Global investment manager Ninety One has described the deal to acquire Sanlam Investment Management as a “bold move” to strengthen its position in South Africa and bolster growth initiatives in credit.
Ninety One, which shed its Investec Asset Management identity five years ago, will become Sanlam’s primary active investment manager, gaining access to an extensive retail distribution network after entering into the deal in November. The company expects to complete the deal in the 2026 financial year.
CEO Hendrik Du Toit said in the group's integrated annual report released this week that the transaction offers an opportunity to reach deeper into the South African savings market.
“The long-term nature of the agreement is a meaningful vote of confidence in the future of South Africa,” he said.
He told analysts during the group's financial results presentation for the year ended March that the deal was not just the book.
“South Africa is not getting richer per capita. The economy has been stagnant for a long time, but it [Sanlam] is a well intermediated business and people are making provision for themselves by saving. It is a highly financialized economy and that means the markets Sanlam and some of our other major insurance and other clients serve, those markets are growing,” he said.
“If you look at their results or any of the financial firms like Capitec and the big banks, you will see that there is a lot of money in motion. It will help us access that which we normally, as a primarily institutional firm, would not have had access to.”
Assets under management are split between equities (46%), fixed income (24%), multi-asset (16%), alternatives (4%) and the South African fund platform (10%).
Over the year, Ninety One's assets under management increased by 4% to £130.8bn (R3.1-trillion), with net outflows of £4.9bn showing an improvement over the previous year’s £9.4bn.
Du Toit said 2025 was a year of two halves, with the second half reflecting a turnaround with net inflows of £0.4bn, the first positive net flow half-year in two years.
“In the first half, risk aversion persisted toward public markets and emerging assets. Clients rebalanced portfolios and reduced cyclical exposures, resulting in £5.3bn of net outflows. In the second half, clients re-engaged across several of our core strategies, and flows responded,” he said.
In the first half, risk aversion persisted toward public markets and emerging assets. Clients rebalanced portfolios and reduced cyclical exposures, resulting in £5.3bn of net outflows. In the second half, clients re-engaged across several of our core strategies, and flows responded.
Ninety One's South African fund platform generated £359m of net inflows.
In terms of its geographical perspective, the UK client group was the largest contributor to overall net outflows driven by a combination of portfolio rebalancing and reduced allocations to some equity strategies.
He said in spite of this disappointing result, Ninety One had confidence in the UK client group to regain positive momentum under its recently revitalised leadership.
“A substantial part of the net outflow related to the rebalancing away from equities and a reduction in emerging market exposure rather than the termination of entire relationships. This is important, in our case net outflows did not equate to client loss. The majority of our client groups but not all, reversed the outflow momentum of the first half.
“The Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa client groups were positive in the second half. The UK has of late been a very difficult place for asset managers and has not yet turned the corner.”
Du Toit said Ninety One, was cautiously optimistic about the new financial year, though markets were likely to remain volatile.
“Regulation continues to evolve, and client expectations continue to rise. In the coming year, we will continue to focus on scaling our strongest strategies, deepening relationships in priority markets and delivering exceptional service and outcomes for our clients.”
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