We Make Investments Accessible

Our technology and outsourcing services are used by some of the largest investment managers in Sub Saharan Africa. Our rich experience in the investment industry helps us continually innovate and improve our solutions to benefit our clients and their investors.

We tailor the solution to what you require – from using our proprietary technology to full outsourcing of your entire administrative function.

What we do
Tailor made solutions

If you are an asset manager, with us as your technology partner, you’ll be leaner and more agile, adding maximum value to your clients. As a financial advisor, we can build a digital interface that streamlines the flow of money, information and resources between you, your clients and asset managers.

Whatever level of support you need, we can help.
Technology that empowers your business

Looking for a technology solution to process your instructions? Or… want to outsource your entire administrative function?

We know you want to focus on your clients. But dealing with administrative tasks around investment products and handling client interactions is extremely time intensive.

 

With us as your technology partner, we can do everything from processing instructions and automating how your clients manage their investments, to handling your entire administrative function.

The end result is that you’ll be a leaner, more agile asset manager that adds maximum value to your clients.

As experts in the trade technology space, our innovative approach can help make your business more efficient, plus save you money over the long term. Join names like FNB, Investec, Stanlib, Sanlam, Nedgroup and Prudential and start streamlining your investment administration today.


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Streamlined investing
Silica’s Fund Trading solutions, is the ideal solution for LISP’s, Banks and Wealth Managers to improve their customer experience and lower the cost of administration, for investment products.
Silica’s Graphite solution provides access to an open market for investment managers to make funds seamlessly available to financial advisors at the lowest possible prices to investors.

It integrates directly into the financial adviser software you already use, and all information and instructions are captured at source through a single cash and application process.

You’ll be able to track investor fund performance in real time, improving client service levels and efficiency at the same time.  And because everything is cloud-based, your administrative tasks are reduced.

The benefits of Graphite for Investment Managers are the lower cost of admin services, improved margins, as well as new distribution channels.


CONTACT US TO FIND OUT HOW
ABOUT SILICA
Providing administration and technology solutions to asset managers and financial advisors throughout Southern Africa & Europe.

The story of Silica is a story of evolution


Add value to investors | Never stop innovating

It’s a story of how we’ve adapted over two decades of operation, learning from challenges and growing stronger while always staying true to our original goals: to add value to our investors and to never stop innovating.

We started as a project team within Investec in the late 1990s, building a custom software solution that would administer Investec’s unit trusts. After its huge success locally, we built a similar system for Investec’s international business.

However, we quickly realised most international asset managers outsourced some, if not all, of their administrative functions. So we expanded our offering to include an outsourced administrative business in South Africa, using our technology as the backbone that set us apart.

But we didn’t stop there.


Integration and product development

Once we had our service business in place, we again looked to innovate, asking: how can we do things more efficiently?

The answer to this was our integration capability and Graphite, our recently launched solution that allows financial advisers to buy funds online, in real time.

Throughout our journey, we’ve never stopped trying to improve, and in doing so we’ve returned to our roots as an IT business, which is where our true specialist expertise lies.

This, together with our track record in delivering world class solutions to our clients, is what will keep us relevant and competitive in a continually changing market.

Careers

Work for Silica

At Silica we look for
the unique, the special.

The individuals who go beyond the impossible. It’s your career. Own it.

Working at Silica

At Silica, our success is intricately tied to our people. Without this people-focused culture, we’d be just another IT company. But thank goodness we’re not. You’ll see this in the way we treat our staff, in our transparent leadership style, and in the small rituals we’ve created to help us build a more human-centric working environment.

Are you it?

We’re always looking to find the highest calibre talent there is. We want curious, driven team players who love collaborating, creating solutions and opportunities. We want individuals who are unique in their chosen fields, and willing to go that extra mile, and who are passionately aligned with our core values.

What’s in it for you?

Working for Silica gives you the opportunity to launch your career in many different areas. If you’re a developer for example, you’ll get valuable exposure to the financial services world, which could springboard you into working at banks, investment management companies, or even within financial departments of medical aids.

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our clients

Meet Our ExCo Team

Yashin Reddy

Madeleine Kotze

Daniel Micali

Garth Smith

Vanessa Ruch

Hans Gildenhuys

Neerusha Padayachee

Ntombi Mzalisi

Yashin Reddy

Managing Director: Silica Software Solutions

Yashin joined Silica in October 2017 as the Head of Information Security and has since taken on the role of Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Central IT Services. Before joining Silica, he has spent 10 years running managed IT network and security services for clients of all sizes within South Africa and internationally. He also spent 10 years in the corporate information security team at Telkom and was one of the founding members.

Yashin is passionate about ensuring that IT continually serves our Clients and business needs while building strong trust and assurance. He holds several professional certifications and has completed his MSc Information Security from Royal Holloway in the UK.

Madeleine Kotze

CFO

Madeleine joined Silica in January 2014 as CFO when Silica’s finance, risk, human resources and facilities operations formed part of her areas of responsibility, and in 2017 a business performance function was added to her portfolio.

With a B.Com Marketing qualification, she started her career at FirstRand in internal audit and later moved to the newly established operational risk function of the group. After part-time studies and a secondment to Deloitte, Madeleine qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2003 and returned to FirstRand Internal Audit for three years, before being appointed as CFO of RMB Asset Management. She later joined a start-up boutique asset management company, Truffle, where she spent four years before joining Silica.

Daniel Micali

Director: Business Development and Strategy

Daniel Micali is a director of Silica Holdings and was part of the original founding team that started Silica. As part of his role he’s responsible for the strategy and innovation for Silica. Silica has grown from 2 to 700 employees in the past 16 years and is the leading Business Process Outsourcing and Technology Company specialising in the provision of investment product and shareholder administration services solutions to Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Daniel is passionate about how technology influences business and how it can change the world.

Daniel has a Bachelor of Information Systems and Economics degree and is an alumnus of Cambridge Judges Business School, Chicago Booth University and Singularity University.

Garth Smith

CEO

Garth was appointed as Silica’s CEO in September 2017. He filled the role of CIO in 2016, after spending his first year growing Silica’s platform solutions business. Garth’s career began in the engineering industry and progressed into the Operational & IT environment in the Financial Services Industry.

He was part of the Standard Bank Group from 2003 until joining Silica in August 2014, during which time he took on various roles including: Director: Retail Operations at Stanlib, CIO and Business Change Executive at Liberty Life and CIO: Transactional Products and Services business unit at Standard Bank.

Vanessa Ruch

Managing Director: Silica Financial Administration Solutions

Vanessa joined Silica in 2000 where she has held the position of Director in the Silica Software Solutions, Silica Administration Services, and Silica Financial Administration Solutions businesses. She is currently the Managing Director of the Platform Business.

She is responsible for the administration and technology solutions for the Investment Platform clients, including the NinetyOne Investment Platform. She is responsible for the implementation of Funds Trading Services, powered by Graphite. Graphite is an automated investment marketplace for channels to connect to the largest network for investments.

She is the sponsor of the South African Independent Retirement Fund Products and is responsible for the implementation of the South African Independent Retirement Products for the Silica Business.

Hans Gildenhuys

Managing Director: Silica Administration Services

Hans started at Silica in April 2004 as head of legal, after being transferred from Investec Asset Management. He has performed in various oversight and operational roles within Silica. Hans is currently the head of the Funds Administration business.

Hans is a member of ASISA’s Governance board committee. He interacts regularly with the FSCA, SARS, Treasury, and the FIC, advising Silica’s client base of regulatory obligations and related matters.

Hans has a Batchelor of commerce in Accounting as well as an LLB (Post-graduate degree in law). He has also completed his post-graduate diploma in Financial Planning. Hans is an alumnus of the University of Pretoria, University of the Free State, and the Chicago Booth University.

Neerusha Padayachee

CFO

Neerusha joined Silica in November 2010 as Financial Director and was responsible for finance. In 2021 she was promoted to CFO and the Human Resources and Facilities operations were included in her portfolio.

With a B.Com Accounting qualification, she started her career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a trainee accountant. She was later seconded to New York where she spent time working in financial services as a senior associate. Neerusha qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2007 and performed the function of External Audit Manager for three years, before joining Silica.

Ntombi Mzalisi

CRO

Ntombi is the Chief Risk Officer, passionate about building proactive capabilities for integrated and automated risk management through smart use of data, leading to informed strategic influence.

Ntombi joined Silica in August 2016 with more than 20 years’ experience in the Assurance Services (Audit and Risk Management). This time was mainly in the Financial Services Industry (Banking and Insurance), with both internal and external audit exposure. Ntombi has a B Com Computer Science qualification, with post graduate certificates in Computer Auditing and Forensic & Investigative Auditing.

LATEST NEWS

Silica Making Moves

16 Nov 2020

FNZ to acquire Silica from Ninety One

FNZ, a leading global wealth management platform with over €700 billion in assets under administration, has agreed to acquire South African third-party administration firm Silica from Ninety One. Silica was established by Ninety One (then Investec Asset Management) in 1999 and provides third- party administration and related technology solutions to asset managers and investment product […]

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08 Sep 2020

Tailor Made Tech Solutions Making Investments Accessible

From starting as a software developer to becoming a unit trust third-party administrator of choice and regional market share leader, Silica has come a long way in the past 20 years. CEO Garth Smith tells Enterprise Africa more about how this inventive organisation will grow its clients further in the future. For Sandton-based software and […]

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31 Jul 2020

Savings Month Reflections

As Saving Month draws to a close, and South Africans enter our 5th month of the COVID 19 lockdown, we would encourage everyone to pause, reflect, and review your financial situation, if you haven’t already. We are all dealing with different, unexpected, and unplanned financial circumstances – some are particularly tragic when there has been […]

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21 Jul 2020

Partnerships of Hope

Silica is a purpose-driven team. Our purpose is to “Make Investments Accessible”. We do this by helping our clients, Asset and Wealth Managers, service their clients, and grow their businesses.  One of our core values is being a trusted partner, to not only our staff & clients but also our community. Today the challenges faced […]

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20 Jul 2020

Silica Internship with YES4YOUTH

Silica is acutely aware of the economic crisis facing our country, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. An even bigger crisis is the level of unemployment in South Africa. As a company, we recognise the critical role that youth play in our economy and country. Silica is fortunate enough to be able to provide vital employment […]

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10 Oct 2019

SiO2019 Event Review

Silica’s SiO2019 Idea-Ology, held in the beautiful Cape Town. Shaping the conversation with inspiring and thought-provoking ideas. People and Technology working together to make Investments accessible.

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contact us

Get In Touch

T:+27 11 302 4000
Grayston Office Park
128 Peter Road
Sandton
2196
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Back Office Outsourcing

Silica Back Office Outsourcing services, provide an end-to-end service in which all instructions are sent directly to Silica, who perform quality checks and assume the risk to ensure the instruction is captured in line with business and regulatory rules/procedures, as agreed with the customer.

Silica also assumes responsibility for the full compliance monitoring function on the customer’s behalf.

Silica issues all bulk trades, submits the trades to market and reconciles all transactions received to the trades taken place with the Investment Vehicle Provider (Collective Investments, Share Portfolios, Hedge Funds, International Funds and many more).

We also provide a full service for all bulk runs including: Fees, Debit Orders, Phase Ins, Annuities, etc. and take responsibility for all payments including: annuities, redemptions, advisor fees, admin fees, etc.

Additionally, Silica assumes responsibility for all tax administration relating to the investor with the relevant tax authority (SARS, HRMC, EUSD). Silica provides the full accounting requirement by preparing reconciled general accounts for the products, trial balance, income statement and balance sheet using accounting information supplied by the customer if required. Moreover, Silica facilitates the audits of the products that we administer.

As part of this service, Silica provides all technology including the ability to deliver a workflow solution within our customers business. The service includes a customized web portal utilising Silica’s standard web parts and web services. Incorporated is the ability to transact online, present information using 3rd Party sources (eg. Morningstar), request reports and correspondence. This full service includes the capability to view information across mobile devices such as IPADs and smartphones.

Investor Content

Silica Back Office Outsourcing services, provide an end-to-end service in which all instructions are sent directly to Silica, who perform quality checks and assume the risk to ensure the instruction is captured in line with business and regulatory rules/procedures, as agreed with the customer.

Silica also assumes responsibility for the full compliance monitoring function on the customer’s behalf.

Silica issues all bulk trades, submits the trades to market and reconciles all transactions received to the trades taken place with the Investment Vehicle Provider (Collective Investments, Share Portfolios, Hedge Funds, International Funds and many more).

We also provide a full service for all bulk runs including: Fees, Debit Orders, Phase Ins, Annuities, etc. and take responsibility for all payments including: annuities, redemptions, advisor fees, admin fees, etc.

Additionally, Silica assumes responsibility for all tax administration relating to the investor with the relevant tax authority (SARS, HRMC, EUSD). Silica provides the full accounting requirement by preparing reconciled general accounts for the products, trial balance, income statement and balance sheet using accounting information supplied by the customer if required. Moreover, Silica facilitates the audits of the products that we administer.

As part of this service, Silica provides all technology including the ability to deliver a workflow solution within our customers business. The service includes a customized web portal utilising Silica’s standard web parts and web services. Incorporated is the ability to transact online, present information using 3rd Party sources (eg. Morningstar), request reports and correspondence. This full service includes the capability to view information across mobile devices such as IPADs and smartphones.

Financial Content

Silica Back Office Outsourcing services, provide an end-to-end service in which all instructions are sent directly to Silica, who perform quality checks and assume the risk to ensure the instruction is captured in line with business and regulatory rules/procedures, as agreed with the customer.

Silica also assumes responsibility for the full compliance monitoring function on the customer’s behalf.

Silica issues all bulk trades, submits the trades to market and reconciles all transactions received to the trades taken place with the Investment Vehicle Provider (Collective Investments, Share Portfolios, Hedge Funds, International Funds and many more).

We also provide a full service for all bulk runs including: Fees, Debit Orders, Phase Ins, Annuities, etc. and take responsibility for all payments including: annuities, redemptions, advisor fees, admin fees, etc.

Additionally, Silica assumes responsibility for all tax administration relating to the investor with the relevant tax authority (SARS, HRMC, EUSD). Silica provides the full accounting requirement by preparing reconciled general accounts for the products, trial balance, income statement and balance sheet using accounting information supplied by the customer if required. Moreover, Silica facilitates the audits of the products that we administer.

As part of this service, Silica provides all technology including the ability to deliver a workflow solution within our customers business. The service includes a customized web portal utilising Silica’s standard web parts and web services. Incorporated is the ability to transact online, present information using 3rd Party sources (eg. Morningstar), request reports and correspondence. This full service includes the capability to view information across mobile devices such as IPADs and smartphones.

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