Altvest Stakeholder Engagement on Remuneration and other matters
Altvest notes recent articles in the media and comments on social media platforms regarding Altvest’s CEO remuneration related party transactions, and investment valuation methodologies. As a listed company on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), Altvest recognises the importance of public interest in its governance processes and welcomes any scrutiny into its affairs.
Remuneration Policy
The facts are as follows:
- Remuneration and Performance bonuses are set at the discretion of Altvest’s Independent Remuneration Committee;
- The CEO’s remuneration, is in line with objective, quantifiable and agreed performance targets, particularly Net Asset Value (NAV) growth rather than operational revenue;
- Mr Wheatley’s average salary has been R1.85 million over the past four years, which remains the lowest within Altvest’s peer group;
- Mr Wheatley’s guaranteed remuneration has now been normalised and benchmarked with his peers after 4 years of either below market related or in some cases zero salary;
- A performance bonus of R2,6m was awarded in the FY2025 and was approved by the independent remuneration committee, and was conditional upon achieving strategic targets including a successful JSE listing, a minimum of R10 million of capital raise on the new listing, and the Group securing an additional mandate for Altvest Capital Opportunities Fund Limited of at least R 100 million;
- Remuneration and Performance bonuses going forward will remain at the discretion of our Independent Remuneration Committee who have agreed performance targets with the CEO;
In addition to his role as CEO, Mr Wheatley as the largest shareholder has provided personal financial guarantees and collateral exceeding R113 million to strengthen Altvest’s operational resilience and funding capability, further aligning his interests with long-term shareholder value. His full compensation and financial commitments remain transparently disclosed in Altvest’s audited annual reports.
Related Party Transactions
Altvest was conceptualised, founded, and incubated by the Wheatley family, like many other family-founded start-ups in South Africa, the founders relied on family, friends, and networks to raise early capital and resources.
Prior to raising capital on its listing, Altvest possessed no cash resources and was only able to gain access to services in exchange for shares (its only “valuable” resource). A wide array of services were accessed using this mechanism, which is common in the start-up environment.
These included:
- Media and marketing services rendered by Tatum Wheatley in exchange for shares. The value of these services is evident in the impact of the marketing campaign’s reach and impact deployed on launch. A detailed post marketing campaign analysis has been conducted;
- Legal advice, drafting of contracts and other essential legal services rendered by Robin Wheatley in exchange for shares. These services were essential to any early-stage business and needed a specialised focus given the pioneering and disruptive nature of Altvest;
- Corporate advisory and structuring services rendered by Warren Wheatley’s Investment vehicle, WGW were also settled in shares;
In total, more than R24 million of Altvest’s establishment costs, ranging from graphic design and media coverage to capital raising mandates were settled in shares in the absence of cash to pay industry suppliers at that time.
These share-based payments were transparently disclosed in Altvest’s CTSE listing prospectus and subsequent public filings.
Approach to valuation of Assets
In terms of financial reporting and valuation methodologies, Altvest strictly adheres to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), supported by the South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) and International Private Equity and Venture Capital (IPEV) guidelines. These guidelines emphasize objective, market-based measures of fair value.
- In practice, the company follows industry best practices by observing that recent arm’s length third-party transactions are among the most reliable indicators of an asset’s fair value. All three assets have had arms length sales to third party investors within 6 months of the reporting and valuation period;.
- All our valuations are subject to independent oversight. Altvest’s external auditors and valuation specialists review each valuation as part of the financial reporting process, confirming that IFRS fair-value principles have been appropriately applied.
- The company’s innovative structure also provides a built-in market check on valuations – each investment asset is mirrored by a corresponding liability in the form of a listed preferred share instrument, which offers an observable market-linked proxy for the asset’s value. (For example, the public trading price of the preferred share linked to a particular asset is factored into that asset’s carrying value.
- Furthermore, in line with Altvest’s commitment to transparency and governance, its more complex holdings like the Altvest Credit Opportunities Fund (ACOF) have undergone multiple independent third-party valuations to validate the reported fair value.
Overall, this multi-layered approach, combining IFRS-aligned modeling, SAVCA/IPEV valuation guidelines, third-party transaction benchmarks, auditor scrutiny, and market-based reference points, ensures that Altvest’s reported investment values are both technically sound and objectively justified, instilling confidence among all stakeholders in the fairness of the valuations.
As the Board, we stand fully behind the CEO and his executive team. The board remain confident that our governance practices remain robust and will stand the test of time. We will continue to champion our mission of unlocking capital for South African entrepreneurs and democratising the financial and capital markets for ordinary South Africans and we look forward to the support of the investment community as we embark on the next phase of our capital raise.