IN THIS ISSUE

Dear stakeholder

The Namibia Savings and Investment Association (NaSIA) was launched in Windhoek at the beginning of June. Modelled along the lines of the ASISA structure, the NaSIA was established to enable the Namibian savings and investment industry to speak with one voice to ensure its ongoing relevance and sustainability.

Recognising the benefits of one industry body representing a savings and investment industry, the ASISA Board mandated ASISA to advocate for similar models in other African countries where ASISA members have a strong representation. Namibia was the first country we engaged as part of our Africa Outreach programme and we are proud of our Namibian counterparts for what they have achieved in a relatively short period of time.

An ASISA delegation was invited by Sybil Somaes, NaSIA CEO, to attend the launch. Leon Campher, CEO of ASISA, provided attendees with a brief overview of ASISA and its structures. Gill Raine, senior policy advisor at ASISA, shared insights on conducive environments required for the development of capital markets.

The NaSIA Board of Directors is chaired by James Mnyupe, MD of Allan Gray Namibia. The other Directors are Tertius Stears, Group CEO of Sanlam Holdings Namibia, Ben Bertolini, MD of Prudential Portfolio Managers Namibia, Kosmas Egumbo, Group CEO of Old Mutual Namibia, Eino Emvula, CEO of Namibia Asset Management, Ian Erlank, MD of Capricorn Asset Management, James Hatuikulipi, MD of Investec Asset Management Namibia, Joseph Mwatotele, CEO of Ashburton Investments Namibia, Lesley Rukoro, CEO of MMI Holdings Namibia, Taimi Shejavali, MD of STANLIB Namibia, and Dr Leake Hangala, Executive Chairman of Hangala Prescient.

The draft Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) Bill proposes repealing the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act (CISCA) and dealing with its provisions in Conduct Standards. The ASISA CoFI working group expressed concerns with this proposal and advised National Treasury that it would conduct a gap analysis of CISCA and the COFI Bill. The working group has completed the gap analysis and concluded that there are significant gaps. The analysis, which has been shared with National Treasury and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), strongly advocates the retention of CISCA, with only those provisions being repealed that could logically be dealt with in Conduct Standards.

Preparations are in full swing for the Academy’s fifth Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) internship programme, which starts in February next year.  The Academy reports a record number of applications from IFA practices in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. There is interest in East London and Port Elizabeth as well and the programme will therefore continue in the Eastern Cape in 2020. In addition, the Academy is exploring the viability of expanding the programme to Bloemfontein.

The IFA internship programme was launched in 2016 with the aim of helping young black professionals interested in pursuing a career in financial planning with the opportunity to intern with established IFA practices for 12 months. Including the current 2019 IFA interns, 109 black graduates have benefitted from the IFA internship programme.

We are very grateful for the ongoing funding support from Allan Gray, Coronation, Investec and Prudential, which enables the Academy to continue growing this hugely successful programme. More information can be found here.

The ASISA Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) initiative is about to team up for a third time with the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) to deliver another INSETA Black Broker Development Programme. (Brokers are also referred to as Independent Financial Advisers.)

The INSETA committed to partnering with the ESD initiative for the next programme following the successful conclusion in May this year of the INSETA 2017 Broker Development Programme.

The 18-month long programme provided specialised growth support to 15 black-owned independent brokerages. The programme created 14 jobs and the brokers achieved an average revenue growth rate of 21% year-on-year. Average retention rates improved from 86.8% at the start of the programme to 92.3% at the end of the programme.

The INSETA 2019 Black Broker Development Programme will provide support to 30 black-owned independent brokerages. The objective is to enhance the development of high-potential black-owned insurance service providers in the industry.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to Sipho Solfafa, who has been appointed as ASISA’s new Chief Operating Officer. Sipho previously held the position of deputy director: B-BBEE at the Department of Trade and Industry.