PSG Group to restructure asset management business

Jean-Pierre Matthews

Rene Miles

PSG Fund Management CEO, Ross Breedt

The PSG Group has embarked on a major restructuring process to streamline the holding company of its various asset management businesses, PSG Fund Management. The aim is to provide for a focused and simplified asset management business to pave the way for future growth opportunities.

PSG Fund Management to date followed a strategy of growing various asset management boutique teams, independently from one another. This structure is now to be abridged for more focus.

The key executives that will drive the process are Ross Breedt who will head the marketing and sales, Adrian Clayton equity centric asset management, JP Matthews fixed interest and hedge fund asset management, Rene Miles the retail investment platform with Mike Smith as chief operating officer of the whole combined business.

Making the announcement, Jaap du Toit, PSG Fund Management chairman and co-founder of PSG Group, said PSG Fund Management has now reached critical mass with assets of more than R24 billion under administration and close to R12 billion under management.

“To realise opportunities for future growth, we now need a more focused approach to benefit from synergies that have developed from these very successful boutique businesses. This will entail a simplified product range with a specifically branded PSG range of funds, clearly differentiated business units and combined research capabilities.

“The restructure of PSG Fund Management is in line with PSG Group’s strategy for growth and is an concerted effort to create a significant player in the domestic asset management industry”, du Toit said.

Breedt said investors want and needs simplicity, not unwieldy products. The key is a simple and easily understandable range of products. Complexity and brand confusion weakens the impact for investors.

PSG Fund Management distributes its products to various independent financial advisors and to the financial advisors of PSG Konsult, PSG Group’s own independent financial advisor force. Through this, PSG Group has acquired an enviable asset base of approximately R96 billion in retail assets, which is managed largely by various external asset managers.

A refocused asset management strategy means that PSG Fund Management will be ideally positioned to capitalise on its existing asset management expertise, thereby growing its market share within the bigger PSG Group as well as in the wider investment market.