Dibanisa Fund Managers, previously Umbono Fund Managers, originated from the Umbono group, a company established in 1998 as a pioneering black-owned strategy consulting operation. A financial services company, Umbono Capital (UC Capital), was subsequently set up to include asset management, stock broking and advisory services.
The asset management business, Umbono Fund Managers, was dedicated to index tracking. Shortly after its launch in 2001, Old Mutual bought its first stake in Umbono Fund Managers.
Over time the need arose to differentiate Umbono Fund Managers from the associated businesses in the original Umbono group. The renaming of the company coincided with us launching a range of products in the US and Europe. Given the well-established Old Mutual brand, Old Mutual Global Index Trackers (OMGxT) was established to represent our pioneering initiatives into these global markets. While OMGxT is our international brand, it was imperative to retain the strong African roots on which Umbono Fund Managers was built.
The name Dibanisa Fund Managers was born.
Dibanisa means "mix" in Xhosa and "join" in Ndebele. It encapsulates both our successful partnership with Old Mutual as well as our belief that the best managed portfolios are those that blend active and tracker investing. Blended portfolios offer investors the surety of "beta" from index tracking and the advances of "alpha" from active management.
Tracker management can be defined as low cost market exposure achieved via efficient, technology-orientated tracker building blocks.
Our funds provide easy access to the FTSE/JSE Top 40 and FTSE/JSE RAFI® 40 indices from as little as R500 a month or R10 000 once-off.
We track and replicate both listed and unlisted indices in whatever combination best meets our clients' needs.