Founded in 2019, the business was established with a clear purpose: to deliver returns significantly above clients’ benchmarks, without taking significantly more risk.
Since inception, Oyster Catcher has grown into a diversified investment business managing seven funds across long-only equity, multi-asset, property, flexible and hedge fund strategies. As of December 2025, the firm had assets under management of over R38-billion, with exposure across equity, stable, balanced, flexible, property and hedge fund mandates.
The team
Oyster Catcher is driven by a focused, highly qualified team with experience spanning asset management, hedge funds, equity research, fund operations and client service. The investment team is led by Jonathan du Toit (CIO, Portfolio Manager and Analyst), alongside Portfolio Managers and Analysts Mark du Toit, Robert Tout and Wessel Joubert. Research capability is further strengthened by analysts Tokoloho Mokoena and Eswee Bothma who bring
additional depth across local and offshore opportunities.
The broader business is supported by Peter du Toit as Special Advisor, Chónel Bird as COO, Kehilwe Mnyamana as Head of Fund Operations and Sbashle Ntuli as Client Service Specialist. Collectively, the team draws on their previous experience at some of South Africa’s most respected investment firms, including Truffle, Allan Gray, Orbis, Courtney Capital, All Weather Capital, Rezco, FirstRand and Peregrine Capital.
Investment philosophy
Oyster Catcher’s investment philosophy is grounded in the belief that markets are inefficient in the short term, but trend towards efficiency over the longer term – typically five years or more. The firm believes these inefficiencies are not obvious and that exploiting them consistently requires experience, skill and a rigorous investment process.
Its approach is valuation-based, with intrinsic value established through detailed bottom-up research. Each investment is assessed on the basis of business quality, normalised earnings, management quality, growth prospects, downside risk and the relationship between price and long-term value. The process is designed to be disciplined, rigorous and repeatable.
Opportunities are ranked in real time across shares and sectors, with a proprietary momentum indicator used to assist with the timing and sizing of entry and exit points. Position sizing is governed by a disciplined risk management framework that favours many appropriately sized, independent positions over concentrated bets.
For financial planners and their clients, this translates into an active investment approach that seeks to generate consistent alpha while remaining conscious of risk, mandate constraints and long-term client outcomes.
Product range
Oyster Catcher offers seven funds across traditional long-only and alternative strategies, including South African equity, balanced, stable, flexible and property-focused mandates, as well as two retail hedge funds. The long-only and multi-asset funds give investors access to Oyster Catcher’s valuation-based process within conventional mandate structures, including Regulation 28-compliant solutions.
The hedge funds are a natural extension of the firm’s core investment capability. The Oyster Catcher RCIS Long Short Retail Hedge Fund seeks to deliver absolute returns above the FTSE/JSE ALSI Total Return Index through long, short and special opportunity strategies.
The Oyster Catcher RCIS Smart Alpha (Market Neutral) Retail Hedge Fund aims to generate consistent returns by reducing exposure to broad market movements, with a focus on specific investment opportunities and risk hedging. Across the full range, the same underlying philosophy applies: identify mispriced opportunities, assess intrinsic value, size positions appropriately and manage risk carefully.
Performance
As at April 2026, the Long Short Retail Hedge Fund had delivered a 12-month return of 30.82%, a three-year annualised return of 23.52% and an annualised return since inception of 22.47%, representing annualised outperformance of 6.62% since inception. The Smart Alpha Market Neutral Retail Hedge Fund had delivered a 12-month return of 15.02%, a three-year annualised return of 15.73% and an annualised return since inception of 15.73%, representing annualised out-performance of 9.40% since inception.
Oyster Catcher’s performance has been recognised through several industry awards. The Long Short Retail Hedge Fund won the five-year Long/Short Equity category at the News24 2026 FundHub Industry Performance Awards and also took top honours in the Long/Short Equity category at the HedgeNews Africa Awards.
At the same awards, the Smart Alpha Retail Hedge Fund won the Market Neutral & Quantitative category. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.
Contact information:
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- Sbashle Ntuli
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- Telephone: 010 013 1122
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- Website: www.oystercatcherinvestments.co.za.
