JOHANNESBURG - The incoming joint chief executive of Investec, Hendrik du Toit, was awarded a bonus of £5.6million (R101.3m) for the year ended March in his current role as head of the group’s asset management unit, Investec Asset Management (IAM).
Du Toit and Fani Titi have been appointed as joint chief executives with effect from April.
Du Toit’s total remuneration for the year jumped from £5.1m in 2017 to £6m in the current reporting period.
Investec said Du Toit’s bonus was determined “solely in relation to the performance of IAM”.
Du Toit invested about 20percent of his bonus in Investec plc shares, to be held for three years.
IAM reported an increase in operating profit before non-controlling interest of 8percent to £178m. Assets under management amounted to £103.9billion compared to £95.3bn in the comparable period, with £5.4bn in net flows.
IAM contributed 29.3percent to group profit in the year ended March.
“The chief executive of IAM is entitled to a short-term incentive of 1.85percent of the earnings of IAM before variable compensation and tax,” reads the group’s annual report.
“HJ du Toit has, however, regularly elected not to accept the full 1.85percent of earnings of IAM before variable compensation and tax to which he was entitled.
"For the year ended March 31, 2018, the final year of his participation in this scheme, the full 1.85percent amounting to £5.637m was paid to Du Toit.”
In August 2013, 40 employees of IAM acquired a 15percent stake in the IAM business, ultimately through a trust structure in which each employee owns a portion of the underlying trust assets.
This stake has since risen to 18percent. Du Toit and IAM’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer Kim McFarland are participants in the trust.
The group said Du Toit’s and McFarland's new roles had given rise to potential conflicts of interest.
“It is our intention that this situation is resolved by September 30, 2018. McFarland will take over as group finance and operations director in April next year."
Investec’s remuneration committee also approved an annual bonus of £2m each for group chief executive Stephen Koseff and managing director Bernard Kantor.
A £1.7m bonus was also given the green light for group risk and finance director Glynn Burger. Koseff, Kantor and Burger will receive 30percent of their bonus in cash, 30percent in shares upfront, with the balance deferred in shares.
Koseff's and Kantor’s total remuneration both amounted to £3.5m, while Burger took home £3m.
Investec’s existing remuneration policy was last voted on by shareholders in 2015, and it has submitted a revised remuneration policy for approval by shareholders at the annual general meeting scheduled for next month.
The group is undergoing a major management succession of its long-serving executive management.
Koseff, Kantor and Burger are founding members of Investec and have been at the helm of the group for almost 40 years.
The three will make way for a new management team comprising Du Toit, Titi and McFarland in a process expected to be completed next year.
Koseff and Kantor will step down from their roles in October. From that date until the end of March next year, they will continue to serve as executive directors and as from April, they will become non-executive directors.
Burger will retire on March 31, 2019. Investec said Du Toit would remain chief executive of IAM until the end of September this year to ensure an orderly transition in this business.
McFarland will also remain chief operations officer and chief financial officer until March 31 next year.