For the past eight years, Niel has been an Associate Professor at Stellenbosch University. Working with MBA students, Niel developed a fundamental index as an alternative to the market cap-weighted indices for the South African stock market, examined performance attributions of private equity funds in South Africa and compared the downside risk of hedge funds versus funds of funds.  In addition to his academic work, he is chairman of the board of trustees of the Denel Retirement Fund and sits on the boards of MMI Investments and Metropolitan Retail.  Prior to his current academic appointment, he was the deputy chair of Momentum Life. Niel is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in London.