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More than one chip on his shoulder

Elizabeth Joseph



Kristof Lerch has been a financial intermediary since early 2019. After completing his school career at the DHPS in Windhoek, he developed a passion for various sport activities, especially soccer and fistball, in which he had the privilege to represent Namibia internationally.

Lerch then moved to South Africa, where he completed a Bachelor of Accounting degree at the University of Stellenbosch; an honours degree in financial analysis and portfolio management at the University of Cape Town, and a postgraduate diploma in financial planning at the Stellenbosch Business School.

“In July 2018 I worked as a junior portfolio analyst at Crystal Water Investment Management, but soon learned that I missed the interaction with other people,” he told Careers.

“Therefore, in 2019, I started working as a financial planner for Simeka Wealth in Cape Town. After gathering life and work experience abroad for eight years, the increased longing for my home led me to move back to Namibia at the end of 2019.”

The Job

As a financial intermediary, he provides client-specific advice to individuals and groups on the most efficient way to manage their wealth and insure them against risks based on their needs and preferences.

Trials and Tribulations

“In 2019 I started working as a financial planner although I had only just started a part-time postgraduate diploma in financial planning. This forced me to take the initiative and gather knowledge through practical experience rather than academics.

“I was lucky to have had a great mentor who supported me while also pushing me to achieve my full potential.

“Successfully balancing the workload of my new full-time job and my part-time postgraduate diploma and taking full advantage of both opportunities has been the greatest accomplishment in my career so far,” he says.

Lerch says the best piece of advice he has received was to budget. “Always start with a budget. It is a simple but efficient way to manage one’s expenses effectively and achieve one’s goals,” he says.

More than work

His biggest passion outside work is being physically active. He took advantage of the time spent in Cape Town by learning surfing. Lerch also looks forward to resuming playing soccer and fistball.

The Future

“I would like to reinforce my position as a financial intermediary advisor at Retirement Fund Solutions by continuously improving my skills and building a solid client network. Hopefully this will enable me to build a simple but happy life for me and my family,” he says.

Pull Quote: The best piece of advice I have ever received: “Always start with a budget.” It is a simple but efficient way to manage one’s expenses effectively and achieve one’s goals. - Kristof Lerch, financial intermediary at Retirement Fund Solutions.