Alternative Investment Forum

A new industry conference for Alternative Investments will be taking place virtually on the 27th, 28th and 29th
of October 2020 in South Africa.

The conference will be brought to delegates by The Collaborative Exchange in conjunction with Sanlam
Investments as the lead sponsor. The Collaborative Exchange is a specialist strategic advisory and research
business that works with investment managers and wealth managers/financial advisers throughout South
Africa. It also owns the intellectual property rights for arguably South Africa’s largest industry events, including
The Investment Forum, Meet the Managers and The Investment Think-Tank.

“Alternatives can give investors a meaningful and impactful role during these critical times by accessing
opportunities unique to the unlisted markets without compromising returns. The rate at which global
allocations towards Alternatives has risen should catch the eye of the astute investor. South Africa’s
capabilities in this space, I believe, can compete with the best internationally. We are eager to demystify the
important role that Alternatives can play in a well-diversified portfolio even within the current regulatory
constraints”, said Mervyn Shanmugam chief executive for Alternatives at Sanlam Investments.

There is no uniform definition of Alternative Investments or a definitive list of alternative assets. The four
broadest categories include public equity (property via REITS, investing in the shares of infrastructure
companies), public debt (property via commercial backed securities, infrastructure via railway bonds), private
equity (core property and value add and greenfield infrastructure) and private debt (mezzanine loans, often
unlisted and unrated). According to Sanlam Investments, there has been growth and acceleration into private
markets over the past three years as pension and sovereign funds seek to exploit the opportunities of private
assets in diversified portfolios.

Subjects that will be covered during the Alternative Investments conference include – why alternative assets are
going mainstream, new principles of effective portfolio construction, social impact investing and ESG factors,
the future of hedge funds, risk and opportunities in private credit, private equity activity and arbitrage
opportunities in Africa, real assets and accessibility to investors and impact investing in order to make a real
difference. Short modules will be run on each day of the event.

International and local speakers will be presenting at the event and include names such as Charles Dumas, the
Chief Economist of TS Lombard who is considered Britain’s most accurate and respected economics forecaster,
Aaron Friedman who is the CEO from the Simbi Foundation – a non-profit organization providing quality
education support, Mark Griffiths who is the Global Head of the Climate Business Hub at WWF and other expert
speakers from Sanlam Investments, ASISA, SAVCA, Alexander Forbes, Stanlib, Ashburton, Momentum
Investments, Schroders and Sarasin & Partners.

Both the CFA Society South Africa and SAVCA (South African Venture Capital Association) are associate
sponsors for the event.
For more information about the conference, go to www.altinvestforum.co.za or email info@altinvestforum.co.za.

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