Sanlam

History

The Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Trust en Assuransie Maatskappij Beperk (South African National Trust and Assurance Company Limited), Santam, was registered on 28 March 1918. It was then decided to convert the life assurance department into a separate company, and the Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Lewens Assuransie Maatskappij Beperk (South African National Life Assurance Company Limited), Sanlam, was registered on 8 June 1918. Sanlam, the subsidiary, later became the spearhead of the operation, while Santam remained focused on short-term insurance.

Sanlam showed a small profit at the end of its first year, declared a bonus, and continued to grow consistently from there.

Santam remained the controlling shareholder until 1954 when Sanlam became an independent mutual life assurance company, as well as the largest single shareholder in Santam.

Over the years, Sanlam's focus gradually shifted from traditional life insurance to providing a broader range of financial products and services. In 1998 Sanlam demutualised, listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Ltd and the Namibian Stock Exchange. This changed Sanlam from a mutual entity into a public company with a share capital, namely Sanlam Life Insurance Ltd. At the same time a separate company, Sanlam Ltd, was installed as the parent company of the Sanlam group of businesses. The group was also restructured into several independent businesses within a federal business structure.

Today, Sanlam is a diversified financial services provider with an extensive product offering catering for all market segments. The group has consistently grown its local as well as an international footprint – it now has a presence in 12 African countries outside South Africa, India, Malaysia, the UK and Ireland, the USA, Australia and the Philippines.

In mid-January 2017, a 20-year-old controversy involving Sanlam resurfaced due to a preliminary report compiled by Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Public Protector of South Africa. Mkhwebane's report is based on the 1997–1999 Ciex investigation, according to which Sanlam stole state funds during the Apartheid era in a multilayered transaction that included Absa, Rembrandt (Richmont), Nedbank and the First National Bank of South Africa. The Ciex investigation summary claims Sanlam should pay R3.8 billion for its role in the illegal transaction.

Economic Empowerment

Sanlam has since 1993 focused on empowering a broad base of South Africans. It has contributed to broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) through the group’s partnership with Ubuntu-Botho Investments, numerous empowerment deals via a range of initiatives, Sanlam Sky Solutions (which is focused on creating access to financial services at the lower end of the market), and initiatives run by the Sanlam Foundation. Further economic value is added through procurement of services and enterprise development initiatives.

The Ubuntu-Botho B-BBEE partnership resulted in a broad-based black empowerment consortium buying a 10% shareholding in Sanlam in what was to become one of the most far-reaching black empowerment transactions in South Africa to date. The deal brought together various stakeholders that would empower people, organisations and small businesses at even the most rural level, through access to capital and business expertise.

In December 2013, the initial 10-year contractual period of the transaction with Ubuntu-Botho ended, with a final total of 66.5 million deferred shares qualifying for conversion to ordinary shares. The deal created value of about R15 billion, making it arguably one of the most successful transactions of its kind in South African history. In 2014, an agreement was reached to extend the partnership with Ubuntu-Botho into the future.

Operations

The corporate office of the Sanlam Group is responsible for centralised functions that include strategic direction, group financial and risk management, group marketing and communications, group human resources and information technology, group sustainability management, corporate social investment and general group services.

In addition, the Sanlam group operations are managed through five operating clusters:

Sanlam Personal Finance

Sanlam Emerging Markets

Sanlam Investments

Sanlam Corporate

Santam

The core businesses within each cluster are as follows (wholly owned unless otherwise indicated):

Sanlam Personal Finance

Sanlam Sky Solutions: Financial services for individuals and groups in the entry-level market

Sanlam Individual Life: Financial services to the middle-income, professional and business-owner markets

Glacier: Financial services for the affluent market

Strategic business development consists of the following diversified financial services: Sanlam Trust (estate and trust services), Multi-Data (electronic money-transfer activities), Sanlam Healthcare Management (medical scheme administration services), Sanlam Personal Loans (70%) (personal loans joint venture), Reality (loyalty programme) and Anglo African Finance (55%) (trade and bridging finance).

Sanlam Emerging Markets

Retail and group life insurance and related business:

Botswana Life, Botswana – 60% via Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL)

Sanlam Life, Namibia – 100%

Sanlam Namibia Holdings, Namibia – 59%

NICO Life, Malawi – 62%

Pan Africa Life, Kenya – 56% via Pan Africa Insurance Holdings (PAIH)

Sanlam Life Insurance, Tanzania – 64%

African Life, Zambia – 70%

Enterprise Life Assurance, Ghana – 49%

Sanlam Life Insurance, Uganda – 100%

FBN Insurance, Nigeria – 35%

Shriram Life Insurance, India – 20% via Shriram Capital

Soras Vie, Rwanda – 63% via Soras Group

MCIS Insurance, Malaysia – 51%

Sanlam Life Insurance, Mozambique – 51%

Credit and banking:

Letshego, operating in a number of African countries – 14% via BIHL

NBS Bank, Malawi – 13% via NICO Holdings

Shriram Transport Finance Company, India 10% (3% direct and 7% via Shriram Capital)

Shriram City Union Finance – 9% via Shriram Capital

Investment management:

Pan Africa Asset Management, Kenya – 56% via PAIH

Sanlam Investments, Namibia – 86%

Botswana Insurance Fund Management – 60% via BIHL

General insurance: Jointly responsible in partnership with Santam for managing general insurance business through:

NICO Malawi – 62% (direct 49% and 13% indirect via NICO Holdings)

Sanlam General Insurance Tanzania – 52% (direct 47% and 5% indirect via NICO Holdings)

Sanlam General Insurance Uganda – 84%(direct 79%and 5% indirect via NICO Holdings)

NICO Zambia – 62% (direct 49% and 13% indirect via NICO Holdings)

Shriram General Insurance, India – 20% via Shriram Capital

Pacific & Orient, Malaysia – 49%

Legal Guard, Botswana – 60% via BIHL

Soras AG, Rwanda – 63% via Soras Group

Santam Namibia – 37%

Enterprise Insurance, Ghana – 40%

Gateway, Kenya – 56%

FBN Insurance, Nigeria – 35%

Asset management

Sanlam Investment Management (SIM) – manages institutional portfolios and retail collective investment (unit trust) funds

Sanlam Structured Solutions – structured products

Multi-Management

Sanlam Multi Manager International (SMMI) – investment management advisory business

Alternative Investments

Blue Ink – hedge fund manager focusing on both the local and global investment markets

Sanlam Alternative Investments – focuses on the compounding of positive investment returns coupled with downside protection strategies to generate wealth for retail and institutional clients

Sanlam Africa Investments – with a presence in 13 African countries, Sanlam Africa Investments enables investors to capitalise on African growth opportunities by successfully sourcing and managing investments across a range of asset classes

Passive Investments

Satrix- offers investors easy, cost effective access to the markets through a wide range of passively managed investment products

Capital Management:

Capital management – manages portions of Sanlam's third-party and policyholders' funds

Sanlam Capital Markets (SCM)

Sanlam Private Equity (SPE)

Employee Benefits

Sanlam Employee Benefits – Provides risk and investment solutions administration services to institutions and retirement funds

Sanlam Group Risk

Sanlam Structured Solutions (SSS)

Sanlam Umbrella Solutions (SUS)

Sanlam Retirement Fund Administration (RFA)

Simeka Consultants and Actuaries

Wealth Management

Sanlam Private Wealth (SPW) – Private client wealth management and stockbroking

Calibre Investments – 50.1% – Australian investment management

Sanlam Private Investments UK – 97% – UK private wealth management and stockbroking

Summit Trust – 65% – International independent trust services group in Switzerland

Investment Advisory Services and Fiduciary and Tax services

International Investments

Sanlam International Investment Partners – manages established partnerships with specialist investment management firms abroad

SIM Global – manages long-only specialist international equity funds

Sanlam Asset Management Ireland (SAMI) – Sanlam's international investment management platform in Dublin managing funds domiciled in Ireland

Sanlam UK – wealth management player in retail financial services in the United Kingdom, comprising Sanlam Investments and Pensions, Sanlam Distribution, Sanlam Private Wealth and Investment Management

P2 International – International Mutual Fund Administration Investment services

Sanlam Collective Investments – retail, multi-managed, institutional and third-party collective investment (unit trust) funds

Sanlam Corporate

Sanlam Corporate offers corporate clients a comprehensive employee benefits solution, including life, health and general insurance, financial planning and advice.

Santam

Sanlam has an effective 60% interest in Santam, which in turn operates through the following businesses:

Santam Insurance – traditional and specialist lines intermediated business

MiWay and Centriq– short-term insurance solutions to clients through a direct distribution channel

Santam Re – reinsurance in emerging markets

Senior management

Ian Kirk, Group Chief Executive, Sanlam Group

Kobus Möller, Financial Director, Sanlam Group

Themba Gamedze, Chief Executive, Strategic Projects

Temba Mvusi, Chief Executive, Group Market Development

Hubert Brody, Chief Executive, Sanlam Personal Finance, and Group Strategy and Projects

Robert Roux, Chief Executive, Sanlam Investments

Junior John Ngulube, Chief Executive, Sanlam Corporate

Yegs Ramiah, Chief Executive, Sanlam Brand

Heinie Werth, Chief Executive, Sanlam Emerging Markets

Lizé Lambrechts, Chief Executive, Santam

Anton Gildenhuys, Chief Actuary and Group Risk Officer

Recent news

For the six months to June 2015, Sanlam reported an increase in new business volumes of 22% to R100 billion compared to the same period in 2014. The net result from financial services increased by 5% on the first half of 2014; up 11% excluding certain one-off items. The annualised Return on Group Equity Value (RoGEV) per share of 13% exceeded the target of 12.1%. RoGEV is the group's primary performance target for measuring shareholder value creation.

Ian Kirk was appointed as Group Chief Executive and Executive Director of Sanlam Limited and Sanlam Life Insurance Limited from 1 July 2015. This follows the retirement of former Group Chief Executive Dr Johan van Zyl from this position, as well as from the boards of Sanlam Limited and Sanlam Life Insurance Ltd.

In November 2015 Sanlam announced that the group had agreed to buy a 30 percent stake in Morocco-based Saham Finances, which operates in 26 countries predominantly across Africa with a presence in the Middle East. The US$375 million deal will significantly expand the group's African footprint.

Former CEO, Dr Johan van Zyl, joined the Sanlam Limited and Sanlam Life Insurance Limited Boards as a non-executive director and representative of Ubuntu-Botho Investment Holdings, Sanlam's black economic empowerment partner as of 18 January 2016.

A new business cluster known as Sanlam Corporate was created early in 2016. The unit will be headed by the former CEO of Munich Re sub-Saharan Africa, Junior John Ngulube and will offer corporate clients a holistic solution including life insurance, general insurance, investments, health insurance, retirement, financial planning and advice.