One South African company now manages almost R600 billion
One of South Africa’s top wealth managers, PSG Financial Services, showed a resilient performance in its latest interim results for the six months ending 31 August 2026.
The group delivered a 5% increase in recurring headline earnings per share to 60.9 cents and a 5% rise in core income to R4.16 billion.
This was backed by a high annual Return on Equity of 26.5%, declaring an interim dividend of 22.0 cents per share, up 10% from the prior period.
The group’s scale expanded significantly, with total assets under management growing 15% to R594.1 billion and assets under administration growing 16% to R833.8 billion, driven by positive organic client inflows and an expanded network of 998 financial advisers.
PSG said that this performance was delivered despite a challenging operating backdrop, with two of its three units reporting declines in recurring headline earnings.
PSG’s Asset Management division saw earnings decline from R197.2 million to R188.1 million.
While core recurring management fees rose by 20%, total earnings were brought down by a sharp reduction in performance fees, which accounted for only 1.9% of group headline earnings compared to 7.3% in the prior period.
PSG Insure saw its earnings drop from R122.1 million to R102.3 million, facing a double impact of weaker securities markets, which reduced investment returns, and severe catastrophe claims from Western Cape storm events in May 2026.
However, reinsurance coverage helped to preserve its net underwriting margin of 14.5%.
“Notwithstanding these headwinds, the performance of our key operating and financial metrics demonstrates our competitive advantage and the resilience of our advice-led business model,” said PSG.
PSG Wealth increased recurring headline earnings to R464.1 million, up from R407 million, driven by R12.8 billion in net organic client inflows and a 13% rise in core income.
PSG’s Wealth division is the group’s largest division, representing over 61% of total divisional earnings, so its growth outweighed the losses of the other two units.
Capital optimisation remained active, with the group repurchasing 8.0 million ordinary shares for R243.3 million while preserving a capital cover ratio of 292%.
PSG’s previous concerns about domestic progress
PSG Financial Services warned that although South Africa’s Reserve Bank and National Treasury work to maintain macroeconomic stability, the country’s economic growth remains insufficient to tackle high unemployment and poverty.
This stagnation is primarily due to infrastructure bottlenecks, inconsistent service delivery, and policy uncertainty.
On a global scale, the group highlighted increased risks stemming from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, international trade tensions, rising sovereign debt, inflated asset valuations, and rapid technological advancements such as artificial intelligence.
The group said that these macroeconomic challenges have directly affected operational results, leading to less favourable securities markets, which have reduced investment returns and performance fees.
PSG Financial Services expressed similar concerns in its annual financial results for the year ended 28 February 2026, regarding South Africa’s focus on short-term crises.
The group said the country needs to focus on long-term growth amid rising global volatility and a lack of domestic progress.
In the short term, the group said it was worried that both international and domestic markets had not fully considered potential risks and may have moved too far ahead of the current economic situation.
“Developed markets are heavily indebted, and the advent of political populism makes a return to normality difficult,” the group said.
“At the same time, global competition in trade, combined with emerging disruptive technologies,
present clear risks, while military action in the Gulf is a particular concern.”
The group called for an integrated economic plan that looks beyond current crisis management, citing a lack of adequate socioeconomic impact studies to support policy and legislation.
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