About us

Vestact was established by Paul Theron in 2002 and is based in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

We look after money for private clients, not institutions. We will manage investments for you in US Dollars in New York. We offer individualised accounts, which means that you get your own share portfolio, not a slice of some fund.

Our assets under management in February 2024 were R10.5 billion ($550 million). We are very good at client service. Put us to the test - send an email now to support@vestact.com and see how long it takes before you get a direct reply.

The compound annual return of our model New York portfolio in the last decade is 16.2 percent in US Dollars. This is significantly higher than the average annual return of the S&P 500 over the same period of 9.9% percent (figures at January 2024).

Every Vestact client portfolio is customised and personalised. We charge a low advice fee of 1 percent of your account value per year, with no performance charges. This is cheap by the standards of our industry.

What is our investment approach? We know that the future is uncertain - almost anything can happen, good and bad. Stocks are risky assets, and have the potential to go down. Share prices are not cast in stone. They are formed in the market every day, at the midpoint between sellers and buyers. Share prices reflect the prevailing mood about the future earnings of real world companies, and those change over time. We have to buy quality and then be brave, and avoid the noise of the daily market news cycle.

Winners can emerge from established industries, but they are much more likely to arise in winning industries. They very rarely occur in industries which are in terminal decline.

Our favourite sectors are technology, healthcare and consumer. We are looking for what we call transformative investments. Well-run companies which are set to change the world, or benefit from a decisive, permanent shift in the structure of the economy, or the spending patterns of consumers. Companies which have the ability to double and redouble their sales and profits in the decades ahead.

We don't trade in and out of our selected holdings, just because their share prices go up and down. We follow the market news very closely, but prefer inaction. We are patient because that is how we make you money in the markets. We provide capital to real businesses with bright prospects, and we get paid with dividends and with rising share prices.

As Warren Buffett said in his letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in 1988: "When we own portions of outstanding businesses, our favourite holding period is forever."

Feel free to recommend us to your friends, family and colleagues. We need new accounts, to build our business and to offer you an even better service.