Protea Capital Management is a leading hedge fund manager. Its origin dates back to early 2009, when Jean Pierre Verster invited a small group of friends and family members to pool their investments and form the Verster Investment Partnership. The Partnership invested in listed equities globally, both long and short, according to a proprietary ‘quantamental’ analysis process.

Due to the above-average long-term returns generated by the Partnership, it developed into a formal investment management business in 2019 when Protea Capital Management was granted a Financial Service Provider (FSP) licence by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). By late 2021, hedge fund assets under management exceeded R1bn.

Today, Protea continues to partner with its clients by investing alongside them in its hedge funds, both locally and offshore.

Fledge invested in December 2021