The reimagined Sanlam Investments business encompasses one connected investment platform in which distinct specialist businesses collaborate to develop solutions tailored to a wide range of mandates.
From indexation and multi-management to private markets, structured solutions and private wealth, each business within Sanlam Investments plays an important role in helping financial advisers, institutions and individual investors access the right combination of expertise and opportunities to move capital further, towards better financial — and societal — outcomes.
Underpinning this approach are the scale, financial strength and governance of the Sanlam Group, together with its relationships with major shareholders such as Absa, Shriram, Allianz and African Rainbow Capital.
A new chapter
The connected investment model we have today is the result of years of adapting our business to changing market dynamics, evolving client needs and global investment trends, gradually shifting our emphasis from individual products to investment solutions.
Today, Sanlam Investments manages around R1.3-trillion in assets, reflecting the scale and breadth of the business that has emerged as a result. Net client cash flow has grown by R78 billion – from about R5 billion in 2016 to more than R50 billion in 2025. We hold three of the top 10 places for retail flows in South Africa so far in 2026 – Satrix is first with R13 billion, Amplify is second with R9 billion, and Sanlam Investments Multi-Manager is sixth with R5 billion.
Specialists with distinct roles
This evolution reached an important milestone in February 2026, with the completion of our transaction with Ninety One, now our preferred active management partner. The agreement allows us to concentrate on our core strengths in solutions, wealth and platforms while retaining access to specialist active management expertise.
Our specialist businesses each have a clearly defined role to play, contributing their individual strengths to the wider offering: Satrix provides cost-effective access to local and global markets through indexation. With assets under management of more than R330bn, its range of investment strategies serves everyone from first-time investors to sophisticated institutions, while its scale and pricing allow indexation to form an efficient foundation for portfolios. Today, Satrix is the largest indexation business in South Africa. It has grown revenue at 19% a year, and has attracted R108 bn of cumulative net inflows.
Sanlam Investments Multi-Manager, which includes Graviton, Amplify Investment Partners, Glacier Invest and Corporate Solutions, combines rigorous manager research, portfolio construction and multi-management expertise to build tailored investment solutions across different investment styles and strategies. With more than R540bn in client assets, the business draws on managers both within and outside Sanlam to build solutions around specific objectives, risk profiles and investment horizons.
Sanlam Alternative Investments, with around R200bn under management, extends the opportunity set beyond listed markets. Its specialist teams invest across private equity, private credit, infrastructure and property, providing access to opportunities in Africa and other emerging markets, and deploying capital with measurable, SDG-aligned impact.
· Sanlam Private Wealth brings a different dimension to the system, combining investment management with advice, fiduciary planning, offshore structuring and broader wealth planning. With assets under management and administration of over R256bn, its focus is on understanding the individual circumstances of high net worth clients, including their family dynamics and long-term legacy objectives.
These capabilities are complemented by our structured solutions expertise and our partnership with Ninety One. Together, they provide a broad range of investment building blocks that can be combined according to each client’s requirements.
Connection in practice
The value of this approach becomes clearer when we look at how these building blocks work together. Different investment needs call for different combinations of expertise, and the connections between our businesses allow us to draw on the most appropriate elements rather than relying on a single approach.
Consider portfolio construction. Satrix can provide cost-effective exposure to core markets, allowing a greater proportion of an investor’s fee budget to be directed towards specialist strategies where additional expertise may be warranted. Our multi-manager can combine these exposures with carefully selected active managers and alternative investments, while maintaining ongoing oversight of the complete portfolio.
Importantly, being part of one system doesn’t compromise independent investment decisions. Our multi-manager evaluates internal and external managers against the same criteria, selecting each component on its investment merit and the role it plays in meeting the client’s objectives. This includes opportunities to work with boutique and transformed asset managers whose specialist expertise can add value to portfolios.
Collaboration also enables us to extend access to investments that might otherwise be difficult for certain clients to reach. One example is the recently launched SPW Global Alternatives Fund, developed through collaboration between Sanlam Private Wealth and Sanlam Alternative Investments. It provides private clients with access to global alternative investments through a structure designed to address some of the traditional barriers relating to minimum investment sizes, liquidity and investment terms.
In both examples, the emphasis is on drawing on the relevant expertise to meet a specific investment requirement.
Strength behind the system
Connecting these capabilities requires more than organisational alignment. It also requires the financial resources, investment infrastructure and governance to support them over the long term.
This is where the scale of the Sanlam Group plays an important role. Its balance sheet supports investment in specialist talent and capabilities, while its governance and risk management frameworks provide an important foundation for our businesses.
In private markets, for example, Sanlam provides seed capital and co-invests alongside clients in many of the strategies we bring to market. This is particularly relevant for investments that require long-term capital commitments, where investors need confidence in the financial strength and continuity of the investment platform.
The Group’s recent interim results reinforce this foundation. For the six months ended June 30 2026, new business grew 22% on a comparable basis to R224bn, underpinned by healthy asset management and retail flows, while net client cash flows increased by 64% to R78bn. Our forecast for 2026 indicates momentum is continuing. We hold three of the top 10 places for retail flows in South Africa so far in 2026.
These results demonstrate the momentum across the wider Group as we enter the next phase of our investment strategy. They also underline the importance of combining our specialist capabilities with the financial strength and resources of a well-established financial services group.
Moving capital further
As investment markets evolve, the need for specialist expertise will continue to grow. Investors will require access to a broader range of opportunities, but also the ability to assess, select and combine them in ways that reflect their particular circumstances.
For us, the objective is not to make every investor use every part of the Sanlam Investments system. It is to ensure that each capability can be drawn upon where it adds value, whether that means providing affordable market exposure, constructing a diversified institutional portfolio, accessing private markets or managing wealth across geographies — and generations.
Disclaimer: Sanlam Investments consists of authorised financial services providers in terms of FAIS and disclaimers can be viewed on https://www.sanlaminvestments.com/legal/disclaimer
Carl Roothman is the CEO of Sanlam Investments