Old Mutual Limited is a pan-African investment, savings, insurance, and banking group. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the Botswana Stock Exchange. It was founded in South Africa by John Fairbairn in 1845 and was demutualised and listed on the London Stock Exchange and other stock exchanges in 1999. It introduced a new strategy, called 'managed separation', that entailed the separation of its four businesses – Old Mutual Emerging Markets, Nedbank, UK-based Old Mutual Wealth and Boston-based Old Mutual Asset Management (OMAM) – into standalone entities in 2018. This led to the demerger of Quilter plc (formerly 'Old Mutual Wealth') and the unbundling of its shareholding in Nedbank. The business, which is now largely based in South Africa, provides sponsorship and supports bursaries at South African universities. History The company was founded in 1845 as a mutual insurance company by John Fairbairn, together with several other prominent Cape Town figures, such as the liberal politician Saul Solomon. The original name The Mutual Life Assurance Society of the Cape of Good Hope was changed to The South Africa Mutual Life Assurance Society in 1885. In 1939, the Old Mutual art deco office opened in Darling Street as the Mutual Building ('Mutualgebou' in Afrikaans) which has since been converted to residential use and known as "Mutual Heights". In 1956, Old Mutual relocated its head office to Mutualpark in Pinelands, at that time the largest office block in the southern hemisphere. Old Mutual acquired a major shareholding in the newly formed Mutual & Federal in 1970, acquiring the remaining shares in 2009. Mutual & Federal was renamed as Old Mutual Insure on 5 June 2017, and is now a part of the Old Mutual Emerging Markets business. In 1973, Old Mutual acquired shareholding in Nedcor Bank (renamed the Nedbank Group in 2005). In 1997 and 1998, the company acquired UK stockbrokers Capel-Cure Myers and Albert E. Sharp respectively, which then merged to form Capel-Cure Sharp. By 1999 it was demutualised and the company listed on the London, Johannesburg, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Namibian Stock Exchanges as Old Mutual. Old Mutual also established a head office in London. In 2000, it bought the Gerrard Group, a financial services concern, for $857 million. Capel-Cure Sharp subsequently merged with Greig Middleton, Gerrard Group's private client business. Old Mutual sold Gerrard to Barclays Bank plc in 2003.