Save for your retirement

You can use unit trusts to save for your retirement.

You can invest directly into unit trusts, or you can invest in unit trusts via our retirement annuity. A retirement annuity gives you tax savings and a measure of protection, but comes with some restrictions.

Watch a 31sec video explaining what a retirement annuity is

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You get tax benefits
You get tax benefits

Your contributions to a retirement annuity are tax-deductible and the returns you earn while invested are tax-free.

Allan Gray - Investment expertise
You benefit from our investment expertise

We will carefully manage your chosen unit trust investments following our proven investment philosophy. To build your long-term wealth with us, you can invest monthly or start with a lump sum, subject to our minimums.

Your investment is safeguarded
Your investment is kept for retirement

The restrictions in a retirement annuity ensure that your investment is kept for its intended purpose and safeguarded from potential creditors. You must keep most of your investment until retirement and then use it to purchase a retirement income product. You can access a portion in case of a financial emergency if you have no other options, but only once per tax year before retirement.

Reasons a retirement annuity may not be suitable for you

To ensure that your retirement savings are kept for your retirement, the following legal restrictions apply to all retirement annuities:

  • Prescribed legal investment limits restrict how much you can invest in the types of investments that are considered higher risk, for example equities and offshore investments.
  • You can only access a portion of your investment once per tax year before retirement, with some specific exceptions. 
  • When you retire, you can withdraw a portion of your investment as cash. You must use the rest to purchase a retirement income product.

Need to know more? See our frequently asked questions about saving for your retirement.

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Need to know more about the two-pot retirement system?

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Choose a unit trust that suits your needs

Your investment returns come from the unit trusts you choose. You can choose from our simple range of unit trusts and you can change your selection when you need to.

When choosing a unit trust, there is a trade-off between higher potential return on the one hand, and stability and lower risk on the other.

Remember that your unit trust selection must meet the prescribed legal investment limits.

Higher risk & return
Stability & lower risk
Allan Gray Equity Fund

Potential for higher long-term return. However, as there is more significant fluctuation, it may not be suitable for retirement funds.

Allan Gray Balanced Fund

Our flagship long-term unit trust. Steady long-term return with moderate fluctuation.

Allan Gray Stable Fund

Less fluctuation with above-inflation return. There may be some fluctuation within a two-year period.

Allan Gray Interest Fund

Most stability with higher return than bank deposits and traditional money market funds. Suitable for short-term needs.

The Allan Gray Equity Fund

Our equity-only unit trust for very long-term investing
Suitable for you if:
  • You want to invest in listed shares for long-term capital growth
  • You are comfortable with significant stock market movement
  • You accept the possibility of losing capital
  • You have at least five years to invest, but preferably longer
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Can you tolerate significant ups and downs?

You must be prepared to wait out years in which you may experience performance that may be significantly better, or significantly worse, than in a balanced fund. It is important that you are able to remain invested after a drop, to give your investment time to recover.

Look at the long-term return 

Returns go up and down, but you can benefit if you have enough time to wait

If you have the time and the patience to leave your money invested despite dramatic and long-lasting ups and downs, the Equity Fund has the potential to deliver higher long-term return.

To really understand how much an investment has grown over time, it’s important to look at  return after inflation.

When you invest via a retirement annuity fund, you cannot invest only in the Equity Fund.

If you wish to invest in the Equity Fund (which invests 100% into equities), you must also choose another unit trust and create an investment portfolio that complies with the prescribed legal investment limits for retirement funds.

It is your responsibility to make sure that your investment complies with the legal investment limits, and continues to comply over time.

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The Allan Gray Balanced Fund

Our flagship long-term unit trust
Suitable for you if:
  • You are looking for steady, long-term capital growth
  • You are ideally investing for at least three years
  • You are comfortable with taking on some risk of market fluctuation and potential capital loss
  • You wish to invest in a unit trust that complies with legal investment limits for retirement funds
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Your one-year returns may test you

Over any year you may experience good performance, or things may go the other way and your investment could lose value. It’s important to prepare yourself for what you could experience while you are invested.

Look at the  long-term return.

Returns go up and down, but you can benefit over the long term

Our Balanced Fund aims to deliver steady growth over time. You can benefit if you are able to wait out the short-term ups and downs.

To fully understand how much an investment has grown over time, it’s important to look at return after inflation.

The Allan Gray Stable Fund

Lower fluctuation for short- to medium-term access
Suitable for you if:
  • You are risk-averse and want to prioritise protecting your capital
  • You are ideally investing for at least two years
  • You want to achieve returns better than inflation, but are comfortable with lower potential return over time than you might earn in a unit trust that takes on more risk
  • You are comfortable with some market fluctuation within a two-year period
  • You want a unit trust that complies with legal investment limits for retirement funds
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Benefit from less significant ups and downs than the Balanced Fund

The Stable Fund aims to protect your investment over any two years. Over a year you may still experience ups and downs, but these are likely to be less significant than what you might experience in the Balanced Fund.

Look at the long-term return. 

You must be comfortable with lower return over time

If you are investing for the long term, you must be comfortable with lower return than you might earn in a balanced fund.

 To fully understand how much an investment has grown over time, it’s important to look at return after inflation.

The Allan Gray Interest Fund

Preservation and accessibility over the short term
Suitable for you if:
  • You are risk-averse and you seek higher returns than bank deposits and traditional money market funds
  • You require monthly income distributions
  • You only want to invest for about 6 months to one year
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Your one-year returns are stable

The Interest Fund aims to generate returns higher than bank deposits and traditional money market funds and is suitable when investing for up to a year. You may experience ups and downs, but these are likely to be far less significant than what you might experience in the Balanced Fund.

The Interest Fund is a short-term investment

This unit trust may not be suitable for your retirement investment, which is generally a long-term investment. Potential returns over time are lower than what you might earn in a unit trust that takes on more risk

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Other unit trust options

If you would like offshore exposure, you can invest in the Allan Gray-Orbis rand-denominated offshore unit trusts. These are listed in the “Our local unit trusts” section on our Unit trusts, prices & factsheets page.

We also have specialist unit trusts (the Allan Gray SA Equity Fund, the Allan Gray Optimal Fund, the Allan Gray Bond Fund, the Allan Gray Income Fund and the Allan Gray Money Market Fund), which may be more suitable for experienced investors who are comfortable building their own investment portfolio.

If you want to include diversification in your investment strategy, you may also want to invest in unit trusts from other investment managers.

If you want to build your own investment portfolio, it must comply with the prescribed legal investment limits. You can use our Regulation 28 calculator to check if your combination of unit trusts complies.

All investment options

View our All investment options page for the full range of our investment products and underlying unit trusts.

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The financial services, products or investments referred to on this website are not available to persons resident in jurisdictions where their availability or distribution would contravene local laws or regulations and the information on this website is not intended for use by these persons. This website is for information only and does not in any way constitute a solicitation or offer by Allan Gray Proprietary Limited or any of its associates or subsidiaries (collectively “Allan Gray”) to buy or sell any financial instruments or to provide any investment advice or service.

By selecting one of the countries below I confirm that I have read and understood the above and that:

(a) I am not a South African citizen; or 
(b) I do not reside in the Republic of South Africa; or 
(c) I am not otherwise a person to whom the communication of the information contained in this website is prohibited by the laws of my home jurisdiction; and 
(d) I am not acting for the benefit of any such persons mentioned in (a),(b) and (c) and 
(e) I confirm that any investment with Allan Gray is based on my own initiative and not due to any offer or solicitation by Allan Gray.

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