MerQube, a US-based provider of rules-based investment technology and index solutions, has partnered with Oribi Capital Partners and Prescient Management Company (Prescient) to launch a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering investors a more balanced exposure to South African equities.

The Oribi South Africa Top 30 Prescient ETF is powered by the MerQube South Africa Top 30 Price Return Index (ZAR) (MQZA30P), a sector-balanced benchmark designed to provide diversified exposure to the largest companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

Launched on May 6, 2026, the index selects the 10 largest companies from each of South Africa’s three key equity segments: Resources, Financials and Diversified sectors. Each sector receives an equal 33.3% weighting, creating a 30-stock benchmark designed to reduce concentration risk often associated with traditional South African equity indices.

MerQube said the index was developed as an alternative to existing benchmarks that have historically been dominated by a small number of mega-cap companies. By combining the largest and most liquid companies across three major sectors, the index aims to provide investors with broader exposure to the South African economy while maintaining scale and liquidity.

The index is available in Price Return (MQZA30P), Total Return (MQZA30T) and Net Total Return (MQZA30N) versions to support different investment mandates.

Unlike traditional market-capitalisation-weighted indices, which can become heavily influenced by the performance of a few large companies, the MerQube South Africa Top 30 Index applies equal weighting at both the sector and constituent levels.

Eligible companies must be common equities primarily listed on the JSE and domiciled in South Africa, with a minimum free float factor of 10%. Within each sector, companies are ranked by free-float market capitalisation, with the top 10 companies selected from each category.

The Resources sector includes Energy and Materials companies, Financials covers Financials and Real Estate, while Diversified includes companies from all remaining sectors. The index is reviewed annually, with reconstitution based on February-end data and implemented on the third Friday of March.

Zack Bezuidenhoudt, Head of Sales EMEA and APAC at MerQube, said the index was created to address concentration challenges in South African equity markets.

“South Africa’s flagship indices have long been dominated by a handful of companies creating concentration risk for investors,” he said.

“This index was designed to create an alternative, providing a transparent, rules-based benchmark that spreads exposure across sectors without sacrificing scale or investability. We are proud to partner with Oribi and Prescient to make balanced exposure to this dynamic economy available through an ETF structure,” he added.

The Oribi South Africa Top 30 Prescient ETF provides investors with access to the index through a listed investment vehicle managed by Oribi and Prescient. MerQube serves as the index sponsor, administrator and calculation agent, overseeing methodology design, sector classification, rebalancing and daily index calculations.

The launch represents MerQube’s expansion into emerging market index solutions, as the company develops a broader suite of sector-aware benchmarks. The South Africa Top 30 Index will form part of its emerging markets offering alongside planned indices covering markets including South Korea and Taiwan.