By Fola James
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, GTCO has emerged as a fully-fledged all round financial behemoth in Africa, the Group Managing Director, GMD of the financial institution, Segun Agbaje has said. Agbaje made this disclosure on the back of recent acquisition of two subsidiaries of Investment one. GTCO acquired the companies in its quest to add pension fund management to its core business of commercial and corporate banking.
Investment One was originally owned by GTB Asset Management before the bank divested its stakes in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN 2010 directive. According to a corporate filing on Monday, Erhi Obebeduo, GTCO Company Secretary said Investment One is purely for pension funds management, which will provide financial and investments services in Nigeria.
Agbaje said as a trusted banker to many Nigerians for over 30 years, GTCO will bring to bear its expertise in financial services to pension funds management, to the benefit of millions of its customers.
The GTCO CEO said “With over 30 years of being a trusted banker to millions of Nigerians and expertise in capital allocation to generate the highest yields for our customers and shareholders; the Pension Fund business is a natural fit for the Guaranty Trust brand.
“Also, our bias for the highest standards in corporate governance will ensure transparency in how we manage the funds under our management, which will ultimately make us the preferred Pension Fund Administrator, not only in the Nigerian market but also in Africa.
“Whilst evolving as an organisation, we remain committed to our founding values of excellence, hard work and integrity, as we continue to build a Proudly African and Truly International brand for millions of people in and outside of Africa”.
He expressed delight at the acquisition of Investment One Funds Management, saying it would position GTCO as a provider of full financial services and products to its customers.
“We are excited about our foray into the wealth management space, as it provides us with the opportunity of becoming a one-stop-shop for financial services and products that will empower our customers through the course of their lives”.
He said GTCO will focus on delivering pension fund management services through digital means to the satisfaction of customers.
“We will focus on replicating our digital-first customer-centric retail strategy to create distribution channels for wealth solutions that we will offer, to both institutional and retail clients.
“As a dominant leader in financial services, we are positioned to add significant value to the asset management business in Nigeria and compete favourably with the largest global wealth managers in the areas of disclosure, corporate governance and regulatory compliance,” Agbaje said.
