Sanlam Financial Advisers

Compiled by Wetumwene Shikage
Stefan Nissen, financial adviser at Sanlam Namibia

Q. Please share your educational background with us.
A. Matriculated from Wynberg Boys High School in Cape Town. I then pursued a chart plotting and navigation diploma, and I have a diploma in seafaring.

Q. What are your roles and responsibilities in this position?
A. Identifying my client’s financial needs and then providing solutions to solve these financial needs, giving my clients value and peace of mind.

Q. Please describe how you felt when you received the news that your application for this position was successful?
A. Having been employed by Old Mutual since 2017 in the same role, I was excited to apply my skills and continue to learn with Sanlam Namibia.

Q. What changes do you wish to see and implement now that you’ve been appointed?
A. To continue to create financial awareness. Make the public aware of all the opportunities available to ensure their own financial well-being. To be a trusted and reliable financial partner and continue to build strong relationships.

Q. What is your favourite thing about your job?
A. Meeting new exciting clients and providing them with the correct financial solutions.

Q. What are the biggest challenges in this position?
A. It is very easy to fall behind as this role is target-driven. Planning and forecasting your daily activities is detrimental. Tick off a task when completed and continue to the next one.

Q. Can you share your greatest achievements in your career?
A. I was the double conventional winner at Old Mutual and I was part of the team of the year for three consecutive years.

Q. What are some of the highlights in your career?
A. I recently did a financial planning webinar for the Diamond Training Institute, which was a humbling experience. I also did presentations on financial modelling and wealth creation for the University of Namibia back in 2018 and 2019. This too was a great learning curve for me.

Q. What advise do you have for youth aspiring to be in your position some day?
A. Plan, plan, plan! If you have no plan, you have no direction and no direction could lead to failure. You can be the smartest person in the world, but even an idiot with a plan could be more successful than you.

Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Having recently started a family, this has become my number one priority - spending as much time with my family as possible. I do enjoy a good workout and try to exercise regularly. I am an avid sports lover so I try to always watch a lot of sport in my downtime. I enjoy playing squash, tennis, rugby and cricket - all social for now, of course!