The need for resilient, diversified investment strategies has never been more critical. We believe that property remains a compelling asset class, especially when approached with the right blend of local insight and global perspective.
At our recent Curate webinar, Evan Jankelowitz, co-founder of Sesfikile Capital, the selected investment manager of the Curate Momentum Flexible Property Fund, unpacked how the fund is building value in today’s dynamic environment.
A diversified foundation
The Curate Momentum Flexible Property Fund is designed to offer investors a smoother ride through market volatility by combining South African listed property exposure with global real estate investment trusts (REITs). The fund’s 60/40 split between local and global investments provides a robust foundation for yield and growth.
For the past two years to end October 2025, FTSE/JSE All Property Total Return index returned 88.2% (cumulative) and 37.18% (annualised). In terms of the peak, it is 38.47% lower than its peak when using the FTSE/JSE All Property Price Return (PR) index¹, suggesting there is still room for growth. Retail, logistics and prime-grade office spaces, particularly in the Western Cape, are showing strong fundamentals, supported by low vacancies and improving cost-to-income ratios thanks to renewable energy adoption and stabilising electricity supply.
Globally, the fund accesses more than 340 companies across 11 sectors and multiple regions, including the US, UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific. This exposure includes themes such as data centres, healthcare facilities and necessity-based real estate, which are sectors benefiting from long-term structural trends like AI, ageing populations and the resurgence of physical retail.
Why advisers should take note
For financial advisers, the Curate Momentum Flexible Property Fund offers several compelling advantages for their clients:
- Diversification across geographies and sectors
South Africa’s listed property market is relatively concentrated, with retail making up 63% of the index. In contrast, the global allocation spans sectors such as healthcare, logistics, data centres, and residential, providing meaningful diversification and reducing reliance on any single economic cycle or political climate. - Attractive valuations
Local and global property sectors are trading at discounts to net asset value and the sectors are priced at below their long-term averages. These valuations suggest upside potential for long-term investors. - Strong historical returns
To October 2025, the Curate Global Balanced Fund returned an annualised 20.54% (A-class), compared to 17.18% for the blended benchmark. For the year to date, the fund returned 12.53%, compared to 11.51% for the benchmark². These returns reflect the strength of Sesfikile’s active management and thematic positioning. - Balanced blend of yield and growth
Property is inherently sensitive to interest rates and inflation, but the fund’s diversified exposure to local and global property helps mitigate currency volatility and political risk. The inclusion of developed market REITs adds stability, while South Africa’s improving fundamentals, such as reduced load shedding and steady government grants, support the local growth outlook. The result is a more resilient and balanced property allocation designed to capture both yield and long-term growth potential. - Proven expertise
Sesfikile Capital is an owner-managed firm with a singular focus on property. The manager’s deep sector knowledge and disciplined investment process have consistently delivered benchmark-outperforming results in the past 15 years.
The bottom line
In today’s investment landscape, advisers are tasked with finding solutions that balance risk, return and resilience. The Curate Momentum Flexible Property Fund offers a compelling proposition: Diversified exposure, attractive valuations and a proven track record, all underpinned by expert management and a clear investment philosophy. Beyond these strengths, the fund also delivers the added benefits of income and income growth – key advantages that make property a useful addition in a well-diversified portfolio.
As Evan Jankelowitz concluded in his presentation, “We eat, sleep, and breathe property. While we can’t promise to beat the benchmark every year, we can promise to apply the same process that has delivered consistent outperformance for over a decade.”
For more information, visit Curate Investments at curateinvestments.co.za.
Sources:
1. Bloomberg
2. Morningstar
CIS disclosures
This document has been prepared by Curate Investments (Pty) Ltd (Curate). Curate is an authorised financial services provider (FSP No. 53549) under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 37 of 2002 (FAIS). The Curate investment funds are co-named portfolios administered by Momentum Collective Investments (RF) (Pty) Ltd (the management company), registration number 1987/004287/07, which is authorised in terms of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act, No 45 of 2002 (CISCA) to administer collective investment schemes (CISs) in securities and retains full legal responsibility for the Curate investment funds. The management company is the manager of the Momentum Collective Investments Scheme (the scheme) and is part of Momentum Group Limited, an authorised financial services provider (FSP) (FSP6406) under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services
Act No. 37 of 2002 (FAIS), a registered credit provider (NCRCP173), a full member of the Association for Savings and Investment SA (ASISA) and rated B-BBEE level 1. Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, registration number 1962/000738/06, is the trustee of the scheme.
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