The woman running a R38 billion financial powerhouse – the first ever in South Africa
Jeanette Marais has been the CEO of Momentum for just over a year, with the group thriving under her leadership.
Marais became Group CEO on 1 August 2023, making her the first female CEO of a large listed life insurance and asset management group in South Africa. Momentum had a market cap of R38.33 billion at the time of writing.
Marais joined the group in 2018 as Deputy Group CEO, overseeing Momentum Investments, Momentum Distribution Services, Consult by Momentum and Momentum Money.
Under her leadership, Momentum Investments’ normalised headline earnings increased from R271 million in the 2018 financial year (FY2018) to R940 million in FY2022.
Over those five years, the value of new business increased from R80 million to R346 million.
She holds an Executive MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland and has several decades worth of experience in the South African financial services industry.
She started her career at Momentum in 1990, filling multiple roles in actuarial product development and marketing and as part of the team that launched Momentum Administration Services.
She also filled executive-level positions at PSG, Stanlib and Old Mutual before joining Allan Gray in 2009 as co-head of retail business, where she became an executive director.
“After undergoing a rigorous, robust and thorough selection process, Jeanette emerged as the best candidate,” said Paul Baloyi, Chairperson of Momentum Metropolitan at the time of Marais’s appointment.
“I am pleased that this appointment represents a significant breakthrough in diversity, and I am proud that we found the best person for the job inside our company. This ensures leadership continuity and a continued focus on strategy execution.”
“This is full circle for me; Momentum provided the very first growth and leadership opportunities in my career. I am honoured that I get the chance to give back and lead this company that is so close to my heart,” added Marais.
“I am excited to work with the leadership team further to harness the company’s strong brands and talented people and execute our growth plans successfully.”
How the group is doing
The Momentum Group had a strong year under Marais’s leadership.
Normalised headline earnings (NHE) reached R4.4 billion for the year ended 30 June 2024, up 27% from the prior year.
Operating profit also increased by 31% to R3.6 billion.
NHE per share increased 32% from 235.2 cents to 309.7 cents, which the group said highlighted the positive impact of the share buyback programme over the year.
Headline earnings per share increased by 39% from 215.5 cents to 298.6 cents, and earnings per share improved by 29% from 220.0 cents to 282.9 cents.
The group also declared a final dividend of 65 cents per ordinary share, resulting in a full-year dividend of 125 cents per share.
“We are pleased that, despite the continued challenging economic backdrop, our results and earnings are strong,” said Marais.
“This was the outcome of positive contributions from most business units, including a recovery in Momentum Insure and Metropolitan’s earnings, solid life annuity profits from Momentum Investments, and strong underwriting experience in Momentum Corporate and Guardrisk.”
The group’s new business sales also increased by 19% to R82.1 billion.
Momentum Corporate, Momentum Investments, and Momentum Retail were the businesses that contributed significantly to the increase in sales volumes. Together, they increased sales by 47%, 19%, and 11%, respectively.
“We pride ourselves on our strong distribution capabilities, particularly in the Independent Financial Adviser market, where we hold a dominant position across most of our Momentum products,” said Marais.
That said, the value of new business (VNB) marginally declined by 2% to R589 million.
“Even though the VNB improved significantly in the second half of the year, our new business margins are not yet where they should be,” said Risto Ketola, Group Finance Director.
“Management will continue to focus on increasing sales volumes, improving new business pricing and the sales mix, and reducing acquisition costs. Each business unit has clear plans in place to address the VNB.”
The group bought back 23.6 million shares at an average price of R21.11 per share as per the share buyback, representing a 43% discount to the 30 June 2023 embedded value per share of R36.94.
The board approved a further R1 billion for the buyback programme of the group’s ordinary shares, which will take place now that the group is no longer in a closed period.
| Financials | FY23 | FY24 | % Change |
| Earnings (R million) | 3 191 | 3 936 | +23% |
| Headline earnings (R million) | 3 041 | 4 061 | +34% |
| Earnings per share (cents) | 220.0 | 282.9 | +29% |
| Headline earnings per share (cents) | 215.5 | 298.6 | +39% |
| Normalised Headline earnings per share (cents)* | 235.2 | 309.7 | +32% |
| Total dividend per share (cents) | 120 | 125 | +4% |
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