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Cape Town - Investec Bank’s Structured Products division has scooped the Best Distributor in Africa award at the 2016 Europe Structured Products & Derivatives conference held in London last week.
According to Investec, the accolade marks the rise of alternative investments as South African investors seek innovative means of gaining offshore exposure, while maintaining a healthy risk-reward ratio.
Speaking on the panel discussion that explored South Africa as a new frontier market for alternative investment products, Brian McMillan, Investec Structured Products’ head of retail sales, said, while the South African market is still well behind Europe and the UK in terms of acceptance and understanding of structured products, the market in South Africa lends itself very well to the delivery of structured products. Particularly to the provision of offshore exposure to international markets in foreign currency.
The Best Distributor in Africa category is judged on annual sales and performance figures over the past year. With South Africans, in particular, hard hit by currency instability and constrained growth prospects, the multi faceted benefits of structured products have drawn attention from investors, according to Investec.
Pending regulatory changes, including Twin Peaks and the Retail Distribution Review in South Africa will require independent financial advisers (IFA) to further enhance their knowledge and understanding of structured products - a move that McMillan believes will increase awareness and ultimately, strengthen the advancement of the industry.
“The challenge and opportunity remains one of improving product awareness amongst the investment community; in a country dominated by the unit trust industry,” he said.
