What is your name, and job title at Futuregrowth?
My name is Sithembiso Garane and I'm the head of the listed credit team at Future Growth.
What are your main responsibilities as Head of Listed Credit?
My responsibility is to oversee the listed credit team and also to look at the credit exposure that we have as Future Growth to all these listed counterparties that are listed on the JSE, and that includes different sectors across SOEs, banks and securitisation. And the team that I work with will be responsible for different counterparties within the sector and as the head of the team I work with everyone to actually make sure that we take the right risks for our clients and we do not get exposed to default risk.
Explain the rationale behind your career move to Futuregrowth.
The reason I came into Future Growth to take up on this position was because I had bought into the vision that Future Growth put forward to me as to where they plan to go towards the future. And I think at the same time I'd considered the fact that Future Growth is a market leader in its space. Future Growth operates across the credit spectrum: unlisted and listed credit, and also a bit of private equity. So one gets to learn from a variety of functions within the team, as opposed to insulated spaces where you just do listed credit or unlisted credit or private equity, it gives you the whole spectrum of investment. So that was one of the things that actually drew me into Future Growth, because I thought I could learn from a variety of professionals who do different functions.
Read Money Marketing's interview with Sithembiso here.
What excites you about the world of investing and, specifically, the bond market?
I think what excites me about the space that I operate in in credit, is having to piece together what may seem unrelated, but at the same time you can actually make an investment decision by piecing together different variables from the economy, from the balance sheet, from market activity. So I enjoy working with that complexity and making sure that the end goal is to invest in companies that avoid default or have a higher probability of actually avoiding default.
What excites you about Futuregrowth?
What excites me about Future Growth is the possibility of working with highly professional people, who've made their name in the industry and you get to exchange ideas and learn from the best in the industry. Over and above that is the fact that there is so much to do in Future Growth, there's so much possibility in terms of improving the processes and getting involved in different asset classes so that's something that I'm looking forward to do, and I look forward to actually exploiting my talent where I can within Future Growth.
What word describes you most accurately?
One word that describes me best is resilient, because I take time to study the situation and, I think amidst difficulties, I do study the situation and find my way on how to actually overcome all the hardships that I may be facing. So I always set my sights to the end objective and take everything as it comes as just one of the obstacles that I need to overcome.
What do you want clients to know about you?
I think clients need to know that I'm highly dedicated to my work and I expend all the energies and I'm passionate about what I do, and I try at all times to make sure that the decision that I make is best for them and their investment.
