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