Driving investment decision making by creating effective and efficient investment processes, evaluating potential investment opportunities and implementing investment strategies that are in line with the philosophy and objectives of the respective investment portfolios Providing leadership, insight & direction to investment teams including portfolio management, investment strategists, investment specialists, asset managers and research analystsEnsuring adequate economic, asset class, sector and individual company & security research is carried out for informed decision making with clear understanding of strategy, financials, operations and valuations Driving client engagement, recommendations, portfolio construction, on-going management & reviewsDriving the growth of assets under management and assets under administration for the various investment business units within my area and the broader groupEnsuring effective and efficient execution of trades on managed discretionary private client portfolios by designing and implementing a well documented, robust trading process with risk mitigation pre- and post-trade checks and procedures Supporting financial services provision, product development, advisory & distribution channels including stockbroking, wealth management, structured investment solutions, private banking, trust services, family office, registered financial advisors, product supply agents and linked investment service providers Media engagement, market and economic commentary, technical marketing, investment content & collateral Stakeholder engagement, identifying problems, designing solutions, executing and project management across multiple disciplines and functions

Heading up the Research, Asset Allocation & Investment Strategy desk at Absa Global Investment Solutions, for Absa’s retail investmentsSetting Strategic Asset Allocation and monthly Tactical Asset Allocation reviews Conducting local and global research on market trends and conditions across all asset classes; listed equities, property, fixed-income securities and alternatives Writing quarterly statements, monthly publications and event-driven high quality reports & presentations on houseview market & economic outlook Gathering data, performing statistical, quantitative & fundamental analysis; and building market & economic forecasts Designing, monitoring and performance analysis of modelled and client portfolios on a regular and ad hoc basis

Managed the top-line and bottom-line profit & loss of the business leveraging actuarial and business analyticsDeveloped a customer lifetime value approach to writing new business in order to maximise the value of the business by maximising return on investment. This was achieved by optimizing leads, increasing revenue, managing expenses and achieving an efficient business mix between upfront and annuity premiumsBuilt financial models and business cases with scenario generations on income statement to understand financial impact and levers of income; highlighting salient factors and other non-quantifiable factors and risksEntrenched a robust modelling process, with a strong model repertoire and implemented solutions to real business problemsEffectively collaborated with actuarial pricing, product owners, distribution, underwriting, reserving, capital modeling and the rest of business to achieve positive, profitable and sustainable business outcomes and working cultureSupported the development and maintenance of the actuarial control cycle for all models within my scope; problem identification, design solution, implement and enhance the monitoring reports appropriate for each productCommunicated effectively and managed stakeholder expectations at all times, producing high quality reports and presentations appropriate for intended audience

Developed, maintained and controlled pricing structures ensuring that key underwriting/financial metrics were achieved Applied the control cycle for all actuarial work: collect & analyse, build pricing models, implement, test, monitor and refine Monitored trends and advised business accordingly: contributing to strategy and implementing solutions Financial modelling, forecasting and budgeting Built models to profit test new products as well as changes to existing products Developed business cases for new business ventures