More investments means more risk

Many investments firms are turning the eyes on emerging economies as mature markets offer little investment returns Boahene Asamoah examines the Renaissance Group, as its founder and CEO paids a working visit to Ghana today (Tuesday September 9)
Stephen Jennings, CEO of Renaissance Group

The founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Reniassance, the World’s leading investment banking firm, Mr Stephen visits Ghana as part of the group’s investment drive in Africa.
His visit to Ghana comes at a time when the group had recently opened a full time office in Ghana and also at a time when Ghana was increasingly becoming an investment detination within the sub-region of West Africa.
Mr Jennings is here to meet key policy makers, financial markets regulators and industry and business leaders in Ghana.
As one of the founders of Renaissance Capital in 1995, Mr. Jennings has been actively involved in building the firm's investment banking and securities sales and trading businesses.
He played a key role during the early years of the Firm's development, including serving as Head of Investment Banking, Head of Sales, and Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to establishing Renaissance Capital, Mr Jennings served as Co-Head of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), Moscow from 1992 to 1995.
He was directly responsible for Credit Suisse First Boston's investment banking during a period when CSFB was recognised as the dominant market player in developing and executing pioneering transactions in the Russian marketplace.
He has worked on numerous landmark financings and M&A transactions in Russia and throughout the CIS, many of which have won professional awards and commendations.
Before coming to Russia in 1992, Mr. Jennings was with CSFB in London, where he worked on investment banking and privatisation transactions in Central and Eastern Europe. Previously, he worked for Credit Suisse First Boston and the Treasury in New Zealand
Mr. Jennings earned his Bachelor of Business Studies degree from Massey University and holds an M.Phil. in Economics with first class honours from the University of Auckland.

Renaissance Group is the number one financial institution in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The Group's core business is Renaissance Capital, a full-service investment bank founded in 1995 with leading market positions in Middle East and Africa and other markets and research.
The group also includes several other businesses, all of which are leaders in their fields: Renaissance Investment Management (asset management for institutions and high-net-worth individuals), Renaissance Credit (consumer finance), Renaissance Partners (merchant banking/private equity), and Renaissance Online (online trading platform).

Renaissance Group which is headquartered in Moscow has in the past several years, expanded to other high-opportunity emerging markets including neighbouring Ukraine and Kazakhstan, where the firm has similar market-leading positions in investment banking, asset management and consumer credit.
Over the last two years the Group has also aggressively expanded into sub-Saharan Africa, quickly becoming a leader in rapidly emerging markets like Nigeria and Kenya.
The groups’s unique strength is in combining hard-won and detailed local market expertise with very highest standards of operational and regulatory efficiency and integrity.
In Africa the group has expanded over the past 18 months to employing more than 150 people on the ground in last 18 months.
Operations across sub-Sahara including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The group currently has $6.5 million of funds unde management, and saw a nearly 100 per cent growth in assets.
The group is also a major issuer of credit cards, with more than 12,000 credit issurance centres with a total clientele of over two million customers.
Renaissance Group has built the largest and most experienced team of world-class market professionals dedicated solely to Sub-Saharan Africa and has created a fully-fledged investment banking, asset management and merchant banking operation run by Africans in Africa in the space of just two years.
Renaissance Investment Management's Africa Fund which was launched in 2007, had assets under management of approximately $110 million as of the end of June this year and is committed to bring this up to more than $200million by the first quarter of 2009.