Mohalenyane Phakela
INSURANCE giant, Metropolitan Lesotho, has broadened its horizons through the establishment of an asset management company meant to cater for the different savings needs of Basotho.
The Metropolitan Asset Management Company is the latest offering from Metropolitan Lesotho, the country’s leading insurance and healthcare provider with almost half a century experience in the industry.
An asset management company (AMC) is a firm that invests pooled funds from clients, putting the capital to work through different investments including stocks, bonds, real estate, master limited partnerships, and more.
Along with high-net-worth individual (HNWI) portfolios, AMCs manage hedge funds and pension plans, and—to better serve smaller investors—create pooled structures such as mutual funds, index funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which they can manage in a single centralized portfolio.
AMCs are colloquially referred to as money managers or money management firms.
Metropolitan Lesotho’s managing director, Mamello Phomane, said her company sought to answer the different financial needs of Basotho hence its decision to launch its own AMC.
She told the Lesotho Times in an interview this week that the plan was for Metropolitan Lesotho to instil the notion of saving for rainy days among Basotho. She said her company’s AMC will offer a wide range of products from micro-savings for individuals under the Unit Trusts portfolio and large savings for businesses under the portfolio of Institutional Trusts.
Metropolitan Lesotho had been on a journey of exploring how best it could provide financial solutions to Basotho’s different needs.
“The key for us as a business is that we want to provide sound financial advice to our clients. Our goal is to provide adequate financial security to problems. We know that events that happen in our lives are uncertain and unexpected. Our goal is to help Basotho develop a culture of savings to empower them to resolve issues that may arise in their lives and requiring financial resources,” Ms Phomane said.
“We know that Basotho have evolving needs. We want to be able to be there for every life event. This business intends to provide solutions that are not necessarily provided by our life and health businesses. We want to be able to provide superior returns for Basotho investments and invest directly in the local market. We want to contribute to this country’s revenue growth matrix. The only way we can participate and enhance the economy is to have money circulating within the country.
“The Asset Management Company wants to provide a different solution to those we have provided before. We want to empower our clients to support the economic transformation of this country. One of the things we do not do as a community is to save for rainy days. We do not save adequately for events that happen in our lives. We tend to be short-term oriented; we want instant gratification. But experience teaches us that we must always prepare for rainy days by saving to finance unexpected events in our lives….” Ms Phomane said.
She said Metropolitan wanted to create a space where Basotho could understand the value of investments and how they can grow their money and take advantage of compound interest.
“We have various products for businesses and individuals. Aside from the institutional products we already have, we are working on putting out in the market the Unit Trusts wherein individuals can invest.
“We have piloted with the institutional clients, and we will also introduce Unit Trusts to the retail market. We are still rolling out our product into the market.
“Unit Trusts are more short-term oriented. We have always provided long-term investments of a minimum of seven years. We are trying to offer a different solution to Basotho so Unit Trusts will be from three to five year investments.
“Our long-term vision is to be there for Basotho for all life solutions. The Asset Management Company will allow us to provide shorter and medium-term investments. It plays into our purpose as a business to provide solutions to different financial needs for Basotho,” Ms Phomane said.
