When Alan Keet stepped into the role of Regional Head for Africa at Apex Group in September 2022, he took on the task of building out a financial services footprint in a market that demands scale and operational depth. In less than four years, he has overseen a major expansion, steering Apex Group’s South African platform to R5 trillion ($300 billion) in assets under administration. The milestone represents one of the largest gains in South Africa’s financial services sector and secures the company’s footing in the domestic asset administration market.

Now, with a regional network that spans seven offices across four African countries and employs more than 1,200 people, Keet is looking toward the next phase of development. The current division of the $300 billion portfolio is heavily weighted, with Keet noting that about 90 percent sits on the fund administration side, while the remaining 10 percent rests within transfer agency. Over the next three to five years, however, Keet expects the transfer agency business—which handles vital investor services such as onboarding, subscriptions, redemptions, and investor records—to grow until it is on an equal footing with fund administration.

Tokenization to automate private market operations

This expected shift is tied to changing demands from asset managers who are looking for a more seamless and automated client experience. Keet points out that institutional clients are prioritizing operational efficiency and technology-backed service models. To meet this demand, Apex Group has continuously funneled investment into its people, technology, and infrastructure, using South Africa not only for domestic institutional clients but also as a primary hub for international mandates. Globally, Apex Group services more than $3.5 trillion in assets, making the South African business a critical piece of its international network.

Beyond standard administrative tasks, Keet sees a significant avenue for growth in private credit and the broader private markets. Right now, a primary focus for asset managers is finding ways to open these markets to a wider base of investors. Keet states that most managers are talking to the firm about how to democratize the private market. The mechanism to achieve this, according to Keet, lies in tokenization. Apex Group has already submitted its first request for proposal for a large institution to test a proof of concept for tokenized funds.

By moving these structures on chain, the financial mechanics of private investing could change significantly. Instead of requiring investors to write a minimum check size of R1 million, tokenization could allow individuals to participate with much smaller values and trade their stakes regularly than current private-market structures permit. Keet believes that if an asset class is tokenized, certain markets could eventually become available on a continuous basis.

Tech scaling drives asset manager growth

This push toward automation, digitization, and advanced transfer agency capabilities comes at a time when the broader South African fund management market is facing structural changes. Keet expects to see further consolidation among managers, noting that it is very difficult to make money off R1 billion ($62 million), which pressures smaller managers to combine operations to survive. Conversely, the largest players in the market are continuing to draw in significant capital. Keet notes that Apex’s top 10 South African clients grew their assets under management by the high 20s to 30 percent over the past 12 to 18 months alone.

For Keet, whose professional background includes leadership roles in both entrepreneurial family-owned businesses and publicly listed companies, managing this growth requires balancing high-tech systems with direct client management. While Apex Group accelerates its investment in automation and technical infrastructure to support scalability, Keet maintains that the business must remain anchored to a client engagement model that supports both major institutions and emerging investment managers. Growth so far has been steady, driven by a mix of new client onboarding and the expansion of existing mandates, and the company’s focus remains on keeping client confidence central to winning new business.