{"id":853131,"date":"2026-03-06T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=853131"},"modified":"2026-03-06T12:20:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:20:31","slug":"south-african-financial-giant-buys-company-on-tiny-european-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/853131\/south-african-financial-giant-buys-company-on-tiny-european-island\/","title":{"rendered":"South African finance giant buys company on tiny European island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Prescient Group has acquired Obsidian Fund Services Limited in Guernsey to strengthen its global fund services offering for its South African and international clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal became effective on 1 February 2026 and will see Obsidian become part of Prescient Fund Services, which already operates in South Africa and Ireland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existing Obsidian team will be integrated into the Prescient business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in Cape Town in 1998, Prescient is one of South Africa’s largest fund managers. Prescient Fund Services currently administers $114 billion (roughly R1.9 trillion) in client assets as of 31 December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group entered Europe in 2008 through its Irish operations and has since expanded its cross-border fund servicing capabilities for South African and international clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands on the English coast, and is a self-governing British Crown dependency. It is widely considered a tax haven<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obsidian offers a host of fund administration services from Guernsey, including fund accounting, compliance, financial reporting, governance, and investor services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has experience working in both listed and unlisted structures, as well as in closed-ended and open-ended funds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also supports the creation of regulated investment management entities and protected cell structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prescient said that the deal expands its reach and enhances its ability to deliver comprehensive fund services to its clients across multiple jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It noted that Guernsey is a well-established jurisdiction for private equity and other private asset funds, and remains a preferred domicile for investors seeking strong regulatory oversight and global credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Mockford, CEO of Prescient Fund Services, said the move expands Prescient\u2019s long-standing international expansion strategy while remaining anchored to enhancing its offering to clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGuernsey is a leading jurisdiction for private equity and other private assets funds. It makes strategic sense for Prescient Fund Services to establish a presence on the island through an experienced and respected team like Obsidian,” said Mockford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This allows us to better support South African and international clients who require sophisticated offshore fund administration solutions.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local and international upside <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
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St Peter Port, Guernsey<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

For South African investors and managers evaluating offshore options, Prescient said the acquisition offers the benefit of dealing with a local company that understands domestic regulation while providing access to established international fund jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jody Newark, CEO of Obsidian, said that joining Prescient marks an important step for the Guernsey business and its clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an exciting new chapter for our clients as we become part of a larger fund administration group that shares our values,” said Newark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We look forward to continuing to deliver the same high level of service under the Prescient Fund Services brand,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said that the acquisition of Obsidian forms part of Prescient Fund Services\u2019 broader strategy to extend the range and regulatory scope of its offshore fund administration offering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Prescient Group has acquired Obsidian Fund Services in Guernsey, as it looks to expand its fund services to more clients. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":833443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[24949,23164],"class_list":["post-853131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-obsidian","tag-prescient"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853131"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":853145,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853131\/revisions\/853145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}