South Africa
Namibia
In Brief
Our investment philosophy and process
- We are prudent: We construct our portfolios on a risk-conscious basis.
- We use a strict valuation-based process: We buy when an asset’s valuation is below its long-term fair value, and sell once it reaches fair value again.
- We make decisions based on known facts, and we don’t try to forecast the future.
- We focus on the long term and try to ignore short-term “noise”.
- We have used the same rigorous, consistent process successfully since we started over 25 years ago.
- We have a team-based approach: Our highly experienced and qualified team have been working together for many years. All our buy and sell decisions are taken collectively.
We believe that the consistent application of our philosophy and process will lead to sustainable investment performance for our clients over time.
Total assets under management
R324 Billion
Unit trust MANCO
R156 Billion
Segregated and Life Pooled
R169 Billion
AUM Reflected as at 31 December 2023
Founded in
Cape Town, 1994
Offices
Cape Town (HO), Johannesburg, Durban, Gqeberha & Windhoek, Namibia
Number of staff
190+
BBBEE
Level 1
Ownership
M&G plc: 50.12%; Staff Investment Company: 28.08%; Thesele Group: 21.8%
License
Licensed financial services provider (FSP45199) under the FAIS Act
We’re in it for the long term
We’re serious about the responsible stewardship of our clients’ assets and excellent client service. Because we take a long-term view in all we do, we won’t pursue short-term gains at the expense of long-term value.
Our focus on acting responsibly and with integrity isn’t new – it’s a philosophy that’s been at the heart of our business throughout our history. We believe responsible corporate behaviour is essential in maintaining successful relationships with our clients, our staff and our communities. Understanding our stakeholders' needs today can also help us innovate in ways that create both commercial and social value in the future.
Our interests are aligned with our clients'
Every M&G employee is a shareholder in our business and each one invests their retirement savings alongside our clients, in the same M&G unit trust funds. On top of this, a large part of our investment professionals’ remuneration depends directly on investment performance.
Our vision
Our vision is to help our clients achieve their financial goals by successfully managing their investments using our long-established prudent valuation-based approach. We strive to outperform our clients’ investment objectives steadily over time, because consistency is the key to successful investing.
We know that our delivery on this commitment will lead to long-term success for our clients, our staff, our shareholders and our communities.
Our name and logo
M&G was originally founded as the “Municipal and General Securities Company” in London in 1900. We launched the very first unit trust in the UK and Europe, the “M&G First British Fixed Trust” in 1931 and became part of Prudential plc, the UK-listed global insurance and investments group, in 1999. Finally, we took on our current form in 2019 when we de-merged from Prudential plc and listed independently on the London Stock Exchange as M&G plc.
Our logo, an open, outlined square, represents a two-way window. It’s first a window of openness into our business, signifying the priority we place on the transparency of our processes, and the open and direct nature of communications with our clients. Equally, it’s a window through which we look to the future, to symbolise the forward-thinking nature of both our company and the broader investment environment.
In our design approach, it’s used as an element to focus in on (or “shed light” on) a particular aspect of an image, as in the way we would analyse an asset we invest in.
Black economic empowerment and transformation
We're committed to transformation in our business, recognising the imperative of achieving greater socio-economic equality in all aspects of our society. We're proud to have achieved a certified Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating of Level 1.
The total black ownership of our business has increased steadily over recent years, mainly due to increased black staff ownership, and is currently approximately 34.05%. If the strategic holding by M&G plc is excluded, 65% of our South Africa-resident shareholder base is currently black-owned, collectively by Thesele Group and M&G South Africa’s black staff.
SEE OUR LATEST LEVEL-1 B-BBEE SCORECARD.
However, we know that there is still much to be done - transformation remains one of our highest business priorities over the near term.
Our staff indirectly own 28.08% of our business via the M&G Staff Investment Company, and the Thesele Group, our BEE partners, have a 21.8% stake. The remaining 50.12% stake is held by M&G plc group. They have been our largest shareholders since our founding in South Africa in 1994 under the Prudential banner.