Team - Merchant West Investments

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Expert Industry Experience

Merchant West Investments boasts a wealth of senior experts consisting of 1 current CIO and 3 previous CIOs. Our team's long-term experience helps us make well-informed, sound investment decisions for you.

140 +YRS

of combined team experience

Your service team

Board of Directors
Leadership Team
Investment Team
Distribution Team

Board of Directors
Leadership Team
Investment Team
Distribution Team

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Braam Viljoen

Non-Executive Chairman

Braam Viljoen

Non-Executive Chairman

Subsequent to his internship with Deloitte and consequent qualification as a Chartered Accountant, Braam joined the Risk Management division of Investec Bank Ltd. Braam was soon after repositioned, and for the succeeding 4 years fundamentally involved, in the bank’s Specialised Finance division. In 1998 Braam and two associates instituted the Specialised Finance Division of a leading JSE listed corporation. Braam functioned as the business’s Managing Director until 2003 when he joined Merchant West Holdings as a founding director and CEO of the Group.

PAUL STEWART

Managing Director

PAUL STEWART

Managing Director

Paul has completed both BA (Industrial Psychology) and BBA (Economics, Finance) degrees and is a Fellow of SA Institute for Financial Markets. He has worked in investments both internationally and in South Africa. Since 2005 he has been associated with Bridge Fund Managers and its predecessor companies Plexus and Grindrod Asset Management. The Bridge business was acquired by Merchant West Investments in 2020 and Paul has been the Managing Director ever since. Paul has served on and chaired various industry committees including the ACI and Asisa. Paul has been in the financial services industry for over 29 years.

Philip Lochner

Group Chief Financial Officer

Philip Lochner

Group Chief Financial Officer

Johan Pretorius

Non-Executive Director

Johan Pretorius

Non-Executive Director

Johan has been employed within the Merchant West Group since 2004 servicing several roles .including Financial Manager, Group Financial Director of Merchant West, Director of Business Development and later became the Regional Director of the Merchant West Cape Town branch. As of June 2023, Johan was appointed as a Non-executive Director on the Merchant West Investments Board.

BRIAN PYLE

Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director

BRIAN PYLE

Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director

Brian has over 29 years of experience in financial services, of which 22 years were spent at the Old Mutual Investment Group. He has occupied several functions within the investment industry such as the Head of Equity Research while having both equity research and portfolio management responsibilities. Brian joined Merchant West Investments in August 2021 as the Chief Investment Officer to oversee our multi-strategy investment offering. As well as managing the overall investment process, investment team and our consolidated portfolio risk management function.

PIET VILJOEN

Executive Director & Portfolio Manager

PIET VILJOEN

Executive Director & Portfolio Manager

Piet Viljoen is a highly respected investment professional with over three decades of experience in the finance and investment industry. He started out as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria, before joining the South African Reserve Bank as an economic analyst. Piet discovered value investing at Allan Gray Investment Counsel, where he became a portfolio manager in 1991. In 1995, Viljoen moved to Investec Asset Management where he built up a following as the portfolio manager of the Investec Opportunity Fund before leaving to set up value manager RECM (Regarding Capital Management) in 2003. RECM merged with like-minded firm Merchant West Investments in 2020 where Piet continues to manage funds with mandates that suit his value-oriented style. In addition to his fund management responsibilities, he is a director of various listed and unlisted businesses.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

PAUL STEWART

Managing Director

PAUL STEWART

Managing Director

BRIAN PYLE

Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director

BRIAN PYLE

Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director

Ian Anderson

Head of Listed Property & Portfolio Manager

Ian Anderson

Head of Listed Property & Portfolio Manager

Ian joined Bridge Fund Managers (formerly Grindrod Asset Management) as Chief Investment Officer in September 2009. He joined Merchant West Investments after it acquired Bridge Fund Managers in 2020. Prior to that, he ran his own consultancy where his clients included Marriott Asset Management, Fortress Asset Managers (part of the Resilient group of companies) and the Property Loan Stock Association of South Africa. Ian was the Investment Director at Marriott Asset Management from 2002 to 2007, having joined the firm as an Investment Analyst in 1996.

RAYMOND SHAPIRO

Head of Quality & Portfolio Manager

RAYMOND SHAPIRO

Head of Quality & Portfolio Manager

Raymond started his career at The Standard Bank Group, completing his articles under their TOPP programme, and specialising in financial management. In 2007 he joined Melville Douglas Investment Management as an equity analyst, later also becoming a portfolio manager in both domestic and global portfolio management. Raymond joined Merchant West Investments in 2014, where he is the Head of Quality and portfolio manager of both domestic and global equities.

SANDI VENN

Financial Manager

SANDI VENN

Financial Manager

Sandi started her career at Mazars (formerly known as Moores Rowland) in 1998. She then joined Bridge Fund Managers (formerly Grindrod Asset Management) as a Financial Accountant in 2005 and became head of finance for Merchant West Investments in September 2020. She has 24 years’ experience in various financial roles and is now responsible for the group accounting and company secretarial duties.

INVESTMENT TEAM

BRIAN PYLE

Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director

BRIAN PYLE

Chief Investment Officer & Executive Director

André JOUBERT

Portfolio Manager

André JOUBERT

Portfolio Manager

André obtained two Honours degrees – in Economics and Investment Management at the University of South Africa. He has served on the Association of Unit Trust's Fund Management Standing Committee. André started his investment career in 1985 and served in several institutions such as Syfrets Trust, Fairheads Asset Managers, Investec Asset Management, Franklin Templeton Group and BoE Asset Management where he has held a variety of roles such as a Portfolio Manager, Director as well as a Chief Investment Officer. André founded Maestro Investment Management in 2000 which was later acquired by Merchant West Investments in 2022. He has presented widely to the investment community and has received numerous awards in this regard. He has also been a member of the Investment Analyst Society for over a decade.

ANDREW DOWSE

Portfolio Manager

ANDREW DOWSE

Portfolio Manager

Andrew has investment experience in various aspects of the industry including multi-manager and fund administration specialities. Before joining Bridge Fund Managers (formerly Grindrod Asset Management) in early 2013, Andrew worked at a boutique asset manager and family wealth office as a portfolio manager and trader. Andrew joined the Merchant West Investments team in 2020, as a result of the merger with Bridge Fund Managers.

ALYSSA VILJOEN

Equity Analyst

ALYSSA VILJOEN

Equity Analyst

Alyssa completed her BCom Accounting Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting Sciences at the University of Pretoria. Her professional career commenced in 2019 where she completed her articles at Deloitte including a secondment through the firm in Canada. She completed her articles in 2021 and obtained her South African Institute of Chartered Accountants certification as a registered Chartered Accounted, CA(SA). She joined Merchant West Investments in 2022 and continues studying towards her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation

DANIEL KING

Head of Fixed Income

DANIEL KING

Head of Fixed Income

Daniel has a Master’s degree in financial economics and has worked in the investment industry for 10 years. He started his career in asset management where he was responsible for macroeconomics, strategy, and fixed income analysis. He then joined the stock broking industry where he worked as a top-rated equity analyst for several years. He joined Merchant West Investments in 2021 as Head of Fixed Income.

GAYE WYNGAARD

Dealer

GAYE WYNGAARD

Dealer

Gaye Wyngaard started her career in investment administration at Protea Assurance. She deepened her experience at industry stalwarts Investec Asset Management (1994 to 1996) and Coronation Asset Management (1997 to 2000). She was part of the management team at TASC / JP Morgan SA Investor Services, the administration subsidiary of Sanlam (currently Curro) during 2000 to 2004. Gaye then moved to Sanlam Investment Management, where she worked from 2005 to 2007. Her most recent role before Merchant West Investments was heading up the Client Administration Team for Skybound Capital, a Cape Town-based boutique Hedge Fund manager, where she worked from 2008 to 2016. Gaye joined Merchant West Investments in early 2017 as a dealer.

IAN ANDERSON

Head of Listed Property & Portfolio Manager

IAN ANDERSON

Head of Listed Property & Portfolio Manager

KRYNAUW STRYDOM

Fixed Income Analyst

KRYNAUW STRYDOM

Fixed Income Analyst

Krynauw completed his BCom Honours in Financial Risk Management at the University of Stellenbosch. During this time, he worked as a Junior Private Equity Analyst where he contributed to the launch of a new private equity fund. He is an active student member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA) while simultaneously pursuing the CFA® designation. Krynauw joined the Merchant West Investments team in early 2022 as a Quantitative Analyst where he is an invaluable resource in the development of our Quantitative Research investment framework.

MATTHEW BRAIN

Quantitative Analyst

MATTHEW BRAIN

Quantitative Analyst

Matthew completed his Business Science and Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting Sciences at the University of Cape Town. His professional career commenced in 2020 at Ernst & Young where he completed his articles with a focus on listed financial valuations in 2022 while also obtaining his CFA Charter. He joined Merchant West Investments in 2023 as an Quantitative Analyst where he is involved in the development and implementation of portfolios and equity research.

PIET VILJOEN

Executive Director & Portfolio Manager

PIET VILJOEN

Executive Director & Portfolio Manager

RAYMOND SHAPIRO

Head of Quality & Portfolio Manager

RAYMOND SHAPIRO

Head of Quality & Portfolio Manager

RICHARD HENWOOD

Portfolio Manager

RICHARD HENWOOD

Portfolio Manager

Richard has over 12 years of investment experience which he gained in both the UK and South Africa. He spent 9 years in London working for Schroders Investment Management, hedge funds Trafalgar Asset Managers and CapeView Capital LLP. There he gained valuable insight into various investment strategies including long-only, event-driven, credit, private equity and long-short equity. He returned to South Africa in 2013 and worked for Atlas Trading (Grindrod) before joining Bridge Fund Managers (formerly Grindrod Asset Management) in 2014, and Merchant West Investments in 2020.

DISTRIBUTION TEAM

Mike Botha

Investment Consultant - KwaZulu-Natal

Mike Botha

Investment Consultant - KwaZulu-Natal

Michael Botha is registered as a CFP after completing his PGDip in Financial Planning and passing the CFP board exam. He started his career in the investment industry in 2012 as a financial advisor. His experience includes financial consultant roles at Liberty and Sanlam. Michael joined Merchant West Investments in 2023 as an Investment Consultant servicing the KwaZulu-Natal province. He is passionate about investment planning and growing within the industry.

Email:Mike.Botha@merchantwest.co.za

DOUW STEYN

Investment Consultant - Pretoria

DOUW STEYN

Investment Consultant - Pretoria

Douw joined Merchant West Investments in May 2022 as an Investment Consultant. Prior to joining Merchant West Investments, he practised as a Financial Planner at Momentum. He obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning and Advanced Investment Planning. He is a Certified Financial Planner® and studying towards his CFA®. He has a passion for investment markets and the quantitative side of finance.

Email:douw.steyn@merchantwest.co.za

GEOFFREY MOOS

Investment Consultant - Johannesburg

GEOFFREY MOOS

Investment Consultant - Johannesburg

Geoffrey joined Merchant West Investments in October 2022 as an Investment Consultant, servicing the Johannesburg region. Before joining the company, he practised as an Investment Specialist at PSG Wealth and a Private Banking Analyst at RMB Private Bank. Geoffrey obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning from the University of the Free State and is studying towards his Certified Financial Planner® designation.

Email:geoffrey.moos@merchantwest.co.za

JOHANN WENTZEL

Investment Consultant - Cape Town

JOHANN WENTZEL

Investment Consultant - Cape Town

Johann started his academic career at the University of Stellenbosch where he completed a BCom in Investment and Financial Management. He is currently studying towards a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning and will continue his studies towards CFP® and CFA®. He commenced his finance career in the asset management industry as a Junior Investment Analyst and has now joined the Distribution Team at Merchant West Investments in June 2022 as an Investment Consultant and will be responsible for the Western Cape region.

Email:johann.wentzel@merchantwest.co.za

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Merchant West Investments
6th Floor, The Terraces, 25 Protea Road
Claremont, Cape Town, 7708
+27 21 492 0200 | invest@merchantwest.co.za

Merchant West Investments FSP 44508

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> About us

Merchant West Investments boasts a wealth of senior experts consisting of 1 current CIO and 3 previous CIOs. Our team's long-term experience helps us make well-informed, sound investment decisions for you.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

LEADERSHIP TEAM

DISTRIBUTION TEAM

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