When Dawie de Villiers took over the reins at Alexforbes in November 2018, he left the stability and notable success he had had as CEO of Sanlam Employee Benefits to put out fires at Alexforbes in the most difficult period in its history.
His predecessor, Andrew Darfoor, had an acrimonious exit after falling out with key shareholder African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARCI) over the strategy the group was pursuing under Darfoor.
ARCI’s Johan van Zyl tore into Darfoor’s Ambition 2022 strategy, which focused on driving growth through expanding its retail business segment alongside expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa through selective bolt-on acquisitions.
Van Zyl, credited with turning around Sanlam’s fortunes during his CEO tenure, was clear to Darfoor: get out of capital-intensive areas such as insurance (both life and general), where the group did not have scale, and focus on advice and distribution as its core revenue streams.
Shareholder concerns over performance
ARCI’s misgivings about the strategy pursued by Darfoor was that it had suffocated the share price, with returns to shareholders not forthcoming. And as in many cases where the CEO does not see eye to eye with a top shareholder, it is the former who will have to jump or be pushed.
“Our advice-led approach and the ability to generate proprietary advice and matching solutions ... are our true differentiators.
— Dawie de Villiers
The group’s share price under Darfoor fell about 14%, with return on equity coming in at under 10%.
In stepped De Villiers, who wasted little time in taking to market a refreshed strategy anchored on moving the business away from capital-intensive ventures and divesting from some businesses that were no longer aligned with the revised strategy.
The strategy, launched in March 2019, reaffirmed Alexforbes’ strength as a trusted adviser to its clients with a renewed focus on the core businesses of consulting, administration and investments. De Villiers quickly disposed of the insurance business to Momentum for nearly R2bn. The group also transitioned the Alexforbes sponsored umbrella fund to private administration.
Efficiency unlocks shareholder value
A leaner, more focused and efficient business led to substantially reduced capital requirements. So much so that Alexforbes could return capital to its shareholders, with dividends and special dividends a regular occurrence.
2018: De Villiers appointed CEO amid crisis.
2019: Refreshed strategy launched; divested insurance business.
2022–2025: Six acquisitions; expansion into discretionary fund management.
2025: Assets nearly double; share price up 100%; R2.5bn returned to shareholders.
The corporate actions of the past six years increased the group’s surplus capital, allowing it to reallocate resources to strategically aligned areas, pursuing both organic and acquisitive growth.
To this end, the group has acquired six businesses over the past three years, including TSA Administration in a deal that strengthened group risk insurance services, and OUTvest to enhance digital wealth management.
Expanding into discretionary fund management
Alexforbes last year also made a foray in the R500bn discretionary fund management market, contributing to growth in retail new business asset inflows.
The company’s share has reacted in kind, up more than 100% in the past five years, with the group valued at R10bn on the JSE. It has maintained its number one position as SA’s leading investments multimanager with R599bn in total assets, nearly double the 2018 number.
The group reported operating income of R4.4bn in the year ended March, more than R1bn reported in the 2019 financial year.
Alexforbes is SA’s leading retirement fund administrator, serving more than 1.1-million members and a service provider to more than 5,000 corporates. The group, in its 90th year of existence, is also one of SA’s largest retail independent financial adviser firms with 279 advisers and R112bn in assets under advice.
Shareholder returns validate strategic shift
ARCI’s insistence on pivoting its strategy has also paid off. The Patrice Motsepe-backed ARCI purchased its 42% stake in Alexforbes for about R3bn and has since received more than R2.5bn in dividends and returned capital, achieving an annualised return on investment of about 30%. Not bad.
“Our advice-led approach and the ability to generate proprietary advice and matching solutions, based on our understanding of our clients’ needs, are our true differentiators,” De Villiers said in the group’s 2025 annual report.
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