Johannesburg – Zamani Letjane has come a long way from working in the human resources office of construction group Murray and Roberts in the 1980s, to running the country’s only sizeable black-owned retirement funds administrator, Akani.
Akani’s operations include property management, investment administration and beneficiary fund management, among other services.
Akani Retirement Fund Administrators is now the country’s largest black-owned and managed retirement fund administrator with R26-billion assets under its management.
Letjane said it has been his lifework to disrupt the white-dominated industry.
“I am proud that we have managed to create a billion rand every year for the past 20 years in wealth for our clients. This is wealth in black hands. This is still a predominantly white-dominated industry. Other black firms who tried to play in this space did not survive for long,” he said.
Akani was initially set up in 2001 as a black economic empowerment initiative to take advantage of opportunities at the time.
However, the business has evolved into a fully-fledged financial services business with a track record and experience that rivals larger players.
“We feel emboldened and ready to compete with large players,” added Letjane.
The pension funds industry underwent significant changes in March with the introduction of a new regulatory regime.
Chief among the changes is retirement reforms that came into effect at the beginning of March, which require provident fund members to purchase an annuity at retirement, as well as proposed amendments to Regulation 28, which governs the allocation of assets by retirement funds and enable higher investment by pension funds in infrastructure.
Letjane said: “These industry changes present exciting opportunities for agile players with foresight, and we believe we are well poised for the dynamic changes and the future they represent.”
In a historic win for the chemical workers in the retirement fund industry, judge J Vally of the Joburg High Court in August last year dismissed with costs the NBC Holdings application to hold on to the lucrative R6-billion Chemical Industries National Provident Fund – which it has administered for the past 21 years – paving the way for Akani to take over the administration of the fund.
Last week, Akani Properties said it will invest more than R600-million in new shopping mall developments and refurbishments in anticipation of a post-Covid-19 economic recovery in the next 12 to 18 months.
Letjane said the company has borne fruit in investing in smaller shopping complexes.
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