Sifiso, great to be in
conversation with you today on
a very critical conversation
that really does speak to the
changing environment and
appetite of investment,
particularly for institutional
investors in South Africa and
the world over.
And that's the growing interest
that we see in ESG
- environmental, social as well
as governance issues.
And that really does speak to
the kind of interactions and
engagements you must have with
clients as you speak to them on
a day to day basis.
But what do you witness in
terms of client appetite,
opportunities and perhaps maybe
even pain points that they
identify when it comes to
prioritising ESG in their
investment strategies?
Well, when it comes to ESG,
you get lots of uses of ESG data,
but you also get lots
of users of ESG data.
So depending on what type of
user you are, you'll have a
different usage for
ESG type reporting.
So if I think about asset
managers as an example,
they would use ESG data to
integrate the data into their
normal investment process.
They would want to monitor the
investment profiles or even
create their own
sustainability products.
But I think what's great about
the ESG data is that these guys
can also engage with their
multiple stakeholders when
reviewing their portfolios.
So they can use ESG in
monitoring their scoring when
they speak to their clients.
Asset owners, then,
as an example, can monitor the
asset users or the
asset managers in,
if they're acting in,
the capacity of a trustee,
then they can engage them
around their portfolios and
where the ESG scoring is.
So depending on the type of
user you are, you will have
different usage for ESG data.
Maybe I think it's important
also to note that this is an
exceptionally complex world.
There are multiple data
providers of ESG, and all of
those have got their own matrix
and their own frameworks and
their own standards.
And so it can be quite
frustrating for clients,
institutional clients
that we have.
So then they would have
challenges of understanding
this data, of making sure that
the data is of good quality,
but like anybody else we talk to,
this data is quite
expensive as well.
So having this data and
purchasing this data can be
quite a challenge.
So these are multiple
challenges that our
clients might have.
I'm glad you highlight that,
and we'll touch on the data in
just a moment just to
understand how easily it can be
accessed now through solutions
that RMB specifically have
brought to the table.
But I want us to focus on
those complexities, right?
And you talk about the fact
that the data is not measured
in the same way, not collated
in the same way.
And when you're approaching
business across the continent
like the one that we're on, in Africa,
that also comes with its own
nuances and challenges.
Are we finding that there's
some pain points to manage
there as well, when it comes
to accessing, analysing and
understanding data specific to
African investment opportunities?
So, particularly in our continent,
you know, in the African continent,
the quality of data can be
a bit challenging.
So for our clients to understand,
this can be a bit of a challenge
for them because there's all of these
multiple providers with the
complexities that I was
mentioning right now.
And for our local or African
institutional clients, accessing this
data can be a bit of a challenge.
But also understanding the
quality behind the data and how
to consolidate all of this can
be quite a bit of a
challenge for them.
Let's talk about that because
as you say, it's about access
to the data first and then
understanding how
it's collated.
Last year in September,
RMB brought about a whole new
solution to actually alleviate
these challenges here through
your ESG sustainable investment
suite, if I'm not mistaken?
Help us unpack some of the new
platforms that have been
brought to the fore to
essentially make your clients'
lives a lot easier when it
comes to analysing data
specific to ESG investment.
Lovely.
So RMB then, like you said,
came out with two ESG products.
So it's analytical products that we
launched into the market.
The one is called ESGNow and
the other one is called ESGOne.
So what's beautiful about these
platforms is that they can
consolidate all of this data
from the multiple providers.
They can package their data in
a form of, in a way that clients
can easily understand it.
So they won't need people who
have got knowledge into this,
so they can package it.
That way you can understand the
data properly, but also be
transparent around what
actually is in the data.
So if you've got a benchmarking
of some sort and you want to
benchmark yourself against your
peers or benchmark yourself
against the market, you can log
onto our platform and you can
see exactly where you're
benchmarked in relation
to the others.
You can go into the E.
So the environmental factors,
and you can spot the actual
assets that you are holding
that are making your
environmental factors to be
either high or low, so you can
go into that detail.
You can go into the social,
into the social aspects
of your portfolio.
You can double click on that,
and they show you on this
platform, you can see that
you've got stock A, B and C
that is giving you a high
scoring, because from a social
perspective they're doing great.
But also delve deeper into that
and see those scores that
maybe are not giving you
such a great scoring.
So I mean, clients then
definitely can access this.
But the beauty of it is that,
like I said earlier on,
data is quite expensive.
So we have packaged this,
made it simple,
made it understandable,
checked the quality, but made
it affordable as well.
And that's quite important.
And I am already intrigued to
understand the take up that
clients have had towards this
and how they've
received this information.
But I'm also keen for clients
who might be sitting on the
opposite end and thinking
goodness this is a great solution,
but how does it give me
a competitive edge?
And I guess help them stay on
track and in tune with the
investment criteria and
objectives that they're
hoping to achieve.
So clients in Africa can never
fall behind of the investment,
international investment community.
Investment, people who want to
invest in our continent,
take into account ESG aspects
when they want to invest,
because they're required to do so.
So we can never fall behind.
So you need, you therefore need
a solution like this for you to
be able to engage with
your investors, engage with
your stakeholders and be able
to have a meaningful
conversation
around portfolios.
So if they want to come
and use you, as an asset
manager as an example, you can
produce data that
they can understand,
that everyone can understand.
You have providers that are
internationally recognised,
that are sourcing this platform.
So you've been speaking
basically a good language that
they can understand.
So if you have this -
definitely gives you
competitive advantage
against your peers.
Certainly.
Globally competitive,
locally relevant in terms of
the data that you're attaining
and of course, making sure that
you're keeping in line with
these international trends in
terms of investment.
And affordable.
That's an important
one to remember.
Sifiso thank you so much
for your time.
Really appreciate the insights
you shared with us.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.