South Africa’s richest woman is returning home

Sygnia CEO and founder Magda Wierzycka is returning to South Africa after spending seven years as a tax resident of the United Kingdom. 

Wierzycka revealed this in her CEO’s report for the 2025 financial year, which outlined Sygnia’s strong performance despite a challenging operating environment. 

The company’s revenue grew by 12.8% to R1.06 billion, with assets under management surging by 31.7% to R461.2 billion. This enabled the company to post a profit after tax of R383.2 million, up 10.4% year-on-year. 

“After over seven years with one foot in the United Kingdom and one in South Africa, I am moving back to the country I call home,” Wierzycka said in her report. 

“While recent tax changes in the UK certainly played a role, they are not the only reason. The world has become deeply polarised – not only due to shifting geopolitical forces but also because of the accelerating race for AI dominance.”

“These seismic shifts in the global order force us to rethink where we can still make a meaningful difference. More than ever, it is about choosing a place where the challenges we face can be transformed into opportunities.”

Wierzycka has been working in South Africa’s financial services sector for nearly three decades, joining Southern Life as a product development and investments actuary in 1993. 

She would go on to work for the titans of South African asset management, spending two years at Alexander Forbes before joining Coronation in 1997. 

She then left Coronation six years later to form IQvest, a funds management company which was sold to the African Harvest Group. 

This enabled her to negotiate the sale of African Harvest Fund Managers to Cadiz Financial Services in 2006. Wierzycka led the management buy-out of the remainder of the African Harvest group, which resulted in the formation of Sygnia.

Sygnia quickly became renowned for its innovation in a sector long dominated by asset managers with large advisory services funnelling clients to their unit trusts.

The company focused heavily on index-tracking funds through its Itrix range, which has been complemented by its thematic fund range.

Coming home

Wierzycka explained her reasoning in returning to South Africa further in her CEO’s report, while also unpacking some of the challenges the country faces. 

“On my return, I have again turned my focus to the South African political and business environment, finding what can best be described as a mixed bag,” Wierzycka said.  

“No one can deny that corruption has become an institutionalised way of doing business. Listening to the Madlanga Commission has been brutal, unlike anything we have heard about from the State Capture years.” 

“This is no longer white-collar crime – these are crimes committed for personal gain at the expense of the physical safety of most South Africans.”

Wierzycka explained that she feels she can make the most difference in a country like South Africa, through advocating for change and increasing access to global financial markets. 

She also noted that her experience of living in London was not a waste of time, with it adding to her already vast experience. 

“Having now lived and experienced more, I can also see some of the things we are missing. The most glaring gap is the absence of a real venture capital industry in South Africa, despite having one of the youngest populations in the world,” Wierzycka said. 

Venture capital support for small, founder-led businesses can create new jobs and drive economic growth, something South Africa desperately needs. 

Wierzycka explained that these same funds could also give founders more than capital – they could offer skills transfer, help build proper business frameworks and bring in professional advisors with a true global reach. 

“These are the things that help innovation thrive. Imagine the benefits of a world where retirement funds are required to invest even as little as 1% of their assets into venture investments, with the government matching them rand for rand,” she said. 

“On balance, South Africa has changed – some of it for the worse, but some of it is creating new opportunities. From a personal perspective, I am pleased to be back.”