The lender was operating without an asset management business, since the spun off and merger of Momentum with Metropolitan Holdings in 2010, and the new company will operate as the fourth franchise besides FNB, RMB and WesBank.
FirstRand CEO Sizwe Nxasana said, "By accessing the origination capabilities of our existing franchises – particularly RMB – we can bring new investment and asset classes to retail and institutional investors."
The company has plans to come up with both alternative and traditional products, which will offer a wider investment alternative to customers, Nxasana said.
The new name has been derived from FirstRand’s existing offshore asset management business Ashburton, which caters traditional products in developed and emerging markets, and will now be part of Ashburton Investments.
Ashburton Investments head Boshoff Grobler said that the new move aims to allow it to emerge as a new generation investment manager in Africa offering South African, African, Asian and Chinese investment opportunities.
In order to avoid possible conflicts of interest, the new business will be managed completely separate from the banking businesses, namely FNB, RMB and WesBank, and the systems will be ring fenced to ensure client information confidentiality.
