Black Mountain Investment Management — Practising since 2014
A specialist
alternative asset
manager.
Licensed by the FSCA as a Category 1, 2 & 2A financial services provider. Based in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Managing hedge fund mandates, special situations, principal investments and deal advisory for institutions and sophisticated investors.
FSP 49908
FSCA Cat. 1, 2 & 2A
R3bn AUM & Investments Managed
Johannesburg · Cape Town
01 / ABOUT
A specialist
investment
manager.
Black Mountain Investment Management (Pty) Ltd is a South African licensed financial services provider, formed in 2018 when our Dynamic Equity Hedge Fund was spun out of the FirstRand Group to stand on its own.
We are a specialist, not a supermarket. We manage alternative investment mandates for institutions and sophisticated investors: hedge fund strategies, special situations, principal investments, proprietary trading, deal advisory, and physical distribution and trading. The same principals run the book today as ran it in 2014.
FSP 49908. FSCA Category 1, 2 & 2A. Institutional prime brokers.
Six pillars. Structured to the investor.
Every portfolio is built to spec. Segregated, rule-defined, named counterparties. We do not operate pooled retail vehicles.
2.1
Hedge Fund Mandates
Long/short equity and derivative strategies across the South African listed market, built on a proprietary-trading foundation.
2.2
Special Situations
Complex, uncorrelated opportunities across the economic cycle: dislocation, structural inefficiency, distress.
2.3
Principal Investments
Direct balance-sheet investments with meaningful stakes and active strategic intervention.
2.4
Deal Advisory
Structuring, capital raising, share financing and corporate action advisory for private and listed counterparties.
2.5
Proprietary Trading
Long/short, directional and derivative trades executed with the firm’s own capital.
2.6
Distribution & Trading
Structured commodity finance and physical distribution, active across fertilizer and agricultural supply chains.
03 / Approach
Niche. Activist.
Evidence-based.
We look for asymmetry of reward to risk, and we are prepared to do the work. That means private-equity due diligence applied to public and private opportunities alike.
Situational, not macro
We do not require a distressed macro environment. We look for company-specific complexity that the market has mispriced.
Hands-on intervention
Value is realised through active work: recapitalising, streamlining operations, resetting boards, or restructuring debt.
Institutional-grade risk
Four-eye checks, automated order limits, strict liquidity management. A proprietary-trading risk culture carried into every mandate.
Regulated infrastructure
Executed and administered through tier-one prime brokers. Mandates operate within defined investment rules agreed with each client.
Situational, not macro
We do not require a distressed macro environment. We look for company-specific complexity that the market has mispriced.
Hands-on intervention
Value is realised through active work: recapitalising, streamlining operations, resetting boards, or restructuring debt.
Institutional-grade risk
Four-eye checks, automated order limits, strict liquidity management. A proprietary-trading risk culture carried into every mandate.
Regulated infrastructure
Executed and administered through tier-one prime brokers. Mandates operate within defined investment rules agreed with each client.
04 / Track Record
Evidence in four books.
A decade of named, verifiable transactions. From the launch of our first hedge fund to listed principal actions and cross-border capital raises.
Principal Investment
2025
Next Gen Nuclear – primary investor, advisory-board role. US$500m valuation.
2021
CNA – gained control, led wind-down, R80m+ controlled against – zero at-risk capital. Infinite-ROI outcome
Capital Raises
2024
Kore Potash – led first round and assisted follow-on raises. US$30m. JSE- and LSE-listed.
2021
African Gold Acquisition Corp – US$500m SPAC, co-founded and listed on NYSE.
2018
US$1.5b and US$500m share-financing transactions on JSE-listed counters.
Activist Interventions
2022
Ascendis Healthcare – led removal and replacement of the board to unlock trapped value.
Firm Milestones
2018
Spun out of the FirstRand Group to form Black Mountain – a specialist alternative asset manager.
2016
Hedge News Africa Award – top performing equity hedge fund in South Africa.
2014
Launched the Dynamic Equity Hedge Fund – seed from FirstRand + a private investor.
05 / Founder
Mohamed Dhorat
Founder · Director · Fund Manager
Mohamed founded Black Mountain in 2018, having launched its predecessor fund — the Dynamic Equity Hedge Fund — in 2014. He began his career on the Equities Trading Graduate Programme at Rand Merchant Bank, and spent four years on RMB’s Equities Proprietary Trading team, managing a portfolio of over R1 billion with returns in excess of 20% CAGR.
Since founding BMIM he has led principal acquisitions including CNA, co-sponsored a US$500m NYSE-listed SPAC, driven activist board interventions in listed companies including Ascendis Healthcare, and secured a primary investment position in Next Gen Nuclear. He runs the book today on the same framework he applied a decade ago: private-equity diligence, applied to public markets.
Qualifications
CFA Charterholder
Economics (Honours), University of the Witwatersrand
Experience
18+ years portfolio management
South African listed equities & derivatives
Regulator
FSCA, South Africa
FSP 49908 · Category 1, 2 & 2A
Locations
Johannesburg · Cape Town
South Africa
06 / Contact
For counterparty,
mandate or advisory
enquiries
We respond to direct enquiries from institutions, family offices, counterparties and professional advisers. Please include the nature of the engagement in your message.
Offices
Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa
Regulatory
Black Mountain Investment Management (Pty) Ltd
FSP 49908 · FSCA Category 1, 2 & 2A
Black Mountain Investment Management (Pty) Ltd is a Licensed Financial Services Provider (FSP 49908), regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa (Category 1, 2 & 2A).
DISCLAIMER
This website is for information only and does not constitute marketing, offering or placement of any investment. The content is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security or service, and relying on it to make an investment decision may result in financial loss. Nothing herein should be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
© 2026 Black Mountain Investment Management (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved.
FSP 49908 · Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa