WEALTH WATCH
STEPHEN CRANSTON: Bold steps needed to catapult BEE managers into the spotlight
There was a predictable reaction to the launch of the 27four annual black asset management survey last week: change has been too limited, and trustees and consultants are to blame. In fact, there have been some achievements. It might not seem much that 9% of industry assets totalling R416bn is managed by black firms. But in the 1990s wave of new black managers, the share peaked at about 2.5%. There is always a high attrition rate among boutique managers, black or white. The trustees’ duty is to get maximum return at appropriate risk for members. Fiduciary duties do not extend to supporting already well-paid fund managers. At the survey launch, a speaker suggested it was time for most trustees to be replaced with more radical types. But the real enemy is apathy: not a single black person or any women stood for a trustee position at our pension fund. Some businesses have still grown to what might be considered critical mass. Taquanta, one of the few survivors of the 1990s boom, has R1...
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