Sebokeng to Sandton: How Zwelakhe Mnguni worked his way from security guard to chief investment officer

Benguela Global Fund Managers' Zwelakhe Mnguni joins Stephen Grootes for an in-depth interview on The Money Show.

The Shapeshifter feature on The Money Show profiled a very special guest this week.

Zwelakhe Mnguni's harsh circumstances did not stop him from pursuing his dreams - after starting out as a security guard he is now the chief investment officer of a global investment management firm.

Mnguni is the co-founder of Benguela Global Fund Managers, which today oversees R7.2 billion in assets under management (AUM).

He tells Stephen Grootes how he was raised in Sebokeng in Gauteng, eventually sent to a school in the Free State because his parents were worried about his safety in the township during the turbulent 80s.

Mnguni turned out to be an A-student, but had no hope of tertiary education upon matriculating because his family didn't have the money.

The youngster had thrived with the attention of teachers who believed in him, and his grandparents, uneducated themselves, had instilled in him the value of education.

As a result, he was determined to get into university, and worked for four yearsas a security guard to save up the money.

Discipline is one of the threads that runs through Mnguni's life and is reflected in his business role today and his management of other people's money.

"My first job was digging trenches, and I took that money and put it into training at a security academy. After three months I got my first job as a security guard - from there on it was all about discipline. I had to be disciplined to ensure that every month I saved money... I started with R50 and every time I got an increase or promotion I also saved that extra money until I got to about R60 000."

Zwelakhe Mnguni, CIO - Benguela Global Fund Managers

Mnugni registered at what was then the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) for a commerce degree.

As a student, his discipline and hard work also paid off, earning him bursaries and scholarships throughout his course.

'I studied for free', he shares.

"I think having experienced life differently to many of the other kids was my advantage... RAU gave me back the study fees I paid for my first year and I had the privilege of being on bursaries and scholarships throughout."

Zwelakhe Mnguni, CIO - Benguela Global Fund Managers

This appreciation of privilege is a quality Mnguni also considers important in his life and career journey.

After the young man completed his bachelor of commerce honours degree in financial management, he joined Cadiz Asset Management, gaining valuable training and experience. Stints with Allan Gray, Stanlib and Mergence followed.

It was while working at Allan Gray that Mnguni says he started questioning himself about what his generation, as one handed political liberation, was doing for the next generation.

The idea formed of one day starting an asset manager himself with a former university friend, once they had enough experience.

In late 2013, he co-founded Benguela Global Fund Managers with Karl Gevers, where e serves as CIO.

The key driver he says, was the presence of many foreign fund managers who'd targeted the South African market.

"Many were from London or New York, and a lot of the time they were creating jobs and paying tax in those regions while we as South Africans were losing out. One thing I said was that we need to have a local beneficiation of global investment management skills, which I'd already had the privilege of having experience of."

Zwelakhe Mnguni, CIO - Benguela Global Fund Managers

"We set out to build a global investment firm that could give opportunities to as many people as possible in terms of local skills development. We fed a lot of people into internships, and today we've got about 18 people in the business."

Zwelakhe Mnguni, CIO - Benguela Global Fund Managers

While Benguela now has over R7 billion in assets under management, Mnguni believes their best days still lie ahead.

"So we have to work even harder to get there... I am driven by the purpose rather than the possible risk of what could go wrong."

Zwelakhe Mnguni, CIO - Benguela Global Fund Managers

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to this in-depth interview