FAQ
FAQ
A unit trust is also known as a collective investment scheme. In a unit trust fund, funds from a variety of investors are pooled and invested in a specific range of assets. Unit trusts are professionally managed by investment managers and different funds have different investment objectives.
Unit trusts are divided into identical units, which investors can buy or sell at any time. The amount that you contribute and the unit price at the time of the investment will determine the amount of units allocated to you. When you invest in a unit trust fund, the value of your investment is not guaranteed as the unit price will fluctuate. Unit trusts are generally medium to long-term investments.
Unit trusts are divided into identical units, which investors can buy or sell at any time. The amount that you contribute and the unit price at the time of the investment will determine the amount of units allocated to you. When you invest in a unit trust fund, the value of your investment is not guaranteed as the unit price will fluctuate. Unit trusts are generally medium to long-term investments.
1. Cost effective – Unit trusts are designed to offer good value. Because funds from a variety of investors are pooled, investment managers are able to buy a range of assets that would normally be unaffordable for investors in an individual capacity.
2. Diversification – Unit trusts invest in a broad range of investments. In this way, the risk is spread across many investments rather than just one or only a few. If one investment performs poorly, the fund may not necessarily underperform as the other investments may have done very well.
3. Flexibility – Unit trusts are among the most flexible and convenient investment vehicles available. Investors can make additional deposits, stop investing, switch between funds or withdraw at any time without incurring penalties.
4. Accessibility – Unit trusts do not have minimum investment periods and you can withdraw your funds at any time.
5. Professional expertise – Unit trusts are managed by highly-qualified investment managers, who have the necessary expertise and experience to make sound investment decisions. Very few investors have the time, skills or experience to actively manage their investments on a daily basis.
6. Transparency – You can track the performance of your unit trust fund on a daily basis on investment websites, the press or on the relevant asset manager’s website. Personal Finance publishes a unit trust performance table every weekend in the Saturday newspaper.
2. Diversification – Unit trusts invest in a broad range of investments. In this way, the risk is spread across many investments rather than just one or only a few. If one investment performs poorly, the fund may not necessarily underperform as the other investments may have done very well.
3. Flexibility – Unit trusts are among the most flexible and convenient investment vehicles available. Investors can make additional deposits, stop investing, switch between funds or withdraw at any time without incurring penalties.
4. Accessibility – Unit trusts do not have minimum investment periods and you can withdraw your funds at any time.
5. Professional expertise – Unit trusts are managed by highly-qualified investment managers, who have the necessary expertise and experience to make sound investment decisions. Very few investors have the time, skills or experience to actively manage their investments on a daily basis.
6. Transparency – You can track the performance of your unit trust fund on a daily basis on investment websites, the press or on the relevant asset manager’s website. Personal Finance publishes a unit trust performance table every weekend in the Saturday newspaper.
The local unit trust industry is rigorously regulated by the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA). All unit trusts that are marketed in South Africa must be registered with the FSCA and irregularities can be reported to them.
Unit trusts are required to appoint trustees, generally an independent financial institution, to protect investors’ interests. A trustee acts as custodian of a fund’s assets, which are held in the name of the trustee and not in the unit trust management company. In this way, if the management company goes under, investors’ money will be safe as it is held in a trust.
A trustee’s main responsibility is to ensure that the fund is managed appropriately and to report any significant irregularities to the FSCA.
Unit trusts are required to appoint trustees, generally an independent financial institution, to protect investors’ interests. A trustee acts as custodian of a fund’s assets, which are held in the name of the trustee and not in the unit trust management company. In this way, if the management company goes under, investors’ money will be safe as it is held in a trust.
A trustee’s main responsibility is to ensure that the fund is managed appropriately and to report any significant irregularities to the FSCA.
All Camissa investors can view their investment account statements online by accessing the My investment account section, found at the top right hand side of our home page.
Alternatively, contact our Client Service team on 0800 864 418 or email clientservice@camissa-am.com to request statements.
You can track the performance of your unit trust fund by accessing the fund fact sheet on our website, under the Document download section. We update these fact sheets on a monthly basis and they show each fund’s performance over one, three and five-year periods. They also show the fund’s performance since inception.
Yes, you can switch out of one fund and into another at any time, at no cost. A switch entails selling your existing units in one fund and then buying units in another fund. However, when switching between funds, the amount of units allocated to you may differ from the amount you held previously due to pricing differences between the two funds.
When considering an investment in a Collective Investment Scheme, it is always important to remember that the value of all financial investments will fluctuate over time. The degree to which these fluctuations occur is usually subject to the basic principle that the greater the risk associated with the investment, the more it will be expected to fluctuate. However those funds that provide exposure to greater risks are also often able to provide greater rewards over the long term.
If you want to realise your financial goals, it is important to start with an honest appraisal of your personal situation and to gauge your appetite for risk in relation to that. Individuals’ tolerance levels for risk vary considerably as some investors can accept short-term volatility with ease, whilst others are not in a financial position to support any volatility. So whether you consider your investment temperament to be conservative, moderate or aggressive, you need to focus on how comfortable or uncomfortable you will be as the value of your investment moves up or down.
Recognising the type of investor you are will go a long way towards helping you build a meaningful portfolio of investments that you can live with.
If you want to realise your financial goals, it is important to start with an honest appraisal of your personal situation and to gauge your appetite for risk in relation to that. Individuals’ tolerance levels for risk vary considerably as some investors can accept short-term volatility with ease, whilst others are not in a financial position to support any volatility. So whether you consider your investment temperament to be conservative, moderate or aggressive, you need to focus on how comfortable or uncomfortable you will be as the value of your investment moves up or down.
Recognising the type of investor you are will go a long way towards helping you build a meaningful portfolio of investments that you can live with.
Investment management and administration fees – Your investment is subject to an annual management fee. This fee differs for each fund and is built into the daily unit price. Our funds’ annual management fees are disclosed in the application form, investment terms and conditions documents and on the funds’ fact sheets. We do not charge initial investment, administration, switch or withdrawal fees.
Financial adviser fees – If you have a financial adviser, you need to negotiate and agree on the initial and annual ongoing advice fees you will pay. This is an agreement between you and your financial adviser and we will facilitate the payment of fees to your adviser.
• The initial advice fee is restricted to a maximum of 3% of your investment amount and will be deducted before it is invested. We will then pay the amount over to your financial adviser.
• The annual ongoing advice fee is restricted to a maximum of 1% of the value of your investment. However, if your initial advice fee is above 1.5%, your annual ongoing advice fee will be restricted to a maximum of 0.5%. This fee will be deducted monthly by selling units in your fund(s) and we will pay it over to your financial adviser.
Your quarterly investment statements will reflect the fees deducted from your investment over the respective period. You may request a schedule of fees and charges at any time from our Client Service team on 0800 864 418 or at clientservice@camissa-am.com.
The underlying assets within a unit trust fund may earn income in the form of interest and dividends. This income is declared and distributed among investors. You can choose to have your income reinvested in your fund or paid into your bank account.
We declare income in June and December each year and this is distributed on the first business day of July and January. However, if a fund’s total expenses exceed its income, it will not make a distribution.
In the case of our Islamic funds, we will deduct all income deemed to be non permissible from the total income distribution in order to comply with Shariah law. The remaining balance will then be distributed according to the investor’s preference. As required by Shariah law, all non-permissible income deducted will be donated to registered charitable organisations on our investors’ behalf.
We declare income in June and December each year and this is distributed on the first business day of July and January. However, if a fund’s total expenses exceed its income, it will not make a distribution.
In the case of our Islamic funds, we will deduct all income deemed to be non permissible from the total income distribution in order to comply with Shariah law. The remaining balance will then be distributed according to the investor’s preference. As required by Shariah law, all non-permissible income deducted will be donated to registered charitable organisations on our investors’ behalf.
All of your transactions must be submitted to us by completing the appropriate application and transaction forms. The most current versions will always be available on our website.
Our deadline for receiving your application and transaction forms is 14:00 each business day. If we receive your form before 14:00 and all the requirements are met, we will process your transaction on that same day. Forms received after 14:00 will be processed on the following business day, at that day’s ruling price.
We will send you transaction advice once your instruction has been processed. You can choose to receive SMS confirmations for the following transactions:
• lump sum investments
• debit order investments
• withdrawals
• reinvestment of income distributions
• switches between funds
• personal detail revisions
We will send you transaction advice once your instruction has been processed. You can choose to receive SMS confirmations for the following transactions:
• lump sum investments
• debit order investments
• withdrawals
• reinvestment of income distributions
• switches between funds
• personal detail revisions
You may withdraw all or a portion of your units regularly or on an ad-hoc basis. The amount due to you will be electronically transferred into a bank account held in your name.
• Regular withdrawals – Regular withdrawals are restricted to a minimum of R500 per withdrawal per fund. You may select a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual withdrawal. To set up a regular withdrawal, please complete the Regular Withdrawal Payments section of our Investment Application Form.
• Ad-hoc withdrawals – To make withdrawals on an ad-hoc basis, you will need to complete the Withdrawal Form. Payments will be made within two business days of us receiving your completed form and the required supporting documents. Please note that the payment may only reflect in your bank account at a later date and this will depend on which bank you use.
• Regular withdrawals – Regular withdrawals are restricted to a minimum of R500 per withdrawal per fund. You may select a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual withdrawal. To set up a regular withdrawal, please complete the Regular Withdrawal Payments section of our Investment Application Form.
• Ad-hoc withdrawals – To make withdrawals on an ad-hoc basis, you will need to complete the Withdrawal Form. Payments will be made within two business days of us receiving your completed form and the required supporting documents. Please note that the payment may only reflect in your bank account at a later date and this will depend on which bank you use.
Your investment account will remain open, but dormant, until you invest in it again by buying more units.
Yes. All Camissa investors can view their investment account statements online by accessing the My investment account section, found at the top right hand side of our home page. First time users are required to complete a simple registration process.
Yes, you can open a unit trust in a minor’s name. As the parent or legal guardian, you will be required to sign all the documentation until the minor reaches the age of 21.
Yes. If you have received a lump sum from a retirement fund and you wish to make a discretionary investment, you can invest in any of our unit trust funds.
However, if you wish to invest within a retirement fund vehicle (ie a preservation provident/pension fund or retirement annuity) or purchase a living annuity, you can select any one of the Camissa unit trust funds as an underlying investment on the following investment platforms:
• (Lisp sheet)
• Sharia specific
However, if you wish to invest within a retirement fund vehicle (ie a preservation provident/pension fund or retirement annuity) or purchase a living annuity, you can select any one of the Camissa unit trust funds as an underlying investment on the following investment platforms:
• (Lisp sheet)
• Sharia specific
This refers to Islamic religious law that governs aspects of daily life in Islam, including economic investments. In order to comply with Shariah law, a fund is prohibited from investing in certain industries such as those related to gambling, alcohol, banking and insurance. Since the concept of debt is contrary to the principles of Islam, investment in highly-leveraged companies is also prohibited.
We have two Shariah-compliant unit trust funds that are managed in accordance with Shariah investment guidelines. This means that companies that do not comply with Shariah law are removed as investment options and the remaining stocks are evaluated according to a series of financial ratio filters. Our funds are mindful of the avoidance of interest or Riba.
We have two Shariah-compliant unit trust funds that are managed in accordance with Shariah investment guidelines. This means that companies that do not comply with Shariah law are removed as investment options and the remaining stocks are evaluated according to a series of financial ratio filters. Our funds are mindful of the avoidance of interest or Riba.
In Islamic finance, Riba is defined as a loan with the condition that the borrower will return to the lender more than and/or better than the quantity borrowed. It is forbidden under Shariah law because it is thought to be exploitive. Riba is also known as usury.
A sukuk refers to the Islamic equivalent of bonds. However, as opposed to conventional bonds, which merely confer ownership of a debt, a sukuk grants the investor a share of an asset, along with the commensurate cash flows and risk. As such, sukuk securities adhere to Shariah law, which prohibits the charging or payment of interest.
The underlying assets within unit trust funds may earn income in the form of interest and dividends. In conventional funds, this income is declared and distributed among investors who can choose to have it reinvested or paid into their bank accounts.
With our Shariah funds, all income deemed to be non-permissible is stripped out of our funds on a weekly basis and is held in a separate bank account for six months. The accumulated amount is then donated to registered charitable organisations on our investors’ behalf. Our Shariah Advisory and Supervisory Board meets bi-annually to select the beneficiary organisations and approve the donations.
All permissible income earned within our funds is declared in June and December each year and then distributed among investors on the first business day of July and January.
With our Shariah funds, all income deemed to be non-permissible is stripped out of our funds on a weekly basis and is held in a separate bank account for six months. The accumulated amount is then donated to registered charitable organisations on our investors’ behalf. Our Shariah Advisory and Supervisory Board meets bi-annually to select the beneficiary organisations and approve the donations.
All permissible income earned within our funds is declared in June and December each year and then distributed among investors on the first business day of July and January.
