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IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Ninety One's assets under management rise 4% amid challenging market conditions
Ninety One's CEO Hendrik du Toit said the group regained positive funds flow momentum on the second half of its financial year to March 31, 2025. Image: Supplied Ninety One's share price was one of the biggest movers on the JSE Wednesday after it announced an increase in global assets under management by 4% to £130.8 billion (R3.15 trillion) in the year to March 31, buoyed by a stronger second half performance. Full year net outflows for the JSE- and London-listed group that was spun off Investec in 2020 came to £4.9bn, following first half net outflows of £5.3bn and net inflows of £0.4bn in the second half. The share price gained up to 6.7% on the JSE to R41.54 on Wednesday, bringing the year-to-date gain to over 13%. 'Ninety One regained positive flow momentum in the second half. Business conditions improved in the final quarter,' founder and CEO Hendrik du Toit said at the release of the results. He added in a statement it was a 'robust financial performance,' with an operating profit margin of 31.2%. A final dividend of 6.8 pence was declared, bringing the full year payout to 12.2 pence a share. 'Conditions remain challenging, but business momentum has improved,' said Du Toit. With a 32.6% shareholding, their staff were motivated and committed, he said. Average assets under management increased 4% to £129bn. Du Toit said their previously announced transaction with Sanlam is on track. 'While we expect economic uncertainty and market volatility to persist, we are encouraged by early indications that demand is shifting towards our offering,' he said. The higher closing AUM was due to a positive market and foreign exchange impact of £9.7bn (2024: negative £6.1bn), which outweighed net outflows. The institutional net outflows were mainly from fixed income and multi-asset strategies, while advisor net outflows were mainly from equity strategies, followed by multi-asset. The institutional channel saw notable positive inflows in the second half. The UK client group's net outflows were driven by some large clients rebalancing their portfolios with reduced allocations to certain equity strategies. Within the Americas clients, outflows were largely due to client restructurings, but there was a return to net inflows from Latin American institutional clients compared with the prior year. For the Africa client group, the second half saw some sizeable client wins into global equities, while the Europe client group's positive second half was driven by fixed income and European and Asian equity strategies. In terms of investment performance, Ninety One's short and medium-term performance had improved, with one- and three-year outperformance closing at 68% and 59% respectively, compared with 46% and 43% at March 31, 2024, respectively. The five and ten-year outperformance closed at 72% and 81% respectively, compared with 64% and 76% at the same time last year, respectively. The firm-wide outperformance was calculated as the sum of the total market values for individual portfolios that have gross positive active returns, expressed as a percentage of total AUM. The UK client group AUM fell by 13% to £21.13bn, while that for the Asia Pacific clients increased by 14% to £23.62bn. AUM from African clients was up 9% to £55.68bn, while AUM from clients in Europe increased 3% to £14.96bn.
Daily Maverick
7 days ago
- General
- Daily Maverick
Du Toit verdict highlights the persistent shadow of apartheid in SA's universities
Three years after the barbaric incident at Stellenbosch University where a white student, Theuns du Toit, urinated on a black student's study material, a court has acquitted him of criminal charges. A legally sound outcome according to the courts of law, but in the court of public opinion one that fails to address the collective pain Du Toit's actions evoked among many students who have been on the receiving end of humiliating acts because of the colour of their skin. In an opinion piece I wrote at the time of this incident, I referred to 'the outrage sparked by Du Toit's barbaric act', and the pain and trauma 'that his actions triggered among many black and brown students'. For many of these students, Du Toit's entering Babalo Ndwayana's room and urinating on his study material was not just a despicable act by an intoxicated student. The act carried the burden of history and became an echo of the violence of apartheid's dehumanising treatment. It is also a reminder of their own collective experiences of the insidious violence of racial humiliation and marginalisation that they have encountered in lecture halls and administrative offices, in residences, and in the wider Stellenbosch, as recounted in testimonies to the commission of inquiry that was chaired by Justice Sisi Khampepe. The State may not have been able to prove that Du Toit acted with criminal intent when he went into Ndwayana's room. But the impact of his vulgar act exposed the ever-present tension between progress — the moral and psychological possibility of change — and the historical burden and the sheer reality of the legacies of an apartheid past that intrudes into this progress, pushing back against change. What has become increasingly clear is that this case, in the public imagination, is no longer just about one student's intoxicated behaviour or another student's quest for recognition. Proxies Du Toit and Ndwayana have come to represent more than themselves. They are proxies for a deeper, unresolved confrontation between our country's apartheid past and its unfulfilled democratic promise. The national outrage and political polarisation that erupted after Du Toit's acquittal attests to this. For many historically marginalised students — at Stellenbosch University (SU) and elsewhere — Du Toit urinating on Ndwayana's study material became an embodied symbol of the enduring indignities that echo from apartheid and persist in their everyday encounters, the subtle, insidious acts of exclusion and humiliation that undermine their dignity and sense of worth. Du Toit, in turn, has become a rallying figure, his story a cause célèbre for those who feel that transformation has gone 'too far', or that white identity, especially Afrikaner identity, is under threat and must be defended at all costs. It is tempting, in moments like these, to reduce the complexity of this moment into a single narrative as a problem of 'racism at SU'. That was the framing offered by Makhi Feni, chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, in his remarks about the Du Toit verdict in Parliament last week, that 'racism at Stellenbosch University' should be 'pinned on old white lecturers'. He went further to dismiss the urination incident as nothing more than 'a clear case of drunkenness and misbehaving youth'. For a senior government official in higher education, these remarks are not only irresponsible; they reflect a denial of the depth of institutional transformation work still needed across our universities, including the role his own department must play in supporting these efforts. Dismissing this merely as the recklessness of an intoxicated student is a negation of the experiences of those for whom Du Toit's actions evoked long-silenced memories of insidious acts of violence against their dignity — and of the serious work that Stellenbosch University has already undertaken in trying to confront its past. Enduring challenges The findings of the Khampepe Commission testify to this. Playing the alcohol card will not resolve the enduring challenges we face in our efforts to address the wounds of history that erupt on our university campuses. There is a moment in the recording that Ndwayana made of the urination incident where Du Toit refers to him as 'boy'. According to his lawyer, Dirk van Niekerk, Du Toit cannot be held responsible for what he said or did. 'My client was intoxicated,' he reportedly explained in statements in the media, and furthermore, that in passing its verdict, the court 'understood the situation very well regarding his intoxication'. But even though Du Toit's calling Ndwayana 'boy' in the recording was rendered inconsequential in a court of law, used as a form of address, the word in this context is an echo of the historical violence of apartheid when black men were infantilised as a way of asserting white superiority. It should thus not be glossed over simply as a reflection of youthful intoxication. Of course, I am not suggesting that Du Toit's use of the term 'proves' racist intent — the court has already ruled on this issue. Rather, as a term that carries the burden of historical resonance, the word is part of apartheid's lexicon of social domination. Du Toit's use of the term points to the enduring legacy of what I refer to as the psychic violence of the apartheid mind. Many students saw themselves in Ndwayana. While the legal slate has been wiped clean for Du Toit, the collective trauma and outrage his actions triggered remain unresolved, silenced and pushed underground, but will continue to play out in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, as with all historical traumas. The public debate about this issue is now dominated by the narrative of Du Toit's legal victory. The story of how all of this is affecting Ndwayana, and how he, and others who identify with his experience, are holding up in the face of it all has been overshadowed by the looming spectre of Du Toit's civil claim. As Judith Butler has argued, whose voices are allowed to shape public discourse tells us something fundamental about whose lives are considered valuable. As we brace for the possibility of a civil suit from Du Toit's lawyers, Stellenbosch University would do well to resist the temptation to settle behind closed doors in the name of reputational damage control. Doing so would not only silence the public debate that must continue about the emergence of these problems in our institutions, but also risk reinforcing the very dynamics that perpetuate the fault lines that keep confronting us with the unfinished business of our past, which will remain unresolved unless we face this history and its 'afterlife' with moral courage. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for all its flaws, offers insights that show the possibility of creating a space for acknowledgement, truth telling, and moral accountability, the kind of reckoning that law alone cannot deliver. DM
TimesLIVE
30-05-2025
- TimesLIVE
‘Justice not served': Family outraged as student who urinated on Babalo Ndwayana's belongings walks free
The family of Babalo Ndwayana has expressed deep disappointment after the acquittal of former Stellenbosch University student Theuns du Toit, who was caught on video urinating on Ndwayana's belongings in a university residence in 2022. Du Toit was cleared this week of charges of crimen injuria and malicious damage to property, bringing a three-year legal process to a controversial close. The Stellenbosch magistrate's court found there was insufficient grounds to convict him. The incident, which went viral on social media at the time, drew national outrage and sparked renewed debate on racism and privilege in South African institutions. Ndwayana's father Mkuseli Kaduka, told TimesLIVE the family was devastated by the Stellenbosch magistrate's court's decision. 'Babalo and myself are both disappointed and devastated by the outcome of the case. Justice was by no means served at all,' said Kaduka. Stellenbosch University said it considered the process fair and closed. Meanwhile the SU convocation lamented the damage caused by the case to the university's reputation and called for an apology to Du Toit.
Eyewitness News
28-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Stellenbosch urination saga: Lawyer says du Toit relieved after acquittal
Ntuthuzelo Nene 28 May 2025 | 7:15 Stellenbosch University Theuns du Toit Stellenbosch University, Wikimedia Commons CAPE TOWN - The lawyer of a former Stellenbosch University student charged with urinating on another student's belongings says his client is relieved that his criminal case has been finalised. Theuns du Toit was found guilty of contravening several of the university's disciplinary code for students, following an incident at campus residence, Huis Marais, three years ago. Du Toit was filmed urinating on fellow student Babalo Ndwayana's books and laptops in May 2022. He was expelled by the university and later charged with crimen injuria and malicious damage to property. Du Toit has been acquitted on all charges. His lawyer, Dirk van Niekerk, said the case was based on lies. "It was proven that the computer didn't sustain any damages, the book wasn't damaged, and various other issues, and this whole racist label that was hung around his neck in a dramatic fashion has been removed now, so we are extremely happy about that." He said he would meet with his client soon to map a way forward. "I think it will take some time to consider his position and do a proper consultation within the next couple of weeks. He's also due to start his exams now, he's studying at a different institution."
The Citizen
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Club Med reaches peak construction capacity ahead of 2026 opening
The much-anticipated Club Med development in Tinley Manor is currently operating at peak construction capacity, with more than 1 400 workers on site each day. Working towards a grand opening next year, construction has been divided between seven contracting teams to ensure workflow continues and to avoid potential delays. That is how such a large workforce can be managed at once. 'Instead of going the traditional route and appointing the whole development to one or two contractors, we've divided the project into multiple packages, allowing us to maintain control, adapt to conditions on the ground, and focus on the skills that each contractor excels at, building stronger relationships with teams on site,' said Chris du Toit, project lead of Tinley Leisure Pty Ltd, the owners of the resort. 'Our model allows us to adapt, pivot and hold each contractor accountable in real-time. While it's a more involved approach from our side, it's how we believe we can best protect the integrity of this project.' Club Med is expected to open its global reservations in September, ten months ahead of the scheduled opening date. 'If you imagine 1 000 foreign guests arriving on opening day, we can't very well send them packing back to Europe because the resort isn't ready. We simply have to be ready,' said Du Toit. Significant progress has so far been made, with all bulk services including the roads, dam, water pipework and permanent electrical supply (with 3km of cabling) near completion. Most of the accommodation has already been built to roof height with the first layers of paint applied. Internal fittings will soon begin. Resort amenities and staff accommodation are also underway and on track, as is the first visible landscaping with large scale planting initiated. Local labour has been integrated throughout and a formal community forum with ward councillors, traditional leaders and project representatives has been includes in the process. 'We're investing in the local economy and people,' said Collins Residential CEO Murray Collins 'Our contractor teams are supported by strong local labour with many of the labourers sourced from within 10km from site, and every package has clear targets for community involvement.' Construction began in March last year and the resort is scheduled to open next July. Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news. Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here or if you're on desktop, scan the QR code below. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
