 
Interview with: Glen Steward, Founder & Chairman, Stewards Funding Capital
In an more and more aggressive funding panorama, standing out from the gang is vital. For boutique funding advisory Stewards Funding Capital, that is available in quite a few kinds – from encouraging its investor shoppers to again various property like non-public credit score, to offering in-depth market evaluation on area of interest new alternatives. The agency can also be conscious of its accountability; by investing in telecoms infrastructure in Africa and different tasks designed to create constructive social impression, the corporate is placing sustainability entrance and centre, whereas serving to to increase monetary inclusion in nations the world over. World Finance spoke to Glen Steward, Founder and Chairman, to search out out extra in regards to the agency’s progressive, award-winning strategy, and the way it’s leveraging its energy to mix social impression with long-term progress for its traders.
Are you able to inform us a bit about Stewards Funding Capital, together with your key companies and areas of experience?
We’re a boutique funding advisory agency and have been working for greater than 25 years underneath the Stewards Group of Monetary Corporations. We craft area of interest funding options tailor-made to rising market traits, catering particularly to high-net-worth people (HNWIs) and institutional traders. Our experience lies in non-public fairness, various investments and sustainable investing, and we give attention to serving to shoppers navigate complicated monetary landscapes to attain their aims.
What’s your basic mission?
Our function is to empower traders to attain their monetary targets by way of knowledgeable and accountable funding choices. Led by a crew of funding specialists, our purpose is to develop and nurture their wealth, serving to them to forge a long-lasting legacy. However we consider our funding technique shouldn’t solely maximise earnings, but in addition create actual worth for society and its stakeholders. Whether or not we’re supporting progress by way of infrastructure or enhancing alternatives by way of monetary inclusion, our aim is to do good whereas producing returns.
Which areas do you use in?
We function at a world degree, however have an particularly robust bodily presence in Mauritius, South Africa and the US by way of our affiliate monetary corporations and investee corporations. In Mauritius, we’re managing an in-house PCC fund and multi-strategy fund, and within the US, we run a non-public credit score operation from our workplaces in New York and Florida.
How do you assist traders establish rising market traits and new funding alternatives?
We offer precious insights by way of our market intelligence desk, providing common evaluation studies and direct consultations; traders additionally get entry to our analysis. Our experience allows shoppers to make knowledgeable choices in a quickly altering funding panorama. We additionally give attention to uncovering area of interest sectors with excessive progress potential, giving traders a aggressive edge in figuring out early stage alternatives.
We’re serving to to construct a future the place returns aren’t simply measured in {dollars}
How do you maximise returns for shoppers whereas managing threat and preserving future wealth?
That is primarily performed by way of a disciplined funding strategy that emphasises diversification, thorough analysis and a agency understanding of market dynamics. By utilizing superior threat administration strategies and repeatedly monitoring portfolio efficiency, we proactively regulate our methods to mitigate dangers, whereas making certain long-term wealth preservation and progress. Our strategy balances potential returns with a strategic consciousness of threat, making certain sustainable progress that aligns with our traders’ long-term aims.
How will you assist with digital asset investments?
We provide two options for traders excited by digital property: the Spectrum Fund and the Zenith Fund. The Spectrum Fund goals to outperform passive investments in Bitcoin, whereas the Zenith Fund makes use of market-neutral methods like arbitrage to generate returns from market inefficiencies.
What progressive or unconventional funding methods do you employ?
We put the emphasis on diversification by way of the usage of various asset merchandise. Whereas conventional advisors typically diversify fixed-income portfolios by deciding on bonds throughout completely different sectors and jurisdictions, we encourage our traders to discover rising asset lessons. Our deal origination desk has a powerful pipeline of personal investments within the various house that we provide solely to our shoppers.
These various property not solely provide larger risk-adjusted returns, but in addition have decrease correlations with world markets, creating extra resilient portfolios and serving to traders higher face up to market volatility whereas maximising returns.
Which specific various property do you cowl?
We’ve got a powerful choice for asset-backed bridge financing, together with collateral within the type of prime actual property in developed nations. Via our funding within the publicly listed US FAVO Capital – which gives funding to SMEs – we additionally encourage traders to discover non-public credit score, with enterprise loans yielding returns properly above prime charges and providing a fast payback interval. We’ve got additionally lately been creating our infrastructure financing arm, which we consider holds important potential in Africa.
Whereas non-public credit score gives strong monetary returns, an growing variety of traders wish to Africa for alternatives that additionally generate social and environmental advantages. Impression investing, notably in infrastructure and telecommunications, permits monetary returns and constructive social impression to come back collectively.
How are these investments serving to to handle points round monetary inclusion?
Personal credit score continues to play an essential function in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are sometimes underserved by conventional banks. By offering much-needed capital to those companies, non-public credit score promotes financial progress and job creation. This in flip helps to scale back poverty and promote monetary inclusion throughout the continent. By investing in telecom towers in South Africa, we’re serving to to bridge the digital divide by enabling larger entry to the web and bringing connectivity to each city and rural areas. We’re serving to to construct a future the place returns aren’t simply measured in {dollars}, however within the constructive impression they’ve on society, and our aim is to empower communities with the instruments they want to reach the trendy economic system.
How else do you promote accountable funding?
We combine environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards into each a part of our funding decision-making course of. Our sustainability initiatives embody neighborhood impression investing, partnerships with organisations that drive social change, and efforts to scale back our operational environmental footprint. We’re dedicated to transparency in our CSR targets and often assess our impression on stakeholders and the setting.
I consider our biggest achievement is the belief our traders place in us
How do you help the private progress and improvement of your staff?
We give attention to offering on-the-job coaching programmes and mentorship alternatives, with entry to business certifications. We additionally present alternatives for workers to attend worldwide funding occasions and summits. We encourage a tradition of steady enchancment and help our crew members’ profession aspirations by way of tailor-made improvement plans. Travelling throughout our varied workplaces additionally allows our crew members to study completely different markets. This funding in our expertise not solely enhances their abilities and information, but in addition strengthens our general crew efficiency.
What are you most happy with as an organization?
We’re proud to have persistently outperformed market benchmarks and earnt world accolades for our progressive funding methods, together with the Finest Fastened Revenue Funding Innovation award from World Finance and the Structured Deal of the Yr award from World Personal Banker. Above all, I consider our biggest achievement is the belief our traders place in us.
What are your future targets?
Our imaginative and prescient is to increase our footprint in rising markets, and we need to proceed to innovate. We purpose to deepen our dedication to sustainability and accountable investing, whereas sustaining our excessive requirements for shopper service and efficiency. Our core mission is to be a trusted accomplice for our traders, empowering them to construct and protect their wealth with confidence and integrity.
We’re devoted to constructing robust, lasting relationships with our traders based mostly on belief, transparency and a shared imaginative and prescient for fulfillment. We consider our holistic strategy to funding administration not solely advantages our traders, but in addition contributes positively to broader society, serving to to create long-lasting impression in nations the world over.
