New Body Formed to Act for Savings Industry

ASISA launched recently ASISA formed to promote a culture of savings and investment in South Africa

The newly formed Association for Savings and Investment SA (ASISA) is claiming that they are in a much stronger position to deal with the challenges currently facing the South African savings industry than the four organizations which it has replaced would have managed to alone.

In his launching speech this week, ASISA chairman and Sanlam CE Johan van Zyl said that ASISA had an important role to be the vehicle to engage the government and improve disclosure in the savings industry. Van Zyl said that the environment was really tough and that the body's aim was to make SA more sustainable.

ASISA is said to represent the majority of South Africa's asset managers, life insurance managers, collective investment scheme management companies, linked investment service providers and multimanagers. ASISA comes in to replace four organizations - Life Offices Association, the Association of Collective Investments, the Investment Management Association of SA and the Linked Investment Service Providers Association. These four groups have now been dismantled, with their assets and personnel being transferred to ASISA.

ASISA is also in discussions with some smaller groups to possibly come under their umbrella organization, which included the South African Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, the Association of Property Unit Trusts, the Alternative Investment Management Association and the Institute of Retirement Funds.

CEO of ASISA, Leon Campher, said that there was a great need to represent industries in a unified manner. He added that ASISA's aim was to promote a culture of savings, which should be a major priority at the moment. Campher pointed out that the organization had received the backing of the Financial Services Board and the Treasury.