(Ecofin Agency) – Present on the South African market, the American BlackRock, presented as one of the largest asset managers in the world, and the South African financial holding company, Discovery, have launched Cogence, an entity which aims at “Improving the Wealth Creation Activity in South Africa”.
The South African financial services group, Discovery Group, announced on Tuesday August 23, the launch of Cogence, its new discretionary fund management company focused on the South African market. The entity set up with the assistance of the American asset manager, BlackRock, is a company whose clients are mainly financial advisers, but which also has the possibility of buying and selling investments in complete discretion.
“Cogence combines Discovery’s investment expertise with BlackRock’s deep asset management knowledge to help local financial advisors try to achieve better investment results for their clients,” said Discovery Group.
Financial advisors will also be able to access Aladdin Wealth’s technology which will provide them with a wide range of sophisticated analytical tools. These will help them have a better understanding of the risk factors in a client’s portfolio and make more informed investment decisions.
Presented as one of the largest asset managers in the world, BlackRock has already served the South African market for many years, through its diversified asset management solutions. By partnering with Discovery, it intends to offer new solutions in terms of asset allocation and the construction of complete portfolios.
Adrian Gore (pictured), managing director of Discovery Group, said the group’s entry into the discretionary fund management business was driven on the one hand by “the complexity of investment markets which pushes local investors to seek to invest more globally” and on the other by “the need to map all aspects of a financial plan to provide measures that take into account lifespan, health […] and help financial advisors make recommendations to their clients”.
According to Discovery, the asset management industry in South Africa is becoming more complex, and this trend is expected to continue making it increasingly difficult for financial advisers to manage their clients’ assets. Several factors such as more onerous regulations, the rapid growth of the mutual fund industry, currency volatility and the emergence of alternative asset classes contribute to this. Financial advisors then need solutions to simplify the asset management process and thereby reduce advice and compliance risk in their practice.
Chamberlain Moko