Stocks & Strauss is a specialist investment company
Building businesses. Backing entrepreneurs. Founded by Wayne Stocks & Daniel Strauss.
Stocks & Strauss is a partnership born out of shared values, deep conviction, and a passion for long-term investing. Wayne and Daniel have spent over a decade backing exceptional entrepreneurs and building enduring companies across industries.
A Brief History
Stocks & Strauss was founded with a simple idea: align capital with character. What began as a personal investment vehicle quickly evolved into a multifaceted group with a proven track record in both fund management and private investments. Today, it operates across multiple entities, always anchored in the belief that great people build great businesses.
Explore Our Work
Stocks & Strauss Fund Managers
Our registered fund management arm, operating multiple funds including Africa’s first university technology fund.
Investment & Entrepreneurship Track Record
We invest in people first and ideas second — always guided by conviction, not hype. Our portfolio spans a diverse range of industries, shaped by years of hands-on experience as both entrepreneurs and investors.
Our Founders
Wayne is a registered Chartered Accountant and currently serves as a Director at Smile Identity. Smile Identity solves user identification across Android, for companies scaling high volume or high value transactions in low trust environments.
Wayne has previously held various senior and executive finance and commercial positions in South Africa, USA, Dubai and the United Kingdom. This included various positions with BHP Billiton in London and Houston, and as the financial director for one of the Middle East Master Developers, based in Dubai, managing a property development portfolio of circa $5 Billion. He also worked independently with Sun International on prospective developments and has served as an independent non-executive director of a JSE listed property fund.
Daniel is a Private Equity and Venture Capital entrepreneur and holds a B.Eng. (Industrial Engineering) and MBA from the University of Stellenbosch.
Through constant interaction with various businesses as a shareholder and director, Daniel was able to gain insights into the various methods and mindsets employed by entrepreneurs, investors and consultants to ensure maximum growth to all stakeholders involved.
