Carrick Adds Zambia to Growing Suite of African Offices

With the investment license now secured, Carrick will begin the process of building a fresh team of top-tier financial advisors, led by Zambian local Carmen Hachandi. With 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, 10 of which at senior levels in international world-renowned banks including Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank and Barclays Bank in Zambia, Carmen brings to the table invaluable skills and experience in sales, trading and settlements, underscored by strong leadership qualities. The vision is to replicate or even exceed the stunning 5-times growth seen in Carrick’s Zimbabwe office since its establishment in 2017. Many of the advisors in the Zimbabwe office joined Carrick after graduating and were groomed into successful private wealth managers, with the 43% year on year growth achieved there being testament to their calibre. This investment in homegrown talent is part of our broader vision of not only creating wealth for our clients, but also in developing human capital.

Zambia has seen some truly significant changes recently, not least of which being the historic change in governance following the country’s election in August 2021. While its economy suffered Covid-19 and lockdown related setbacks along with the rest of the world, its growth of 4.0% in 2018 and 1.9% in 2019 demonstrate that as the wheels of key economic sectors start turning again, Zambia is well placed to recover lost ground and resume its upward trajectory.

Carrick’s Zambia office will be a regulated entity assisting clients with their offshore wealth and investment needs, and we look forward to seeking out the local talent we know exists, to join us in providing the standard of service offering our clients have come to expect.

Carrick recognises that the African continent is the world’s true economic frontier, home to the entrepreneurs and millionaires of tomorrow, and its ongoing expansion affirms the company’s status as a bold and optimistic pioneer in the African market.

Increasingly, wealthy African clients are demanding better outcomes from their financial services providers. This entails sound and holistic advice about global investments, discretionary investment management, and the wrapping of their portfolios in proper fiduciary support including jurisdiction-specific wills and estates planning and trust administration.

For too long, international financial services providers have viewed customers on the African continent, especially outside of South Africa, as easy sources of revenue who can be charged high premiums for services because their countries lack sophisticated and formalised financial sectors. Larger financial institutions, especially, charge high fees to African clients wishing to transact and invest, and rarely offer much in the way of wealth management services.

By contrast, Carrick wishes to fill the gap in the African market for truly global financial advisors that assist clients to safeguard and grow their wealth.

Accordingly, clients are looking to safely invest and grow their wealth in international jurisdictions, mitigating the risk of living and earning in Africa. This keeps skilled persons and entrepreneurs at home within risk parameters that are tolerable to them and their families, helping to reverse the skills and capital drain that plagues African economies.

Carrick is unique in fulfilling these needs for its clients. In addition to this, we are working hard to form partnerships with local banks, insurers, large employers and trust managers to provide complete and holistic financial management services to our clients.

Our goal is clear

Carrick wants to grow and preserve African wealth. As we expand our African footprint ever further, we are confident that the activities of financial service providers who only aim to extract wealth from African customers by overcharging them for services will be brought to an end.