Welcome: Kenny Rabson

We launched at a time when everyone was predicting a crash. All the rhetoric was about markets being through the roof and that they were going to crash. Having launched shortly before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Discovery Invest is no stranger to challenging markets.

A position of strength

So, it should be of little surprise that within the current difficult environment, we are consolidating a position of strength in the industry, having moved up from the 12^th spot to the 4^th spot in the *Plexcrown Quarterly Unit Trust Survey for the first quarter of 2018, just a few points behind the third-biggest asset manager in the country.

A lot of our thinking 10 years ago was around how to bridge the gap in retirement. Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives. We already knew the power of behavioural incentives based on the successful roll-out of the shared-value model in our other businesses. The truth is that if you use the right incentives, you can get people to make improved choices.

That thinking paved the way for the launch of our subsequent products. We could incentivise people to start saving from a younger age and to save more on an annual basis, to draw down less in retirement and to get healthier. Our goals in terms of introducing a shared-value model in the world of investing, are starting to manifest now. We are actively working towards behavioural change by rewarding our clients for making more informed, positive choices when it comes to their finances. Discovery data collected from our clients' transaction history between 2015 and the second quarter of 2018, shows that they are starting to invest three years younger while ad hoc contributions to retirement savings have gone up by 500%. People in retirement are drawing down an average of 2% less in their linked annuities and they are working at constantly improving their Vitality status.

Thuli Madonsela strives for social justice

Our guest profile in this issue is none other than former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, who now sits as chair of social justice at Stellenbosch University. Discovery Invest secured a private interview with her and in our Q and A, she shares some of her experiences, her thoughts on the future of South Africa and some strong advice for financial advisers.

As we cast our eyes back over the first half of this year, the corporate governance issues that raised their heads at both Steinhoff and later Resilient are serious enough to give the financial services industry cause to pause. Hindsight is always 20/20 and in our corporate governance feature, our fund managers reflect on the potential warnings signs that may have been missed, and reassess our internal mechanisms when it comes to selecting stocks.

Simplifying difficult concepts through art

Renowned New York Times columnist, Carl Richards, unpacks key concepts that financial planners often have to discuss with clients through a series of simple illustrations.

Regards

Kenny Rabson

CEO of Discovery Invest