Foord Turns 40

Foord opened its doors for business on 1 October 1981 in Market House, Greenmarket Square. Then known as Foord & Meintjes, founders Dave Foord and Liston Meintjes were joined by receptionist Loretta Macleod (retired 2020). The company became Foord Asset Management in 2001, after Liston’s emigration.

So, 1 October 2021 marks Foord’s 40th anniversary. We’re immensely proud of this major milestone. The founders’ vision was never to be the biggest, but to be the best. They wanted to run an investment boutique, looking after a few people’s money really well. It has been our privilege to serve our longest-standing investors over all this time—we thank them and our more recent investors for their loyalty.

Forty years on, this vision of long-term investment stewardship is unchanged. Our forward-looking, value-oriented, long-term investment philosophy that prioritises risk management over shooting for the corners has proved to safely compound retirement savings and to defeat inflation. We will continue in this rewarding endeavour.

Several other important milestones loom in 2022. The Foord Umbrella Provident Fund—retirement vehicle of Foord staff and those of associate companies—will turn 35; Foord Guernsey and the Foord International Fund have a silver anniversary; Foord Unit Trusts will celebrate 20 years in business and new-kid-on-the-block Foord Singapore and the Foord Global Equity Fund reach double digit track records.

We have proudly built a culture across the continents that reflects the Foord DNA—not just in terms of our investment philosophy, but also in our commitment to investment stewardship. This takes time and patience, but also trust and humility. These are qualities that have served us well for the past 40 years and today are the pillars of our reputation.