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Asset Management

Passionate about performance, realistic about returns and risk.

Knowledge is power. Read our latest issue of the Rationalist here.

No matter how tough the prevailing climate, hard work and preparation will always be rewarded.


At the forefront of a discerning investor landscape, you’ll find NFB Asset Management blazing a trail with every investment decision.

Launched in 2005, we are a leading independent provider of local and offshore, single manager and multi-manager funds.

Guided by insight, rationalised by research and supported by rigorous due diligence, our team of expert asset managers help clients to navigate long-term investment success by leveraging current market opportunities.

Our Investment Philosophy


At NFB AM, we are long-term investors committed to the belief that returns are achieved, primarily, through asset allocation. Asset allocation is not done through optimisation, back-testing, competitor evaluation or predicting the future (forecasting).

Instead, asset allocation is done on the basis of three key beliefs: that markets are irrational, that they are mean-reverting and that this knowledge can be used to client advantage.

What makes us exceptional at what we do?

 

Asset management is our core competency. It’s what we know best because it’s all we do. As highly-focused specialists, our return stream proves that we’re remarkably good at asset allocation decisions.

We know that performance is a result of the choices we’ve made, which is why our decisions are implemented hyper-effectively as a result of our solid asset allocation and manager selection processes.

We follow a unique investment process because we don’t believe in forecasting, back testing or optimisation. Our investment decisions are based on the current market environment.

Access to our dedicated specialist team comes at a highly competitive fee, along with the immeasurable value of the extensive resources, expertise and experience available to clients across the wider NVest Financial Holdings Group.

Markets go up and markets go down. The secret to long-term financial success is having a solid investment strategy, and sticking to it.

 

We actively identify opportunities or risks in prevailing market conditions to help our investors meet their strategic needs over time, using meaningful industry insights and a rigorous risk management process.

 

Our Portfolios

Single Manager Funds

Wealth preservation is an essential part of wealth creation. With this in mind, we make asset allocation decisions in order to consistently achieve inflation-beating returns while reducing risk.

We put these decisions into action using low-cost, passive investment instruments that provide investors with clean exposure to local asset classes such as cash, bonds, property and equities.

Asset allocation decisions can be extended to include global asset classes for the NFB Ci Stable and Managed Funds, while the NFB Global Balanced Fund of Funds is offered as an offshore-only proposition.

Multi Manager Funds

Our multi manager portfolios are available in local and global formats. These funds make use of an ideal blend of four or five talented investment managers to attain a predefined risk objective. Such portfolios may, where appropriate, include NFB funds.

We select investment managers by undertaking a rigorous due diligence and operational investigation. Making use of both quantitative and qualitative measures to assess their capabilities, the outcome ensures that we offer investors access to leading investment managers. Such portfolios are monitored constantly over the long term, and the asset allocation is robustly maintained to ensure that we continue to meet the risk objectives.

Minimum Disclosure Documents

LATEST CHART BOOK

How we work with
financial advisors

As an accredited Category II Financial Services Provider, we are a reputable asset management powerhouse for financial advisors. Our unique positioning within a financial advisory business group gives our team a realistic understanding of what financial advisors want -  the ability to plug into robust asset management capabilities with support from a dedicated team of accessible specialists.

From a practical perspective, we have the capital reserves, key man insurance and operational abilities to leverage, as well as an exemplary track record in handling the increasingly onerous administration, trading, reporting and compliance responsibilities, so you don’t have to.

Our asset management capabilities can be selectively tailored to your needs as an independent financial advisor through model portfolio arrangements, fund of fund structures or other suitable vehicles that will empower you to deliver a class-leading client experience.

By collaborating with NFB AM, you can tap directly into strategic relationships built over 39 years, gaining insider access to our preferential pricing agreements for the benefit of your client, enjoying the kind of scale usually only enjoyed by larger corporates.

 

Partner with us

 

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Our Team

Leadership

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."
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The Team

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."

Paul Marais

Managing Director and Portfolio Manager
"The privilege of being entrusted with our investors’ capital is exactly that: a privilege, to be treated with all the dignity; respect and humility it deserves."
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Awards

As a team we are grateful and proud of the awards our funds have won over the past few years:

  • NFB Ci Stable Fund (previously known as the NFB Ci Cautious Fund of Funds) won a Raging Bull Certificate for Best South African Multi-Asset Low Equity Fund at the Raging Bull Awards for the third time in a row. The fund also won a Morningstar Award in 2018 for the Best Cautious Allocation Fund and is nominated again for the same Award this year.
  • NFB Ci Managed Fund (previously known for the NFB Ci Balanced Fund of Funds) won the Morningstar Award for Best Moderate Allocation Fund for the second time in a row and was previously nominated for the same category back in 2017.
  • NFB Asset Management won the Morningstar Award for the Best Fund House: Smaller Fund Range for this first time this year.
 

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