November’s market activity suggests executives and asset managers have embraced some portfolio spring-cleaning, with some insiders stocking up and others clearing out just in time for the year-end run.
We start with Aspen Pharmacare, where Coronation Asset Management clients have now built a substantial 15.04% stake. This cements Coronation as one of Aspen’s most influential shareholder blocs. Coronation has long expressed faith in Aspen’s operational resilience and global footprint, even through patches of volatility.
In a similar show of institutional conviction, GIC Private Limited, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has edged its exposure to Bidvest above the 5% threshold. Bidvest’s diversified services model, strong cash flows and disciplined acquisition strategy make it a reliable anchor in an otherwise choppy domestic economy.
At Brait, director Hermanus Troskie set things off with a modest R656,806 buy. The bigger story, however, is Titan Premier Investments, the investment vehicle associated with retail tycoon and serial risk-taker Christo Wiese. Titan spent four consecutive trading days steadily accumulating Brait shares at prices of between 210c and 220c. The purchases, totalling R8.1m, are the fingerprints of a long-term investor consolidating influence. With Brait still reshaping its post-Virgin Active identity, Titan’s manoeuvres may well foreshadow deeper involvement or a firmer hand in steering the next chapter.
A different accumulation is unfolding at Bytes Technology Group, where Coronation lifted its holding to a substantial 25.24%, a clear statement of confidence in Bytes’s resilient UK-focused IT services model. Camissa Asset Management crossed the 5% mark, adding a layer of domestic institutional support. Offsetting these increases, JPMorgan has moved below the minimum threshold, while the Public Investment Corp (PIC) trimmed its exposure from 6.16% to 5.35%.
At Lighthouse Properties, the Thistle Trust, associated with director Mark Olivier, has been buying. Purchases of 350,000 and 100,000 shares over consecutive days, totalling R3.63m, hint at insider confidence in either the company’s property valuations or distribution outlook. Trust-linked insider buying is often interpreted as a signal of internal bullishness, particularly in a sector still contending with subdued sentiment.
At Mondi, JPMorgan has been actively adjusting its exposure through a series of transactions. It increased its voting rights position to 5.47%, then to 6.35%, before trimming back to 6.08% a day later, movements that align with global trading strategies rather than company-specific news. A far more notable activity is a purchase by Mondi CEO Andrew King, who acquired 25,000 shares at £8.26 (a total value of about R4.64m). Insider purchases by top executives remain one of the clearest signals of internal confidence.
Anél Bosman, group managing executive of Nedbank CIB, sold a total of 20,000 shares across two transactions worth just more than R5.2m. At Standard Bank, Funeka Montjane, CEO of personal and private banking, sold 7,000 shares worth R1.91m. These are not red flags on their own — executives diversify portfolios all the time — but they do align with a broader pattern: senior banking leaders taking some liquidity off the table after a period of strong bank share price performance.
Christo Wiese’s Titan manoeuvres may well foreshadow deeper involvement, or a firmer hand in steering the next chapter
The PIC has been particularly active across several counters, sending a mix of signals. It reduced its holding in Raubex to 24.28%, while 36One Asset Management increased its stake to just above 5%. At SA Corporate Real Estate, the PIC pared back to 19.64%.
The week closed with significant movement at WeBuyCars, where Aylett & Co Fund Managers acquired a 5.05% stake — a material vote of confidence in a company still proving itself as a standalone listed entity. On the same day I Dirk, associated with director Dirk van der Walt, acquired 450,000 shares worth more than R20.4m. Insider buying of this scale, particularly so soon after listing, is a powerful signal and suggests that those closest to the numbers see long-term runway even as vehicle market volatility persists.
On the A2X
The A2X also had a busy stretch, with liquidity again clustering around the market’s heaviest counters. Prosus dominated trade on the platform, clearing R338.9m for a 14.7% market share slice. Glencore followed with R75.9m (9.84%), while Investec added R51.3m (9.43%). Mondi came in next with R27.8m (9.09%), just ahead of Woolworths, which posted R57.4m but a slightly lower market share contribution of 8.86%.
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