eBusiness Weekly
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
A local investment firm, Bard Santner, yesterday launched a Gold Coin Unit Trust, as the company seeks to give investors a chance to invest in one of the oldest asset ever to be held by investors.
It comes after in July 2022, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, issued out Mosi- Oa-Tunya Gold Coins to, among other reasons, promote a savings culture in Zimbabwe.
Speaking at the launch in Harare, the firm’s executive director, Dr Alfred Mthimkhulu said; “The Bard Santner Gold Coin Unit Trust enables Zimbabweans to invest in an asset whose value is directly linked to the international gold price offering investors a platform to save while preserving value.”
The objective of the Unit Trust is to deliver long term value preservation given that gold has been the foremost store of value throughout ages and performs well during times of economic volatility.
“We cannot think of a more stable asset for our clients than gold. It also happens to be a resource, like numerous others, we have in abundance in Zimbabwe.
“We are keen to see our clients’ portfolios hold the most stable asset humankind has ever known, from clients with as little as $15 to save per month to those with thousands and millions of times that amount,” said Dr Mthimkhulu.
The minimum investment in the Unit Trust will be an equivalent of USD120 per year.
Alternatively, an investor can accumulate units at a rate of USD15 per month. The minimum investment period is 180 days and a withdrawal notice period of seven calendar days is required.
The fund suits conservative investors whose goal is to accumulate savings using a defensive asset.
According to Dr Mthimkhulu, this is Bard Santner’s understanding of empowerment, also their understanding of prudence in investment management.
“And of course, in doing this through the Unit Trust, we are promoting a savings culture in Zimbabwe as per the goal expressed by the central bank on first issue of Coins six months ago,” Dr Mthimkhulu said.
The investment management firm said it has begun the process of scaling-up the distribution of the Gold Coin and at $1600 each when first issued in July, the price was too high for many Zimbabweans.
Even the smallest denomination introduced in November is still unaffordable for an average household.
“The burden of ensuring such products are sliced-up and distributed to as many citizens as possible lies not with issuers like the central bank but intermediaries in the money market and in the capital market,” Dr Mthimkhulu said.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development represented by their communications director, Clive Mphambela, applauded the unit trust as innovation that shows how bold we are as a country and moreover as financial minds.
Mphambela said; “These principles are echoed in the product being launched today, with bold action and transformative is represented by policy makers that are aware of the fact that ‘business as usual’ cannot deliver a prosperous middle-income economy by 2030.”
The ministry of finance believes there is need for bold and transformative actions from all actors in the economy.
“It takes boldness to cut through the noise and take action with conviction as Bard Santner has done in coming up with the product being launched today,” he added.
Mobilising of domestic growth factors is also a critical part of development as economies are built by pooling resources and directing them toward building the economy.
“That pooling of resources is very important. Within capital markets, the Collective Investment Schemes Act facilitates that function and it is most welcome to see more and more product being launched under the Act,” Mphambela added.
According to Bard Santner, a minimum of 80 percent of the fund is invested in Gold Coins and the balance in near-cash securities and all fund assets are held by the Trustee.
The price of units will be determined by dividing the net value as at close of business on the previous day of all the assets owned by the fund by the number of units in issue.
Bard Santner Investors registered the Gold Coin Unit Trust in terms of the Collective Investment Schemes and the Trustee of the Gold Coin Unit Trust will be the Central African Building Society (CABS).
