What we call a unit trust is referred to as a mutual fund elsewhere in the world. These are just some of the anomalies highlighted in Offshore Unit Trusts , a new book published by Profile Media. Foreign or international funds are those funds domiciled in SA which invest offshore using the now defunct asset swap mechanism. There are 286 offshore funds registered with the Financial Services Board, and the figure is growing. Not all offshore funds provide full disclosure of charges because of different regulations in different part of the world.
Costs are another issue requiring close scrutiny.
Since then, greater variances have appeared in charging structures. But there are legal, audit, custody and administration fees which are less easy to spot. In an environment where future returns might be in single digits, the charges levied by offshore fund managers should come under close scrutiny. Why you should invest abroad THE JSE offers better value than at any time in the recent past, but the case for offshore investment remains as solid as ever.