Momentum Corporate has acquired all the shares in Verso Group, a retirement fund administrator and employee benefits consultancy, in a deal effective from 1 September. Momentum paid R26.25m for the 50% stake held by JSE-listed Vunani. It also bought out Verso’s founding partners for an undisclosed amount.
Verso was founded in Bellville, Cape Town, in June 2000 as an independent pension fund administrator. It built its own administration systems instead of relying mainly on third-party software, which let it handle more complex funds. It later added healthcare broking, retail wealth management and Section 37C death-benefit investigations, with offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Gqeberha and East London.
Vunani bought its half in October 2022, planning to combine its asset management arm with Verso’s employee benefits clients. The investment did not add to Vunani’s profits. Verso produced equity-accounted losses for Vunani in each of the past four financial years. In the year to February 2026, the loss was about R1m, and Vunani said Verso’s performance had declined. The price for the 50% stake values the whole business at about R52.5m.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Price for Vunani’s 50% stake | R26.25m |
| Implied value of all of Verso | About R52.5m |
| Verso’s equity-accounted loss to Vunani, year to Feb 2026 | About R1m |
| Momentum Group normalised headline earnings, year to June 2026 | R7.06bn (up 13%) |
| Momentum Corporate normalised headline earnings | R1.42bn (down 12%) |
| Momentum Corporate new business volumes | R16.2bn (up 38%) |
The deal is small relative to Momentum’s earnings. Momentum Group reported record normalised headline earnings of R7.06bn for the year to June 2026, a year ahead of its R7bn target. Momentum Corporate’s earnings fell 12% to R1.42bn, which the group linked to lower reserve releases and stronger mortality assumptions. Its new business volumes rose 38% to R16.2bn.
Momentum Corporate runs one of the market’s largest umbrella fund offerings and has made modernising its systems central to its growth plans. Verso brings an administration team with its own technology and existing mandates. These include the Agricultural Sector Provident Fund, which has more than 20,000 members.
The deal comes as the retirement industry consolidates. An Old Mutual analysis notes that about 66% of South Africa’s remaining retirement funds hold less than R500m in assets, a size at which scale and cost efficiency are hard to achieve. Retirement fund assets have grown from about R1.5trn to R5.84trn over two decades, alongside a shift towards umbrella funds.
Administrators face new regulatory demands. The two-pot system, introduced in 2024, splits contributions into a retirement pot and a savings component members can reach before retirement. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is also bringing in a new reporting framework for funds. In August, National Treasury proposed centralising an estimated R88bn in unclaimed financial assets, starting with retirement funds.
Momentum Corporate chief executive Dumo Mbethe said the deal would build on the specialist skills and client relationships Verso developed over 26 years. Both companies said existing clients would keep their current service arrangements during the integration.