Investec To Demerge Asset Manager Arm

Tom Burroughes

18 September 2018

is being listed on London’s AIM market and demerged from the Specialist Banking and wealth businesses after executives decided there were limited benefits between these organisations.

IAM will be publically listed, while the Investec Specialist Banking and Investec Wealth and Investment businesses will remain part of Investec’s current dual-listed companies structure.

The move will see the listing of an organisation that held £109 billion ($143.4 billion) of assets under management as at 31 August, seeing it grow AuM at an annual compound rate of 13.7 per cent over the past 10 financial years. IAM’s principal offices are in London, Cape Town, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, Guernsey, Windhoek and Gaborone.

As far as the remaining parts of the group are concerned, “the strategy going forward is to drive improved returns through growing market share in its niche businesses, enhancing its digitalisation offering, attracting discretionary funds under management, implementing cost efficiency initiatives and driving further collaboration between the Specialist Banking and Wealth & Investment businesses”, the organisation said in a statement late last week.

Boardroom changes
After a management succession had been originally announced in February, Investec said its joint chief executive designates, Fani Titi and Hendrik du Toit, become joint CEOs on 1 October. Once the IAM listing is completed, Titi will lead the remaining group and du Toit will lead IAM.

Kim McFarland will also become an executive director of the group board on that date, while Ciaran Whelan will assume his role as global head of risk on 1 April next year.

Stephen Koseff and Bernard Kantor will step down as CEO and managing director, respectively, on 1 October and from that date they will continue to serve as executive directors with primary responsibility for assisting the incoming joint CEOs until completion of the transaction.

The transaction needs to be approved by regulators, shareholders and other relevant parties and is expected to be completed within the next 12 months. Further details about the listing will be issued in due course, Investec added.