Investor conference tackles China's interest in Africa

With key topics being China's ever increasing interest in Africa and the urgent need to reform and modernise South Africa's pension system, the conference will feature a combination of panel discussions and keynote presentations.

Helena Conradie, head of sim.smartcore, SIM's indexation investment business says"The objective this year is to generate robust debate on the burning issues within the investment space and to think tank solutions and the way forward. As such, we have made every effort to pull together top quality panels and speakers that will give the audience a fresh view and in depth insight into topics, from investing in Africa and SA's pension system, to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index investing, broad based ownership and the role of real estate and infrastructure in a balanced portfolio. A global sustainable investment roundtable is also expected to be a highlight.

Keynote speakers

Michael Mauboussin whose keynote is entitled 'Think Twice', is chief investment strategist of US firm Legg Mason Capital Management. He is regarded as a world expert in behavioural finance who has authoured three best-selling books, More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places, Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition and Expectations Investing: Reading Stock Prices for Better Returns

Professor Andre F. Perold, a South African with an esteemed financial career in the US, will deliver a presentation entitled 'Next Generation Asset Management'. Until recently he was George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking at the Harvard Business School, with widely acclaimed research on asset allocation, investments in non-traditional assets and portfolio risk management.

Other leaders from the local industry will include: Elias Masilela, head of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC); Anne Cabot-Alletzhauser, head of the Alexander Forbes Research Institute; Mike Brown, head of ETF SA and Nerina Visser, head: Beta Solutions, Nedbank Capital. SIM's MD Armien Tyer, investment strategist, Alex Pestana and Helena Conradie will also participate in discussions.

Insights

According to Alex Pestana, China's demand for the continent's commodities is a major factor in the steadily increasing interest in Africa as an investment destination. "China sees opportunities in Africa, where many Western economies in the past only saw risk. Africa offers unexplored territory, and therefore good growth opportunities. China, for example, is showing much interest in Africa's arable land." He says SIM's favourite African economies include Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. "Nigeria in particular is very vibrant and the process of democratisation is paying off."

Conradie says a second important topic is the modernisation of the pension scheme in South Africa. "If the national pension scheme doesn't succeed, every person in the country will be affected in some way. The conference offers the platform for discussion on new ideas in the pension market, including product innovation."

For more, go to 2nd Annual African Cup of Investment Management