‘High octane’ is a good description for a typical day in the life of a financial manager. Inghe Schneider is TBI’s Chief Financial Officer and also happens to be our Sanlam Alternative Income Fund portfolio manager, which makes her life particularly interesting! Inghe recently gave us a glimpse of a day in her life in this video clip. If you missed it, read on for a bit more context.
Introducing Inghe Schneider, A TBI Powerhouse
At the heart of TBI’s operations for over a decade, Inghe, as the leading figure of the Sanlam Alternative Income Fund (SAIF), brings an energy and expertise that transforms traditional fund management.
You can forget the usual fund management playbook: “Managing a fund like SAIF is no walk in the park,” acknowledges Inghe. “It differs dramatically from traditional fund management.”
Inge spends much of her morning on the phone to banks, analysing, assessing and evaluating preference share contracts – a lengthy process which as she says, can take between a couple of weeks to a “whopping” six months to conclude. This is because TBI’s asset universe is so unique, comprising mostly of redeemable preference shares, with huge underlying assets valued anywhere from R100m to R800m. Inge demonstrates the kind of grit and resilience needed to navigate fluctuating economic conditions.
Tax is also a factor. Given how big the transactions and underlying assets are, tax intricacies play a significant role. “You’ve got to know the tax act inside out to navigate through it all,” says Inghe.
The challenges:
To be in a small firm but have responsibility for very big numbers, you need to be able to hold your own, especially when negotiating with teams of banking experts. Sometimes Inghe will find herself in heated debates with top tax advisors, but considers it all in a day’s work.
Does it get boring?
“Like any fund, there’s no shortage of your typically repetitive reporting and compliance reviews. Luckily I am one of those excel nerds and a lot of that work I have automated over time,” comments Inghe.
But then there are the ‘unique aspects’, as Inghe puts it – such as interviews with rating agencies to renew the fund’s credit rating. And then there’s rubbing shoulders with top banking experts and senior management at the likes of Sanlam. But Inghe admits that what fuels her in her quest for the best deals the most is working alongside a small, highly skilled team where ‘everyone knows what everyone else is capable of, and despite the challenges, I wouldn’t trade this job for anything.”
Well, we wouldn’t want to trade Inghe in for anyone else either! Her role in sculpting the success of SAIF at TBI is undeniable and we look forward to catching up with her again soon.
Watch the video with Inghe here, and subscribe to our newsletter for more industry and investing insights.
