Satrix announce new leadership

Brett Landman

SI has fully owned Satrix Managers, the CIS management company and issuer of the current Satrix exchange traded fund (ETF) range, since mid-2012. SI has merged Satrix with its existing passive investment management business, sim.smartcore, to form a new combined business branded "Satrix".

Thomas van Heerden has been appointed CEO of the new combined Satrix business. Van Heerden is a stalwart of Sanlam's investments businesses while its chief investment officer, Helena Conradie, is a pioneer in South Africa's passive investments space and long-standing Sanlam investment team member. Satrix Managers CEO, Brett Landman, remains the executive head of the CIS management company and takes on the new designation of MD.

Satrix offers index trackers and enhanced index trackers. It currently has R32 billion assets under management, of which R13 billion are exchange traded funds.

A strategic imperative for growth

SI CEO Johan van der Merwe said that Sanlam considers passive investments a strategic imperative for growth in its investment business. "The new management team is well placed to grow our offering into a solution that greatly benefits both retail and institutional investors. Our plan is to make ourselves even more accessible to retail investors by launching equivalents of certain of our exchange traded funds as unit trusts, to allow consumers to buy them on linked investment service providers (LISPS). At the same time, we plan to launch a balanced ETF, a momentum equity product, as well as a number of international products."

Van der Merwe said he was excited by the calibre of the new team at the Satrix helm. "Thomas van Heerden has been a vital cog in the Sanlam Investments' leadership team for more than a decade. He joined us in 2002 and was appointed head of investment operations for Sanlam Investment Management (SIM) three years later. He will retain this role as well as running Satrix."

"On the investment side, we believe it is highly advantageous that the same team that has been managing the Satrixfunds since inception remains in place under Helena Conradie's guidance. Helena is a highly gifted investment mind who has innovatively steered SIM's quants and core satellite businesses to achieve stand-out results. Her sim.smartcore business has led the field in passive investments for many years and we feel sure she will continue her successes at Satrix."

He continued that the retention of Brett Landman, who has over five years' experience as head of Satrix Managers, is of enormous benefit to the new expanded operation. "We are delighted to have Brett's extensive experience in the ETF space in the Sanlam fold."

Van der Merwe said that statistics have proven that most active managers struggle to outperform the market over the long term. "Given that the fees associated with passive investments are that much lower than active managers, we know there is definitely a place for passive managers. What is more, as we continue to see low real returns on asset classes, fees will remain a big issue and will support the appetite for passive products.

"There are a number of catalysts as to why more investors will include passive products as a part of their portfolio to optimise their returns. Given the strength of our team and our plans ahead, we are very ready to capitalise on this."