Morningstar Investment Management South Africa celebrates four new hires

Morningstar Investment Management South Africa has again bolstered its team with the addition of four new team members, bringing its local staff complement to a total of 20. In addition, the company is still looking to expand with the role of Senior Fund Analyst and is currently accepting applicants. 

“I must pay homage to the staff that have been with the company since inception in 2015 and every single member that has joined since. We have an amazing team that has enabled the business to grow from strength to strength and in so doing, we continue to attract talented new hires, whom I am thrilled to welcome to the team,” says Victoria Reuvers, Managing Director of Morningstar Investment Management South Africa.

Included in the new four hires is Francis Marais, a well-known and respected face in the industry, who has been appointed as Head of Product Development. More information on the new hires and their roles have been included below:

Francis Marais, Head of Product Development, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

As head of product development, Francis Marais is responsible for developing new and managing existing, proprietary investment products; ensuring that we are offering high-calibre, competitive products that serve our client's financial needs. In this role, Francis oversees and implements product development policies, objectives, and initiatives. He leads research for new products, product enhancements, and product redesign.

Before joining Morningstar in November 2022, Francis spent seven years at Glacier, where he started his career as a research and investment analyst. He was later promoted to senior research and investment analyst and finally moved on to become Head of Research at Glacier. This role primarily entailed both local and international fund and investment research, portfolio construction and servicing a wide variety of specialist intermediaries. Francis started his career at Sanlam Employee Benefits, before spending four years as the operations and research manager at a Category II Discretionary FSP.

He is a CFA® charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree in Financial Analysis from the University of Stellenbosch. Francis also completed his MBA through the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) in 2020.  

Alison Louw, Marketing Manager, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Alison Louw joined Morningstar Investment Management South Africa in November 2022 as Marketing Manager.

Her role involves working with the local and wider EMEA team to create and deliver integrated campaigns that drive both demand and lead generation programs in support of the objectives of the business. She assists with the development of content as well as the promotional planning in support of these programs. In addition, she also supports field marketing teams with virtual and on-site events and webinars with strategic campaign planning, promotion, execution, and follow-up.

Alison started her career at the Good News Lab in March 2017 where she held the role of media and public relations liaison. Later that year she moved on to join the Isilumko Activate team as an operations consultant. In 2019 she joined the PW Harvey & Co team as a marketing administrator before joining the FPM Group of Companies in May 2021 as marketing and communication specialist.

Alison holds a National Diploma in Public Relations Management from Nelson Mandela University and has five years’ industry experience.

Arno Meiring,Investment Operations Analyst, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Arno Meiring joined Morningstar Investment Management South Africa in October 2022 as an Investment Operations Analyst. His role primarily involves maintaining and assisting the operational processes which ensure accurate and efficient investment operation services to the investor.

Arno spent eight years at Cargill in various roles on the trading desk. During this time, he was responsible for daily trading and operations. His duties also included in-depth market analysis and helping clients develop and implement appropriate risk management strategies.

Arno holds a BCom Honours from the University of Stellenbosch. He is a qualified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) and has eight years’ experience in the financial services industry.

Melody Nowai,Investment Operations Analyst, Morningstar Investment Management South Africa

Melody Nowai joined Morningstar Investment Management South Africa in October 2022 as an operations analyst. Her role primarily involves maintaining and assisting the operational processes which ensure accurate and efficient investment operation services to the investor.

Prior to joining Morningstar, Melody spent over 11 years at Maestro Investment Management, a boutique Investment Management Firm which specialises in the management of direct segregated equity portfolios of high-net-worth individuals. She started her career at the firm as an investment administrator, and finally moved to become Head of Investment Administration.

Melody holds a BSc. (Hons) in Applied Accounting from the Oxford Brookes University, an MSc in Accounting with Finance from the London South Bank University as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from the University of the Free State. She is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) Affiliate and has over 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry.

The team continues to expand with the company currently recruiting for a Senior Fund Analyst. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa encourages interested candidates to visit the LinkedIn Job Ad to apply.

“This role will form part of the Investments team of Morningstar Investment Management South Africa and the successful candidate will be responsible for supporting the investment management team through manager research, fund research and ensuring Morningstar’s global best-of-breed manager selection process is implemented locally,” says Reuvers.

When Morningstar Investment Management South Africa was launched in 2015, the business was a small team of about four, today the business has 20 employees (and counting) with its assets under management exceeding R25 billion.

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About Morningstar South AfricaMorningstar Investment Management South Africa (Pty) Ltd, is part of the Morningstar Investment Management group, which offers investment management and advisory services around the world. Morningstar Investment Management South Africa has been helping financial advisors offer objective, independently managed portfolios to the clients they serve.

The Morningstar Investment Management group, through its investment advisory units, creates investment solutions that combine award-winning research and global resources with proprietary Morningstar data. The Morningstar Investment Management group provides comprehensive retirement, investment advisory, and portfolio management services for financial institutions, plan sponsors and advisers around the world.

Morningstar offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries, with approximately $265 billion in assets under advisement and management as of March 31, 2022. The Company has operations in 29 countries.