Speaking at the recent Glacier IdeasLab 2020 webinar, Glacier Chief Executive Khanyi Nzukuma spelled out why he believes the company has weathered the storm so well. “Our strong association with Sanlam, as a parent, and a significant player in the market on both an economic and a social level, has provided a sense of comfort for our clients and intermediaries, who are our business partners,” he said.
Mobilising through the pandemic
“We immediately realised that we had to use the pandemic as an opportunity to assert confidence and leadership in the midst of uncertainty. It’s in tough times that winners are made, and innovation becomes especially important.
“Obviously the immediate priority at the start of lockdown was to stabilise the business and ensure that we could continue to operate,” he said.
Once this was accomplished the company was able to turn its focus to more strategic matters. Innovation as well as increasing the digital capabilities of the business were seen as critical areas of importance, as were developing solutions for the future and ensuring client retention.
“It is thanks to the efforts of our business partners, the financial intermediaries, that we were able to retain our clients during the first half of this year,” said Khanyi. “The under administration have stabilised and grown since the beginning of the year and we have our business partners to thank for that.”
The move away from multi-channel towards omni-channel continues to grow in importance, in terms of how clients want to be engaged with. “All channels and communication methods must be integrated for a seamless experience for the client.”
An intense retirement focus
Glacier continues to focus relentlessly on retirement and the importance of planning around retirement. “We’ll continue our focus on combining different retirement income solutions, rather than using a single income product, as we’ve seen that very often combinations provide a better outcome and a sustainable retirement income,” said Khanyi. “We’ve also seen significant inflows into the life annuity and other guaranteed solutions – speaking to the need that investors have for security right now.”
Investment offerings
Our imminent offering, the Glacier Offshore Investment Plan, will make offshore investing more accessible with lower investment minimums, simplicity and guided investment choice.
“Glacier Invest is currently the largest discretionary fund manager in the country by under management and offers a unique method of portfolio construction aimed at improving predictability and consistency of retirement income.”
Khanyi concluded by saying that Glacier operates from a stable and sound business platform and has the ability to adapt quickly to sudden change or disruption. “Thank you for your partnership and care. Thank you, not just for the inflows – but for supporting your clients through a very difficult time and for advising them when they needed it most.”
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy – not on fighting the old – but on building the new.”
Socrates
