South Africa's Alexander Forbes posts flat H1 profit, shares fall

South African financial services group Alexander Forbes said on Monday its first-half profit barely grew after many of its clients were laid off and withdrew their retirement savings. Shares in Alexander Forbes fell to a record low after the firm reported a profit increase of 2 percent to 552 million rand ($38 million). Following the withdrawals of retirement savings, Alexander Forbes spent heavily to attract new clients and had to do without the tailwind of rising equity markets as the economy