February 2026

Dear Colleagues

During February, the month so many of us associate with love, we reflected on what gives us at the ASISA Academy those warm, fuzzy feelings. Undoubtedly, the most gratifying achievements are those that provide young people with employment opportunities to launch their careers in financial services.  We therefore want to take this opportunity to celebrate the commitment, generosity and partnerships that enable the ASISA Academy to make a meaningful impact in addressing South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis.

South Africa faces a youth unemployment rate that sits at alarming levels, and an increasing number of university graduates with qualifications are struggling to find that crucial first opportunity that transforms education into employment.

The ASISA Academy exists to bridge this gap. Through our internships and graduate programmes, we’re not just training young people – we’re creating pathways into careers. But we cannot do this alone. Every intern placed, every graduate employed, every young professional mentored, represents a meaningful collaboration between the ASISA Academy, industry sponsors, host employers and dedicated Academy team members.

This month, I want to express deep gratitude to all the graduate programme partners of 2025 who helped us to achieve what the numbers in this edition demonstrate: a total of 53 new jobs created for Black graduates who completed their graduate programmes and internships.

These aren’t just statistics. They’re young South Africans building careers, supporting families and contributing to an industry that desperately needs their talent and perspective.

Thank you for being part of this solution. Thank you for investing in people. Thank you for making transformation real, not just aspirational.

With gratitude,

Alicia Davids
CEO, ASISA Academy

This month, we want to celebrate and thank all graduate programme partners who made our work possible during 2025.
 

Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) Internship

The IFA Internship addresses transformation in the independent financial advisory space. This programme would not exist without our anchor sponsors: Allan Gray, Coronation, Ninety One and M&G Investments. (We also acknowledge the many sponsors who have made ad hoc contributions to this fund.)

Anchor Sponsors of the IFA Internship

Equally vital are the 19 IFA practices across Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria that hosted our interns from February 2025 to January 2026, providing supervision, mentorship and immersive work experience. These practices commit not just resources but time, patience and genuine investment in developing young talent.

IFA practices that hosted interns from Feb 2025 to Jan 2026​

The results of the past year’s internship speak volumes: a 90% completion rate and 88% employment rate (based on the total number of interns who completed the programme) that continues a 10-year trend of exceptional outcomes. This demonstrates what’s possible when education meets opportunity, when theory meets practice and when commitment meets capability.

Partnership opportunities

To scale this highly successful programme, we would like to put out a call for more sponsors for this programme and more IFA practices that wish to host interns next year.

• To express interest in hosting an intern in 2027, please click here.
• To inquire about becoming a programme sponsor, please click here.

Sponsors’ contributions will be made to the ASISA Enterprise & Supplier Development Initiative (ESDI).
 

IMACS@TSIBA Internship

Our longstanding partnership with the Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSIBA) produces work-ready graduates in investment management administration and client servicing. This programme depends on ASISA member companies that sponsor the academic component of the programme and/or host students for their four-month internships and, crucially, often employ them.

This year alone, the industry created 20 jobs for IMACS@TSIBA graduates who completed their internships in November 2025: 20 young people who are now earning, learning, and contributing. Twenty families with new hope. Twenty success stories that began with companies willing to invest in untested talent.

Companies that sponsored the academic component of the 2025/2026IMACS@TSIBA Internship. Some will also be hosting students for their four-month internships from
1 Aug to 30 Nov 2026.​

The 2025/26 cohort commenced its third-year classes on 20 February. Eighty-seven percent of the class progressed to third year. These 46 students will be seeking internship placements from July to November 2026. This four-month work experience is a compulsory component of their Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Finance degree and provides invaluable practical exposure.

Partnership opportunities

We appeal to ASISA member companies with investment management administration or client servicing functions to consider hosting one or more interns. These students have a solid theoretical grounding in investment administration and are eager to apply their learning in real-world workplace settings.

• To host a student (1 Aug–30 Nov 2026), or become a programme sponsor, please click here.

Fezeka Graduate Programme

The Fezeka Graduate Programme specifically addresses the under-representation of black women in asset management. This programme (now 19-months long) provides rotations at leading asset management firms, industry mentorship, ongoing development and support for professional qualifications including the CFA 1 exam.

Last year 100% of our graduates were employed in the asset management industry. 

We’re deeply grateful to the asset management firms who host our participants for their rotations, providing real exposure to investment teams, research functions and client servicing. Your commitment to creating space for these talented young women is changing the face of our industry.

Sponsors & host employers of the Fezeka Graduate Programme of 2025/2026​

On 2 February, the eight young women in our current Fezeka cohort entered the final stretch of their 19-month programme, which concludes in August 2026. This marks the last lap of an intensive programme that has included three workplace rotations at leading asset management firms, comprehensive technical training, ongoing mentorship and professional development.  These graduates represent the future of diverse, capable leadership in South African asset management.

Partnership opportunities

• To employ a graduate: Please click here.
• To become a programme sponsor: Please click here. 
   

Retirement Fund Trustee Education (RFTE) partners

The ASISA Academy’s retirement fund trustee education programme reaches hundreds of trustees annually, providing crucial training on governance, fiduciary responsibility and industry developments. This work is made possible by the ASISA Foundation, which enables us to deliver workshops free of charge to trustees across the country.

We’re also grateful to our partners in this work:

• Batseta Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa, which registers our workshops for CPD points, ensures quality standards and invites us to deliver training to their member trustees
• Institute of Retirement Funds Africa (IRFA), which invites us to deliver training to its member trustees
• Atleha-edu, which partners with us to deliver financial literacy workshops to organised labour

Together, we’re building more informed, capable retirement fund boards that can better serve South Africa’s retirement fund members.  

Partners who make it possible for us to increase our RFTE footprint across the country

Futuregrowth Asset Management

The ASISA Academy delivered a comprehensive six-day training course for Futuregrowth staff in February, combining two complementary courses:

• UCT Investment Management Administration & Client Servicing (IMACS) Short Course (five days)
• Collective Investment Schemes Blitzcamp (a bespoke one-day course)

Delivered over two consecutive weeks (Tuesday through Thursday each week) at the ASISA Academy in Newlands, this intensive course provided Futuregrowth staff with deep knowledge of investment management administration, client servicing and the regulatory and operational framework for collective investment schemes.

Employees of Futuregrowth who attended the training

We’re pleased to report that another group of Futuregrowth staff will attend the same courses in May, demonstrating the value companies find in providing their teams with structured, industry-relevant training.

This kind of partnership – where companies identify skills gaps and work with the Academy to address them through tailored training – exemplifies our vision to be the training partner of choice for the industry. If your company has training needs, we’d love to discuss how we can help.

As we move deeper into 2026, we continue preparing for new intakes, developing new offerings and strengthening partnerships across the industry.

Whether you’re interested in:

• Sponsoring a programme
• Hosting interns for work experience
• Employing graduates from our programmes
• Providing pro bono presentations to students
• Arranging in-house training for your teams
• Supporting our retirement fund trustee education work

... we’d love to hear from you.

For companies planning skills development for the year ahead, now is the time to engage with us about how we can support your goals while contributing to industry transformation.

For a complete overview of learning opportunities, please visit the 2026 ASISA Academy Learning Calendar.

Contact us:

• General enquiries: learn@asisaacademy.org.za
• CEO: adavids@asisaacademy.org.za

ASISA Academy – Building the talent pipeline for South Africa’s savings and investment industry