Sanlam dedicates profits to clients

SANLAM Namibia, a 0,9% shareholder in FNB Namibia, has dedicated its profits from investments to its clients.

Sanlam Namibia, which builds its wealth by collecting the savings of ordinary citizens and investing them in ventures that show healthy financial returns, has pocketed close to N$2,5 million this year.

The life assurance company’s general manager for public and corporate support, Evans Simataa, said the company’s immediate priority as a business is for this capital to be sufficient to cover payments to its members as their policies mature, whether on retirement, disability, accident or death.

“This is not Sanlam’s direct holding but rather shareholding on behalf of Sanlam’s policy holders, pension fund clients and other institutional clients,” he said, adding that the returns on FNB’s performance (as in this case the dividends on FNB shares) belong to the clients.

“The returns flowing to these portfolios are given through to the policyholders and will be paid to them once their policies/investments mature. The returns are passed back onto our clients’ portfolios, which effectively means their policy values or investments increase,” he further stated Sanlam Namibia has a diversified portfolio of shares in various companies, all held on behalf of and for the benefit of policyholders. According to Simataa, Sanlam – on behalf of its clients, through the Namibian Stock Exchange – invests in all primary-listed companies in Namibia as well as most of the top 40 shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

“The long-term strategy of the business, however, is to build the nation, for as the nation’s wealth grows, so does the pool of savings that can fund Sanlam Namibia’s continued growth as a profitable financial services business,” Simataa told The Namibian.

Even though Sanlam’s client portfolios can vary from very conservative (only cash instruments are held) to aggressive (a mix of instruments and shares), Simataa, who is aware of the pace of change that continues in the commercial world, said Sanlam searches constantly for new ways to provide their clients with better options.

“We do all this with the best interests of our clients in mind. We also take cognisance of the fact that the one thing above all else that successful businesses do, is to add value so that their clients keep coming back for more,” said Simataa, revealing that at Sanlam, they strongly believe that giving their clients something they really want can be a powerful asset for their business.