Founded by experienced and award-winning investment professionals with a firm belief in the value we create for our clients.
Independent Alternatives was founded in January 2016 by Grant Hogan and Tatenda Chapinduka. The dynamic duo, having met as students at the University of Cape Town, have known each other and worked together for more than 15 years.
Grant and Tatenda have managed and researched investment markets together for more than 15 years, having begun their careers at one of the foremost insurer-owned hedge fund managers in South Africa. Their shared ambition was to co-manage a boutique fund management business, using their time in corporate to build their competencies across fixed income, equity and soft commodity asset classes, thus utilising their skills extensively to manage assets.
Acquiring the expertise to head up a fund management business and having built an extensive contact list within the industry, from service providers to investors, Independent Alternatives has been successfully led since its launch, currently managing in excess of R3 billion in assets spread across hedge funds and long-only products.
Independent Alternatives was founded in January 2016 by Grant Hogan and Tatenda Chapinduka. The dynamic duo, having met as students at the University of Cape Town, have known each other and worked together for more than 15 years.
Grant and Tatenda have managed and researched investment markets together for more than 15 years, having begun their careers at one of the foremost insurer-owned hedge fund managers in South Africa. Their shared ambition was to co-manage a boutique fund management business, using their time in corporate to build their competencies across fixed income, equity and soft commodity asset classes, thus utilising their skills extensively to manage money with an Empowered Asset Manager on the books.
Acquiring the expertise to head up a fund management business and having built an extensive contact list within the industry, from service providers to investors, Independent Alternatives has been successfully led since its launch, currently managing in excess of R3 billion in assets spread across hedge funds and long-only products.
Our Leadership Team
Independent Alternatives was founded by experienced and award-winning investment professionals on the belief that they could do more for their clients.
Grant is the Co-Founder and CEO of Independent Alternatives. Grant is responsible for the management of the business, as well as managing portfolios and developing investment research systems.
With more than 15 years of experience and a strong background in managing long-only and hedge fund assets, he brings expertise and savvy to managing hedge funds and long-only strategies.
A strong quantitative background has afforded Grant invaluable experience operating in sophisticated investment environments, allowing him to develop and implement innovative investment strategies across long-only and hedge fund portfolios.
As an award-winning investment manager, having won several awards and nominations for delivering outstanding investment performance, he brings more than a decade of wide-ranging financial market experience. The last seven years have been focused on absolute return and hedge fund strategies, which have delivered robust investment performance through various market cycles.
Grant is a FAIS-approved Key Individuals and Representative for discretionary investment portfolios, including hedge funds.
Tatenda is the Co-founder and CIO of Independent Alternatives. Tatenda is jointly responsible for the management of the business and its portfolios, as well as developing investment research systems and client management.
Tatenda is a driven, results-oriented investment management executive with extensive knowledge of both alternative and traditional investments. He was previously a Portfolio Manager at a leading investment management firm before co-founding Independent Alternatives Investment Managers.
His investment experience spans most asset classes from his current and past roles. He has invested in spot equities, equity and index derivatives, fixed income products (bonds and derivatives), money market instruments, commodity derivatives and foreign currency derivatives.
He has extensive hands-on asset management business experience attained at a large corporation and, as a result, scaled Independent Alternatives from a startup firm to a fledging boutique asset management business.
Tatenda is a FAIS-approved key individual and representative for discretionary investment portfolios, including hedge funds.
As Head of Operations, Desiree focuses on the critical aspects of fund and business operations, including trade processes, NAV reconciliations, compliance, risk management and performance reporting.
Desiree is a seasoned professional with over 26 years of experience in the financial markets. Her expertise lies in operations, and she has a strong background in prime broking, corporate actions, and trading.
Desiree began her career as a corporate actions specialist and later progressed to trading at one of the top 4 banks. Her most recent experience has been as Head of Equity Broking at one of South Africa’s largest prime brokers.
As Head of Operations, Desiree focuses on the critical aspects of fund and business operations, including trade processes, NAV reconciliations, compliance, risk management, and performance reporting. Known for her unwavering attention to detail and dedication to operational excellence, Desiree is a results-oriented professional who consistently delivers outstanding performance. Her extensive experience and expertise make her an asset to the company.
What We Want To Achieve
To be the leading Boutique Asset Manager known for innovative investment strategies and exceptional client service, committed to delivering sustainable value.
Our Value Proposition
Our goal is to get our clients to their financial destination in an attending to alternative way by navigating financial markets with precision and agility, using tools of modern finance to chart an alternative, less volatile path to wealth creation.
Our Guiding Principles
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Encouraging innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit in all aspects of our business.
Maximum Open Mindedness
Fostering an environment where every idea is valued and considered.
Idea Meritocracy
Prioritizing the best ideas based on their merit for optimal decision-making.
Integrity and Excellence
Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and striving for excellence in all we do.
Client Focused
Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and striving for excellence in all we do.
Empowerment
Promoting empowerment within our team and community.
Independent Alternatives is committed to transformation in South Africa.
Independent Alternatives is committed to transformation in South Africa.
With a black-owned Asset Manager, the business has an inclusive approach to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) which is addressed in terms of ownership and control, employment equity, skills development, preferential procurement and corporate social investments. The business is currently a Level 2 B-BBEE Contributor. Our verification certificate and details of our accreditation are available upon request.
Transformation means different things to different people. For us transformation indicates change with an Empowered Asset Manager at the helm. This change can occur in various aspects for organisations including structure, products or services, diversity (race, age, gender and backgrounds) or simply doing things differently. The transformation strategy at Independent Alternatives incorporates most aspects; however, we prioritise skills development for graduates, youth and new-entrants into the investment management industry. In support of this, the business launched The Independent Alternatives Hedge Fund Academy in 2017.
The company also has a stated procurement policy, which favours B-BBEE suppliers as well as black-owned businesses. Wherever possible, the company chooses a B-BBEE supplier to render services. This includes the appointment of empowered stockbrokers, empowered compliance officers, empowered auditors, empowered legal service providers and empowered Mancos.
Independent Alternatives incorporates Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues as an integral part of our investment process. The UN PRI emphasises that as institutional investors, we have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of our beneficiaries. In this fiduciary role, we believe that ESG issues can affect the performance of client portfolios.
The aim of our investment process is to generate absolute returns with a low risk of capital loss over the long-term for our clients. Sustainable investing is an essential component of long-term investing and embedding sustainable investment practices is in the best long-term interests of our clients.
In our view, the incorporation of ESG factors adds value to our investment process primarily in the assessment of risk-adjusted returns. While Modern Portfolio Theory defines risk as simply the volatility of returns, it is also important to consider a broader concept of risk. ESG factors allow one to capture un-priced risks, long-term trends and intangibles in a quantifiable way. In turn, this enhances our understanding of the portfolio’s risk and potentially provides additional alpha through an informational edge.
Our policy rests on three core pillars:
- We integrate firm-wide policies such as B-BBEE, our CRISA Commitment, and our adherence to UN PRI principles into our business and investment processes, incorporating sustainability considerations into investment analysis to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns.
- We recognise our role as stewards of our clients' wealth and have an engagement policy in which we engage with company management. We also have Proxy Voting policies, which determine how we vote on specific company resolutions.
- We incorporate ESG factors not only for risk management but also as a source of idea generation. By assessing unpriced risks and long-term trends, we enhance our understanding of portfolio risks, improving our ability to capture potential alpha.
Independent Alternatives partners with several organisations with an aim to develop the leaders of tomorrow through advanced participation in the economy by improving communities through education and coding skills. We also support public benefit organisations, projects and charities serving vulnerable people living in the underserved areas of South Africa.
Independent Alternatives incorporates Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues as an integral part of our investment process. The UN PRI emphasises that as institutional investors, we have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of our beneficiaries. In this fiduciary role, we believe that ESG issues can affect the performance of client portfolios.
The aim of our investment process is to generate absolute returns with a low risk of capital loss over the long-term for our clients. Sustainable investing is an essential component of long-term investing and embedding sustainable investment practices is in the best long-term interests of our clients.
In our view, the incorporation of ESG factors adds value to our investment process primarily in the assessment of risk-adjusted returns. While Modern Portfolio Theory defines risk as simply the volatility of returns, it is also important to consider a broader concept of risk. ESG factors allow one to capture un-priced risks, long-term trends and intangibles in a quantifiable way. In turn, this enhances our understanding of the portfolio’s risk and potentially provides additional alpha through an informational edge.
Our policy rests on three core pillars:
- We integrate firm-wide policies such as B-BBEE, our CRISA Commitment, and our adherence to UN PRI principles into our business and investment processes, incorporating sustainability considerations into investment analysis to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns.
- We recognise our role as stewards of our clients' wealth and have an engagement policy in which we engage with company management. We also have Proxy Voting policies, which determine how we vote on specific company resolutions.
- We incorporate ESG factors not only for risk management but also as a source of idea generation. By assessing unpriced risks and long-term trends, we enhance our understanding of portfolio risks, improving our ability to capture potential alpha.
Independent Alternatives partners with several organisations with an aim to develop
the leaders of tomorrow through advanced participation in the economy by improving
communities through education and coding skills. We also support public benefit
organisations, projects and charities serving vulnerable people living in the
underserved areas of South Africa.
Investing responsibly can lead to better long-term outcomes
Independent Alternatives is committed to the promotion and support of Responsible Investing in South Africa (RISA). We consider the inclusion and integration of Responsible Investing principles to be a strategic underpin in the way we manage our business, interact with our stakeholders and manage our client portfolios.
Independent Alternatives apply the five key principles of the Code:
- We incorporate sustainability considerations, including environmental, social and governance, into our investment analysis and investment activities as part of the delivery of superior risk-adjusted returns to the ultimate beneficiaries.
- We demonstrate our acceptance of ownership responsibilities in our investment arrangements and investment activities.
- Where appropriate, we consider a collaborative approach to promote acceptance and implementation of the principles of CRISA (Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa) and other codes and standards applicable to institutional investors.
- We recognise the circumstances and relationships that hold a potential for conflicts of interest and are committed to proactively managing these when they occur.
- We aim to be transparent about the content of our policies, how the policies are implemented and how CRISA is applied to enable stakeholders to make informed assessments.
Investing responsibly can lead to better long-term outcomes
Independent Alternatives is committed to the promotion and support of Responsible Investing in South Africa. We consider the inclusion and integration of Responsible Investing principles to be a strategic underpin in the way we manage our business, interact with our stakeholders and manage our client portfolios.
Independent Alternatives apply the five key principles of the Code:
- We incorporate sustainability considerations, including environmental, social and governance, into our investment analysis and investment activities as part of the delivery of superior risk-adjusted returns to the ultimate beneficiaries.
- We demonstrate our acceptance of ownership responsibilities in our investment arrangements and investment activities.
- Where appropriate, we consider a collaborative approach to promote acceptance and implementation of the principles of CRISA (Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa) and other codes and standards applicable to institutional investors.
- We recognise the circumstances and relationships that hold a potential for conflicts of interest and are committed to proactively managing these when they occur.
- We aim to be transparent about the content of our policies, how the policies are implemented and how CRISA is applied to enable stakeholders to make informed assessments.
