It’s difficult to see PSG’s decision to unbundle and delist as anything other than a black mark against the JSE — particularly when you consider that for two decades it was one of the exchange’s most successful and ambitious investment companies.
Not only did it spawn a multitude of businesses — some of which, such as Capitec, have gone on to become SA champions — but it has created huge wealth for investors since it was founded 25 years ago. As we detail further in this magazine, R100,000 invested in Jannie Mouton’s start-up in 1995 would have been worth as much as R279m by 2015.
True, the JSE cannot prod investors to buy shares, but the fact is that PSG was increasingly unable to demonstrate its value to the market, thanks in part to investor apathy. Strangulating levels of compliance and red tape didn’t help much either, as CEO Piet Mouton publicly complained last year.
There’s an argument to be made that the Moutons have done exactly what investment management teams ought to do — put themselves out of a job to release value to shareholders — but their departure as savvy allocators of capital further tarnishes the bourse’s image as a place to start and grow businesses, to the benefit not just of investors but the economy at large.