Old Mutual is pumping money into WeBuyCars 

Old Mutual Investment Group’s (OMIG) flagship equity fund took new positions in WeBuyCars and Dis-Chem in the first quarter of 2026. 

The fund, known as the Investors’ Fund, also added to its positions in Bidvest and OUTsurance during the first three months of the year. 

This was revealed by analyst Siya Mbatha at the asset manager’s first-quarter investment update, which revealed the positioning of two of its flagship funds. 

Mbatha explained that OMIG’s flagship funds have had a strong start to 2026, with their rotation out of resource stocks giving them freedom to invest in undervalued companies at the start of the year. 

The Investors’ Fund, in particular, also benefited from the stake it built up in Sasol towards the end of 2025 and at the beginning of 2026. 

Mbatha explained that OMIG had taken a constructive view on Sasol prior to the conflict, with management sending the right signals regarding cost discipline, improved coal quality, and an expected rebound in global chemicals prices. 

The conflict has accelerated the turnaround story at Sasol, giving the company excess cash flow to pay down debt and invest in improving the efficiency of its existing plants. 

Sasol is also benefiting from the renewed focus on energy security, which may result in increased interest from investors and leeway regarding carbon taxes. 

In the first quarter of 2026, the flagship Investors’ Fund outperformed its benchmark and its peer group, which continued its outperformance from 2025. 

“This was driven by our position in Sasol and global defensives, which include British American Tobacco and AB InBev,” Mbatha explained. The Investors’ Fund has overweight holdings in Glencore, Sasol, and AB InBev. 

On the downside, the fund’s performance was dragged by its stake in MTN and The Foschini Group, which suffered downturns amid the conflict in the Middle East. 

“The most significant positive drivers of performance on an annual basis were Northern Platinum, Glencore, and Absa, with some drive from Gold Fields, Standard Bank, and Sibanye,” Mbatha said. 

The graph below shows the positioning of the OMIG Investors’ Fund in relation to the benchmark portfolio. 

Buying up WeBuyCars and Dischem

In the first three months of the year, OMIG has been steadily buying up shares in WeBuyCars and Dis-Chem as it rotates out of mining stocks. 

These companies are new additions to the Investors’ Fund, with their stakes in Bidvest and OUTsurance also being topped up. 

Mbatha explained that this is part of a broader repositioning of the fund out of precious metals miners and towards more defensive stocks. 

The positions in Dis-Chem and WeBuyCars are part of its broader play in the South African consumer market, which OMIG thinks is in a better place than most think. 

OMIG also believes that WeBuyCars is attractively priced after its share price has fallen by nearly 20% year-to-date, squeezing its price-to-earnings ratio. 

There is a bit of a disconnect there as WeBuyCars continues to grow strongly, with external factors weighing on sentiment and investors potentially taking their profits after the share price ran hard. 

This has opened up an opportunity for OMIG to take a stake in WeBuyCars at a more attractive valuation, with the company still having plenty of runway for growth. 

WeBuyCars expects to benefit from the rise in Chinese vehicles in South Africa as these vehicles slowly make their way into the used car market. 

The company has opened two new vehicle supermarkets in Cape Town and Pretoria, expanding its footprint and making its real estate portfolio more efficient by consolidating its points of presence. 

These two vehicle supermarkets are intended to reduce WeBuyCars’ operating costs in these two major cities and serve as flagship exemplars for the rest of its network.

Mbatha explained that this is part of the rotation out of platinum and gold miners and towards high-quality companies in 2026. 

“We have used the gains from the rally in platinum miners to fund some of the stocks that we believe are undervalued right now,” Mbatha said. 

“The global events of the last quarter have upended macro expectations, so we have used some of the gains of last year to fund the high-quality names this year.”