Co-founder and joint chief executive officer of financial services firm Sygnia, Magda Wierzycka, will step down from the position at the end of May 2021, the group announced.<\/p>\n
Wierzycka will remain involved in the company as a non-executive director, while David Hufton, who currently shares the role as joint-CEO, will assume the role of sole chief executive on 1 June 2021.<\/p>\n
“After successfully leading Sygnia since its inception in 2006, Wierzycka will continue to play a key role in shaping the strategic direction of the Company together with its executive team and the board of directors,” the group said.<\/p>\n
Wierzycka and her associates will retain their majority shareholding in the company.<\/p>\n
Hufton was appointed as deputy chief executive officer of the company in July 2018 and as a joint-CEO\u00a0in April 2020.<\/p>\n
In December 2020, Sygnia reported growth in assets under management of 5.6% to R251.8 billion for the financial period ended September 2020. This, despite an economically turbulent environment due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.<\/p>\n
During the same period, it noted that the FTSE\/JSE All Share Index returned 2%, the JSE All Bond Composite Index 3.6% and the MSCI World Index, in rands, 21.6%.<\/p>\n
The company pointed to a mixture of low-cost strategies and a strong focus on macroeconomic trends, for its active asset allocation decisions.<\/p>\n
In terms of financial performance, total revenue, at R661 million, climbed by 30.1% (2019: R508.1 million), while total expenses, at R381.9 million, increased by 12.5% (2019: R339.4 million).<\/p>\n
The increase in expenses was primarily driven by higher staff costs associated with increased business activity, an increase in trading, custody and administration costs and marketing expenditure.<\/p>\n
Diluted headline earnings per share climbed by 64.6% year-on-year from 87.3 cents to 143.7 cents per share; headline earnings per share is up 66.6% from 87.9 cents to 146.4 cents per share; the total dividend per share swelled by 83.33% from 60.0 cents to 110.0 cents per share; and profit after tax rose by 63.7% from R125.9 million to R206.1 million.<\/p>\n