The Finance Ghost: Mouton’s remarkable legacy on full display

There’s a great deal of pressure out there to do “a lot” in your 20s and 30s. I think our tech-focused world has made this even worse, with AI geniuses becoming wealthy at an age that even the wildest dreamers would’ve been nervous to aim for. It’s therefore refreshing to consider the story of Jannie Mouton, who started building his now-famous group PSG at the age of 48 after being fired by the stockbroking firm that he co-founded.

Of course, any entrepreneur knows that Mouton’s previous experience as a co-founder would have made all the difference. He didn’t just wake up one day as an excellent entrepreneur and capital allocator. This means that — at least, technically speaking — his journey on this path started a lot earlier than at 48. The nuanced learning from Mouton’s story is that talented people tend to figure it out as they go along, with the best companies often being started by people at later stages in life. As just one of many international examples, Ray Kroc was 52 when he founded McDonald’s!

PSG started with an investment in a recruitment company that it managed to flip for an incredible profit in a short space of time. Once you have a balance sheet to work with, life changes and bigger deals can be done. But even then, the Mouton legacy goes way beyond just having access to capital.

This week, we saw three examples of the PSG track record in action.

PSG Financial Services: the value of distribution

In the world of financial products, having strong distribution seems to be more important than anything else. Having at least reasonably good products to sell is a ticket to the game, but beyond that, it’s about the power of marketing and advice more than anything else.

PSG Financial Services is one of the best case studies for this in South Africa, with an army of advisers out there servicing clients across the country, from big cities to smaller towns and rural areas. The model works, as evidenced by the share price's massive gains over five years.

Source: Sharedata 

Sure, that’s using a Covid base in 2020, but a return of nearly 30% in the past year has no such caveat.

With a trading statement for the six months to August reflecting growth in headline earnings per share (Heps) of between 19% and 22%, the share price is being driven by banked performance rather than speculation about the future. That’s a high-quality outcome that investors can feel good about.

Capitec: the best business story in democratic South Africa

Speaking of banked performance and banks in general, Capitec stands proudly on the top step of the podium when looking at listed company share price performances over almost any reasonable time period in South Africa. The bank has done an incredible job of getting the basics right and building steadily, an approach that every entrepreneur and corporate executive can learn from. They haven’t just outperformed their peers — they’ve outperformed every other company.

Source: Sharedata

The latest results put yet another feather in their Stellenbosch-based caps. For the six months to August, the group grew Heps by 26%, a performance fuelled by strength across the business. The legacy banks in South Africa are focusing on non-interest revenue for growth, as they are finding it difficult to achieve meaningful growth in loans and advances and thus net interest income. There are no such problems at Capitec, with personal banking loans up by 32% and business banking loans up by 42%. This drove net interest income up by 23%. Credit quality looks good, with net interest income after impairments (ie, provisions for bad loans) up by 27%.

Source: Capitec interim results at end of August 2025

This isn’t to say that Capitec is asleep at the wheel when it comes to the non-interest revenue opportunity. Far from it, in fact. Net insurance earnings were up by 45%, with funeral plans and life cover as the major drivers of success. Look out for Capitec Connect as well (something that gets the Cell C bulls very excited due to its MVNO model that powers companies like Capitec), with Capitec Connect more than doubling its profit contribution year-on-year.

Read more: Capitec Connect records 76% surge in clients, boosted by youth segment

Return on equity at Capitec increased from 29% to 31%. Capitec’s returns aren’t just ahead of its banking peers, but even most of the insurance companies out there that arguably carry more risk than banks. It’s an exceptional story that’s going from strength to strength.

Curro: perhaps the most important legacy of all

Over the past decade, a number of factors took the shine off the Curro growth story. The first problem is that the market simply had completely unrealistic growth expectations, so the shine was far too bright to begin with. But even then, Curro hasn’t worked out in the way that even those with more reasonable expectations might have hoped for.

Birth rates have declined significantly, making it harder to fill the schools from the bottom up. Emigration led to the loss of many pupils from upper-income homes, creating gaps in the schools across all age groups. Then you need to factor in the general levels of affordability for South African consumers who have been taxed to death by an inefficient and often totally dishonest government. It’s been tough out there.

These issues are compounded by the realities of the business model, with an extensive fixed cost base and thus high levels of operating leverage. Simply put, the profit is made from the last few bums on seats in each class. If those bums aren’t there, neither are the profits.

There’s an important distinction between a for-profit company and a social enterprise. The former needs to show ongoing growth to attract investors who are looking for returns in excess of inflation. The latter just needs to wash its own face while serving a greater good. Curro is headed for non-profit status a a social enterprise flavour, with the company releasing the circular that will see the Jannie Mouton Stigting (Foundation) acquire the remaining shares in Curro at what I believe is a highly attractive price for current shareholders of R13 per share.

Read more: Jannie Mouton Foundation’s R7.2bn Curro bid could redefine private education

With all the focus on the obvious feel-good elements around doing the right thing for the schools, I think that the offer price hasn’t received enough attention in the market. I think the deal would be viable at a more modest price, as Curro’s growth story is deteriorating. Instead, the offer is fair rather than opportunistic, settled with a combination of cash and shares in Capitec and PSG Financial Services. And as we’ve just discussed, the shares of both those companies are fantastic performers.

It’s a fitting full-circle moment for the Mouton legacy. In a week where South Africans watched in horror as the extent of public sector corruption was laid bare once more, it’s also a good reminder that the private sector is the reason South Africa has managed to hold things together. DM