Africa-Press – South-Africa. PSG Financial Services has one of the broadest geographical footprints in South Africa, armed with 976 advisers spread across 265 offices.
The asset manager’s extensive advisory network has been a major contributor to PSG’s success over the past decade, along with its holistic approach to business growth.
PSG CFO Mike Smith recently outlined what sets the firm apart from its competitors in an interview with Daily Investor following the release of the asset manager’s 2026 annual results.
Smith first provided an overview of PSG’s success, not just in the 2026 financial year, but over the past five and ten years.
In the year through February 2025, PSG reported recurring headline earnings of R1.68 billion, marking a 32% increase from 2025.
However, even more impressive is that PSG’s headline earnings have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% since 2022 and 15% since 2016.
Similarly, PSG’s assets under management (AUM) have gone from R154 billion in 2016 to R565 billion in 2026, marking a CAGR of 14%.
Notably, this growth has not been driven by just one standout business unit, but consistent growth across all three of PSG’s operating divisions – Asset Management, Wealth and Insure.
Smith explained that this success comes down to how PSG approaches the asset management process, taking a holistic view and putting client experience front of mind.
He told Daily Investor that this approach means that, regardless of market conditions, PSG can ensure it is set up for long-term success and not reliant on cyclical variable factors.
He explained that whenever the company introduces new features or makes changes, it considers how those changes will affect the entire client experience, from when they first sign on to when they engage with products and advisers.
From the get-go, Smith said PSG has a particular focus on adoption metrics, which measure how new and existing users engage with the firm’s products.
“It’s measuring and setting key drivers for everyone so that they know what they need to do, and looking at the financial and commercial value of that metric, to be able to invest long term in improving your scalability,” he explained.
PSG also lays particular emphasis on organic growth, which Smith described as building “brick by brick” to ensure that every aspect of the business makes it that little bit better.
Brick by brick
PSG’s strong advisory network – both in terms of number and quality – is one of the firm’s secret weapons.
For the 2026 financial year, PSG had 976 advisers spread across its 265 offices, the vast majority of which are located in South Africa.
This broad geographic footprint, the firm explained in its results, allows PSG to service its clients “in the cities and towns where they live”, essentially bringing its services to clients, rather than the other way around.
PSG’s holistic approach to business growth also translates into the changes it implements for its advisors, with Smith saying the company always aims to remove friction wherever possible.
This not only makes clients more likely to sign and stay on with the firm, but also attracts the highest calibre of advisors, he explained.
Smith said PSG aims to have its advisers focusing 100% of their attention on the higher-value aspects of the business, such as client engagement and improving onboarding.
Therefore, much of the firm’s technology spend and process optimisation has focused on reducing friction for advisers as much as possible.
Smith said the firm has spent over R3 billion over the past 10 years investing in technology and its systems.
“A lot of it is spent improving each of our processes to improve our advisers’ efficiency and ability to communicate and deal with clients,” he said.
“It’s looking at the process from start to end on each of the products. A lot of other places automate some optimal processes, whereas the first thing we would do is that our engineers look at each thing, map it out in a flow chart, and consider each of the steps.”
“We would have engineers looking at how many steps it took to take a person from A to B and how you can reduce and improve those processes.”
“What can we do centrally using technology and systems to make them more efficient, to spend their time on the higher-value stuff and relationship aspects?”
This, he said, is where PSG’s high-quality advisers can shine, as they are well-positioned to build strong relationships with clients, understand their needs, and steer them through the ups and downs of a long-term investment.
“That ends up becoming quite sticky, that high level of trust that you end up building with people, where you deliver on what you’ve said,” Smith explained.
Ultimately, Smith said PSG’s long-term success comes down to a disciplined, structured approach with clarity on execution.
Success in numbers
PSG’s approach to business growth shows in its results over the past decade, which the company releases annually.
Smith explained that the firm aims to keep its financial metrics consistent every year to make it easier for analysts and shareholders to compare PSG’s performance across multiple years.
“A lot of other companies, where something doesn’t look good, all of a sudden it’s excluded or taken out,” he said.
“For us, whether it’s good or bad, you’re seeing it, and you can go back more than 10 years, we’ve reported the same things today.”
“It builds a high level of confidence and trust that they can see that you’re executing what you said you would.”
The table below shows PSG’s performance over the past 10 years, with a double-digit CAGR across key metrics such as AUM, core revenues, premiums, and recurring earnings.
In contrast, PSG has seen slower growth in metrics such as total advisers and employees, indicating the firm’s more conservative approach to growing fixed expenses like salaries.
Also notable is that PSG’s credit rating has been four times over the past decades, with the firm now boasting a rating of AA-.
PSG’s return on equity (ROE) has also grown to a level comparable to that of many major South African banks, reaching 31.7% in 2026.
For reference, FNB currently has the highest ROE among South Africa’s biggest banks, at 41%, followed by Capitec at around 29% and Standard Bank at about 19%.
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