Latest news with #Alexforbes
IOL News
a day ago
- Business
- IOL News
Alexforbes celebrates 90 years with impressive annual results
Alexforbes, a JSE-listed financial services group, said profit for the year from continuing operations improved 28% to R745 million, owing to a significant decrease in non-trading and capital items. Image: File Alexforbes delivered a strong set of results for the year ended March 21, 2025 on the back of a strong investment performance and as the group celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. Profit for the year from continuing operations improved 28% to R745 million, owing to a significant decrease in non-trading and capital items. CEO Dawie de Villiers said, "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 1 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," he said. The integrated financial services, insurance and investment group said its operating income increased 13% to R4.4 billion owing to strong investment performance underpinned by positive market growth that resulted in higher average assets under management, inflationary increases from within its retirements and healthcare consulting client base and high client retention. Operating income from retirement consulting increased 17% to R1.35bn owing to organic and acquisitive growth, while healthcare consulting reported a 2% increase in operating income to R371 million. Investments reported a 12% increase in operating income to R1.8bn, underpinned by higher average assets under management that benefitted from new institutional inflows, an improvement in retailflows and strong market performance during the year In addition, consolidation of acquisitions completed in previous financial years and higher than expected two-pot claims volumes also contributed to its top line. Alexforbes said it has processed over 480 000 two-pot claims and made gross benefits payments of R7.7bn, with R2.1bn paid to the South African Revenue Services. Total assets under management and administration increased 14% year on year to R599bn, while new institutional business flows for the year amounted to R35bn. Alexforbes said over the past two years, institutional new business levels have hit record highs driven by a significant increase in platform assets due to the platform clients on-boarded from the Sanlam stand-alone retirement fund administration business operations acquisition. Headline earnings per share from total operations increased 15% to 70.8 cents per share. Cash generated from continuing operations remains strong at R1.23bn, up 15% year on year. Alexforbes said, "The group balance sheet remains financially robust,supported by the sustained cash flow generated from continuing operations, with a sound regulatory surpluscapital position of R1 348 million and available cash of R700 million. The group cover ratio of 2.3 times remains above the target solvency cover ratio of 1.2 times." Alexforbes declared a gross final cash dividend of 33 cents per share (up from 30 cents per ordinary share in 2024), which when added to the interim dividend of 22c 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 declared a gross special dividend of 10 cents per share. It said, "Our prospects into the next decade are directly influenced by our vision, which is to transform every client's financial journey - through inclusive advice, intelligent technology and impactful solutions that empowers each one of them to reach their investment destination."
Techday NZ
30-04-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Denodo updates platform with new data marketplace & GenAI tools
Denodo has introduced Denodo Platform 9.2, an updated version of its logical data management platform, incorporating a new data marketplace and expanded generative AI capabilities. The Denodo Platform 9.2 release is designed to provide business users with a data marketplace that emulates familiar e-commerce experiences, making it easier for users across various roles to discover, access, and use organisational data. The marketplace operates on Denodo's semantic layer, presenting business context for data, and employs AI-powered automation to assist with repetitive functions. The new marketplace also offers users a comprehensive overview of how data is being accessed within their organisations, indicating which dashboards and analytic tools are using specific data products. Organisations with teams in multiple countries can benefit from the user interface's support of multiple languages, allowing individuals to select their preferred UI language. Stewart Bond, Research Vice President at IDC, highlighted the platform's improved accessibility, stating, "The Denodo Data Catalog has always made data easier to access and use, even across organizations data lakehouse and supporting data sources, but I believe the new data marketplace functionality of Denodo Platform 9.2 makes access even more intuitive with a more user-friendly interface. Now, people with less or no technical knowledge of data catalogs can leverage the marketplace for data access with little or no guidance." Denodo Platform 9.2 includes enhancements for generative AI (GenAI) applications, building upon previous AI-focused updates. These enhancements are aimed at giving enterprises the capability to provide generative AI models with AI-ready data, ensuring high quality and governance. The release now allows for customisation of AI models with user-specific knowledge and improved support for unstructured data, facilitating tasks such as extracting sentiment from social media or analysing images. An additional component of the upgrade is a certification programme targeted at GenAI developers. The new features also expand on AI-focused tools introduced in the earlier 9.1 release, such as Denodo Assistant and the Denodo AI SDK, both designed to streamline the development of GenAI applications. Speaking about the impact of these AI tools, Barend Van Coller, Data Analyst and Data Governance Team Lead at Alexforbes, said, "With Denodo Assistant and its AI SDK, we've dramatically expanded access to governed data across Alexforbes. What was once the domain of IT and power users is now accessible to non-technical users through intuitive, conversational interactions. We're excited about the upcoming Denodo 9.2 release, which further empowers our teams to search, discover, and interact with data – securely and seamlessly." Developers constructing data products will find a series of updates aimed at fostering smooth collaboration while maintaining governance and efficiency. These updates include support for continuous integration and development processes, enabling branch-based workflows that allow teams to collaborate with greater flexibility. Automation features such as dependency analysis are intended to help cut down on errors and make data caching and curation more efficient. There is also enhanced support for open table formats, improving compatibility with platforms such as Databricks Unity Catalog and Snowflake's Open Catalog. Alberto Pan, Chief Technology Officer at Denodo, commented on the company's direction, saying, "By continuously evolving our capabilities in the areas of data-self service, data product development, and GenAI, Denodo is enabling enterprises to leverage data more effectively to enhance decision-making, automate complex workflows, and deliver more powerful services. These innovations will put organizations at the forefront of data-driven transformation, maximizing the impact of their data investments." Denodo reports that the Platform 9.2 update is intended to accelerate data product development and adoption of GenAI across industries, while continuing to provide expanded access, management, and oversight of organisational data assets.
Zawya
30-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Denodo Platform 9.2 delivers intuitive data marketplace experience supported by advanced genAI capabilities
Dubai, UAE – Denodo, a leader in data management, announced the launch of Denodo Platform 9.2, adding new intuitive functionality to Denodo Platform 9.1, released in November, 2024, that builds on the Denodo Platform semantic layer and logical data management capabilities: a full-featured data marketplace, extended support for GenAI initiatives, and a new suite of self-service tools for the development of data products. A Powerful Data Marketplace to Streamline Data Usage Business users continue to struggle to access the data they need in an actionable format. The new data marketplace features of Denodo Platform 9.2 offer an e-commerce-style user experience, supported by a comprehensive semantic layer for the most relevant business context, as well as by AI-powered automation, to streamline repetitive tasks. With this new functionality, people with different roles throughout an organization can more quickly and intuitively explore, discover, and access data, with extended visibility into usage beyond the data layer. The data marketplace provides a view into how downstream applications and analytical tools use data, and which data products are being consumed by which dashboards and reports. It also enables individual users to select their preferred language for the UI, which is ideal for global teams. 'The Denodo Data Catalog has always made data easier to access and use, even across organizations data lakehouse and supporting data sources,' said Stewart Bond, research vice president at IDC, 'but I believe the new data marketplace functionality of Denodo Platform 9.2 makes access even more intuitive with a more user-friendly interface. Now, people with less or no technical knowledge of data catalogs can leverage the marketplace for data access with little or no guidance.' Enhanced Support for Generative AI (GenAI) Applications Generative AI (GenAI) applications require immediate access to trusted data from across the organization. Denodo Platform 9.2's GenAI features extend the capabilities of Denodo Platform 9.1, which brought the AI-powered Denodo Assistant and Denodo AI SDK, to streamline the development of GenAI applications. Denodo Platform 9.2 continues to advance data management capabilities that accelerate the adoption of GenAI, so organizations can seamlessly provide AI models with AI-ready data – high-quality, well-governed data, delivered in real time. These new GenAI advancements include the ability to dynamically customize AI models with user-specific knowledge; enhanced support for unstructured data, to more effectively extract sentiment from social media posts or analyze images; and a new certification program specifically designed for GenAI developers. 'With Denodo Assistant and its AI SDK, we've dramatically expanded access to governed data across Alexforbes,' said Barend Van Coller, Data Analyst and Data Governance team lead at Alexforbes. 'What was once the domain of IT and power users is now accessible to non-technical users through intuitive, conversational interactions. We're excited about the upcoming Denodo 9.2 release, which further empowers our teams to search, discover, and interact with data – securely and seamlessly.' Streamlined Development of Data Products Developers need to be able to build data products in a controlled, organized environment, and Denodo Platform 9.2 includes significant enhancements to facilitate data product development while maintaining strong data governance and optimal efficiency. These new additions include workspace support for continuous integration/continuous development (CI/CD), enabling branch-based development for more agile collaboration across multiple teams; automated dependency analysis, to reduce errors and streamline data caching and curation; and expanded support for open table formats, to improve support for Databricks Unity Catalog, Snowflake's Open Catalog, and other solutions across the open table ecosystem. 'By continuously evolving our capabilities in the areas of data-self service, data product development, and GenAI, Denodo is enabling enterprises to leverage data more effectively to enhance decision-making, automate complex workflows, and deliver more powerful services,' said Alberto Pan, chief technology officer at Denodo. 'These innovations will put organizations at the forefront of data-driven transformation, maximizing the impact of their data investments.' About Denodo Denodo is a leader in data management. The award-winning Denodo Platform is the leading logical data management platform for transforming data into trustworthy insights and outcomes for all data-related initiatives across the enterprise, including AI and self-service. Denodo's customers in all industries all over the world have delivered trusted AI-ready and business-ready data in a third of the time and with 10x better performance than with lakehouses and other mainstream data platforms alone. For more information, visit
Hamilton Spectator
29-04-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Denodo Platform 9.2 Delivers Intuitive Data Marketplace Experience Supported by Advanced Generative AI (GenAI) Capabilities
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Denodo , a leader in data management, announced the launch of Denodo Platform 9.2 , adding new intuitive functionality to Denodo Platform 9.1, released in November, 2024 , that builds on the Denodo Platform semantic layer and logical data management capabilities: a full-featured data marketplace, extended support for GenAI initiatives, and a new suite of self-service tools for the development of data products. A Powerful Data Marketplace to Streamline Data Usage Business users continue to struggle to access the data they need in an actionable format. The new data marketplace features of Denodo Platform 9.2 offer an e-commerce-style user experience, supported by a comprehensive semantic layer for the most relevant business context, as well as by AI-powered automation, to streamline repetitive tasks. With this new functionality, people with different roles throughout an organization can more quickly and intuitively explore, discover, and access data, with extended visibility into usage beyond the data layer. The data marketplace provides a view into how downstream applications and analytical tools use data, and which data products are being consumed by which dashboards and reports. It also enables individual users to select their preferred language for the UI, which is ideal for global teams. 'The Denodo Data Catalog has always made data easier to access and use, even across organizations data lakehouse and supporting data sources,' said Stewart Bond, research vice president at IDC, 'but I believe the new data marketplace functionality of Denodo Platform 9.2 makes access even more intuitive with a more user-friendly interface. Now, people with less or no technical knowledge of data catalogs can leverage the marketplace for data access with little or no guidance.' Enhanced Support for Generative AI (GenAI) Applications Generative AI (GenAI) applications require immediate access to trusted data from across the organization. Denodo Platform 9.2's GenAI features extend the capabilities of Denodo Platform 9.1, which brought the AI-powered Denodo Assistant and Denodo AI SDK , to streamline the development of GenAI applications. Denodo Platform 9.2 continues to advance data management capabilities that accelerate the adoption of GenAI, so organizations can seamlessly provide AI models with AI-ready data – high-quality, well-governed data, delivered in real time. These new GenAI advancements include the ability to dynamically customize AI models with user-specific knowledge; enhanced support for unstructured data, to more effectively extract sentiment from social media posts or analyze images; and a new certification program specifically designed for GenAI developers. 'With Denodo Assistant and its AI SDK, we've dramatically expanded access to governed data across Alexforbes,' said Barend Van Coller, Data Analyst and Data Governance team lead at Alexforbes. 'What was once the domain of IT and power users is now accessible to non-technical users through intuitive, conversational interactions. We're excited about the upcoming Denodo 9.2 release, which further empowers our teams to search, discover, and interact with data – securely and seamlessly.' Streamlined Development of Data Products Developers need to be able to build data products in a controlled, organized environment, and Denodo Platform 9.2 includes significant enhancements to facilitate data product development while maintaining strong data governance and optimal efficiency. These new additions include workspace support for continuous integration/continuous development (CI/CD), enabling branch-based development for more agile collaboration across multiple teams; automated dependency analysis, to reduce errors and streamline data caching and curation; and expanded support for open table formats, to improve support for Databricks Unity Catalog, Snowflake's Open Catalog, and other solutions across the open table ecosystem. 'By continuously evolving our capabilities in the areas of data self-service, data product development, and GenAI, Denodo is enabling enterprises to leverage data more effectively to enhance decision-making, automate complex workflows, and deliver more powerful services,' said Alberto Pan, chief technology officer at Denodo. 'These innovations will put organizations at the forefront of data-driven transformation, maximizing the impact of their data investments.' Additional information Denodo Denodo is a leader in data management. The award-winning Denodo Platform is the leading logical data management platform for transforming data into trustworthy insights and outcomes for all data-related initiatives across the enterprise, including AI and self-service. Denodo's customers in all industries all over the world have delivered trusted AI-ready and business-ready data in a third of the time and with 10x better performance than with lakehouses and other mainstream data platforms alone. For more information, visit . Media Contact pr@
IOL News
26-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Words on wealth: evaluating the performance of asset managers in your retirement savings
Discover how South African asset managers are navigating the changing landscape of retirement savings, focusing on performance trends, B-BBEE ratings, and the rise of responsible investment practices. Over five years to the end of 2024, multi-asset retirement funds with an offshore component fared only marginally better than funds invested wholly in South Africa, showing that, although there has been a significant shift towards offshore investments in that time, the domestic market has managed to provide solid returns. The annual Alexforbes Manager Watch™ Survey of retirement fund investment managers tracks trends in the industry that are relevant to both retirement fund trustees and members, looking at investment performance, investment strategies, the B-BBEE credentials of asset managers, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration, among other things. And although the survey applies only to institutional funds, which are different in many respects from retail investment funds, parallels can be drawn, and the trends tend to apply across the asset management industry. Fund composition and performance Retirement funds fall under the Pension Funds Act and are subject to stricter regulations than retail collective investment schemes. Regulation 28 under the Act imposes limits on exposure to higher-risk asset classes and to offshore investments. Funds may not invest more than 75% of the portfolio in equities, and they may not invest more than 45% offshore. The Alexforbes survey makes a distinction between institutional multi-asset funds that invest 100% in South Africa (Domestic Best Investment View category) and those that have an offshore component (Global Best Investment View category). In the most recent survey, to the end of 2024, the report noted 'a strategic shift towards international investments'. The report says: 'By December 2024, 39 out of 47 managers (in the Global BIV category) held more than 30% of their portfolios in global assets, with 10 exceeding the 40% mark. The average international exposure of asset managers in the survey increased to 35.2% in December 2024, compared to 34.2% the previous year. This marks a steady rise from 29.9% in December 2022 and 27.3% in December 2021, highlighting an ongoing trend of increasing global allocations. The shifts in allocation demonstrate how managers are balancing global opportunities with domestic risks, adapting their strategies to evolving market conditions.' The table shows total returns from domestic versus global multi-asset funds compared with local and global indices and Consumer Price Index inflation. The large differences in the equity index returns do not translate into similar differences in the median fund returns, and over a year, the domestic funds slightly outperformed the global funds. RETIREMENT FUND vs INDEX PERFORMANCE TO END 2024 1 year 5 years 10 years FTSE/JSE All-Share TR 13.44% 12.16% 9.03 MSCI World TR in rands 22.99% 18.60% 16.06% SA All Bond Index TR 17.18% 9.56% 8.65% Domestic Multi-Asset BIV (median) 16.16% 11.62% 8.77% Global Multi-Asset BIV (median) 15.63% 12.05% 10.08% CPI 2.93% 4.89% 4.92% Multi-managers gain ground A notable shift in the investment management industry is the continued rise of multi-managers, which invest in a range of funds or portfolios rather than directly in securities. Multi-managers have significantly gained ground on single managers over the past five years: in 2019, multi-managers managed just 15 cents for every R1 managed by single managers; by 2024, this had almost doubled to 29 cents. B-BBEE ratings reach new highs Broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) remains a strong theme in the South African investment industry. The 2024 survey shows that 52 of the 79 asset managers surveyed are now rated as level-1 B-BBEE contributors, up from 51 in 2023. All of the top 10, and 19 of the top 20, asset managers achieved level-1 status, underlining the industry's ongoing commitment to transformation and inclusive growth. Responsible investment on the rise Investing with attention to ESG factors continues to gain traction among local asset managers. The number of signatories to the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa grew by 32%, from 56 in 2021 to 74 in 2024. Similarly, the number of asset managers signed up to the UN's Principles for Responsible Investment rose by 49% over the same period, reaching 64. 'These increases indicate the industry's growing commitment to responsible and sustainable investment practices,' the Alexforbes report says. Fees: competitive and transparent While retirement funds tend to pay lower investment fees than retail funds because of economies of scale, it's important for fund members to know that the fees they are charged on their savings are reasonable and transparent. The report notes that funds across asset classes demonstrated a continued trend of fee transparency and competitiveness. On a pooled Global BIV portfolio, depending on the size of assets under management, the average annual fee ranged from 0.81% to 0.86%, although the highest was 1.01% On a pooled Domestic BIV portfolio, the average fee ranged from 0.68% to 0.80%, with the highest being 1.00%. On bond and money market funds, the fees were far lower, at around 0.40% on a pooled domestic bond portfolio and around 0.21% on a pooled money market portfolio. * Hesse is the former editor of Personal Finance. PERSONAL FINANCE
