Old Mutual Investment Group hires global equity industry heavyweights to extend its offshore investment offering
Hywel George, Old Mutual Investment Group Director of Investments.
Old Mutual Investment Group will further strengthen its investment boutique capabilities through the establishment of a South African-based Global Equities team; hiring three members of Coronation’s Global Emerging Markets team to set up and manage the Global Equities capability. The new investment offering will complement the Old Mutual Investment Group Global Emerging Markets boutique’s emerging market capabilities.
Regarding the hiring of the team, Old Mutual Investment Group Director of Investments, Hywel George says he is thrilled to have investment professionals of their calibre on board. “The three-person team, Pieter Hundersmarck, David Cook and Kyle Wales, are seasoned investment professionals and have enjoyed great success at Coronation as instrumental members within their Emerging Markets and Global Equity strategies. They joined Coronation during the developmental phase of the business’s Global Emerging Markets capability, and thus have valuable experience in establishing a global equity investment business.
“They are all highly regarded within the industry, have notable investment performance track records and bring with them a wealth of experience and skill - and together are likely to prove invaluable additions to our investment business.
“Most importantly, they are hungry to build this key capability into a significant success story and together we are confident it will achieve significant success over the coming years.” George comments.
The global equity strategies will form the basis of a suite of global equity and balanced products for distribution both locally and offshore, allowing the business to further build on its current reach and capability as a compelling, leading African asset manager.
South African demand for global investment exposure has grown significantly over the past decade as domestic retail and institutional clients have diversified into offshore markets. This keen appetite for global exposure has been fuelled by a combination of rand weakness, local investors’ desire to diversify their assets and the increase in the amount investors are allowed to invest offshore.
George believes that this environment offers significant opportunity for the business and that the addition of an in-house, actively managed fundamental global equity strategy will significantly enhance the current success of the business’s boutique investment capability.
