| Group | Typical characteristics |
|---|---|
| Large resource counters | Highest turnover, narrow spreads, move with commodity prices |
| Big four banks | Deep and consistent, sensitive to rate decisions |
| Dual listed industrials | High turnover, price set partly offshore |
| Large retailers | Good liquidity, driven by domestic consumer data |
| Listed property | Moderate, sensitive to the long bond yield |
| Small caps | Thin, wide spreads, hard to exit in size |
| Liquidity | Typical spread | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Top 40 constituent | A few basis points | Fills close to the screen price |
| Mid cap | Wider | Some slippage on size |
| Small cap | Materially wider | The spread can exceed a day's move |
| Illiquid counter | Very wide | Exiting may take days or move the price |
| Spread | Typical share | Round trip cost |
|---|---|---|
| 0.05% | Large Top 40 constituent | about R100 |
| 0.20% | Smaller Top 40 name | about R400 |
| 0.50% | Mid cap | about R1,000 |
| 2.00% | Small cap | about R4,000 |
| 5.00% | Illiquid counter | about R10,000 |
Data maintained by TradeAnswers · updated as the figures change