Isabella Mnisi, CFA

Isabella Mnisi, CFA is Sector Head: Asset Management and Retirement Funds at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), where she leads relationships with institutional investors, retirement funds and administrators across South Africa and the broader African market. She brings more than 20 years of experience spanning investment banking, investment management, and development financing.

Prior to her current role, Isabella held several senior leadership positions at Ashburton Investments, including Chief Investment Officer for Private Markets, and Head of Investment Governance and Sustainable Investing. She was instrumental in establishing the firm's unlisted assets business and served on a number of investment, governance and valuation committees. Her career has also included roles at RMB, Absa Capital and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), specialising in structured finance, infrastructure finance, debt capital markets, investment banking coverage and derivatives structuring.

In addition to her executive experience, Isabella served as a Trustee of the FirstRand Retirement Fund and was a member of its Investment Committee, helping oversee the governance and investment of retirement assets in excess of R50 billion. This experience provides her with a practical perspective on the role of pension funds as long-term stewards of capital and their contribution to economic development, retirement security and sustainable growth.

A recognised thought leader in the institutional investment industry, Isabella regularly contributes to industry development through published thought leadership on retirement funds, asset management, institutional investing and sustainable finance. She is also an active participant in industry consultations, providing commentary and input on proposed regulatory and policy developments affecting retirement funds, investors and capital markets.

Isabella is a CFA Charterholder and holds a BSc in Computer Science and Computational Mathematics, a BSc (Hons) in Advanced Mathematics of Finance from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a Master of Commerce in Finance from the University of Johannesburg.