FROM THE
CEO’ S DESK
DEAR READER,
During the week before writing this message, I was privileged to attend the graduation ceremonies for my two sons, a master’ s and a bachelor’ s degree respectively. One is already a PPS member, the other is on his way there. Special moments and timeless memories beyond the moment – which is the theme of this edition of The Professional.
In April, we shared our 2025 financial results with our members. I mentioned in our integrated report( available on our website), during various media interviews and at our annual general meeting( AGM), the very big impact that investment performance had on our numbers( and especially in a bumper investment year such as 2025). As always, after such strong investment market returns, I am quick to point out that these returns should not create unreasonable expectations; there will be years when such returns are mediocre. There was some discussion at the AGM on the huge impact of these investment returns on overall profit. One question in particular stood out:“ So the big PPS Profit-Share Accounts™ * belong to the older members who have been with PPS for many years, not so?”
I can recommend to readers, The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. He shares a few short stories and timeless lessons on wealth, greed and happiness. These lessons seem simple and obvious( and they are), but, of course, applying the theory in practice is not so easy. We all suffer from short-term-gratification bias and when it comes to psychology, well, then things can become quite difficult. The smartest among us can make foolish decisions in the moment when it comes to aspects that impact our ultimate success and happiness: health, careers, money, social connections, personal development and growth.
Which is why we need help from many sources. Financial advisers can play a huge role. And to support our members and their advisers in navigating their lives, as I have mentioned in previous editions of The Professional, we are developing an exciting and hugely value-adding system that will help our members to achieve more growth and career success and live the lives that they want to live. We expect to make it available to members during the second half of 2026. I cannot wait!
Best wishes,
PPS Group Chief Executive
This is indeed the case. The bigger accounts, where investment compounding has done its magic, are those of the older members. In the future, our profits will increasingly be impacted by investment returns. Why? Due to low outflows from the Profit-Share pool, low lapses and members keeping their PPS Profit-Share Accounts™ active with PPS even after retirement. In most years, financial performance and investment returns far exceed outflows.
This compounding effect, in essence, exponential growth, is the topic that I discuss in the article on page 6. Some of my thoughts were inspired by a book
* Note that none of the articles in this publication constitutes financial-, medical- or legal advice. Additional notes relating to featured content can be found on p. 46.
Izak Smit
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