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Old Mutual Investment Goup (SA) (OMIGSA)
Old Mutual Investment Group SA (OMIGSA) is a multi-boutique asset management business uniquely structured to achieve the aim of delivering ‘Performance through Focus’. This suite of independent businesses offers investors access to the expertise of performance-driven, specialist investment professionals supported by a world-class shared business infrastructure and a leading-edge investment research unit.
While benefitting from the depth of Old Mutual Group’s experience and global presence, each boutique has total business autonomy that extends to their investment decisions, fee structures, recruitment, products, client mandates and benchmarks.
Within the boutiques the dedicated investment professionals own all their investment decisions, giving them the agility to proactively seize market opportunities and tailor efficient investment processes, as well as set capacity limits.
Stanlib
STANLIB has a proud record as one of South Africa's top investment managers and we have received numerous awards for our investment performance. Our fixed interest and property teams are recognised as amongst the best in the industry and we have top investment professionals managing a broad range of local and global equity investments. Our range of products also includes targeted return and balanced funds that combine a range of asset classes in one investment portfolio - offering our clients risk and return appropriate investment funds.
What sets us apart is our multiple specialist approach to managing portfolios. Each investment proposition is staffed by a team of investment professionals who focus on managing funds in their area of expertise. The investment managers all share a commitment to the robust STANLIB research process, and to the ongoing enhancement of our proprietary research database.
Our analysts conduct fundamental research on up to 230 companies. Bottom-up company research is complemented by our in-house economist who provides insights into broader domestic and global economic issues. The research and analysis we carry out includes developing both a detailed understanding of the industry that the company operates in as well as identifying and modeling the major drivers of the company specific valuation.
On 1 March 2010, Thabo Dloti took up the CEO position at STANLIB. He comes with a proven track record in the asset management and the corporate benefits fields. His vision for STANLIB is to improve on the consistency of performance by ensuring that the disciplined investment framework is refined and enhanced, while still allowing latitude for an individual portfolio manager's flair to shine through.
STANLIB's commitment to South Africa stretches further than the people it employs and the funds it offers to clients. It is equally committed to the development of the skills that help create capital. These include the skills of its own people, the people of partner companies and the economic empowerment of the wider community.
To this end, STANLIB is a responsible corporate citizen. It channels social investment every year into previously disadvantaged communities, maintaining the example set by its predecessors LIBAM and SCMB Asset Management. STANLIB donates 1% of its annual profit to social development. This is split equally between the Standard Bank Foundation and the Liberty Foundation.
Message from the Managing Director: Thabo Dloti
It is impossible to tell when the markets will stabilise, but never before have world governments responded in such unison in an attempt to stem the global economic downturn. As a result, after months of negative news flow, it seems possible that the markets are starting to find solid ground – albeit at the bottom of the barrel. While South African markets were somewhat sheltered from this storm by prudent government fiscal policy, dependence on exports and foreign investment dealt us our own blow. And, just as we have felt the negative effects of these global woes, so will we feel the benefits of a recovery in the international markets.
Long-term investors with an appetite for risk who are interested in reaping the potential benefits of well-priced shares may do well to consider re-entering the equity markets. However, it’s always best to bear in mind the all-important principle of holding a well-diversified investment portfolio constructed to meet one’s individual risk and return requirements.
Metropolitan Asset Managers (MetAM) is one of the large asset managers in South Africa managing assets in excess of R55 billion. We are a multi-specialist investment manager and we are a full-service house. We manage assets for institutional and retail investors. Institutional investors (eg retirement funds) have access to a wide range of segregated and pooled investment solutions. Retail investors have access to our unit trusts through Metropolitan Collective Investments.
A focus area approach
MetAM uses a focus area approach. Each focus area has its own philosophy and process. We have the following specialised areas:
• Core equity
• Sector funds (like industrials and resources)
• Fixed interest
• Alternative strategies (eg absolute return funds)
• Property (listed and unlisted)
• International
• Multi-asset investments
• Hybrid and structured investments
• Socially responsible investments.
The objective within each focus area is to outperform a specified index, benchmark or performance target within certain risk parameters.
More about Metropolitan
Metropolitan Holdings, which wholly owns MetAM, is a diversified financial services group with asset management as one of its capabilities. Other Metropolitan services include life assurance, collective investments, employee benefits, medical scheme administration and international investments. Metropolitan is a pioneer of empowerment in financial services and has continued to focus on education, HIV/AIDS research and training, and staff community involvement.
For more information about MetAM visit www.metam.co.za .
Despite these trying times, Deon van Zyl, Head of Fixed Interest at MetAM did the business unit proud. He won a Raging Bull Award for the three-year performance of the Metropolitan Gilt Portfolio up to 31 December 2008, as well as for the best domestic fixed interest bond fund overall.
Message from the Managing Director: Metropolitan Asset Managers Robert Walton
For those still nervous, fixed interest vehicles offer value, while absolute return funds and smooth bonus portfolios are lower risk investment opportunities.
Momentum takes cognisance of the proposed National Social Security Fund and has reviewed our approach to the employee benefits market. Our EB products and services continue to be distributed through intermediaries and are underpinned by:
- Providing the best possible solution to meet clients’ needs;
- A deep understanding of our members’ needs in order to engineer flexible solutions;
- Simplicity, value for money and ease of use;
- Awesome service.
Our main products and services are:
- The FundsAtWork umbrella fund, the most innovative umbrella fund in the market, for predominantly the SME market.
- Customised insurance products distributed via a specialist corporate broker channel to large funds.
- Specialised consulting through the AdviceAtWork team, concentrating on health care and EB services and providing best of breed advice.
- Partnering with stakeholders of industry based funds to operate their retirement funds and associated services.
- Momentum Specialised Insurance, a solution structuring team addressing client specific risks and liabilities. These solutions cater for either a full or partial risk transfer and are instrumental in providing funds with passive investment building blocks that can be incorporated or compliment their existing assets or investments.
acsis
acsis provides asset consulting services to retirement fund trustees. Our model of independence ensures no conflict of interest in developing investment strategies and researching and selecting asset managers to implement those investment strategies. This ensures that we are able to provide unbiased investment advice.Our trusted advice is based on a powerful process which ensures that trustees meet their fiduciary obligations and adopt an investment strategy that is appropriate for their fund and its members’ objectives. A key advantage of our advice process is that it assists trustees and members to understand their investment objectives and make informed investment decisions to target these objectives. The investment strategy can also be extended into the post-retirement phase allowing members to adopt a consistent investment strategy before retirement and in retirement.
What services do we offer?
“a powerful process that ensures you meet your fiduciary obligations”
Message from Charmaine Soobramoney: acsis Head of Institutional Business Development
RisCura Solutions (Pty) Ltd
RisCura is the premier investment and risk consultant in Africa. Our business was established in 1999 in response to the industry’s call for a truly independent investment and risk consultant.
RisCura Consulting provides investment advice and solutions to liability-driven organisations such as retirement and medical funds as well as corporations and charities.
RisCura Implemented Consulting was established specifically to address the heightened governance requirements placed on small to medium funds and assist these funds with implementing optimal investment decisions and managing their funds on a day-to-day basis.
The following services to the institutional fund industry are on offer:
• Initial fund analysis
• Asset liability modeling
• Creation of investment policy statement
• Portfolio construction
• Manager research and selection
• Trustee training
• Design and update of investment objectives
• Manager research and selection
• Transition management
• Implementation of investment objectives and strategy
• Risk and performance monitoring and reporting
• Trustee training
The head office is in Cape Town, with additional offices in Johannesburg and Windhoek, Namibia. For more information about RisCura, please visit http://www.riscura.com/.
NMG is a multinational financial services advisory and intermediary organization whose South African operations enjoy a 30-year history. Through the carefully controlled acquisition of other companies and an impressive cycle of organic growth, NMG has become a significant player in both the healthcare and retirement fund arenas.
NMG provides consulting, actuarial and administration expertise in the health care and retirement fund fields. NMG holds appointments as consultants to many blue chip South African organizations and has in excess of 200 staff operating throughout South Africa. NMG is completely independent in the sourcing of product providers, which is done with specific reference to the needs of its clients and their constituents. This enables NMG to work with all the industry players and benefit from their experience and knowledge. Furthermore, NMG is able to provide completely independent assessments of the capabilities of the various industry players as well as work with a diverse team of experts who specialize in particular disciplines.
In 2004, Phinyello Investment Holdings, a black-owned company, acquired 25,1% of NMG. This has allowed NMG to enter markets which were previously closed. NMG can consult in all official languages.
NMG wins PMR Golden Arrow Award
NMG recently won a PMR Golden Arrow Award. Read NMG's Street Talk of December 2009 to find out more.
Taquanta is an independent, black-owned financial services group driven by three key values: energy, synergy and accountability. An innovative leader in the financial services space, Taquanta develops and manages financial solutions that deliver quantifiable certainty.
The Taquanta group incorporates:
• Taquanta Asset ManagersTaquanta Asset Managers develops and manages investment products and services that focus on delivering defined certainty for clients in terms of risk and reward, costs and consistency.
• Taquanta Securities
• Taquanta Treasury Solutions
The capability of the business is built around our core competencies in enhanced cash management and quantitative management. This is expressed through cash out performance against industry benchmarks and index and quantitative alpha management in equities and bonds. In addition, we offer alternative strategies that include a range of absolute-return funds.
Taquanta highlights
• South Africa’s number 1 institutional cash manager over 3 and 5 years*
• Successful and innovative quantitative fund management since 1996
• Assets under management in excess of R35bn
• Major clients include South Africa’s leading multi-managers, corporates, retirement funds, medical aids and wealth management businesses
* Various institutional surveys to Dec 2008.
Sanlam Investment Management (SIM)
With some R300bn under management, Sanlam Investment Management (SIM) is one of SA’s largest single manager asset management companies and offers a diverse range of investment products, namely conventional and traditional collective investments, life-pooled products and segregated portfolios for third-party institutional and retail clients as well as the Sanlam Group.
It is the investment heart of Sanlam Investments – the operational cluster that oversees Sanlam’s 14 entrepreneurial investment businesses.
SIM's diverse range of investment products are managed by eight multi-specialist investment teams who manage the followig capabilities: Equities, Fixed Interest, Absolute Return, Liability-Driven, Active Quants, Balanced Funds, Socially Responsible Investing and GenX, our hedge fund offering. Thus when you invest with us you get access to a business that consciously fosters flexibility, a sense of ownership and independence in its investment teams, while also taking full advantage of all the benefits of being a large investment player and part of a broader, international financial services group.
SIM invests according to a pragmatic value investment philosophy. We believe that markets are inefficient and, as a result, we can add value relative to the general market by identifying mispriced assets, determining their fair value and investing based on whether they are over- or undervalued according our analysis. By investing in this way, we are confident we will be able to deliver superior investment results relative to our peers consistently over time.SIM’s size and resultant influence gives us a number of advantages. The investment team is also able to draw from a strong team of about 20 research analysts who have access to a number of proprietary analytical systems that give them the edge in making investment decisions. A single research platform also ensures a rich cross-pollination of ideas across the entire investment business - and the ability to leverage those ideas in different investment realms.
Also, SIM has large positions in companies and credit issues and this allows us to engage with company management in unlocking value where we believe it exists and we can also influence the terms of a credit issue, such as debt covenants, type of instrument and maturity date.
As part of a broader financial services group, SIM investment teams also benefit from their access to Sanlam and Sanlam Investments' significant operational infrastructure, including risk management, finance and compliance functions, and distribution capability. Ultimately, all of this assures us ready access to companies, government, parastatals and other industry bodies.
