What's Next For Discovery

We own Discovery for clients with Rands invested here on the JSE. There are 208 holders with shares worth R40.3 million and I'm one of them. Despite being one of South Africa's most innovative companies, Discovery's share price has languished in recent years. They trade at R105 today and you could have bought them at about the same price in November 2014.

The business is much more complicated now. Back then, Discovery was mostly a medical aid scheme administrator, with some side start-ups. Now they are that plus a market-leading life insurer, a bank, an asset manager, a short-term insurer, and a global technology solution provider in the wellness business.

Tim Cohen had a brilliant write-up about Discovery in his "After The Bell" column in the Daily Maverick recently. He concludes that the South African investment community is innately conservative and is uncomfortable with Adrian Gore's ambition, which results in patchy profitability. Give the whole thing a read here: Discovery is an investment riddle and needs some discovery.