In this episode of Ghost Stories, The Finance Ghost is joined by Siyabulela Nomoyi from Satrix to unpack one of the most important, yet often misunderstood, concepts in investing: benchmarks. From retail portfolios to institutional mandates, we explore why returns only tell half the story and why every investment outcome needs a meaningful point of comparison.

Private markets come with challenges related to daily price discovery, liquidity and due diligence. Although ETFs cannot solve these issues, they can act as a liqudity sleeve in situations where committed institutional capital can be invested in a liquid ETF until the private market manager calls the capital. Duma Mxenge joined me on this podcast to explain how this works.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have emerged as a transformative solution, for public markets and also as a strategic bridge to private market exposure. The border between traditional and alternative asset management is dissolving. Clients are driving the convergence, seeking integrated solutions that blend public and private exposures. Duma Mxenge of Satrix explains.

In the year 2000, a lot happened. There was some questionable pop music. There was also the Dot-Com Crisis, followed by a period that saw incredible equity returns in South Africa until the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2007/2008. And during that important period in our local market, we also saw the emergence and initial growth of ETFs in South Africa, spearheaded by Satrix. To reflect on 25 years of ETFs in South Africa, René Basson joined me to share the important milestones and fascinating stories that defined this journey. Join us as we look back on how Satrix made it possible for everyone to own the market.

As we look back on a fascinating year in the markets, Nico Katzke (Head of Portfolio Solutions at Satrix) delivered a fantastic mix of insights on this podcast that can be applied to your strategy in 2026 and beyond. From being careful not to learn the wrong lessons through to choosing simplicity over complexity, there's a lot of great stuff in here to get you ready for another year in the markets.

South Africa is rapidly emerging as a digital investing leader, driven by mobile-first platforms, financial inclusion efforts, and a tech-savvy population. Duma Mxenge of Satrix explains why this is happening and why it matters.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) offer diversified exposure through a single investment, just like buying a box of biscuits and getting to enjoy a variety of flavours inside. But if you don't know how to read a fact sheet or assess which ETFs you like, then there's no way of knowing what's in the box. Siyabulela Nomoyi of Satrix joined me to share not just his love of biscuits, but also of researching ETFs.

Ever wondered how the nuts and bolts of ETFs work? What goes into index tracking and making sure that it is achieved at the lowest possible cost? And are all indices created equal from a complexity perspective? Lauren Jacobs at Satrix shows you what a day in the life of a portfolio manager looks like.