Skills

Investment professional

I have over thirty years of experience in asset management (primarily institutional), attaining the level of Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Investment Solutions (IS), now AF Investments. IS was, at the time, South Africa’s largest and leading multi-manager, and one of the largest asset managers in the country, with AUM in excess of R300bn (c $25bn).

I am a CA(SA) and a CFA charter holder. I have a deep interest in the BRICS, as in the broader ESG / RI / Sustainability areas, as well as in other investment themes eg. Financial Repression, Megatrends etc, and often present to large audiences on such.

My skills honed over the many years cover multiple areas, including the assessment of asset managers both in SA and abroad (in most asset classes), as well as investment teams &  structures, as well as philosophy and processes.

I have run and lead teams of investment professionals up to some 30 strong, often in multiple jurisdictions

Consultant

I have consulted to various financial services organizations since establishing my own consulting firm (GSIS). These are listed in my timeline above, but would include the likes of: Sasfin Wealth (stock broker and private wealth manager), a Nigerian pension fund administrator (Sigma), a Mauritian investment management house (MCBIM), a large SA institutional asset manager (Stanlib), and hedge fund-of-fund investment firm (Novare Investments), a large asset consulting firm (RisCura), and other.

The services provided cover, inter alia, the following: Strategic reviews; SWOT analyses; Gap and risk analyses; Growth strategies, including identifying targets for M&A; Problem solving; Interactions with multiple stock exchanges, stock brokers and investment managers; Re-structuring and running investment teams and processes; Multiple risk, governance and oversight roles etc

Multi-manager

I managed multi-manager / fund-of-funds’ portfolios for seventeen years whilst at SA’s largest multi-manager (IS). These portfolios spanned many of the key local and global asset classes, including multi-asset class portfolios, risk-profiled ranges, LDI and other.

A key focus was on the global, non-SA component. As such, I met with many of the world’s leading asset managers, in multiple asset classes. The managers were primarily based in SA, the UK, Europe and the USA. Both long-only and hedge portfolios were managed.

My role and function included every aspect of multi-management, including, inter alia, the following:

  • Manager selection;
  • Portfolio construction;
  • Asset allocation, including chairing and running TAA portfolios;
  • Portfolio analysis and overall risk control;
  • Establishment of, and chairing, the key oversight and decision-making body ie. the Investment Committee;
  • Managing investment teams based in SA and the UK;
  • Ongoing presenting to clients, consultants, the board, and the media

Author and Presenter

I co-authored a book on the BRICS, entitled HalfWay There in 2014. The project entailed visiting and researching all five of the BRICS countries. On completion, we presented to many audiences across SA, and offshore, on our findings, with specific reference to the key lessons for South Africa.

The book was launched in Johannesburg, Cape Town, New York and London, to some acclaim.

Click here to view the book and related extracts

Other investment related topics researched and presented on to large audiences both on, and off the contient include:

  • BRICS;
  • Megatrends: A crystal ball on the future;
  • Financial Repression;
  • Sustainability: An investment perspective;
  • Africa: Unpacking its past; Predicting its future;
  • ESG: The new green bubble?

Click here to view extracts of media coverage

BRICS and MINTS

The five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) comprise not only major and important countries in their own rights, but increasingly, a powerful and important bloc, within the globe. Few cover these countries, and the bloc, in great detail.

Along with a team, we visited and researched each of the five BRICS countries, from 2012 through to 2014. A key focus was on lessons for SA, Africa and Emerging Markets, in general. The research culminated in a book on the BRICS, entitled HalfWay There, which was launched in 2014 in Johannesburg, Cape Town, New York and London.

I am now in the process of researching the MINTs ie. Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Nigeria, along with various other African countries of interest. Kenya, Nigeria and Mauritius have been visited, with research articles penned on each

Market commentator

I monitor capital markets and global events closely, and comment, typically on Twitter, on relevant or auspicious ones. At times, I will do a more detailed paper on such, and even, a more detailed presentation. I have featured regularly on TV and radio, including on the popular CNBC Africa show – ‘The bulls and the bears’.

Click here to view extracts of media coverage

Trustee

I have been a trustee of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre (JHGC) since October 2015. I have chaired the Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) as of 2019

Professor of Practice

I was appointed as a Professor of Practice at the Johannesburg Business School (JBS) as of August 2019. The JBS is the Business school of the University of Johannesburg (UJ)