Manager Research

We have completed our latest review of Sesfikile Capital and maintained our Tier 1 rating on its local property capability and our Tier 2 rating on its global property capability. Tier 1 is our highest rating. Tier 2 is a positive rating, with some minor concerns we are monitoring.

Business and Team

Sesfikile remains a focused, profitable property specialist, and the recent consolidation of its local and global entities has simplified the business. Ownership is still concentrated among the founders, and we would like to see staff ownership increase and broaden across the senior investment team. We will monitor how the shareholder structure evolves, but take comfort that the founders and other shareholders are aligned in treating this as a strategic priority. The senior team is highly experienced, with deep knowledge of South African listed property. Staff retention has also been good.

Investment Process

The process is clear, repeatable and well suited to the market, combining detailed company research with a strong grasp of sector liquidity. The team has consistently avoided weaker businesses, and attribution points to stock-selection skill rather than a few lucky calls. The small size of the local market limits capacity, but Sesfikile has previously shown that it is willing to cap flows if needed to preserve the competitiveness of the strategy.

On the global side, the capability has improved, with core themes in data centres, logistics and housing driving most of the value added. The track record now extends beyond five years, and over this period attribution shows clear evidence of stock-selection skill. However, research resources are stretched across a far broader universe of stocks and active risk is tightly controlled. Together, these factors constrain the team's ability to add value over the benchmark after fees.