Dubai-based Optasie makes bumper JSE debut

Peter joined Mergence in 2014 as a Senior Equity Analyst specialising in the TMT sector. He was appointed Portfolio Manager in 2016 and became Head of Listed Equities in 2019. During 2025, he assumed the role of Chief Investment Officer, reflecting his strong leadership capability and depth of investment expertise across public markets. Peter has over 19 years of experience in the financial services industry, including roles at several global investment banks. He was named ABSIP Equity Analyst of the Year in 2011 and has previously lectured in economics at university level.

Neo Mokhesi joined Mergence in February 2026 as a Portfolio Manager in the public markets team. She brings over a decade of investment experience across local and global equities, money market and credit. Neo has a strong track record in fundamental research, thematic analysis and portfolio strategy, and has been recognised for her performance across several professional development programmes. She previously served as Assistant Portfolio Manager at Cannon Asset Managers.

Radebe joined Mergence in March 2021 as an Investment Analyst in the public markets equity team, based in Johannesburg. He was promoted to Co‑Portfolio Manager in 2025, reflecting his depth of investment expertise and leadership within the team. Radebe currently covers banks, insurance and other financials and has in‑depth sector knowledge across SADC, most notably in banking, precious metals and telecommunications. In 2017, he was awarded the ABSIP Research Analyst of the Year.

Salome re‑joined Mergence in 2023 as a Senior Investment Analyst, having previously worked at the firm in a trainee capacity. In 2025, she was promoted to Co‑Portfolio Manager, reflecting her growing responsibility in portfolio construction and management. With a focus on the retail and industrial sectors, Salome brings valuable experience from previous roles at local asset managers and a global investment bank over an eight‑year career in the financial services industry.

Malose joined Mergence in 2022 as an Investment Analyst in the Public Markets team. She covers mining and resources stocks, leveraging her strong technical background in chemical engineering to support fundamental analysis across precious metals, bulk commodities and diversified miners. Malose previously worked as a process engineer at Sasol, the Project Services Group and Chevron, and later as a sell‑side equity research analyst at Primaresearch. She has also lectured at CPUT and provided consultation to fourth‑year design course students at UCT.

Keagan joined Mergence in 2021 as a Client Relationship Manager, bringing experience from Prudential Investment Managers. In 2023, he transitioned into the Public Markets investment team as an Investment Analyst & Trader, where he supports portfolio management and trading activities, with a particular focus on small- to mid-cap industrials and food producers.

Lebogang joined Mergence in January 2025 as an Investment Analyst & Trader in the public markets team. He strengthens the team’s equity research coverage and provides dedicated trading support, working closely with the portfolio management and trading function. Prior to joining Mergence, Lebogang was a Junior Equity Analyst & Trader at Harvard House Asset Management, where he covered stocks across the South African and global food and beverage sectors, while also serving as the sole dedicated trader. Earlier in his career, he worked as an educator teaching economics and business studies, building a strong foundation in financial and market concepts.

Mohamed joined Mergence in March 2021 as Head of Fixed Income within the multi-asset class team. He has 17 years of experience. Mohamed is responsible for a stand-alone fixed-income product and integrating a fixed-income investment process into the overall multi-asset strategy He is the primary portfolio manager for the Mergence Composite Bond Fund and lead investment manager for the Money Market and Multi-Asset Income portfolios.

Fazila joined Mergence in September 2020 as a Portfolio Manager in the Multi‑Asset team. At the start of 2026, she was appointed Head: Multi‑Asset & Global Equity, reflecting her leadership role across global equity, balanced and absolute return strategies. She has over 21 years of experience in the financial services industry and a strong passion for research, technology and sustainability. At Mergence, Fazila is responsible for the development and implementation of quantitative and systematic investment strategies across multi‑asset portfolios.

Unathi joined the Mergence public markets investment team in July 2020 as an Investment Analyst in the multi‑asset team. Her primary focus is on the top‑down and bottom‑up analysis of the South African property sector and the integration of a property investment process within the overall multi‑asset strategy. She was promoted to Co‑Portfolio Manager in July 2025, reflecting her expanded responsibility in co‑managing multi‑asset portfolios. Unathi has extensive experience in asset management and is currently completing her Master’s degree in Applied Finance at the University of Cape Town.

Thabiso joined the Mergence public markets investment team in July 2023 as an Investment Graduate and was offered a permanent position as Investment Analyst in 2025. With a BSc Honours degree in Physics and currently pursuing a master’s degree in Astrophysical Sciences, he brings strong computational, mathematical programming and quantitative analysis skills to the team.

Fabian joined Mergence in 2006. He has over 39 years’ experience in financial services and markets, specialising in ALM, investment and macro strategy. Fabian’s primary focus is on investment risk, compliance, and regulatory matters across investments in public and private markets. He serves as Investment Committee chairperson (Private Markets) and is on the Mergence Group Board as well as the in-country Boards where Mergence operates. He has held senior and executive management positions at a major SA bank and one of the largest retirement funds, as well as serving as a director on the SA board of a leading PE entity with his focus on hedge funds.

Morgan joined Mergence in 2018 and has over 19 years’ experience in the financial services industry. As Head of Investment Risk & Analytics, he has oversight of the generation, monitoring and reporting of investment risk metrics across Mergence portfolios, including performance measurement and market risk analytics. In addition, Morgan oversees the mandate compliance function for public markets portfolios, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and client mandates.

Siyanda joined Mergence in October 2025 as an Investment Risk Analyst. Prior to joining Mergence, he worked as a Risk & Performance Analyst at Old Mutual Investment Group and as a Junior Investment Analyst at Excelsia Capital. His experience includes investment risk systems, performance reporting, financial analysis and data integrity management, with strong proficiency in Python, Stata, SQL and Excel.