Bifm sees upsurge in retail investor activity
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday May 1, 2023 06:00
Retail investors, the term used for individuals as opposed to institutions or corporates, have traditionally under-participated in the local investment market, due to factors such as cost, financial literacy, and other accessibility issues.
Bifm, which had assets under management of P38.5 billion by December 2022, recently opened an office in Francistown, its first foray outside Gaborone since it was established in 1975.
“Our expansion to Francistown is in alignment with our retail growth aspiration and we believe it will strengthen our relationship with Batswana further from here on,” Bifm’s CEO, Clair Mathe-Lisenda told BusinessWeek. “The Botswana investment market is currently dominated by institutional and corporate clientele, with lower active participation by retail clientele. “Over the years, Bifm has embarked on many financial literacy initiatives and we have observed, though slight, positive changes in behaviour as it pertains to personal finances.”
According to Mathe-Lisenda, the asset manager aims to provide individuals who have the ability and willingness, the opportunity to participate and enjoy the benefits of investment markets. This, she said, is done through pooled investment vehicles.
“Examples of these include the kids’ funds that Bifm launched in 2020, which are the Letlotlo Education Fund and Ya Masa Junior Fund, and were aimed at empowering parents and their little ones to prepare for the future. “Another example is the Bifm Global Sustainable Growth Fund which is perfect for the investor with a higher risk appetite and an interest in investing in international markets. “All these are available to investors at affordable monthly investment amounts,” she said.
Mathe-Lisenda said Bifm had made deliberate interventions over the years to improve and boost retail investors’ access to products and opportunities in the market. One of these is the unit trust division, which by December 2022 had assets worth P1.8 billion, according to recently published financial statements.
“We aim to eliminate those very constraints and make our products accessible to the ordinary Motswana, and our information simple and easily consumable by the layman,” she said. “Our unit trust funds start from as little as P200 per month and are completely transparent. “We make our retail investor’s investment journey a learning journey too – we engage with our investors through various platforms such as social media, where we demystify investment concepts and keep our investors abreast of investment and economic matters of interest.”
Other opportunities for retail investors are set to emerge from the updating of the Botswana Stock Exchange’s (BSE) Central Securities Depository, the subsidiary that performs the settlement function for trades done on the exchange.
BSE head of clearing and settlement, Masego Pheto-Lentswe said updates were being made to the Central Securities Depository (CSD) that would enhance accessibility for retail investors.
“This new system comes through with enhanced modules and one that we are looking forward to rolling out is the retail investor module, which will allow the investor to have access to their account, see their balances, run their statements and modify account details,” she told a national webinar on Wednesday. “Hopefully, this module will be rolled out at the end of May.”
Pheto-Lentswe added that the planned migration of government bonds and the related ecosystem to the CSD would also benefit retail investors.