New CIO appointed at Ashburton Investments

Patrice Rassou, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Ashburton Investments

Patrice Rassou has been appointed chief investment officer (CIO) of Ashburton Investments, the asset management business of FirstRand Limited with effect from April 2020. This is a new role created to coordinate the various investment management activities of the FirstRand group.

Commenting on the appointment, Mary Vilakazi, FirstRand COO, said the group was very pleased with the appointment.

“To attract an investment professional of Patrice’s calibre is a coup for us,” she said. “It demonstrates how serious we are about building a competitive and innovative asset management business.”

The appointment follows a review of Ashburton’s strategic positioning to ensure that it is fully enabled to scale. The recently appointed CEO of Ashburton, Sizwe Nxedlana, said that Patrice brought the necessary skills required to strengthen existing investment management processes and ultimately deliver the right client outcomes by leveraging the group’s capabilities.

Rassou said he was attracted to FirstRand’s talent and innovative culture. “These are two key ingredients to building a successful investment management business, and I hope to do my part to contribute to this important diversification strategy for the group.”

Rassou joins Ashburton from Sanlam Investment Managers, where he was Head of Equities. Before joining Sanlam in 2006, he worked at Thesele Group, Old Mutual Asset Management and PwC.

He holds an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, an MBA with distinction from Manchester Business School, and is a Chartered Accountant. Rassou has a passion for investing and helping people achieve their savings goals.