The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund is a unit trust fund that aims to obtain a reasonable level of current income while maintaining maximum stability for capital invested. The fund invests in fixed income securities (i.e. bonds) and other non-equity securities like financially sound preference shares, debenture stock, debenture bonds, and other securities in the Common Monetary Area (CMA).
The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund has been specifically developed to meet the growing demand for conservative income solutions in Lesotho.
The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund only invests in instruments issued by credible institutions and measures are in place to prevent over exposure to any one institution. This restriction presents the foundation for the diversification that this fund offers. The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund is allowed to invest in Government issues of the Republic of South Africa, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Namibia and Kingdom of eSwatini as well as corporate issues of companies domiciled or registered in the CMA region.
The fund is managed by a team of skilled and experienced fund managers whose industry experience provides synergistic benefits to investors by giving them direct access to the expertise and experience of one of Africa’s leading fixed income teams. The weighted average maturity of this portfolio may not exceed two (2) years, and the portfolio may not have any direct/indirect foreign exposure.
The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund is suitable for those investors who are looking for a conservative investment solution that aims to maximise their income while maintaining capital stability.
The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund also appeals to those investors that require a relatively liquid investment that provides exposure to fixed interest instruments across the CMA region. The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund may suffice as a stand-alone investment solution or form part of a diversified portfolio of investments.
The fund is suitable for investors who:
- Require a low risk income fund with regular income declarations
- Seek reasonable levels of current income and maximum stability for capital invested
- Require a potentially higher yield than money market over the medium term
The economies of scale achieved through pooling of investments enables the STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund portfolio manager to purchase higher yielding instruments that individual clients and medium sized corporates and institutions would not normally have access to.
The STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund provides a stable environment in which investments can be housed and the quarterly distributions could supplement investors’ income. Investing in the income class offers other distinctive advantages:
- Fixed income investments closely simulate cash, but often give a higher return than cash
- It is a highly liquid asset class with a low risk of capital loss
- It provides a solid and consistent income stream
The Lesotho economy is also benefiting from this fund through the fund’s investment in local securities (minimum 15% as prescribed by the law) and the subsequent capital market development, at a time when it is imperative to develop a capital market to fund Lesotho’s economic and infrastructure development plans.
Minimum Initial Investment Amount | M 15 000 Or |
Minimum Monthly Debit Order | M 1 000 |
Minimum Repurchase Amount | M 2 000 |
Minimum Account Balance | M 15 000 |
Fees Structure |
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Initial Fee | Nil (institutional investors)* |
Annual Management Fee | 1.00% per annum |
The STANLIB Lesotho Money Market Fund is a unit trust (collective investment scheme) fund that aims to maximise income while preserving capital over the medium term, and to ensure liquidity of funds invested. It invests in a wide range of highly marketable short-term debt securities, which include short-term government securities like treasury bills, corporate financial instruments such as bankers’ acceptances, negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs), commercial paper and other debt securities issued by South African and Common Monetary Area governments and banks (Lesotho, eSwatini and Namibia). Interest is calculated daily and paid at the end of each month.
There is currently a great demand for alternative cash products in Lesotho, and this fund is ideally positioned for investors who are looking for investment returns that are stronger than local bank deposits with the convenience of a call account.
The fund caters for corporates, institutions and private investors who have cash available to invest over the medium term, who require the flexibility to withdraw funds at relatively short notice.
This fund is suitable for:
- Investors who require a wholesale interest rate on cash
- Short-term investors requiring a ‘parking bay’ for their cash
- Investors who require low-risk, secure investments with yields in excess of traditional banking products
See more information about STANLIB’s Collective Investment Schemes in the tab below.
In the past, investors have relied on savings accounts as a saving vehicle for a home purchase, children’s education, retirement or for emergencies. Investors now have the opportunity to utilise the STANLIB Lesotho Money Market Fund for all their savings needs, at higher yields on cash deposits than traditional savings accounts and term deposits.
The economies of scale achieved through pooling of investments enables the fund manager to purchase higher yielding instruments that individual clients and medium sized corporates and institutions would not normally have access to through traditional savings and normal bank deposits. The fund also gives investors direct access to the expertise and experience of one of Africa’s leading money market investment teams.
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Minimum Initial Investment Amount |
M 15 000 Or |
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Minimum Monthly Debit Order |
M 1 000 |
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Minimum Repurchase Amount |
M 2 000 |
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Minimum Account Balance |
M 15 000 |
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Fees Structure |
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Initial Fee |
Nil |
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Annual Management Fee |
1.00% per annum (retail investments)* |
The Lesotho economy is also benefiting from this fund through the fund’s investment in local securities (minimum 15% as prescribed by the law) and the subsequent capital market development, at a time when it is imperative to develop a capital market to fund Lesotho’s economic and infrastructure development plans.
The STANLIB Lesotho Multi-Asset capability is an offering suitable for institutional investors seeking a segregated portfolio to invest in a diversified spread of equities and fixed-income securities. The primary objective of the offering is to seek long-term capital growth and income consistent with moderate investment risk from a wide range of securities.
The STANLIB Lesotho Multi-Asset capability provides investors with exposure to a number of asset classes that are positively and negatively correlated. This diversification of assets provides investors with the comfort that their exposure to risk is contained without unduly compromising returns.
The Multi-Asset Team focuses only on the asset allocation of assets and on managing the domestic equity component, nothing else. All other asset classes – property, fixed interest and offshore – are allocated to specialist teams to manage, providing clear focus on every component of the capability.
Each member of the Multi-Asset Team brings a different skill set and experience to the decision-making process. This provides varied perspectives and ideas. Tactical asset allocation (TAA) informs the asset allocation in the capability and relies on the input of investment professionals locally, across the continent and globally. This, results in well-informed asset allocation decisions.
The fund caters for corporates, institutions and private investors who have cash available to invest over the medium term, who require the flexibility to withdraw funds at relatively short notice.
This fund is suitable for:
- Aiming to achieve capital growth with lower risk than equity-only funds
- With a time horizon of five years or more to invest
- With a moderate risk profile
The STANLIB Lesotho Direct Property capability is an offering suitable for institutional investors seeking a segregated portfolio. Through the STANLIB Direct Property Investment Team based in South Africa, STANLIB Lesotho is able to offer long-term inflation beating returns to investors through a quality real estate portfolio. Our investment purpose is making real estate accessible and sustainable.
Our retail property mandates rely on the ability to create strong trading platforms which in turn attract good tenants, warrant high rentals and maintains a consistent demand for space. This results in sound returns for investors while increasing asset diversification. Our funds remain resilient due to the quality and diversification of our assets and well-established relationships with good tenants.
All the factors intrinsic to a successful investment are evident in the Direct Property Investment Team – the heritage and credibility of the investment provider, its historical performance, liquidity, diversification, stability and strong management.
Our investment objective is delivering long-term performance characterised by strong income growth and capital appreciation through the following:
- Use of our specialist retail asset management skills to drive levers of retail growth and turnover
- To create a catalytic environment for other investment opportunities in specific investment node
- Sustain investments in nodes which have good economic fundamentals and where the investor already have dominant investments
- Invest in quality and dominant sector classes poised for growth
- Evaluate good investment opportunities that meet our minimum investment size per asset and criteria to improve the overall quality of portfolio’s and improve long term returns
The Fund is a unit trust that aims to obtain steady growth of income and capital, a reasonable level of current income and the maximum stability for capital invested. The Fund invests in securities, non-equity securities and participatory interest of collective investment schemes in securities.
The Fund caters for corporates, institutions and private investors who have cash available to invest over the medium to long-term.
This Fund is suitable for investors:
- Seeking steady long-term capital growth
- Typically have an investment horizon of more than five years
- Investors who require returns commensurate with medium to high risk
The Fund is a general equity fund whose objective is steady growth of income and capital; and can be used primarily as the equity building block for a portfolio.
The Fund combines value and growth and is effectively style agnostic, meaning it has a mandate that is not restricted to any specific investment style. Using a bottom-up stock picking approach, the Fund can invest in both local and offshore equities (up to a maximum of 25% offshore and 5% in Africa excluding SA).
The Equity Team’s primary objective is to grow and preserve capital over a long-term period. As such, the team:
- Is benchmark conscious with a tracking error of 3 to 5%
- Uses the STANLIB research team as its primary input for stock selection
- Invests in companies that are growing earnings above the market, generating economic profit, distributing cash and are attractively valued
Minimum Initial Investment Amount | M15 000 |
Minimum Monthly Debit Order | M 1 000 |
Minimum Repurchase Amount | M 2 000 |
Minimum Account Balance | M 15 000 |
Fees Structure |
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Initial Fee | 5% |
Annual Management Fee | 1.5% |
Collective Investment Schemes are investments where investors’ funds are pooled and managed by professional portfolio managers.
Investing in shares has traditionally yielded unrivalled returns, offering investors the opportunity to build real wealth. Yet, the large amounts of money required to purchase these shares are often out of reach for smaller investors. The pooling of investors’ funds makes Collective Investment Schemes the ideal alternative, providing cost effective access to a wide variety of local and international shares / equities (companies listed on a stock exchange), bonds, and money market instruments such as fixed deposits, treasury bills and call accounts.
Pooling enables investors to reduce transactional costs involved in buying and selling of securities and gives investors the ability to negotiate for better returns than they would get if investing individually.
The collective investment schemes industry is strictly regulated by the Central Bank of Lesotho Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) Regulations, of 2018. The regulations allow the investor to enjoy total transparency of fees, charges and investment performance.
However, the Central Bank of Lesotho does not take any responsibility for the financial soundness of a scheme for correctness of any statements made or opinions expressed in this regard.
- Identify your goal (these should be realistic)
- Establish a time frame
- Identify your level of risk based on your current responsibilities
- Understand the volatility of return associated with different investment types
- Shares are usually identified as having the potential for the highest return of all the investment classes, but with a higher level of risk i.e. share investments have the most volatile returns over the short term.
An investment of this type of asset should be based on the investors’ objectives but it is recommended that it be viewed on a medium to long-term horizon e.g. over five years.
Property
Property yields are normally stable and predictable as they comprise many contractual leases, the rentals of which are passed through to investors.
Property share prices however fluctuate with supply and demand and are counter cyclical to the interest rate cycle.
Property is an excellent inflation hedge as rentals escalate with inflation, ensuring distribution growth, and property values escalate with inflation ensuring net asset value growth.
Bonds
Bonds generally have a lower risk than shares because the holder of a bond has the security of knowing that they will be repaid in full by government authorities. Corporate bonds can also be included and have a slightly higher risk than government-issued bonds. An investment in this type of asset should be viewed with a 3 to 6 year horizon.
Cash
Cash is generally regarded as the safest investment. Whilst it is theoretically possible to make a capital loss investing in cash due to the effects of inflation etc., it is highly unlikely.
Due to its stable nature, cash has a relatively low return in comparison to the other investment classes. An investment in this type of asset may be viewed with a horizon less than 3 years.
Equity Portfolios
These portfolios invest in selected shares across all the industry sectors of Stock Exchanges and offer medium to long-term capital growth as their primary investment objective.
Balanced Portfolios
Balanced portfolios invest in a wide spread of investments in the equity, bond, money markets and aim to provide capital appreciation together with interest income over the medium to long-term.
Fixed Interest Portfolios
Fixed Interest Portfolios invest in bonds, money market instruments and other income earning securities and aim to provide interest income over the short to medium-term. They also provide the opportunity for capital growth.
Stanlib Lesotho fact sheets
| Fund Name | Quarterly Commentary |
Comprehensive Factsheet |
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| Lesotho Unit Trust Fund |  |
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| STANLIB Lesotho Equity Fund | |
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| STANLIB Lesotho Income Fund | |
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| STANLIB Lesotho Money Market Fund | |
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