18 Years ago Tilman Friedrich and Mark Gustafsson walked out of Alexander Forbes after it bought out ailing Ginsburg, Malan and Carsons who operated in Namibia as United Pension Administrators (UPA). UPA started off in the mid 1980s as a small long-term brokerage to mutate over time to the largest Namibian fund administrator and consultant (excluding the GIPF of course), outpacing all its foreign competitors. UPA under the able hands of Charlotte Drayer in fact introduced private fund administration to Namibia when it took on the administration of the Ohlthaver & List Pension Fund and the Ohlthaver & List Provident Funds after its very bad experience with a South African broker and the SA insurer who was the underwriter of the fund at the time.
When Alexander Forbes took over UPA, the writing was on the wall for UPA’s Namibian management team. Its choice was between knuckling down and accepting that Alexander Forbes would have been virtually a monopoly in the private funds market or setting up a truly Namibian organisation that would offer a welcome alternative to the market.
The past 18 years have proven that the decision to establish RFS was the right decision at the right time. Today RFS is lagging its biggest competitor in the private funds administration market by a slim margin only. This would of course not have been possible without dedicated and loyal staff and without loyal clients!
To all our staff and to all our clients, we express our most sincere appreciation for your loyalty and support over the past 18 years! We look forward to continue our special relationship for many years to come!
Important notice and disclaimer
This article summarises the understanding, observation and notes of the author and lays no claim on accuracy, correctness or completeness. Retirement Fund Solutions Namibia (Pty) Ltd does not accept any liability for the content of this contribution and no decision should be taken on the basis of the information contained herein before having confirmed the detail with the relevant party. Any views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Retirement Fund Solutions.