New investment firm Altvest to list on Cape Town Stock Exchange
The private equity firm will allow retail investors to invest as little as R100 in private game farms, wine estates and high-end art
22 April 2022 - 21:02
by Katharine Child
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Altvest, a private equity firm that will allow retail investors to invest as little as R100 in private game farms, wine estates and high-end art, will list on the Cape Town Stock Exchange in May.
Altvest, was founded in part by investment banker Koshiek Karan, who has a huge social media following due to his humorous tweets and broadcasts that teach financial literacy and expose scams.
The new company is aimed at democratising investment in luxury-asset classes, usually reserved for the wealthy, in a “fully regulated environment”. Altvest will buy pricey assets such as art and luxury properties and sell fractional ownership of these, as more and more ordinary people turn to investing.
“We live in the most unequal society on the planet. Overlay an inept government, mass unemployment and suffocating costs of living — we’re the textbook case for a failing economy,” said the company’s executive chair Karan.
“The only way you can expect anyone to reasonably care about the economy is if they own a piece of it. Democratising private capital is more than the epitome of financial engineering, it’s real-world economic reform.”
Altvest follows the launch of the listed Purple Group’s highly successful Easy Equities platform in 2014 that has democratised investing for ordinary people who have a mobile phone.
Easy Equities popularised fractional share ownership, allowing people to own only part of a share and invest small amounts.
Altvest has not yet disclosed which assets it will be buying, but will do so after listing. The Cape Town Stock Exchange was originally launched as 4AX in 2016, and was rebranded and relaunched in October 2021.
While Altvest says it is democratising luxury investments, JSE retail investors can buy shares in Richemont, Johann Rupert’s luxury firm that owns brands including Chloé, Piaget, Mont Blanc, Cartier and Schaffhausen watches.
Altvest executive director Warren Wheatley is also a director of Lebashe, which owns Business Day’s parent company Arena Holdings.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
New investment firm Altvest to list on Cape Town Stock Exchange
The private equity firm will allow retail investors to invest as little as R100 in private game farms, wine estates and high-end art
Altvest, a private equity firm that will allow retail investors to invest as little as R100 in private game farms, wine estates and high-end art, will list on the Cape Town Stock Exchange in May.
Altvest, was founded in part by investment banker Koshiek Karan, who has a huge social media following due to his humorous tweets and broadcasts that teach financial literacy and expose scams.
The new company is aimed at democratising investment in luxury-asset classes, usually reserved for the wealthy, in a “fully regulated environment”. Altvest will buy pricey assets such as art and luxury properties and sell fractional ownership of these, as more and more ordinary people turn to investing.
“We live in the most unequal society on the planet. Overlay an inept government, mass unemployment and suffocating costs of living — we’re the textbook case for a failing economy,” said the company’s executive chair Karan.
“The only way you can expect anyone to reasonably care about the economy is if they own a piece of it. Democratising private capital is more than the epitome of financial engineering, it’s real-world economic reform.”
Altvest follows the launch of the listed Purple Group’s highly successful Easy Equities platform in 2014 that has democratised investing for ordinary people who have a mobile phone.
Easy Equities popularised fractional share ownership, allowing people to own only part of a share and invest small amounts.
Altvest has not yet disclosed which assets it will be buying, but will do so after listing. The Cape Town Stock Exchange was originally launched as 4AX in 2016, and was rebranded and relaunched in October 2021.
While Altvest says it is democratising luxury investments, JSE retail investors can buy shares in Richemont, Johann Rupert’s luxury firm that owns brands including Chloé, Piaget, Mont Blanc, Cartier and Schaffhausen watches.
Altvest executive director Warren Wheatley is also a director of Lebashe, which owns Business Day’s parent company Arena Holdings.
childk@businesslive.co.za
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