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Africa: Past, Present and Future

  11 Dec 2019,

Africa: Past, Present and Future




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Glenn Silverman | All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The material on this website is for information only and may not be relied on. Glenn Silverman accepts no liability for its use by third parties, or any consequences arising from such.

JHGC
The JHGC (Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre) seeks, inter alia, to raise awareness of the evils of genocide with a particular focus on the Holocaust and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda; to teach about the consequences of prejudice, racism, antisemitism, homophobia and xenophobia and the dangers of indifference, apathy, and silence to freedom and democracy.
Other trustees include: David Fine, Tracey Henry, Michael Katz, Avrom Krengel, Sean Melnick, Nicky Newton-King, Sudeshan Reddy, Innocent Rusagara, Fani Titi, Glynn Zollmann, along with Tali Nates (founder & executive director).
Novare Investments
  • Render investment management, research, services and advice to NOVARE in relation to the portfolios or business of Novare Investments
  • Be a contributing member of the Investment Committee of NOVARE
  • Review the current investment process and manager selection process

Investment Solutions

May 1999 to November 2015
Chief Investment Officer (CIO)

 

Investment Solutions (IS) was the largest, multi-manager company in South Africa, having begun operations in September 2007. The company invested assets on behalf of both retail clients and institutional funds, into a range of multi-manager products.

Total assets under stewardship, management and administration, comfortably exceeded R300bn (c. $20bn) at the time of my departure. The company was always either fully or partially owned by Alexander Forbes (AF), South Africa’s leading pension fund and risk consulting business. IS was itself separately listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) until November 2002, then de-listed to facilitate an empowerment transaction. AF was similarly de-listed in 2008 in a private equity transaction, and then re-listed in July 2014, with Mercers then acquiring a 34% strategic stake in the group.

I was the CIO of IS for the full period of my employ there, and one of the longest-serving CIOs in South Africa (SA), responsible for a team of some twenty, based in both SA and the UK.

I had overall responsibility for all aspects of the investment philosophy, process and teams, both in SA and in the UK, along with the final investment outcome. I sat on, or chaired various committees, as detailed. I travelled extensively, formally meeting hundreds of asset managers, in all the major global asset classes, in many parts of the globe.

I had active involvement in calls on all major asset classes and capital markets, along with all other investment aspects, including sustainability and responsible investing.

I was a key presenter at many of the IS annual client and AF roadshows and other investment related presentations, as well as ongoing direct media and social media support, including radio, TV, and Twitter. Videos . I also presented to large new prospective business prospects, as well as in defence of larger clients.

I presented at various conferences, and panels, including at the annual CFA conference in Singapore in 2013 (‘Sustainability – An Investment perspective’). I had a related paper published that year in the CFA journal (‘It’s time to rethink growth and the implications for sustainable investing’). Articles.

I co-authored the book HalfWay There, focused on the BRICS, with a specific focus and reference to the lessons for SA.

Key roles and committees.

  • Chief Investment Officer (CIO) from May 1999
  • Chairman of the IS Investment Committee (IC)
  • Chairman and member of the Caveo Investment & Risk Committee (IRC). Caveo was a Hedge
    Fund of Funds business with R4bn+ of AUM, then jointly owned with Peregrine Holdings
  • Member of the AF Investment Consulting Committee (AFICC)
  • Chairman of the IS Asset Allocation (AA) committee
  • Chairman of the IS Responsible Investing (RI) Committee
  • Member of the ASISA Investment Sub-committee, from 2009
  • Member of the IS Exco, and a director of IS Limited, until 2008, when the Board was restructured to include more non-executives

 

RMB ASSET MANAGEMENT (RMBAM) – Now Momentum Asset Management, Aluwani

March 1995 to April 1999
Senior portfolio manager and head of the consumer research team

I managed pension, provident and unit trust (mutual fund) assets on behalf of the Firstrand Group, previously Momentum Life, and external third party clients. RMBAM was one of the five largest asset managers in South Africa at the time. The focus was on top-down asset allocation, along with rigorous fundamental bottom-up analysis of companies.

Along with my research and portfolio management responsibilities, in July 1998, I launched and co-managed the RMB consumer unit trust. By April 1998, when I left RMBAM , the fund had grown five-fold in size, and was the best performing unit trust, out of approximately 150 in South Africa, to the period then ended.

LIBERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT (LIBAM) – Now STANLIB

October 1992 to March 1995
Senior Manager – Investments

Asset management company, with investments primarily on behalf of the Liberty Life group and external, third party funds. LIBAM One of the five largest asset managers in South Africa at the time. My work revolved primarily around equity research, primarily of the local South African consumer sector.