Chatting to ChatGPT about Rebalancing my Sygnia ETF Investments

So, this is not investment advice, and you shouldn’t rely too much on AI telling you what to do. That said, I had a good chat with ChatGPT about my current ETF investments with Sygnia and the advice it gave and the reasoning made sense. I assume this is similar to what a good financial planner would advise and I’m keen to see if I can get a similar interaction via Sygnia’s Robo-advisor.

This is what I did using ChatGPT 4. First, I uploaded the fact sheets for all 13 ETFs I wanted to discuss, asking ChatGPT to provide a summary of each fund and its performance. Here are the summaries:

• The Sygnia Itrix FANG.AI Actively Managed ETF primarily invests in companies utilizing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, large language models, cloud storage, big data, social media, and e-commerce tools. It was launched on 29 September 2023 with a fund size of R 90 Million. The ETF aims to provide investment exposure to these tech companies, reflected in its top holdings like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms. The fund is listed on JSE Limited under the code SYFANG and trades in ZAR, while its portfolio currency is USD. The benchmark for this ETF is the NYSE® FANG+™Index. For performance details, since the fund was launched in September 2023, there is no available data for its past year and three-year performance as of October 2023.
• The Sygnia Itrix FTSE 100 ETF aims to replicate the performance of the FTSE 100 Index, which comprises the 100 largest UK-domiciled companies. Launched on 10 October 2005, it has a fund size of R 1.252 billion as of October 2023. The ETF invests 100% in offshore equity and tracks the FTSE 100 Index. The fund’s performance over 1 year is 10.9%, closely matching the FTSE 100 Index’s performance of 11.0%. Over 3 years, the fund’s performance is 12.6%, slightly underperforming the index’s 12.4%.
• The Sygnia Itrix Global Property ETF, established on 30 October 2017 with a fund size of R 489 million, focuses on global real estate. It tracks the S&P Global Property 40 Index, aiming for similar performance. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was -1.8%, slightly underperforming the index’s -1.8%. Over three years, the fund showed a return of 2.3%, closely aligned with the index’s 2.4%. This ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGP, dealing in ZAR, with USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix MSCI Emerging Markets 50 ETF, launched on 30 April 2021 with a fund size of R 253 million, focuses on the top 50 companies in emerging markets. It tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets 50 Index. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was 20.0%, matching the index. However, since its inception, the fund has underperformed with a return of -9.5% compared to the index’s -9.6%. This ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGEMF, with ZAR as its trading currency and USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix MSCI Japan Index ETF, launched on 1 April 2008 with a fund size of R 978 million, tracks the MSCI Japan Index, focusing on Japanese equities. The fund’s performance over the past year was 16.6%, matching the index’s 16.6%. Over three years, the fund returned 4.6%, underperforming the index’s 12.9%. This ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGJP, with ZAR as its trading currency and JPY as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix MSCI World Index ETF, launched on 1 April 2008 with a fund size of R 15.168 billion, tracks the MSCI World Index. It focuses on global equity and offers diversified exposure to developed markets. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was 10.9%, in line with the index’s 10.9%. Over three years, the fund returned 11.7%, closely matching the index’s 11.7%. The ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGWD, dealing in ZAR, with USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix New China Sectors ETF, launched on 20 April 2022 with a fund size of R 142 million, tracks the S&P New China Sectors Index. It focuses on China- and Hong Kong-domiciled companies in consumption- and service-oriented industries. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was 16.5%, mirroring the index’s 16.5%. Since its inception, the fund has shown a slight underperformance of -1.6% compared to the index’s -1.5%. This ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGCN, with ZAR as its trading currency and USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix S&P 500 ETF, established on 30 October 2017 with a fund size of R 4.257 billion, tracks the S&P 500 Index. It aims to mirror the index’s performance, focusing on the largest U.S. companies. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was 10.5%, closely mirroring the index’s 10.5%. Over three years, the fund’s return was 13.9%, slightly underperforming the index’s 14.0%. The ETF trades on JSE Limited under the code SYG500, with ZAR as its trading currency and USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix S&P Global 1200 ESG ETF, initiated on 12 April 2021 with a fund size of R 1.603 billion, aims to replicate the S&P Global 1200 ESG Index. This ETF targets global equities with an ESG focus. Its performance over the past year was 12.3%, closely tracking the index’s 12.4%. Since inception, the fund has returned 9.0%, aligning with the index’s 9.0%. The ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGESG, in ZAR, with USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix Solactive Healthcare 150 ETF, launched on 6 August 2021 with a fund size of R 626 million, aims to track the Solactive Developed Markets Healthcare 150 Index. The fund’s performance over the past year was -1.2%, slightly underperforming the index’s -1.2%. Since its inception, the fund has returned 6.6%, slightly underperforming the index’s 7.1%. The ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGH, with ZAR as its trading currency and USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix Euro Stoxx 50 ETF, launched on 10 October 2005 with a fund size of R 2.748 billion, aims to replicate the performance of the Euro Stoxx 50® Index. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was 22.4%, closely mirroring the index’s 22.5%. In terms of three-year performance, the fund achieved 12.8%, which is slightly under the index’s 12.9%. The ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGEU, with ZAR as its trading currency and EUR as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix 4th Industrial Revolution Global Equity ETF, initiated on 6 December 2017 with a fund size of R 1.727 billion, tracks the S&P Kensho New Economies Composite Index. It aims to replicate the performance of companies driving the 4th Industrial Revolution. The fund’s performance over the past year was -9.5%, slightly underperforming the index’s -9.4%. Over three years, the fund had a minimal negative return of -0.4%, compared to the index’s -0.2%. The ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYG4IR, with ZAR as the trading currency and USD as the portfolio currency.
• The Sygnia Itrix Top 40 ETF, launched on 30 October 2017 with a fund size of R 383 million, tracks the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index. It focuses on South African equities. Over the past year, the fund’s performance was 6.3%, slightly underperforming the index’s 6.4%. Over three years, the fund achieved a 10.2% return, compared to the index’s 10.4%. The ETF trades on the JSE Limited under the code SYGT40, with both its trading and portfolio currencies in ZAR.

This gave me an easy to understand overview of what the funds hold and how they have performed over the past years. I then asked ChatGPT to put this in a table, showing the performance over the past year and what R10,000 invested then would be worth today, ordered from best performing fund to worst.

Fund Name	1-Year Performance (%)	Value of R10,000 Today (R)
SYGEU	22.4	12,240
SYGEMF	20.0	12,000
SYGJP	16.6	11,660
SYGCN	16.5	11,650
SYGESG	12.3	11,230
SYGUK	10.9	11,090
SYGWD	10.9	11,090
SYG500	10.5	11,050
SYGT40	6.3	10,630
SYFANG	N/A	10,000
SYGH	-1.2	9,880
SYGP	-1.8	9,820
SYG4IR	-9.5	9,050

This gave me a snapshot of performance of each fund plus, by asking what the value of R10,000 invested today would be worth, I could easily see what that meant in real terms.

Lastly, I asked it, based on historic performance data and any other factors, what funds it would invest in and what % of the total investment amount, in each fund. This is what ChatGPT put together, which looks very different to my current investment spread.

Fund Name	Allocation (%)	1-Year Increase (%)
SYGWD (Global Diversified)	30	10.9
SYGESG (Global ESG)	20	12.3
SYGUK (FTSE 100)	10	10.9
SYGJP (Japan Index)	10	16.6
SYGEMF (Emerging Markets)	10	20.0
SYG4IR (4th Industrial Revolution)	10	-9.5
SYFANG (FANG.AI)	5	0.0
SYGH (Healthcare)	5	-1.2
SYGEU (Euro Stoxx 50)	5	22.4
SYGCN (China Sectors)	5	16.5

I then asked ChatGPT to justify this choice, because as I said, it would not be my choice. This is what it wrote:

1. Diversification: It’s wise to spread investments across different sectors and geographic regions to reduce risk. Diversified funds like SYGWD (World Index) or SYGESG (Global 1200 ESG) could form a significant portion of a portfolio.
2. Performance and Volatility: Consider the past performance but also the volatility. High returns often come with high risks. For instance, SYGEU (Euro Stoxx 50) showed strong recent performance, but European markets can be volatile.
3. Investment Horizon and Risk Tolerance: If you have a long-term horizon and higher risk tolerance, you might allocate more to potentially higher-growth funds like SYGEMF (Emerging Markets) or SYG4IR (4th Industrial Revolution). More stable funds like SYGJP (Japan Index) or SYGUK (FTSE 100) might be preferable for a shorter horizon or lower risk tolerance.
4. Thematic Investments: If you believe in certain themes (e.g., technology, healthcare), you could allocate a portion to thematic ETFs like SYFANG (FANG.AI) or SYGH (Healthcare).
5. Market Conditions: Current market conditions and economic outlooks can influence choices. For example, if tech is expected to rebound, SYFANG might be attractive.
6. ESG Considerations: If environmental, social, and governance factors are important, funds like SYGESG offer exposure to companies with strong ESG practices.