No Free Lunch Podcast – Advancing a Culture of Savings with ETF's
In this episode, host Greg Stewart discusses the growing impact of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the South African investment market with Kim Gibb, CEO of Prescient Management Company. Our conversation highlights the significant growth in the ETF market, with a market cap increase of 28% in 2023 and 36% in 2024. Kim shares her
No Free Lunch Podcast – Advancing a Culture of Savings with ETF's
5 Nov 2025
In this episode, host Greg Stewart discusses the growing impact of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the South African investment market with Kim Gibb, CEO of Prescient Management Company.
Our conversation highlights the significant growth in the ETF market, with a market cap increase of 28% in 2023 and 36% in 2024.
Kim shares her journey from auditing Prescient to leading the company, emphasizing the dynamic changes in the regulatory and fund environments. The discussion delves into the differences between ETFs and unit trusts, the dual regulation of ETFs, and the strategic opportunities they present, particularly in terms of fee structures and performance transparency.
We also tackle the pressing need to address the importance of financial education and the role of technology in making investments more accessible, especially for younger investors.
The episode concludes with a call for more educational initiatives to foster a culture of long-term savings and investment in South Africa.
Listen Here:
Key Quotes from Kim Gibb:
- “No two days are the same, Greg. The rate of change in both the regulatory environment and the fund environment has just been enormous.”
- “The addition of our ETF offering has been something quite new and something we’re really excited about.”
- “ETFs allow you the ability to have a traditional unit trust fund, but under the wrapper of an ETF.”
- “The difference comes in really from the operational perspective because the traditional unit trust would go either via list platform or directly.”
- “The fee structures would work very similarly to a traditional unit trust.”
- “There’s always this misconception that ETFs are cheaper, but that’s particularly an index tracker.”
- “An actively managed income ETF is a great solution rather than having that money earning some interest in a JSC trustees account.”
- “The risks are largely alleviated because you’ve got dual regulation as well.”
- “It’s a great way to build a portfolio. And we’re seeing obviously, your selection is increasing in South African markets.”
- “It’s definitely an education initiative that it’s not just a share you buy in and out, there is a cost to buying any sort of listed assets.”
