Making a Difference in Our Industry and Investors’ Lives
At Futuregrowth, we protect and grow investor savings through skill and diligence, while being a force for good in the markets and environments in which we operate.
The Evolution of Futuregrowth
Our story is inextricably linked to the story of the new South Africa. When millions of South Africans queued to cast their vote for the first time, countless communities and townships were in dire need of social and infrastructure development to make up for decades of neglect. The incoming government faced a daunting task.
Against this backdrop, Futuregrowth started in 1994 as an empowerment and developmental product within Southern Asset Management, with a small suite of investment funds focused on social development and empowerment. As such, it was the first socially-oriented fund to be launched in South Africa.
Our vision was to create a sustainable channel for pension funds to invest in national development and disadvantaged communities. Our reason to exist was to concurrently serve investors and play a meaningful role in South Africa’s transition into a successful post-apartheid nation.
We were outliers (one could say “disruptors”) at the time. Most of the investment community thought it would be impossible to make decent returns from “doing good”. There was a huge amount of nervousness around the risks of doing business with entities and individuals in areas that had previously been excluded from the mainstream apartheid economy.
With a great deal of courage, skill, creativity and diligence, the small Futuregrowth team was determined to prove the naysayers wrong.
First and foremost, clients’ pension fund money had to be managed safely and responsibly – and, where possible, make a positive difference to the lives of the clients and their families and serve the nation’s development.
In 1995 the Futuregrowth Structured Empowerment Fund was launched - one of the earliest initiatives by the private sector to facilitate the transfer of meaningful equity share ownership to black South Africans.
At this stage BEE equity funding was an unknown arena. Nonetheless, within 18 months of its inception the fund had attracted investor contributions of more than R1 billion (in 1995 money).
Just as the concept of BEE evolved, so did the nature of BEE investment and developmental finance models. And so did the style, offerings and attributes of asset managers evolve, with valuable learnings and wisdom gained along the way.
What We Offer Our Investors Today
The unswerving belief that it is an honour and a privilege to look after your savings. This is what we are here to do. This is the heart and soul of this business
A fiduciary mindset that means we have a duty of loyalty and a duty of care to our clients, even if this comes at a cost, because we are in the trust business. This trust has two key elements: our intentions and our delivery.
We have over 50 investment products that have been providing reliable, consistent returns – some of them for up to 25 years. This means we have built considerable institutional knowledge and experience, and a solid track record of performance across various sectors.
Scale and profitability: Today, we manage around R192 billion (US$11 billion*) of clients’ assets across a wide range of fixed interest, developmental and specialist funds, cementing our role as leaders in the asset management industry in South Africa.
*December 2022
Our longevity and track record in the industry have enabled us to build honest, direct and strong client relations, facilitating open collaborative conversations, problem solving, and a sharing of ideas. This enables us to remain relevant and build alternative value-adding offerings.
Throughout the years, our determination to protect and grow our investors’ savings has not wavered. This sense of purpose is based on our belief that investors can make a positive difference in society while earning sound investment performance. This has inspired us to pioneer development funds in sectors such as infrastructure, rural and township retail property, agriculture, renewable energy, and equity finance to innovative deals like low-income housing construction and tech start-ups.
We are reminded of our entrepreneurial DNA and trailblazing spirit, prompted by our desire to change SA and the lives of our clients for the better. We are in the process of revitalising that status and focussing energy on supporting “disruptive” businesses that have a promising future. These businesses have the potential to benefit many more of our citizens and are typically more affordable and accessible than their conventional counterparts. Our investments also provide the opportunity to spread South African ingenuity globally.
To further protect our clients’ interests, and as a responsible investor, we will continue to engage with our industry and investee companies on sustainability issues, hosting or participating in webinars on corporate governance, investor activism, reform of the energy sector, the country’s ailing fiscal position, whistleblowing and more. Futuregrowth is well known as a sustainable ethical business.
Our Shareholding Structure
*African Women Chartered Accountants Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd
Meet Our Team
Our team of investment professionals use their investment skills and experience to expertly manage the risks of investing in the capital markets, while targeting benchmark-beating returns for our investors.