Tax-Efficient for South African investors
Holding interest-bearing assets via accumulating ETFs* and funds is highly tax efficient as all income is automatically retained in the portfolios without incurring tax. The "roll-up" of income produces an increase in the value of the underlying funds and enables returns to compound tax free.
When capital is required, the investor can simply repurchase the required amount. Although a tax charge is triggered at this point, it will be subject to capital gains as opposed to income tax. The table below highlights the potential tax benefit for South African individual investors with different marginal tax rates.
Marginal Income Tax Rate |
CGT Rate (applicable on withdrawls) |
Benefit |
45% |
18% |
27% |
40% |
16% |
24% |
35% |
14% |
21% |
Situs tax is also not applicable to South African investors in the Smart International Income Portfolio as all the underlying investments are registered funds domiciled in Ireland.
* An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is a type of low-cost pooled investment which is designed to track a particular index, sector, or basket of securities. They are purchased and sold on a stock exchange (like an individual equity) and provide efficient access to a range of diversified investments, including investment grade credit and bonds.
Multi-jurisdictional Tax Reporting
In addition to biannual portfolio reporting, investors may select the tax year in which they would like to download their investment reports.
Tax Clearance:
SARS permits an annual foreign investment allowance of R10 million for individuals, and an annual discretionary allowance of R1 million per year. The latter does not require a tax clearance certificate.
If you have reached your individual limit for the year then you can make use of the Marriott asset swap capacity at no extra cost. Please contact the Client Relationship Team for more details.