Our Transformation
There is a direct link between the prosperity of our country and the prosperity of our clients. As an enabler of economic activity, a custodian of people’s savings and a large employer, we have a role to play in addressing inequality within our society. Our robust transformation strategy aims to develop and support diversified and transformed talent both within our organisation and externally; grow black ownership of our business; and support previously disadvantaged communities.
To develop a truly diverse workforce across our organisation, we have a dedicated Transformation subcommittee made up of members of the Executive. The committee’s role is to drive sustainable and meaningful change across four key areas.
For more detailed information on our employment equity and other impact related activities, download our Transformation Report.
We aim to recruit and retain more black people and women talent, while also advancing our current professionals through skills development and mentorship programmes. Our successful initiatives to develop investment talent include tertiary scholarships (through the Imfundo Trust) and our investment leadership programmes, the Graduate Accelerated Programme (GAP) and Investment Analyst Development programme.
Our boutique business structure enables us to offer ownership stakes to our staff through the Equity Ownership Scheme. Our target is to achieve 30% black ownership by 2023 – and we are well on our way to reaching that objective.
Driving Corporate Transformation
As active stewards of our clients’ capital, we regularly engage with investee companies to influence their transformation agendas. Our proxy voting records detail the various transformation issues we champion, which include board composition, the configuration of B-BBEE transactions and appropriate succession planning.
Our affiliates manage investments in education, agriculture, affordable housing and infrastructure, all of which have dual mandates to achieve commercially acceptable returns while addressing social needs in historically disadvantaged communities.
Our Score
We are certified as a broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) Level 1 contributor on a scale of level 8 to level 1 (with level 1 being the highest possible rating). We attained this level in April 2021, having previously been at a level 2 since 2013. Download our 2021/2022 B-BBEE Certificate and B-BBEE Scorecard