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PPS allocates over R2.7 billion in profits to members in 2016 amidst a tough economic climate

Published: May 4, 2017

PPS, the financial services company focused exclusively on graduate professionals, has declared that its total profit-share allocation to PPS members* for the 2016 financial year was over R2.7 billion. This makes the total cumulative profit-share allocation to members R22.5 billion over the last ten years.

 

Izak Smit, CEO of PPS, says that 2016 was a very volatile year, not only for the country but the world. “Locally we experienced fluctuations in the value of the rand, while globally we saw the United Kingdom vote to leave the European Union and witnessed a dramatic and unexpected result in the US elections. However, despite these unexpected events and a tough economic environment, PPS stood strong in times of uncertainty and reaped rewards for its members.” 

 

He adds that, in addition to the PPS Profit-Share Account allocation of R2.7 billion, a further R2.4 billion was paid to members in benefits (mostly life insurance claims) for 2016.

 

PPS members enjoy a unique value proposition, as members share in all the PPS Group’s profits.  These profits build up over their working lives and at retirement** they can have these accumulated funds transferred to PPS Investments for further investment growth. “In 2016, more than 4 000 of our members were made millionaires, solely from the profits allocated to their PPS Profit-Share Accounts.”

 

Smit notes that the company experienced significant growth in 2016, and new membership grew by 9% - with 61% of these new members under the age of 30. In addition, the group’s total assets increased to R31.4 billion (excluding assets under management), the highest ever for the company. The group’s investment arm, PPS Investments increased the assets under its management by 16% to R25 billion in 2016, which illustrates the increasing appetite of South Africa’s graduate professionals for the unique service offering and approach of PPS.

 

Unlike most financial services providers in South Africa, PPS is not listed on the stock exchange and has no external shareholders – instead, PPS operates under the ethos of mutuality and all PPS’ profits are allocated to PPS members on an annual basis by way of allocations to their PPS Profit-Share Accounts**. 

 

An increased interest in the mutuality model is taking place globally, with the total market share of mutual and cooperatives insurers increasing from 24.1% in 2007 to 26.7% in 2015, according to the latest statistics from the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF). 

 

Shaun Tarbuck, Chief Executive of the ICMIF, said that mutual and cooperative insurers performed robustly in the past few years as they continued to expand their global reach, shown by a growth in the aggregate number of policyholders served and people employed around the world. “Mutuals and cooperatives continue to show their relevance at a regional level, with a growing influence in the African market.”

 

“We are extremely pleased with the performance of PPS during 2016, especially in light of the challenging economic conditions. These results demonstrate the benefits of belonging to a financial services group that operates under the ethos of mutuality. As the PPS business continues to grow, our members* benefit continually by having financial peace of mind and by being allocated all of the profits of the company,” concludes Smit.

 

 PPS members with qualifying products

 

** The PPS Profit-Share Account vests from age 60 onwards. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance.

 

PPS is an authorised financial services provider.

 

 

 

Additional information:

 

PPS boasts in excess of 350 000 members who enjoy access to a comprehensive suite of financial and healthcare products that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of graduate professionals. 

 

PPS is the largest South African company of its kind that still embraces an ethos of mutuality, which means that it exists solely for the benefit of its members. Thus, members who are policyholders can exclusively share in the profits of PPS Insurance and those who have PPS Investments products can also share in the profits of PPS Investments.

 

PPS membership provides access to the following tried, tested and trusted products and services: PPS Insurance, PPS Short-Term Insurance, PPS Financial Planning, PPS Investments and Profmed Medical Scheme. Visit www.pps.co.za for more information.

 

PPS is an authorised financial services provider.

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