 
Interview with: Glen Steward, Founder and President, Stewards Investment Capital
In an increasingly competitive investment landscape, standing out is essential. For Stewards Investment Capital, a specialist investment consultancy, this comes in several forms: encouraging its investor clients to support alternative assets such as private credit, or providing in-depth market analysis on new niche opportunities. The firm is also aware of its responsibility; By investing in telecommunications infrastructure in Africa and other projects designed to create positive social impact, the company puts sustainability at the forefront, while helping to expand financial inclusion in countries around the world. Global Finance spoke with Glen Steward, Founder and Chairman, to learn more about the company’s innovative, award-winning approach and how it leverages its power to combine social impact with long-term growth for its investors.
Can you tell us a little about Stewards Investment Capital, including your main services and areas of expertise?
We are a specialist investment advisory firm and have been operating for over 25 years under the Stewards Group of Financial Companies. We develop niche investment solutions tailored to emerging market trends, specifically targeting high net worth individuals (HNWIs) and institutional investors. Our expertise lies in private equity, alternative investments and sustainable investing, and we strive to help our clients navigate complex financial landscapes to achieve their goals.
What is your fundamental mission?
Our goal is to enable investors to achieve their financial goals through informed and responsible investment decisions. Led by a team of investment experts, our goal is to grow and nurture their wealth, helping them build a lasting legacy. But we believe that our investment strategy must not only maximize profits, but also create real value for the company and its stakeholders. Whether we are supporting growth through infrastructure or improving opportunity through financial inclusion, our goal is to do good while generating returns.
In which regions do you operate?
We operate internationally, but have a particularly strong physical presence in Mauritius, South Africa and the United States through our affiliated financial companies and our investee companies. In Mauritius, we manage an in-house PCC fund and a multi-strategy fund, and in the United States, we manage a private credit operation from our offices in New York and Florida.
How do you help investors identify emerging market trends and new investment opportunities?
We provide valuable insights through our Market Intelligence Desk, offering regular analysis reports and direct consultations; investors also have access to our research. Our expertise enables clients to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing investment landscape. We also focus on discovering niche sectors with high growth potential, providing investors with a competitive advantage in identifying early-stage opportunities.
We’re helping to build a future where returns aren’t just measured in dollars.
How to maximize returns for clients while managing risks and preserving future wealth?
This is done primarily through a disciplined investment approach that emphasizes diversification, in-depth research and a solid understanding of market dynamics. Using advanced risk management techniques and continually monitoring portfolio performance, we proactively adjust our strategies to mitigate risk, while ensuring long-term wealth preservation and growth. Our approach balances potential returns with a strategic awareness of risk, ensuring sustainable growth that aligns with our investors’ long-term goals.
How can you contribute to digital asset investments?
We offer two solutions for investors interested in digital assets: the Spectrum Fund and the Zenith Fund. The Spectrum Fund aims to outperform passive investments in Bitcoin, while the Zenith Fund uses market-neutral strategies like arbitrage to generate returns from market inefficiencies.
What innovative or unconventional investment strategies do you use?
We emphasize diversification through the use of alternative asset products. While traditional advisors often diversify their fixed income portfolios by selecting bonds across different sectors and jurisdictions, we encourage our investors to explore emerging asset classes. Our deal origination desk has a strong pipeline of private investments in the alternative space that we offer exclusively to our clients.
These alternative assets not only offer higher risk-adjusted returns, but also have lower correlations with global markets, creating more resilient portfolios and helping investors better withstand market volatility while maximizing returns.
What specific alternative assets do you cover?
We have a strong preference for asset-backed bridge financing, including collateral in the form of prime real estate in developed countries. Through our investment in US-listed FAVO Capital, which provides finance to SMEs, we are also encouraging investors to explore private credit, with business loans generating returns well above prime rates and offering a period rapid reimbursement. We have also recently expanded our infrastructure finance business, which we believe has significant potential in Africa.
As private credit offers strong financial returns, a growing number of investors are looking to Africa for opportunities that also generate social and environmental benefits. Impact investing, particularly in infrastructure and telecommunications, makes it possible to combine financial returns and positive social impact.
How do these investments help solve problems related to financial inclusion?
Private credit continues to play an important role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are often underserved by traditional banks. By providing these businesses with much-needed capital, private credit promotes economic growth and job creation. This in turn helps reduce poverty and promote financial inclusion across the continent. By investing in telecommunications towers in South Africa, we are helping to bridge the digital divide by enabling greater internet access and bringing connectivity to urban and rural areas. We are helping to build a future where returns are measured not just in dollars, but also in positive impact on society, and our goal is to equip communities with the tools they need to succeed in the modern economy .
Otherwise, how can responsible investment be promoted?
We integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into every step of our investment decision-making process. Our sustainability initiatives include community impact investments, partnerships with organizations that drive social change, and efforts to reduce our operational environmental footprint. We are committed to being transparent in our CSR objectives and regularly assess our impact on stakeholders and the environment.
I believe our greatest success is the trust our investors place in us
How do you support the personal growth and development of your employees?
We focus on providing on-the-job training programs and mentoring opportunities, with access to industry certifications. We also offer our employees the opportunity to attend international investment events and summits. We encourage a culture of continuous improvement and support the career aspirations of our team members through tailored development plans. Traveling through our different offices also allows our team members to experience different markets. This investment in our talent not only improves their skills and knowledge, but also strengthens the overall performance of our team.
What are you most proud of as a company?
We are proud to have consistently outperformed market benchmarks and received global accolades for our innovative investment strategies, including the Best Innovation in Fixed Income Investing Award from Global Finance and the Structured Deal of the Year award awarded by International Private Banker. Above all, I believe that our greatest success lies in the trust our investors place in us.
What are your future goals?
Our vision is to expand our presence in emerging markets and we want to continue to innovate. We aim to deepen our commitment to sustainability and responsible investing, while maintaining our high standards of customer service and performance. Our core mission is to be a trusted partner to our investors, enabling them to create and preserve their wealth with confidence and integrity.
We are committed to building strong, lasting relationships with our investors, based on trust, transparency and a shared vision of success. We believe that our holistic approach to investment management not only benefits our investors, but also contributes positively to society as a whole, helping to create lasting impact in countries around the world.