Evolutionary Awards 2025 – MSM Property Fund: evolution in asset management

Category: Evolution in asset management

Describe your evolution:

Democratising Property Investment Through Fintech: The MSM Property App

In a financial landscape historically shaped by exclusivity, MSM Property Fund is leading an evolution – transforming access to real estate investments through an innovative, first-of-its-kind fintech solution: the MSM Property App.

In a sector where traditional Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) dominate yet remain largely inaccessible to the average South African, MSM is setting a new precedent by lowering barriers to entry and redefining how wealth creation in property is achieved.

The Problem We Address

In South Africa, property remains one of the most proven avenues for long-term financial growth. Yet, participation in this market has largely been limited to institutions or high-net-worth individuals. Traditional REITs and listed property funds typically demand not only financial literacy and capital liquidity but also navigation through complex interfaces, outdated onboarding flows, and institutional jargon that alienates everyday investors. Despite significant interest from the broader public in wealth-building assets, listed property investment has remained structurally exclusionary.

Our Solution – The MSM Property App

MSM Property Fund has tackled this challenge head-on by developing a mobile-first investment platform that brings institutional-grade property investment to the fingertips of ordinary South Africans.

Launched in 2023, the MSM Property App enables individuals to start investing in income-generating property portfolios for as little as R300 per month – a price point unmatched in the market. Unlike conventional offerings in the asset management space, our app was designed with both accessibility and sophistication in mind. The product blends the rigour and compliance of licensed financial instruments with a consumer-grade user experience—seamlessly integrating onboarding, FICA verification, real-time performance tracking, educational resources, and low-cost monthly contributions into a sleek, intuitive platform.

Fintech That Reflects the Future of Asset Management

The app is not merely a digital brochure for a fund. It is a live, regulated investment tool. With built-in automation for contribution tracking, portfolio updates, and returns breakdowns, it allows users to invest, monitor, and grow their wealth in real-time. We’ve integrated advanced security protocols, and performance dashboards that make investing transparent and empowering – even for first-time investors. Where most competitors in the South African asset management space still rely on outdated websites or third-party investment portals, MSM has leapfrogged the industry by building a fully owned, proprietary fintech product, purpose-built for South African users across income brackets and financial literacy levels.

User-Centric by Design

Through rigorous user testing, and client feedback, we ensured the app speaks the language of its users – not the language of the stock exchange. Push notifications educate users with financial snapshots. Every aspect of the experience has been designed to foster emotional engagement with long-term investing, something traditionally lacking in cold, corporate investment portals.

Driving Financial Inclusion

At its core, the MSM Property App is not just a product – it’s a movement. One aimed at challenging long-held assumptions about who can invest, how wealth can be grown, and what asset management can look like in the 21st century. We are proud to say that MSM is one of the very few, if not the only, black-owned and managed investment vehicles in this space offering a tech-enabled direct-to-consumer investment experience. In a country where historical inequalities have shaped financial access, this matters. Representation matters and innovation matters.

Outpacing the Market

No other competitor in the REIT or listed property space in South Africa has launched a product of this calibre – let alone at this price point, or with this level of accessibility and design excellence. Our entry-level contribution of R300/month makes us the most affordable point of entry into listed property, and our digital platform provides an engagement experience far superior to industry norms.

The Road Ahead

This is just the beginning. Our roadmap includes adding a variety of asset classes, like infrastructure or alternative property vehicles, and launching community investment groups within the app. But even as we scale, our mission remains the same: to evolve asset management into a vehicle for mass empowerment.

In Summary

The MSM Property App represents a clear evolution in South African asset management.

• It digitises access to high-performing property investments through a fully-owned, intuitive fintech product.
• It democratises ownership through an unmatched low price point and accessible onboarding.
• It drives inclusion, especially among demographics previously excluded from real estate investing.
• It redefines professionalism, by combining rigorous financial structures with consumer-grade UX.

For MSM Property Fund, evolution is not just about technology. It’s about trust, access, innovation, and rewriting the rules of wealth creation – one user, one investment, one month at a time.

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

MSM Property Fund’s mission to democratise access to listed property investment is still in its early stages—but the impact we’ve seen so far has validated the need, the model, and the technology.

Since launching the MSM Property App, we’ve seen organic user growth to nearly 200 registered investors, despite zero outbound marketing or paid acquisition to date. This growth has been entirely community-led and word-of-mouth driven – highlighting the power of both the product’s relevance and its intuitive user experience. For a fintech product in a traditionally conservative asset class, this level of early adoption without promotional effort is highly unusual and affirming.

Users have responded with very positive feedback, especially praising the app’s ease of use, clean design, transparency, and affordability. MSM has received consistent 5-star ratings on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, with reviews referencing how empowering and refreshing it is to finally have access to real estate investment without the fine print, gatekeeping, or large upfront capital.

For many, this is their first investment product – and their trust in MSM has come not from branding or advertising, but from experience and recommendation. These early results demonstrate strong product–market fit and validate our hypothesis that a low-barrier, mobile-first approach can unlock an entirely new class of property investors in South Africa.

We are seeing firsthand that users who have historically felt excluded from the financial system are now engaging with confidence and that the combination of affordability, user-friendliness, and trust is central to making that possible. We’ve also seen early signs of behavioural change, with users engaging regularly with the app’s features.

These are foundational indicators of long-term investor retention, something often difficult to achieve in entry-level investment products. With this strong early traction, we are now preparing to scale our acquisition strategy.

Our roadmap includes strategic partnerships, in-app referrals, and community education to reach wider audiences across South Africa – especially in underbanked and underserved areas. As we scale, we are committed to maintaining the product’s integrity, accessibility, and community-first ethos.

In short, the MSM Property App is proving that innovation in asset management is not just about launching new tools – it’s about reshaping trust, access, and ownership. And even at this early stage, the impact is real, measurable, and growing.

Supporting Documentation >