Africa-Press – South-Africa. Ninety One recently celebrated its first tax-free savings account (TFSA) investor to reach the R1 million mark on its investment platform, which comes as an increasing number of investors are making use of this investment vehicle.
Ninety One Investment Platform’s Head of Product, Daryll Welsh, explained that when the Ninety One TFSA was launched in 2015, the idea was simple.
They wanted to utilise the recently released legislation to provide South Africans with a tax-free investment option, allowing compounding to work its magic.
“However, many of the advisors I spoke to were sceptical,” Welsh said. “The R30,000 annual contribution limit – later increased to R33,000 and then R36,000 – seemed too small to make a meaningful difference.”
“Some felt it wasn’t worth the effort, ‘a waste of time, and an admin effort’, as one put it. Yet, 10 years later, the numbers tell a very different story.”
One of Ninety One’s long-time supporters, an independent financial advisor who uses the Ninety One platform for clients and for his own investments, recently became its first TFSA millionaire.
“Over the past decade, he has contributed a total of R320,000, mostly via monthly debit orders,” Welsh said. Those contributions have grown to R1.059 million, reflecting an annualised internal rate of return of just over 21%, completely tax-free.”
“That translates into investment growth of almost R750,000, more than double what a simple JSE index tracker would have delivered over the same period.”
To put the performance in context, Welsh illustrated how R320,000 would have grown over the decade if it had been invested elsewhere:
The comparison assumes identical contributions and timing to those made in the investor’s TFSA, but with the investments made in the respective indices instead.
“Like many South Africans, this investor initially placed his TFSA 100% offshore. Then came the onset of Covid-19 in early 2020,” he said.
Markets fell sharply, the JSE slumped, and the rand surged from around R15.50 to R18.50 against the United States dollar. Where most investors may have frozen or panicked, Welsh said this one acted.
The performance of the TFSA versus the FTSE/JSE All-Share Index, cash and inflation; source: Ninety One
The moment that made a millionaire
“Seizing the opportunity created by the weak rand, he sold his offshore exposure and moved his entire TFSA into local South African equities, perfectly timing it when valuations were at their lowest,” Welsh said.
“That decision was pivotal. As the local market rebounded and the rand recovered, he captured the full upside of the JSE’s post-Covid rally, all within the tax-free wrapper.”
Since then, Welsh said the investor kept his approach simple, holding just two South African equity funds, staying invested and allowing time and compounding to do the rest.
“There’s no denying the power of staying engaged, understanding market cycles, and being willing to act when opportunity knocks,” he said.
“While timing the market is almost always a matter of luck, the most important lesson lies in what you choose to invest in.”
Welsh explained that a TFSA works best as a long-term investment vehicle, skewed towards growth assets like equities, rather than being parked in cash or bank deposits, which barely keep up with inflation.
This is because the power of compounding only works when capital is exposed to growth. A good independent financial advisor can also make all the difference, he added.
They can help investors stay disciplined, patient, and invested through the noise, which can derail long-term wealth creation.
“It is also worth mentioning that this advisor didn’t stop at his own TFSA. He opened accounts for his wife and two children as well,” he said.
“For his kids, this is a gift that could be life-changing if they have the patience to leave the money untouched until retirement.”
“Starting young means decades of tax-free compounding ahead of them, something few investments can match.” Because they are all linked as a family group on the Ninety One platform, they benefit from family pricing.
Welsh said this reduces their admin fees across accounts. “That lower fee may sound small, but over decades it compounds too, further boosting long-term returns,” he said.
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