Evolutionary Awards 2025 – 10X: the greatest impact

Category: The Greatest Impact

Describe your evolution:

The 10X Investments Impact Meeting the challenge: the reality of retirement in South Africa

Key Metrics:

• 63,600 customers
• 7 billion AUM
• NPS score 54 (likely to recommend)
• Ranked 6th in Hello Peter’s Investments and Wealth category Impact of 10X

10X has been able to help over 60,000 South Africans have a better retirement. Our unique investment philosophy is underpinned a suite of multi-asset funds with a focus on strategic asset allocation and implemented using index-tracking building blocks which aim to deliver our clients a unique outcome of consistent returns with low fees. The average client who invests their retirement with us will be significantly better off than if they had chosen a traditional asset manager.

We have a panel of investment consultant experts who spend time with clients explaining their retirement options, their choices if they experience life changing events and the consequences on their financial future if they choose to withdraw their money. We aim to always help our clients make informed decisions.

In the past, we have has published several editions of the Retirement Reality Report which raised awareness of the dire situation of South Africans. Critically, only 6% of our population will be able to afford to retire comfortably. The 2023/2024 report showed that 72% of people do not think they will have enough money to retire and only one third of people interviewed were confident their savings will be enough. The report also found that 49% of women and 43% of men do not even have a retirement plan.

Our values

We live by strong social values: Own, Grow, Challenge and Care. These are not only internal values, they are also centred around our customers, our staff and wider community, and the environment in which the business operates. 337 South Africans have been employed in the business since we started the business (63% of the current 120 staff are black).

Our philosophy of “working for the greater good” is embedded in the organisation which has resulted in:

• Future Fund Manager Programme: the provision of training for local college students to encourage more diverse candidates to consider a career in the fund management industry.
• Sponsorship of the VUSA rugby and Learning Academy; a programme that provides educational and sporting opportunities to children in the Langa community.
• Creation of financial literacy content in IsiXhosa to increased understanding of pensions and investments for investors where English is not their first language.
• Investing in youth-run start-up businesses such as a chicken farmer in the Delft community and an E-sports business that aims to keep kids off the streets in Khayelitsha.
• Partnering with an enterprise called We Love Coffee, which creates work opportunities for hearing-impaired individuals by training them to be coffee baristas. Our staff have all learnt sign language so that they can order their morning brew.
• Employing only local tradesmen and artists in the Cape Town office refit.
• We produce the Retirement Reality Report to raise awareness in government and the media about the desperate plight of South Africans with no retirement savings.

Lastly, as a challenger brand in the financial services industry, diversity of thought, background and experience has always been important in the 10X team. Of all the appointments from August 2024 to July 2025, 50 people were employed with 39 black people (78%). Of this 39 staff members, 24 are black female (62%) and 15 black male (38%). 21 people are African (54%) that consists of 9 African Males (43%) and 12 African Females (57%).

Describe the impact your evolution has had in response to its identified challenges and targeted outcomes.

Social Responsibility

We’re committed to giving every South African the strongest possible start. That’s why we support programmes that empower children and youth through education, sport, and mentorship. We also invest in aspiring entrepreneurs to help create brighter futures in under-resourced communities.

How we make a difference

We are passionate about giving all South Africans the best possible start. That’s why we partner with programmes that uplift children and youth through academics, sport and mentorship. And our support for budding entrepreneurs helps to build brighter futures in impoverished communities.

Our CSI pillars

• Academic excellence: We firmly believe that access to academic excellence is the foundation to a better future.
• Growth through sport: The discipline of sport helps to develop the spirit of champions. Sport creates tenacity, diligence and agility – all pillars of a growth mindset.
• Mentorship and Care: We care tremendously about the impact we have on others and our environment. Mentoring youth is fundamental to the support we provide.

Sport. Support. Opportunity.

 We’re proud to partner with the VUSA Rugby and Learning Academy, an after-school safe-haven in Langa which provides up to 180 children with nourishment, academic support and room to thrive. Rugby, the cornerstone sport of VUSA’s programme, helps kids to build confidence and access new opportunities such as bursaries to top schools. But a healthy and fulfilled child also needs mentorship to help them achieve their goals.

VUSA employs a social worker to ensure that each child’s mental wellbeing and development is secured. The difference we make – VUSA in numbers:

• 160 – 180 lives positively impacted
• 10 trained community coaches
• 150 kids play in 10 VUSA teams
• Daily nutritious meals provided

Creating inspiration

We’ve embraced Day of the Girl, a job shadowing initiative brought to the finance industry by the CFA Society. Recognising that girls face unique challenges, the programme gives young girls a view into the world of work within the investment space. The aim is to not just inspire these young women but ignite their dreams with a vision of having a prosperous future in the finance industry.

Over the past few years, our Johannesburg and Cape Town offices have been filled with the energy, laughter, and excitement of Grade 11 and 12 girls spending a day at 10X. We’ve proudly welcomed students from Sophumelela High School to our Cape Town office and Mosupatsela Secondary School to our Johannesburg office, offering them a glimpse into the world of work and the endless opportunities that lie ahead.

Empowering future leaders

We are passionate in our belief that future leaders will make a difference to South Africans. Developing those leaders lies firmly in our hands – which is why we created the Future Fund Manager programme. Our programme creates the opportunity for local college students from the TSIBA Business Schol to spend a few months onsite interning within various departments. Immersing themselves into a corporate environment helps them to better understand and apply their qualifications. Through this programme we want to encourage more diverse candidates to consider a career in the fund management industry so that true representation can be achieved.

Other social impact initiatives:

• Creating financial literacy content in IsiXhosa to help those investors who first language is not English increase their understanding of pensions and investments.
• Investing in youth-run start-up businesses – examples include a chicken farmer in Delft and a E-sports business designed to keep kids off the streets in Khayelitsha.
• Partnering with an enterprise that creates work opportunities for deaf people by training them to be coffee baristas.
• Employing only local tradesmen and artists in the Cape Town office refit.

Supporting Documentation >