Alexforbes, South Africa’s leading investments multi-manager, has announced its entrance into the R500 billion Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) market with the launch of ‘Investment Solutions by Alexforbes’.

Dawie de Villiers, CEO of Alexforbes, stated, ‘We are excited to introduce our DFM to independent financial advisers (IFAs), helping them to make the greatest impact on their clients’ financial journeys. IFA’s will have access to the same trusted investment advice and support capabilities currently used by South Africa’s most prominent investment consultants, corporates and retirement funds. These capabilities encompass South Africa’s leading comprehensive investment manager research process, offshore solutions facilitated by our partnership with Mercer, previously inaccessible investment classes through our private markets programme and specialised multi-managed investment portfolios.’

Over the past decade, DFMs have gained prominence, managing R500 billion in investments, with projections indicating further growth.

De Villiers emphasised, ‘Our experience is that top financial advisers excel in providing high quality advice to their clients. The rise of DFMs has allowed these advisers to focus on their strengths and collaborate with specialist providers who enhance their investment advice. This mirrors our approach at Alexforbes, where our consultants deliver the best advice and our investments multi-manager is dedicated to investment research, selection and solutioning. Entering this space with a distinctive offering for IFAs is a natural extension of our proven capabilities that already serve over R450 billion in assets under administration.’

Investment Solutions by Alexforbes is a new unit within Alexforbes. It is separate from the investments multi-manager and internal adviser team, to preserve independence, objectivity and confidence in the solutions provided to IFA’s. ‘We’ve chosen to reimagine the Investment Solutions brand for our DFM as it’s the best descriptor of what we offer to IFA’s and their clients – investment solutions backed up by the scale, experience and expertise of Alexforbes,’ explained de Villiers.

Leveraging institutional capabilities, Investment Solutions by Alexforbes provides IFAs access to previously inaccessible asset classes such as hedge funds, private markets and infrastructure investments. De Villiers highlighted, ‘These asset classes offer compelling diversification and performance opportunities, serving as building blocks for superior investment solutions. Offshore investing is another significant opportunity for IFAs to create value for clients, but the risks and complexities are numerous. Our partnership with Mercer, a global investment leader, equips IFAs via our DFM with world-class insights covering more than 11 000 global strategies to empower their advice.’

Alexforbes’s extensive expertise and proven track record in optimising adviser capabilities will also assist IFAs in achieving optimal outcomes for their clients, enabling them to concentrate on growth. The introduction of Investment Solutions by Alexforbes aligns with the group’s strategic objective of becoming a trusted partner to IFAs. This complements the acquisitions of OUTvest and TSA Administration to meet their requirements.

De Villiers concluded, ‘I encourage every IFA to consider Investment Solutions by Alexforbes as their partner in delivering exceptional advice and providing an outstanding investment destination for their clients.’