Kwaku Koranteng

Kwaku Koranteng - FIA, FASSA Principal & Head of Institutional,

Absa Multi Management

“The past 2 years have showed me the power of giving in abundance and I set out a goal to do more of this and can also tick that box somewhat.”

Q1: When did you join The Grind? How did you get to know about the Foundation?

A1: I’ve known the members of the Grind socially for many years now, eventually via a chat group. For various reasons such as inertia and not having a full understanding of their purpose, impact, and concern about its ability to deliver on its goals, I joined embarrassingly late, in early 2020, when the world and our communities were much in need.

Q2: Tell us about your career journey and where you are today.

A2: I am a qualified Actuary, and a Fellow with the UK and SA bodies. I attended UCT and was lucky enough to have a fully sponsored scholarship. My career has been somewhat unusual for an Actuary and may be due to my personality relative to other actuaries and wanting to meet people and understand how deals and business is done. I’ve worked at MMI, Alexander Forbes Investments, Absa Consultants and Actuaries as an executive committee member of the firm and I am now at Absa investments. I drive our growth strategy and I’m a Principal in the business.

My interests are in the fields of asset management, retirement planning, employee benefits, financial markets, and life insurance. I’m passionate about the education around this sector and peoples’ financial well-being, and often appear in the media to comment on financial education issues.

Q3: What personal sacrifices have you had to make in your career?

A3: Many. The studies I pursued, by design, take many years and grueling hours as one was competing against highly driven and competent people. In between qualifying as an Actuary, I took a longer than expected break, got married and had kids before I completed this journey. My family and especially my wife, made sacrifices for me to achieve my goal, but it was also worth it for them given that our extended family has experience of how education can uplift and change our lives and motivate those around us. I sacrificed a lot in return for my spouse as she was studying to be a medical specialist. In the bigger context of things, these were pleasurable sacrifices. Career-wise, it’s been about taking risks, being resilient and being aware of transformational challenges, being creative, winning some and losing some.

Q4: Looking back on the past 2 years, what has been the impact of Covid-19 on you and your family, as well as the way you work? 

A4:  Compared to my close friends and colleagues, I feel relatively blessed, as my parents are both still alive and migrated back to Ghana where the impact has been less severe compared to South Africa. I lost an uncle who was in stage 4 cancer to Covid, but experienced heartbreak when very close friends that I have grown up with lost their lives and left their young families behind.

There have been some private business setbacks, where major investments in the commercial property sector have gone underwater. However, I am fortunate enough to have a decent corporate career and have been able to survive such setbacks where I am working from home and still being able to drive our business goals to the best of my abilities.

Q5: How do you see the industry in which you work change post-Covid?

A5: Our industry lends itself well to a hybrid of remote work and office work. Being a client facing type of person, I am not a fan of total remote work as I believe in physical and social interactions in business. I’m energized by that. Elements such as culture and “corridor talk” all help in indirectly understanding a business and our colleagues. However, for me, remote work is efficient and helps in the concentration needed to execute certain tasks, plus the pleasure of avoiding mindless traffic. So! to answer your question, I foresee a hybrid model of remote and office work and a further embrace of other technological advances. Business travel, conferences may somewhat change, and this is a big part of the activities within my field of work.

Q6: What would you like to be remembered for - what type of legacy would you like to leave?

A6: Many, but for the impact that I have had on the younger generation and uplifting their lives and those around me, my contributions to the less fortunate and for loving my children, family, and friends wholeheartedly. I’d like to be remembered for being kind. At my age, I don’t feel that I have realized all my goals, but my dream continues to be able to lift all those around me in a meaningful way, and God willing, I still have lots of time to achieve that.

Q7: As we wrap up the year and reflect on where we are, are you happy with what you achieved this year?

A7: I feel that now, it’s a privilege just to be alive and spend each day with the ones I cherish. So, on that front, being able to survive and get the vaccines has been a major goal achieved. I set out the year to spend as much of my free time reading, learning new things, whether in business or understanding the world around me better. I think I have achieved that too. I’ve been mulling studying for an MBA for some time now, and I did not achieve that, but next year is another year to consider that. I had wanted to spend my Mother’s 70th birthday with her in Ghana this year, to me, she represents the gift women bring to our existence. Despite all the challenges relating to international travel I made it there and SHOWED UP for her. The past 2 years have showed me the power of giving in abundance and I set out a goal to do more of this and can also tick that box somewhat.

Q8: Which fictional character do you resonate with, and why?

A8: I’m not big on fiction and did not grow up watching Star Trek and other well-known fictional titles. This was not really an option growing up, although I must admit there are many valuable lessons to be gained from these. Perhaps its due to my background growing up in Ghana when survival was the main priority, and we could not relate to Western fiction. I’d at the expense of ridiculing myself, say that must be Forrest Gump. One of my all-time favourite movies, and about never giving up and life’s infinite possibilities, despite what appears to be many limitations. People may laugh and ridicule your ambitions, “so what! “.

Grind Feed: Kwaku Koranteng