Cape Town - Sanlam Private Wealth (SPW) has opened its first office in Africa outside South Africa.
Sanlam Private Wealth Mauritius is a crucial building block in the expansion of Sanlam Private Wealth Africa.
SPW Africa will follow the 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 is also consistent with the Sanlam Group’s international strategy, which primarily focuses on emerging markets.
“Through our Mauritian operations, private clients in African countries will now have access to a range of international investment and wealth management solutions,” said Kriel. 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.
Kriel 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.”
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