Alexforbes marks 90 years of impact with a strong set of results

Johannesburg, 9 June 2025 – Alexforbes has delivered a strong set of results for the year ended 31 March 2025, coinciding with its 90th anniversary..

Chief executive officer, Dawie de Villiers commented, ‘What excites me about Alexforbes is the way we have punched above our weight for 90 years and the impact we’ve had on the financial services industry. We have influenced and led real change and continue to do so and most importantly, we secure the financial well-being of members in the retirement funds that we serve. With the vision of transforming clients’ financial journeys, I am proud to share that we are making financial advice available to over one million members in our base. Across all ages, income bands and levels of wealth – every single one of our members can now access financial advice from Alexforbes to help them invest, plan and reach their investment destination.’

Financial performance

Operating income increased 13% to R4 397 million owing to strong investments performance underpinned by positive market growth and robust new business flows, inflationary increases from within our retirements and healthcare consulting client base and high client retention. In addition, the consolidation of acquisitions completed in previous financial years and higher two-pot claims volumes also contributed to top line growth.

Profit from operations (before non-trading and capital items) increased 14% to R911 million. Cash generated from continuing operations remains strong at R1 230 million, up 15% year on year.

Headline earnings per share from total operations increased 15% to 70.8 cents per share.

Normalised headline earnings per share improved 23% to 69.1 cents per share.

A gross final cash dividend of 33 cents per share has been declared which when added to the interim dividend of 22 cents per share amounts to a total dividend of 55 cents per share for the year. The total annual dividend is up 10% year on year.

In addition, the board has declared a gross special dividend of 10 cents per share.

Investment destination for institutional and retail investors

Total assets under management and administration closed at R599 billion up 14% year on year.

New institutional business flows for the year amounted to R35 billion. The institutional product offering (AuM) grew by 11% while the platform administration offering (AuA) grew by 26% year on year resulting in total institutional asset growth of 15% over the year to a closing value of R492 billion.

New retail business flows increased by 34% to R28 billion including R2.2 billion in assets under advice for the recently launched discretionary fund management offering, Investment Solutions™ by Alexforbes. Closing retail assets under advisement are up 12% year on year to reach R112 billion. Additionally, retail assets under management are up 11% year on year to reach R107 billion.

A welcome disruptor

With the implementation of the two-pot system taking effect on 1 September 2024, members of retirement funds were able to access a portion of their fund credits. Alexforbes anticipates that the two-pot system will improve retirement outcomes for new members by up to 2.5 times on average over the long term. While we saw large volumes of withdrawals in the first month from the effective date of the legislation the months thereafter have seen lower levels of withdrawals reaching a consistent monthly withdrawal level by year end.

For the period of 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, over 480 000 savings pot claims were processed within an average turnaround of 7 working days per claim with 99% of these being within standard servicing levels. These claims amounted to a cumulative gross withdrawal of R7.7 billion of which R5.5 billion was from Alexforbes portfolios (both AuM and AuA). Evidencing the group’s careful and considered approach to the two-pot implementation, 95% of normal benefit payments were processed within standard servicing levels despite the additional complexity of managing such claims in a post two-pot environment.

Transforming every client’s financial journey

Alexforbes continues to advance its position as an advice-led investment destination by delivering meaningful financial guidance and solutions to a broad base of customers. Central to this approach is the group's long-term vision: to transform every client’s financial journey through inclusive advice, intelligent technology and impactful solutions: empowering each one to reach their investment destination.

The group firmly believes that financial advice is a superpower that can change lives. But is only accessible to the select few. With its vision in focus, Alexforbes is making financial advice available to over one million retirement fund members across the income spectrum.

This has been achieved through a combination of expanding its adviser footprint, investing in digital tools and scaling its digital automated advice platform. These capabilities enable the group to provide accessible, tailored advice to every member of its institutional client base, regardless of income, age or financial status. Members may access financial advice from Alexforbes by using the following link https://invest.alexforbes.com/advice/

To further pursue its vision, the group has launched Alexforbes One – a refreshed umbrella fund solution designed to place the individual member at the centre of the institutional retirement savings journey. Alexforbes One offers access to financial advice for every member, a comprehensive range of independently curated benefits and streamlined employer support. Alexforbes One represents the group’s best view of the retirement fund of the future and, in a departure from the past, will be the umbrella solution available to both Alexforbes consultants and the IFA market.