Investor conference to tackle China's growing interest in Africa

Cape Town, 17 August 2011

Global and local industry leaders will debate investment industry issues

Leading thinkers from the local and global investment industry will congregate in Cape Town on September 1 and 2 at the second annual African Cup of Investment Management hosted by IMN and lead sponsor Sanlam Investment Management. With key topics being China’s ever increasing interest in Africa and the urgent need to reform and modernise South Africa’s pension system, the conference will feature a combination of panel discussions and keynote presentations. About 300 asset consultants, trustees, intermediaries and the asset management industry are expected to attend.

Helena Conradie, head of sim.smartcore – SIM’s indexation investment business – says she is delighted with the calibre of speaker and panelist that has been attracted. “The objective this year is to generate robust debate on the burning issues within the investment space and to think tank solutions and the way forward. As such, we have made every effort to pull together top quality panels and speakers that will give the audience a fresh view and in depth insight into topics – from investing in Africa and SA’s pension system, to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index investing, broad based ownership and the role of real estate and infrastructure in a balanced portfolio. A global sustainable investment roundtable is also expected to be a highlight.”

Exceptional panelists and keynote speakers:
Conradie says the two international keynote speakers, Michael Mauboussin and André Perold, will provide unquestionable quality to the proceedings.

“Mauboussin is widely regarded as one of the world’s experts in behavioural finance – we were so determined to host him that we eventually tracked him down via Twitter!” He has authored three best-selling books, More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places (one of “800-CEO-READ’s 100 Best Business Books of All Time"), Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition and Expectations Investing: Reading Stock Prices for Better Returns. Mauboussin, whose keynote is entitled ‘Think Twice’, is also chief investment strategist of US firm Legg Mason Capital Management.

Conradie says that the second international keynote speaker is Professor Andre F. Perold, a South African with an esteemed financial career in the US, who will deliver a presentation entitled Next Generation Asset Management. Until recently he was George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking at the Harvard Business School, with widely acclaimed research on asset allocation, investments in non-traditional assets and portfolio risk management. His teaching interests lie in investment management and capital markets and he is presently developing a new MBA course, Real Asset Finance.  Professor Perold is a founder and Chair of the Investment Committee of HighVista Strategies, a firm that specialises in endowment management for institutions and individuals employing broad diversification strategies across non-traditional, as well as marketable, asset classes. 

Leaders from the local industry who will participate include keynote speaker Elias Masilela, head of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and arguably SA’s leading authority on pension reform - whose address is entitled ‘Is it Africa’s time?; Anne Cabot-Alletzhauser, head of the Alexander Forbes Research Institute; Mike Brown, head of ETF SA and Nerina Visser, head: Beta Solutions, Nedbank Capital. SIM’s MD Armien Tyer, investment strategist, Alex Pestana and Conradie will also participate.

Insight into the two main topics:
According to Alex Pestana, China’s demand for the continent’s commodities is a major factor in the steadily increasing interest in Africa as an investment destination. “China sees opportunities in Africa, where many Western economies in the past only saw risk. Africa offers unexplored territory, and therefore good growth opportunities. China, for example, is showing much interest in Africa’s arable land.” He says SIM’s favourite African economies include Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. “Nigeria in particular is very vibrant and the process of democratisation is paying off.”

Conradie says a second important topic is the modernisation of the pension scheme in South Africa. “If the national pension scheme doesn’t succeed, every person in the country will be affected in some way. The conference offers the platform for discussion on new ideas in the pension market, including product innovation.”

The Second Annual African Cup of Investment Management conference takes place on 1 and 2 September at The Westin in Cape Town. Click here for more information.