STANLIB’s Victor Mphaphuli takes the reigns as co-head of Fixed Interest Business

Victor Mphaphuli.

STANLIB has promoted Victor Mphaphuli to Co-Head of its multi-award-winning Fixed Interest business. Mphaphuli assumed this role on 1 January 2016 and will jointly manage the business with Henk Viljoen.

Mphaphuli, who has been with the Group since January 2001, will also join the STANLIB’s Executive Committee which provides strategic direction to the business.

Viljoen says: “Since joining the group, Victor has been instrumental in the exceptional growth and award winning performance achieved by STANLIB’s Fixed Interest business. Today he is regarded as one of the top bond managers in the country and has won two ABSIP Awards for Fund Management.”

Mphaphuli has played an instrumental role on the bond fund team, which has won the Raging Bull industry award six times in the past 12 years. He has a BCom degree, a BCom Honours degree in Econometrics and completed the GIBS Graduate Executive Development Programme.

Mphaphuli credits his success to the balanced way in which the STANLIB Fixed Interest team approaches investments and the culmination of hard work over the years.

Commenting on his promotion, he says: “I work with a great team that has certainly been instrumental in helping me get to where I am today. I have worked very closely with Henk for the past 15 years -- we complement each other to the benefit of our clients. I am now excited to have the opportunity to lead the team with him.”

Mphaphuli initially joined the Fixed Interest team as a bond dealer and later assumed added responsibility for portfolio management. In 2008, he was promoted to Head of Bond and Income Funds, assuming full responsibility for the daily management of these funds.

“We have an astute investment philosophy and a process that has stood the test of time helping us to deliver superior long term returns. The challenges of the job keep it interesting as every day we face new situations, negotiating outcomes for our clients that generate good returns, even on a risk adjusted basis. I look forward to great years ahead, where together we can continue to be the preferred investment destination for our clients,” he says.

Seelan Gobalsamy, STANLIB CEO, comments: “Victor’s intimate knowledge of all aspects in the fixed interest asset class makes him ideal to co-head the franchise. His passion for investments has seen him rise through STANLIB’s ranks to take on this position.”

Viljoen will continue to co-head the Fixed Income business alongside Mphaphuli to ensure the continuation of the investment discipline and focus that has led to the team’s considerable success over the years.

The STANLIB Fixed Income business had R166bn under management at the end of December 2015, making it the largest in South Africa. The business has a strong long-term track record and with its market leading investment capabilities forms a key part of STANLIB’s investment offering.