Cape Town - Umbono Fund Managers, which formed part of Mashudu Ramano's consortium that put in a last-minute bid for African Harvest last week but withdrew it two days later, said yesterday it would continue to seek alliances.
This was in order to grow current assets, which had averaged R2.3 billion this year.
Umbono, which was launched last May although the company was registered in 2000, had looked at acquiring at least two other asset management companies this year, aside from the joint counterbid for African Harvest.
Tendai Musikavanhu, Umbono's chief executive, said the aim had been to acquire "good assets at a good price", but the potential deals did not go ahead.
Umbono's decision to partner Ramano in a counterbid for African Harvest was motivated by the growing trend towards "core satellite" fund management.
Musikavanhu said: "Sound strategy, offering a win-win synergistic relationship to both Umbono and African Harvest, underpinned our intentions."
Umbono believed that a core satellite product offering to institutional funds, where Umbono would remain focused on passive fund management (the core) and African Harvest would remain focused on active fund management (the satellites), would be a winning strategy.
The passive fund manager, which offers indexation and related products to clients, hit the R2 billion mark in assets under management six months after its debut.
Umbono, which entered into a strategic equity partnership agreement with Old Mutual last year, said indexation was a fast-growing international trend.
Following the withdrawal of the counterbid by the Ramano-Umbono consortium last week, African Harvest said the R366.1 million bid for a substantial portion of the assets by a consortium led by Mzi Khumalo, which was put on the table more than two months ago and includes management members of African Harvest Capital, would proceed.
African Harvest closed 4c down at R1.70 yesterday.