 5 years.
Below is an overview of the individual funds in this analysis.
Satrix 40 ETF
The Satrix 40 ETF is the oldest fund in this comparison, having launched in 2000.
It is also the largest fund in the comparison, with a portfolio size of R4 billion and 190 million shares in issue.
The fund’s three largest holdings as of October 2023 are Anglo American at 11.43%, Naspers at 10.79%, and FirstRand at 6.08%.
It is largely exposed to the Basic Materials sector at 29.84% and the Financial sector at 27.19%.
This fund is also the most inexpensive fund in the comparison, with a total investment charge (TIC) of 0.16%.
Satrix Quality South Africa ETF
The Satrix Quality South Africa ETF was launched in 2017 and is the smallest fund in this comparison, with a portfolio size of R54 million.
The fund’s three largest holdings as of October 2023 are Outsurance at 11.67%, Capitec at 11.28%, and Clicks at 10.49%.
It is largely exposed to the Financial sector at 33.03% and the Basic Materials sector at 26.36%.
This is also the most expensive fund in the comparison, with a TIC of 0.68%.
It has not outperformed the other three funds over one, three or five years.
Satrix S&P 500 Feeder ETF
The Satrix S&P 500 Feeder ETF was also launched in 2017 and is the second-largest fund in this comparison, with a size of R4.1 billion and 50.77 million securities in issue.
The fund’s three largest holdings as of October 2023 are Microsoft at 7.14%, Apple at 7.13%, and Amazon.com at 3.43%.
It is largely exposed to the Information Technology sector at 28.06%, with Health Care (13.15%) and Financials (12.76%) taking second and third place, respectively.
This fund has a TIC of 0.25% and outperformed the three other funds in this comparison over three years.
Satrix Nasdaq 100 Feeder ETF
The Satrix Nasdaq 100 Feeder ETF was launched in 2018 and is, therefore, the youngest fund in this comparison.
It has a portfolio size of R4.0 billion and 26 million securities in issue.
The fund’s three largest holdings as of October 2023 are Apple at 11.01%, Microsoft at 10.36%, and Amazon.com at 5.66%.
Almost half of the portfolio is exposed to the Information Technology sector at 49.20%.
This fund has a TIC of 0.48% and outperformed the three other funds in this comparison over one year, five years and since inception.
Fund comparison
| Satrix 40 ETF | Satrix Quality South Africa ETF | Satrix S&P 500 Feeder ETF | Satrix Nasdaq 100 Feeder ETF | |
| Fund size | R12.2 billion | R54 million | R4.1 billion | R4.0 billion |
| Inception date | 27 Nov 2000 | 26 Sep 2017 | 25 Jul 2017 | 10 Apr 2018 |
| Price (October 2023) | R64.16 | R7.56 | R81.76 | R152.91 |
| Risk profile | Aggressive | Aggressive | Aggressive | High risk |
| Total investment charges | 0.16% | 0.68% | 0.25% | 0.48% |
| JSE code | STX40 | STXQUA | STX500 | STXNDQ |
Fund performance comparison
| Satrix 40 ETF | Satrix Quality South Africa ETF | Satrix S&P 500 Feeder ETF | Satrix Nasdaq 100 Feeder ETF | |
| 1-year performance | 9.80% | 8.91% | 11.86% | 29.25% |
| 3-year performance | 14.62% | 10.47% | 15.35% | 14.77% |
| 5-year performance | 10.38% | 3.02% | 15.91% | 21.73% |
| Since inception | 7.77%* | 4.23% | 16.70% | 24.30% |
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