In Brief
Our investment philosophy and process
- We are prudent: We construct our portfolios on a risk-conscious basis.
- We use a strict valuation-based process: We buy when an asset’s valuation is below its long-term fair value, and sell once it reaches fair value again.
- We make decisions based on known facts, and we don’t try to forecast the future.
- We focus on the long term and try to ignore short-term “noise”.
- We have used the same rigorous, consistent process successfully since we started over 20 years ago.
- We have a team-based approach: Our highly experienced and qualified team have been working together for many years. All our buy and sell decisions are taken collectively.
We believe that the consistent application of our philosophy and process will lead to sustainable investment performance for our clients over time.
TOTAL ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT
R232 Billion
RETAIL ASSETS
R70 Billion
INSTITUTIONAL ASSETS
R162 Billion
AUM Reflected as at 31 December 2018
FOUNDED IN
Cape Town, 1994
OFFICES
Cape Town (Head Office), Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth & Windhoek, Namibia
NUMBER OF STAFF
170+
BBBEE
Level 2
OWNERSHIP
Prudential plc (via M&G Investments): 49.99%; Staff Investment Company: 28.01%; Thesele Group: 22%
LICENSE
Licensed financial services provider (FSP45199) under the FAIS Act
We’re in it for the long term
We’re serious about the responsible stewardship of our clients’ assets and excellent client service. Because we take a long-term view in all we do, we won’t pursue short-term gain at the expense of long-term value.
Our focus on acting responsibly and with integrity isn’t new – it’s a philosophy that’s been at the heart of our business throughout our history. We believe responsible corporate behaviour is essential in maintaining successful relationships with our clients, our staff and our communities. Understanding our stakeholders' needs today can also help us innovate in ways that create both commercial and social value in the future.
Our interests are aligned with our clients'
Every Prudential employee is a shareholder in our business and each one invests their retirement savings alongside our clients, in the same Prudential unit trust funds. On top of this, a large part of our investment professionals’ remuneration depends directly on investment performance.
Our vision
Our vision is to help our clients achieve their financial goals by successfully managing their investments using our long-established prudent valuation-based approach. We strive to outperform our clients’ investment objectives steadily over time, because consistency is the key to successful investing.
We know that our delivery on this commitment will lead to long-term success for our clients, our staff, our shareholders and our communities.
We take our name from the classical virtue of Prudence, and it also informs our valuation-based investment philosophy. Lady Pru has been incorporated in the Prudential logo since 1848. Prudence's image has three essential elements that represent three core values that we aspire to:
- The mirror - symbolising self-reflection
- The arrow - representing direction
- The serpent - representing wisdom
Black economic empowerment and transformation
We're committed to transformation in our business, recognising the imperative of achieving greater socio-economic equality in all aspects of our society. We're proud to have achieved a certified Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating of Level 2 (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the highest possible rating).
However, we know that there is still much to be done - transformation remains one of our highest business priorities over the near term.
Our staff indirectly own 28.01% of our business via the Prudential Staff Investment Company, and the Thesele Group, our BEE partners, have a 22% stake. The remaining 49.99% stake is held by Prudential plc via its wholly-owned subsidiary M&G Investments.