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Sanlam Private Wealth Africa
opens office in Mauritius
Sanlam Private Wealth (SPW) has opened its first office in Africa outside South Africa. SPW Mauritius is a crucial building block in the expansion of SPW Africa, which gives private clients in African countries access to SPW’s global investment and wealth management solutions.
SPW Africa will follow the well-established Sanlam Group footprint across the continent, in partnership with Sanlam’s existing partners in several African countries, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana.
Mauritius will form the hub of SPW Africa’s expansion strategy – consisting of SPW Mauritius, focusing on wealth management, and Summit Trust Mauritius, offering multi-jurisdictional fiduciary and tax advice and services to private clients, and a range of company administration services to the corporate market. Summit Trust Mauritius was established in 2012 and has over the past five years enjoyed significant success and growth.
At the official opening of the SPW Mauritius offices in Labourdonnais Village last week, Sanlam Private Wealth CEO Daniël Kriel said the company’s expansion formed part of a drive to extend its offering to clients at the top end of the market across the continent. It’s also consistent with the Sanlam Group’s international strategy, which primarily focuses on emerging markets.
The event was attended by over 100 guests, including representatives of both Mauritian and South African companies, Sanlam’s partners in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia, and local socialites. The guests of honour were the Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr Ivan Collendavelloo, and South Africa’s High Commissioner to Mauritius, HRH Princess Zenani Mandela-Dlamini.
‘Through our Mauritian operations, private clients in African countries will now have access to a range of international investment and wealth management solutions,’ Daniël said. This includes access to Sanlam’s global investment capabilities – and the UK-based SPW Global High Quality Fund, named the winner in the Best Fund category of the City of London Wealth Management Awards earlier this year.
SPW Africa Managing Director Shane Tremeer said the objective was to build a network of wealth management businesses and distribution partners across Africa. ‘We aim to meet the needs of private clients and their families in African countries, by providing world-class advice and integrated onshore-offshore wealth management solutions.
‘Increased demand for offshore services by our South African client base will also be addressed by the products and services now offered by our operations in Mauritius – a more affordable jurisdiction than the traditional European jurisdiction.’
Daniël said SPW had decided on Mauritius as the ‘hub’ for SPW Africa as the country is a stable democracy and well developed, with a respected legal framework and state institutions. ‘The Mauritian government has created an internationally recognised regulatory framework, and the country’s focus on developing the financial services sector has resulted in a highly skilled talent pool.’
Mr Collendavelloo welcomed SPW to Mauritius. He said private wealth management is a very promising sector in Mauritius, which is the preferred wealth management centre for Africa. ‘SPW’s presence here bears testimony to the confidence and trust the company attaches to Mauritius as a jurisdiction of choice. We wish SPW a successful venture,’ he said.
Daniël said the expansion of SPW Africa was mutually beneficial in that it would provide Sanlam Private Wealth with new opportunities on the continent, while simultaneously offering high net worth private clients in the countries concerned world-class solutions from a leading Africa-based, multinational financial services company. ‘Sanlam’s reputation and strong brand in Africa is an obvious advantage, and we are delighted at the chance of extending our offering in these new markets.’
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Riaan Gerber has spent 16 years in Investment Management.
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