emigration of older professionals since the pandemic subsided, this represents a burgeoning risk factor for PPS. However, at PPS we have always strived to look for the opportunity in any challenge. Our strategic approach Strategically, we are focusing on consolidating our position as a full-service financial services provider in the professional market segment, deepening the value of mutuality in that segment and expanding into new markets and territories. During the year, we revised our organisational structure to support these ambitions. From a corporate governance and strategic focus point of view, we have added Sustainability to our key strategic themes in recognition of the importance of environmental, social and governance objectives to our organisation and society. Despite near-universal consensus among scientists that humans globally are currently consuming at a rate above the carrying capacity of our planet to renew itself, which will lead to environmental collapse if we do not urgently come up with better solutions, society in general, for various reasons, finds it challenging to generate those solutions and act on it. At PPS, doing the right thing is one of our core values that we treasure. Hence, we aim to further embed best-practice sustainability principles and standards into our business model. But more so, when the world faces profound challenges and crises, it is often to professionals that it turns. The recent COVID-19 experience served as an example. Professionals are trained to develop the imaginative solutions that the world urgently needs. It humbles us that we serve this market segment. We will continue to challenge ourselves on our responsibility and what we can do to mobilise and assist our members, to in turn assist society as it grapples with these significant challenges. Business performance Group performance PPS continued to provide a high level of stability throughout 2023. As we have always done, we reliably paid all valid claims timeously, enriched our solution and service offerings, strengthened our advisory structures, maintained strong distribution channels and improved our systems to enhance the total member experience consistently. This year’s results again show the effectiveness of mutuality in providing both financial security and unrivalled longterm benefits for our members. I am confident that our members will be pleased with our results – good numbers. We continue to be grateful to our members for their loyalty, demonstrated by low membership attrition rates, policy cancellations and Profit-Share withdrawals. There can be no doubt that our shared resilience is a core strength. Many of our members remain with PPS for life and, in some cases, members of the same family have been with PPS for multiple generations. We also continue to see a steady increase in new membership numbers, with our membership profile increasingly reflecting the country’s demographics. The same is true for the Group itself, which achieved Level 2 B-BBEE accreditation in 2023, demonstrating our firm commitment to internal transformation. This is not only sound corporate practice but also good business management. Life Solutions and subsidiaries PPS Life Solutions continued to deliver worldclass offerings, unique in the market and bespoke for professionals. This business, which houses our range of life, accidental death, sickness, critical illness and disability solutions, is (still) responsible for more than 90% of the returns annually allocated to members with qualifying liferisk products via their PPS Profit-Share Accounts™. PPS Investments enjoyed a strong year with assets under management breaching the R80 billion mark for the first time and receiving new investment inflows of R7.6 billion for the year. This was in a year during which many asset managers reported net outflows. Except for certain strategic investments in other markets and territories, PPS Multi-Managers are now overseeing all our members’ ProfitShare assets; the transition from external asset managers having been completed in 2023. This move provides a diversified investment approach with a suitable long-term focus, backed by a great track record. 15 Leadership commentary
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