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At a glance
South Africa offers significant growth potential for financial advisers:
- Despite negative headlines about poor savings habits, South Africans have trillions invested in collective investment schemes
- Underinsurance remains a concern, yet there are more than 44 million active life and funeral risk policies
- Less than 10% of South Africans currently use a financial adviser, but millions search online for financial guidance every year
South Africa is often portrayed as a nation that doesn’t save, doesn’t invest and doesn’t plan adequately for financial risks. Yet when you look beyond the headlines, a very different picture emerges. One of active savers, a thriving insurance industry and a growing appetite for financial advice. Millions of South Africans are investing, taking out risk policies and searching online for guidance on how to protect and grow their wealth. The opportunities are real and financial advisers are ideally placed to meet this growing demand.
South Africans are saving and investing
“South Africa has one of the worst savings rates in the world”
Seen this headline? Of course you have. It’s one of the most dismal and suggests that no one saves. Wrong. Many can and do. ASISA stats and numbers from the DEInvest Annual Survey 2025 illustrate:
- 16 trillion: South African collective investment schemes AUM
- R23 billion: inflows into collective investment schemes
- R123 billion: income reinvested
- R50 billion: estimated size of the stokvel market, although this could be higher
Whether they have excess funds to invest or put away just a small amount each month, millions of South Africans save and are interested in growing their wealth.
South Africans are insured
“The insurance gap balloons to R50 trillion”
This is a recent, sobering headline that highlights the many South Africans who are underinsured. But do you know that at 31 December 2024 there are 44.43 million life and funeral cover policies in force. That’s pretty impressive in a country with a population of 63 million. And it only gets better. In 2024, South Africans bought 10.39 million new recurring premium risk policies.
There’s more:
- R639 billion was paid in claims in 2024
- The long-term insurance industry holds R4.5 trillion in assets
This is a picture of a very healthy, active industry. However, despite the number of policies, many are underinsured as the 2025 Gap Study found. Encouragingly, closing the gap may not be as costly as your clients believe.
| Event | Cover needed | Cover in place | Gap | % of earnings needed to fill the gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Death (440 events per day) |
R2m |
R0.8m |
R1.3m |
5% |
|
Disability (145 events per day) |
R3m |
R1.2m |
R1.8m |
3% |
Contrast the cost of filling the gap with the effect the loss of earnings has on a household. In the event of a death or disability of an income earner, households that are not adequately insured will have to cut expenses or find extra funds:
Death of an income earner
- Reduce expenses by 34% or
- Find an additional R7 431 per month
Disability of an income earner
- Reduce expenses by 37% or
- Find an additional R9 767 per month
South Africans need financial advisers
Only 9% of South Africans use a financial adviser, despite clear evidence that advised clients have better financial outcomes and higher returns on investments.
The headline: “only 6% of South Africans can afford to retire” indicates only one obvious conclusion: South Africans are in dire need of good financial advice. And, in fact, they are searching for financial guidance.
Consider that top finfluencers in the country have a combined following of millions, with The Financial Bunny followed by nearly 220 000 on Instagram alone. This clearly reflects a strong appetite for financial guidance, not a lack of interest.
Advice needs to be accessible and relevant, but South Africans clearly appreciate the value an expert in financial services offers. When they look for it, will they find you?
Key take-out: make sure clients can find you, whether it’s on social media, at networking events, even through referrals and community events, organisations and noticeboards.
Find the opportunity and your business will grow
McKinsey estimates that the US Wealth Management market will have a shortfall of 100 000 advisers by 2034. South African numbers may well show the same. Financial advisers are part of a growing market and much in need. People are looking for appropriate financial advice, actively investing and protecting their assets as they strive for financial independence. The evidence is clear: It is a land of opportunity.