Nedgroup Investments, one of the leading asset managers in South Africa with approximately R420 billion in assets under management, is proud to announce the launch of the Nedgroup Investments Multi-Managed Future Focus Equity Fund. This is a pure South African listed equity unit trust fund designed to maximise long-term capital growth, while prioritising transformation and sustainability. With this fund, Nedgroup Investments aims to show its backing for transformed boutique asset managers with a strong focus on diversity, as well as demonstrate that incorporating sustainability into the investment process does not come at a cost to investment performance.
“In partnership with our chosen fund managers, we have constructed an equity unit trust fund to provide a well-diversified portfolio that is both aligned to some key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leverages off the Nedgroup Investments Responsible Investment Framework. We believe that the fund will address the needs of South African investors seeking more transformed, inclusive, and sustainable investment solutions, benefiting both present and future generations,” says Trevor Garvin, Head of Multi-Manager at Nedgroup Investments.
The fund was launched on 31 January 2025 and seeded with approximately R300 million. Nedgroup Investments hopes to attract investors looking to support a group of fund managers who they believe will be successful in the decades ahead and display the characteristics of ‘future focused’ managers.
This fund is managed by three leading South African asset managers, each managing an equally weighted segregated mandate that is bespoke and exclusive to Nedgroup Investments. Only through this fund will investors be able to access these specific mandates from these fund managers. The selected fund managers are Aeon Investment Management, Camissa Asset Management and Perpetua Investment Managers.
All three of the chosen fund managers have majority black ownership, are well transformed at board and executive management levels through gender inclusion and have diverse senior investment teams and portfolio managers. Furthermore, all three fund managers incorporate ESG principles into their investment processes, while focusing on a valuation-based approach for stock selection.
The managers will not apply an exclusionary approach, therefore enabling them to have a full universe of potential stocks to pick from. “Our focus is on promoting diversity and reducing social inequalities, while also committing to investing in corporates taking climate action over the longer term. We will monitor the fund and report specifically on two of the United Nations SDGs – namely that of Social Equity and Climate Change. It was therefore important to ensure that ESG principles were properly integrated into the investment process and blend well to improve investment outcomes for our investors,” explains Garvin.
The Nedgroup Investments Multi-Manager team have over 20 years’ experience managing risk profiled solutions, with a strong and proven investment track record and robust fund selection process. “We tend to select fund managers who consistently prove their investment excellence, have an ability to remain true to their investment
philosophies, insist on strong financial governance, are committed to building teams that show diversity in thought and understand that sustainability underpins better investment performance,” Garvin notes.
“Aeon, Camissa and Perpetua all reflect the values that we look for in our managers and reflect our DNA, and we are proud to have partnered with them to deliver this investment solution to the market. We remain committed to maximising capital growth over a 5-7 year investment horizon, with each fund manager contributing their unique investment style to build a well-diversified and high-performing portfolio,” Garvin concludes.
The Nedgroup Investments Multi-Manager team, who oversee approximately R40 billion in a range of both domestic and global fund mandates, will continue to employ a robust monitoring and compliance process across the fund. All investment decisions will be based on comprehensive research and analysis to mitigate potential risks and ensure stable performance for investors over the long-term.