Allan Gray | A belief that business can and should be a force for good

Allan Gray’s ownership structure is unusual in financial services. It reflects a belief that business and society are deeply interconnected. The model gives the business the stability to stay focused on creating value for clients, while philanthropy and social investment extend the benefits of this success to broader society.

Mahesh Cooper shares an extract from our 2026 Impact Report below. The report aims to articulate where Allan Gray is making a difference, then explains the model that makes those outcomes possible.

Allan & Gill Gray Foundation (the Foundation) permanently holds the controlling interest in the Allan Gray and Orbis investment businesses; not an individual, a family or a listed parent company answerable to short-term shareholders, but a foundation whose only mandate is to protect these businesses’ independence and direct their financial success towards the development of human potential. That single fact is the starting point for everything in our Impact Report.

The principles underpinning our ecosystem

Our founder, Allan W B Gray, believed that business can and should be a force for good. When the businesses create genuine value for clients, clients prosper and the businesses prosper. When the businesses prosper, they create opportunities for everyone connected to them, including staff, and through the Foundation’s structure, have the capacity to impact society far more broadly through philanthropy. This belief shapes the way we operate and underpins an ecosystem that links commercial success to ongoing social impact.

Allan and Gill Gray created a legacy designed to not only build successful businesses, but also contribute to society through greater opportunity, dignity and hope for all.

Creating value through business and creating value for society are the same pursuit, expressed twice: through what Allan Gray and Orbis do directly – helping clients secure their financial futures – and through what that success makes possible – lasting support for the development of human potential through Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies.

Allan & Gill Gray Foundation’s dual purpose

To ensure this persists beyond any one generation, Allan and his wife, Gill, established the Foundation in 2015, entrusted with a dual purpose:

To safeguard the long-term success, continuity and independence of the investment management businesses.
To ensure that the dividends the Foundation receives from the success of the investment management businesses are devoted to philanthropy.

This ownership structure is central to the ecosystem. As a perpetual and mission-driven shareholder, the Foundation enables the businesses to take a long-term view and remain focused on our clients’ best interests, rather than being driven by short-term outcomes through external shareholder pressure. This provides the stability and independence required for us to stay true to our investment philosophy, which includes the willingness to take contrarian positions in pursuit of superior long-term returns and withstand short-term periods of underperformance. This patient and disciplined approach is one of the defining characteristics of our businesses.

An ecosystem built to endure

For this ecosystem to endure, the investment management businesses themselves must be sustainable. We recognise that long-term profitability depends on maintaining the trust of clients, creating an environment in which talented people can thrive, and contributing positively to the societies in which we operate. Integrity, ethical conduct and a commitment to excellence are therefore essential.

The stories and outcomes we share in our Impact Report are evidence of that structure at work: a perpetual, mission-driven shareholder supporting both investment excellence and enduring social impact, linking the interests of clients, businesses and society in a single, mutually reinforcing cycle.

By aligning commercial success with social purpose, Allan and Gill Gray created a legacy designed to not only build successful businesses, but also contribute to society through greater opportunity, dignity and hope for all.