South Africans investors loving local

South Africans are turning to local investments as they navigate the storm generated by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Investors ploughed R48 billion into local investment funds in the first three months of the year, the biggest quarterly inflow since 2020, according to the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa.

At the same time, they cut back on foreign-currency-denominated funds, said Asisa, which represents investors overseeing almost R4 trillion.

While the bulk of the flows into local funds were reinvestments of dividends and interest, new money accounted for R12 billion, the most since the third quarter of 2022, Asisa said in an emailed statement.

“Considering the extreme market volatility, geopolitical strains and local political uncertainty at the start of this year, we were positively surprised by the most substantial quarterly inflow in more than two years, said Sunette Mulder, senior policy adviser at Asisa. 

Investor sentiment around the world has taken a beating after Trump announced higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners, including South Africa, on April 2.

Though he subsequently paused the duties, he has threatened to reimpose them on some countries.

Assets in South African portfolios investing offshore fell to R974 billion at the end of March 2025, from R975 billion at end-December, according to Asisa. That compares with an increase of 1.4% in total assets to R3.93 trillion.