Accra, Ghana//-Stanbic Investment Management Services (SIMS), one of Ghana’s largest pension fund investment managers, has officially become the latest signatory to the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA) Industry Compact.
This move is a major boost to the Compact’s goal of significantly increasing the rate of Assets Under Management (AUM) allocations to alternative asset classes, with a particular focus on private equity and the real economy.
SIMS, a firm recognised for pioneering private equity investments using pension funds in Ghana, is throwing its considerable weight behind the industry-wide campaign.
The compact is designed to channel long-term institutional capital into local businesses to stimulate job creation, increase tax generation for the government, and ultimately, grow the pool of pension contributors across the nation.
“We wholeheartedly support this industry campaign being spearheaded by the Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association,” Kwabena Boamah, Managing Director of SIMS, stated.
“Our history shows our commitment to this asset class, and we believe that a concerted, industry-wide effort is critical to advance the conversation on how a well-regulated, sophisticated investment ecosystem can unlock growth in impactful parts of our economy – from infrastructure and technology to private equity.”
He emphasized that for Ghana to fully leverage the power of alternative assets, stakeholders must align on frameworks and local expertise to help de-risk and innovate while protecting the sanctity of pension funds’ fiduciary responsibilities to their members.
The commitment by SIMS is expected to set a powerful signal, encouraging other major institutional investors and pension funds to work with the industry to actively increase the level of capacity building, collaboration and ultimately, allocations from pension funds to long-term private capital funds that source, invest and add value to portfolios of viable businesses.
This landmark commitment by SIMS is viewed by GVCA as a critical validation of the Compact’s objective. As a firm that has led and consistently demonstrated the viability of private equity in Ghanaian pension portfolios, SIMS provides necessary market leadership.
Chief Executive Officer of GVCA, Amma Gyampo; “GVCA’s Pension Industry Compact continues to draw attention and support from the industry and its stakeholders. SIMS’ pioneering role in local private equity has been invaluable, setting the pace in this market.
With leading pension industry firms and stakeholders backing the Compact including NPRA, Petra, Axis Pension Trust and Impact Investing Ghana, we are confident that the growing momentum in the ecosystem will continue to build and move towards more allocations to private capital.
SIMS’ partnership sends a powerful signal to the wider pension industry that the prudential framework and technical expertise needed to manage these crucial, long-term investments in our most promising businesses firmly exist in this market.”
GVCA anticipates that having such prominent players’ endorsement will accelerate the Compact’s goal of achieving greater allocation diversity from the pension industry.
Pension funds are allocating less than 1% of their AUM to alternative assets like infrastructure, real estate investment trusts, venture capital and private equity funds despite the 5% floor and 25% limit outlined in NPRA’s investment guidelines.