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Johannesburg - Barnard Jacobs Mellet (BJM), a R375m stockbroker, had proven detractors wrong by surviving the financial crisis and ensuing recession, declared Andile Mazwai, group CEO.
Mazwai was commenting following publication of BJM's interim results in which it reported a 15% increase in headline earnings to 12.5c/share.
"For a long time now, people have been asking whether a business like ours could survive a stock-market downturn," said Mazwai in an interview.
"I guess we have answered that question quite emphatically," he said. Shares in BJM were 1.33% lower and was last trading at 367c/share on the JSE.
Mazwai also said the group was now considering its future options without quite saying how it would be grown.
"We have been accused of having a 'Chihuahua syndrome'," said Mazwai. "Always looking to take on competitors much bigger and more established than ourselves.
"The way we have grown the business has been to establish pockets of excellence: stock-broking, research, wealth management, and from there we have been able to sell the products across the various lines," he said.
Asked then whether BJM wanted to become a full-service suite financial powerhouse, Mazwai commented: "What I will say is this: a business like RMB (Rand Merchant Bank) was built in a single lifetime".
Over the last few years BJM has grown basic stockbroker services into a more diversified asset and wealth management company. More recently, it has added estate planning and short-term insurance to its stable.
Market worry
With equity markets heavily impacting on the wealth management and stock-broking activities in the financial services sector, Mazwai was cautious about the near-term outlook.
"Markets are tricky and we are climbing a wall of worry," he said.
Income generated by broking activities at BJM declined by 13% in a market where JSE values traded fell by 18%.
The larger stockbroking firms in South Africa, including BJM and PSG Konsult, held up better than their smaller counterparts who have sought mergers with stronger players.
Asked for further details around a recently issued BJM cautionary, Mazwai declined to comment but said that the firm remained "on the look out for opportunities to grow the business".
- Fin24.com