Personal Trust is now one of the largest independent financial planning businesses in South Africa. What were the origins of the business and what do you believe are the key factors in it growing so successfully?
From the beginning, the business was built around the belief that clients should be known personally, advised thoughtfully and served with care and competence over the long term.
What has made Personal Trust grow successfully, in my view, is that we have stayed close to that original vision. We have remained independent, and that matters because it allows us to think long term and to make decisions with the client in mind, rather than being driven by outside shareholders, product agendas or corporate fashion. That independence has helped us protect what is most important about the business.
I draw attention to the calibre of individuals within the firm as well. Over many years, Personal Trust has attracted people who care deeply about professionalism, excellence and client outcomes. Trust is built person by person, relationship by relationship, and a great deal of our growth has come from clients placing confidence in us and then referring us to family and friends.
While the business has grown significantly, the story is not about chasing growth. It is more about staying true to a way of doing things: putting the client first, maintaining high standards and building a business that people can trust. In the end, that is what has driven our growth, and I believe it is still what drives us today.
What do you believe differentiates Personal Trust as a business? And how would you describe the culture of Personal Trust?
The biggest differentiator is still personal service. In financial services, that can sound like an easy phrase to use, but in practice it means something quite specific. It means clients are known, they are dealt with by real people and they feel valued and seen. It is not an anonymous or transactional experience. There is real accountability in the relationship.
For this reason, Personal Trust has consistently prioritised allowing clients to communicate directly with those managing their accounts. We have never wanted to become the kind of business where the relationship gets lost behind layers of process or a call-centre model. Clients want competence, of course, but they also want to feel that someone genuinely understands their circumstances and is walking the journey with them.
Culturally, Personal Trust is very much about teamwork. Ours is not a business where one person can deliver the full promise on their own. The quality of what we do depends on people working well together across different disciplines, always with the client’s outcome in mind. There is a strong sense internally that we all carry the reputation of the firm. This is precisely where the concept of identifying as a “PT person” becomes relevant.
For me, that means someone who understands that technical skill matters, but so does attitude, care, professionalism and the way you treat people. It is more than doing a job well. It is about how you show up for clients and colleagues. It is a big part of what shapes our culture, and clients feel that when they deal with us.
Does Personal Trust have an “ideal client” profile, or how would you describe the client base?
I would not describe it in a narrow or purely demographic way, but an ideal fit would be a client who wants to partner with us over the long term and build a relationship that can extend across generations.
A large part of our client base is made up of people who are approaching retirement or are already retired, often with accumulated capital that needs to be managed carefully and thoughtfully. At that stage of life, financial decisions are rarely isolated. These matters often encompass issues such as income, estate planning, taxation, family obligations and legacy; therefore, clients appreciate guidance that is comprehensive and centred around building strong relationships.
We also work closely with families and that is an important part of our model. In many cases, the relationship does not stop with one individual. It grows into a family relationship over time, and that continuity matters. We are proud of the fact that in some cases we now serve second- and third-generation clients, which says a great deal about the kind of trust that has been built.
The best fit for Personal Trust is really someone who values partnership. Someone who is not looking for a transactional interaction, but for trusted, relationship-led advice over the long term. Those are the clients we tend to serve best, and that is the kind of relationship we most value.
How would you describe Personal Trust’s service offering?
I would describe it as both broad and integrated. We offer a wide range of services, but what really matters is the way those services are brought together around the client. Too often in financial services, different parts of a person’s affairs are dealt with in silos. Our approach is different. We strive to consider all aspects comprehensively and ensure our guidance is coherent and integrated.
At the centre of that relationship is the Trust Officer. That person is not just there to deal with one issue in isolation, but to understand the client’s broader circumstances and help coordinate the different aspects of their financial life. For many of our clients, that includes planning, investment management, and then, where needed, drawing in other areas of expertise around trusts, tax, wills, estates or offshore structures.
If I had to highlight the two biggest pillars of our offering, it would be planning and investment management. In the end, clients want to know that there is a clear plan, that their capital is being looked after responsibly and that decisions are being made with their long-term wellbeing in mind. The technical work matters enormously, but so does the ability to make it feel coherent and manageable for the client.
Ultimately, the value of the model is peace of mind. Clients do not want to feel that they are carrying the burden of holding everything together themselves. They want confidence that someone sees the full picture, is thinking ahead and is helping them navigate important decisions well. That is really what our service offering is designed to provide.
Personal Trust has both a local and offshore presence. What prompted the decision to establish an offshore presence and how important do you believe this approach is for South African financial planning businesses?
The main driver was client need. As clients’ affairs became more complex and the world became more connected, it became increasingly clear that a purely domestic lens was no longer enough. If you are trying to give clients thoughtful, long-term advice, you need to be able to engage properly with offshore planning and investing as part of the overall picture. We live in a global world, and portfolios need sensible diversification.
South Africa remains an important market, and we are fortunate to have a world-class financial services industry, but our market represents only a very small share of global investment opportunity. If you are serious about protecting and growing clients’ capital over the long term, you need the ability to think internationally as well as locally.
For us, offshore was never about creating a separate business line for its own sake. It was about evolving our range of services so that we could continue to serve clients well. In that sense, it sits naturally within our broader philosophy of integrated advice.Clients do not experience their financial lives in compartments, and neither should we. Offshore capability is part of giving clients a fuller, more relevant and more resilient planning framework.
More broadly, this is increasingly important for South African financial planning businesses. To remain relevant and competent in the years ahead, firms need to be able to engage confidently with international markets, structures and opportunities. That does not mean losing faith in South Africa. It simply means recognising the realities of the world our clients live in and making sure we are equipped to advise them accordingly.
How long have you been CEO of Personal Trust and what was your journey to taking on this role?
I have been CEO for 12 years now, and when I took on the role at the age of 32, it was a very significant statement of trust from the business. I have never taken that lightly. At the time, I understood it mainly as a role and a responsibility. Over time, I have come to see leadership less as authority and more as stewardship.
I was exposed to different parts of the business before taking on the role, which gave me a broader appreciation for how the firm works and what really matters. I was also privileged to manage a unit trust through some very good performance periods, but also some difficult ones. That was an important lesson early on, because it taught me that there are no permanent heroes in this business. You must think long term. It is a marathon, not a sprint.
Personal Trust is also an entrepreneurial partnership, so I learnt quite quickly that leadership here is not about being the boss in an ego sense. It is much more about harnessing the energy, judgement and ideas of capable people and keeping everyone aligned around what matters most. Fortunately, I had already bought into the culture of client focus, so for me the job became about keeping first things first. If you do that well, the rest tends to follow. We have an internal saying that profits, in the end, are the applause of satisfied customers.
I understand the role differently now from how I did at the beginning; less about occupying a position and more as helping to build something that will outlast me. I sometimes think of it as trying to be a good ancestor – planting trees that someone will sit under long after I am gone, just as we are benefitting today from the people who laid the foundations before us. Leadership keeps evolving, and I suspect it always will, but that sense of stewardship has become central to my role.
What have been the highlights of your leadership journey so far?
One of the things that helps keep me grounded is when my colleague, Portia Vlotman [partner, money market manager], periodically sends comments from happy clients. I always value those. In the end, they are a useful reminder of what this business is about. If we look after the clients properly, the numbers tend to look after themselves.
I don’t only think about highlights in terms of financial milestones or business growth, important as those are. Of course, it has been deeply satisfying to see Personal Trust continue to grow, to remain independently-owned and to show that a business can still be relationship-led and client-centric on a meaningful scale. That is important to me, because it reinforces the idea that you do not have to lose your identity to grow.
There have been specific business moments that stand out. One was when Glenn Moore’s fund won a Morningstar award. Having worked closely with Glenn [investment professional, Personal Trust], It felt like a meaningful recognition. It was a reminder that Personal Trust can remain true to its philosophy and still compete with the biggest brands, not only in South Africa but against very strong standards more broadly. That was encouraging.
On the personal side, this is also quite a tough business in ways that are not always obvious from the outside. Ours is a relationship business. We walk with people through significant life events and sometimes that means funerals, grieving families and very emotional transitions. There is something bittersweet in that. Saying goodbye is never easy. There is also deep satisfaction in being able to help a family through that process well, and in some cases to hand something meaningful on to the next generation. I think that part of the work is often underrated. It is not flashy, but it matters.
For me, the highlights have often been found in those quieter moments where you are reminded that this work is about trust, continuity and real human impact. The business’ achievements matter, but they matter most when they sit on that deeper foundation.
What do you see as key challenges facing Personal Trust over the next 10 years?
The central challenge will be how to remain deeply client-focused in a world that is becoming more complex, more regulated and more technology-driven. Those pressures are not going away. If anything, they will increase. Whether it is regulation, tax complexity, AI or the operational demands that come with growth, the real leadership task will be to adapt well without losing the essence of what makes the business valuable.
The biggest risk of all of that is client service. It is quite possible for a business to become busier, bigger, more systematised and more compliant, but less personal in the process. That would be a serious mistake for a firm like ours. Our ethos is at the heart of the business and protecting that while still evolving is one of the defining challenges of the next decade.
At the same time, we do need to grow and scale in the right way. Scale matters if you want to invest properly in systems, people, governance and capability, and if you want to serve clients efficiently and sustainably over the long term. This is not a choice between staying personal and becoming more capable. The challenge is to do both well. I see these less as threats in isolation and more as leadership challenges in a changing world.
We will need to embrace better tools, respond to increasing regulation and continue building the business thoughtfully. We will also need to keep asking a simple question: does this strengthen the client relationship or weaken it? The real test of the next decade will be whether we can modernise without becoming impersonal. If we can stay honest about that, I am cautiously optimistic.
To what extent is Personal Trust embracing AI?
We are embracing AI actively, but in a deliberate and responsible way. AI is a bit like what the motor vehicle was to travel. We no longer walk to work, which is a good thing, but we are more efficient and need to avoid accidents. AI is a very powerful tool and can help us be more efficient, but it does add more responsibility. At Personal Trust, we see AI as something that can materially improve productivity, consistency and insight across the business. There are many practical areas where it can add value – summarisation, drafting, meeting preparation, workflow prioritisation, internal analytics, segmentation and service intelligence. Used properly, it can free our people up from lower-value administrative work and give them more time to focus on what matters most: clients.
We are equally clear about the boundaries. Money shouldn’t be managed solely by AI, due to accountability and potential errors. We do not see AI as a substitute for personal, considered advice, fiduciary responsibility or human judgement. For us, it is much more of a copilot than a pilot. That distinction matters. Because of that, governance is critical. We believe in approved tools, strong guardrails, human-in-the-loop oversight, careful data protection and clear boundaries around where AI can and cannot be used. We are leaning in, but in a way that is controlled, defensible and aligned with the trust clients place in us. Personal Trust is not standing back from AI, but neither are we approaching it carelessly. We are leaning in responsibly.
How do you see the role of financial planners changing as AI and technology in general become increasingly sophisticated?
The role will become more human, not less. Technology will increasingly take care of parts of the job that are routine, administrative or process-heavy and that is a good thing. It should help planners become more efficient and consistent as well as better informed.
The real value of a financial planner was never simply gathering information or producing paperwork. The real value lies in judgement, interpretation, accountability and trust. Clients are not only looking for information. They are looking for someone who can help them make sense of complex decisions, stay calm at the right times, ask the questions they may not have thought to ask and guide them through important moments in life. Someone they can trust.
The profession will evolve. Financial planners will need to become more comfortable with technology and better at using it well. Those who resist it entirely may struggle. Technology does not make the planner irrelevant. If anything, it raises the standard, removes excuses for poor service and emphasises the human qualities that really matter.
In our world, money is too important and life is too nuanced for advice to become a purely technological exercise. The tools will become more powerful, but the planner must show up with wisdom, care and responsibility. The human role will remain central.
As your business name suggests, trust is key to success in financial planning. What do you believe to be the essential ingredients for building trust with clients?
Trust forms through small actions, consistently repeated over time. It is built when clients feel that they are being dealt with personally, professionally and with integrity. In financial planning, people share the aspects of life that matter most to them – their security, their family, their hopes, their worries – so trust really is everything. The essential ingredients are competence, honesty, consistency, compassion and personal attention. Clients need t0 know that you are technically sound, but they also need to feel that they are seen, that you care and that you are not treating the relationship as a transaction.
Continuity matters a great deal as well. Trust deepens when clients can deal with people who know their story, understand their family and have walked with them over time. That is often where the relationship becomes most meaningful.
Trust is built when good advice and good character come together over a long period. It is a human element before it is a commercial one. And once you understand that you treat it with the respect it deserves.
What advice would you give to a young financial planner entering the profession?
The first thing I would say is: get technically strong. This profession carries a great deal of responsibility, and you owe it to your clients to know what you are talking about. Competence is not optional. If you are going to advise people on matters that affect their future, family and financial security, you need to take the craft seriously.
The second thing is not to lead with product. That is a trap in this industry. The real work is to understand people properly, build trust and help them make good long-term decisions. Products may have their place, but they should never be the starting point. The relationship and the advice come first.
I would also encourage young planners to think in terms of relationships and time. This is not a profession where everything happens quickly. Trust compounds. Reputation compounds. Good habits compound. If you stay close to clients, do the work properly and keep showing up over time, the benefits of that are much greater than many people realise at the beginning.
And yes, embrace technology. Learn how to use modern tools, including AI, because they will increasingly shape the profession. But do not confuse tools with wisdom. They can help you work better, but they cannot replace judgement, care or accountability.
More than anything, I think young planners should understand that this is a calling, not a get-rich-quick scheme. If you go into it for the right reasons, and if you are willing to grow in competence, character and care, it can be a deeply meaningful profession.
