Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money.
These can include: Credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companies, consumer-finance companies, stock brokerages, investment funds, individual managers and some government-sponsored enterprises.
Financial services companies are present in all economically developed geographic locations. And tend to cluster in local, national, regional and international financial centres such as London, New York City, and Tokyo.
And to get a peek at what South Africa’s (SA’s) top financial firms are. According to the annual publication Top 500 South Africa’s Best Managed Company, a study that whittled down to their finest financial firms with help from the University of Cape Town.
The study splits the finance industry into 10 main sectors; picking the leading company from each sector. The researchers recognised three main sectors: financial performance, empowerment, and policy and accreditation. The study also factored in the social and developmental policies.
Here are the top five financial services companies in the insurance, Asset Management, Accounting and consulting, Auction Houses and Investment Service according to the study.
Short-term insurance – Santam Limited
Santam Limited has held the top spot for six consecutive years now. It’s the largest company in the industry with the second highest employee efficiency.
Investment Service – PSG
PSG dominates the market and is one of SA’s most successful business empires. It has an impressive turnover growth of 45.7 percent for the period under review.
Auction Houses – Claremart Auctioneers
Claremart Auctioneers has the highest turnover in the auction house sector, followed by Strauss & Co.
Asset Management – Old Mutual Investment Group
Old Mutual bags top honours in the asset management sector. PSG group made another appearance, coming in second in this category.
Accounting and consulting – PWC South Africa
PriceWaterHouseCoopers South Africa has the sectors highest rand growth. It’s also Africa’s largest provider of professional services.