How Rootstock found its perfect partner in Stonehage Fleming
Stand first: Celebration marks union with Stellenbosch-based investment manager.
By Thys du Toit
Partner
Thys has been involved in financial markets and investments for more than 30 years. Born in 1958, matriculated at High School Bonnievale dux learner, graduated from the Stellenbosch University BSc (Agric) in 1980 and MBA cum laude in 1982. After national service, he joined George Huysamer and Partners stockbrokers and became a partner at the age of 28. In 1990, he joined Syfrets Managed Assets.
Stand first: Celebration marks union with Stellenbosch-based investment manager
Thys du Toit, Partner at Stonehage Fleming and founder of Rootstock Investment Management, has spoken of his satisfaction at the “marriage” between Rootstock and Stonehage Fleming.
Stonehage Fleming’s acquisition of Rootstock, completed recently in March 2023, not only boosts Stonehage Fleming’s assets under management and investment expertise but also secures a new presence in Stellenbosch.
In Stonehage Fleming, explained Thys, we were fortunate enough to find “a business that had the same DNA, the same values, the same philosophy, the same pedigree and much more”, he told guests at a dinner in Stellenbosch last week to celebrate Stonehage Fleming’s acquisition of the South African investment firm.
Finding the perfect partner took time, said Thys. “We had the opportunity to be rational, measured, selective. We were able to do the proper due diligence and to find a groom that would suit the Rootstock bride the best.”
He was particularly reassured by the presence of Gerrit Smit – into whose Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity fund Rootstock’s Global Equity Fund was merged – and his team of “talented individuals”, whose “similar investment philosophy and a repeatable and clear process” he approves of.
Furthermore, he was attracted by the wider Stonehage Fleming family, “a business of substance, sustainability and with an international reach and broad range of services. Now available to all Rootstock clients.”
Thys was speaking at a dinner co-hosted with him by Giuseppe Ciucci, Managing Partner, Johan van Zyl, Executive Chairman, South Africa and Gerrit Smit, Head of Global Equity Management.