Investments

Social Bond issuance to hit R4bn in SA within year; sustained growth expected for years to come

The market for bonds issued to meet environmental and social outcomes is expected to grow exponentially in South Africa within the next year. Social Bonds are expected to feature prominently, as the country looks to “build back better” post Covid-19.

Move toward alternative investments augers well for push into infrastructure

According to a new survey by CoreDataResearch Ltd, 40% of the surveyed global institutional investors plan to increase their asset allocation to alternative investments in 2021/2022. This trend is of local relevance given the proposed changes to Regulation 28 that would allow retirement funds to increase their exposure to infrastructure investments, many of which are in the unlisted space.

Consumer price inflation curbed by education and housing, but it will soon breach 5% due to higher fuel and administered prices

Investing clients’ cash for good

Global asset managers have to go beyond filling their investment portfolios with green companies to ‘walk the talk’ by considering sustainability in every aspect of their operations. “We are well-rehearsed at incorporating sustainability into our investing activities,” says Kondi Nkosi, Country Head: South Africa at Schroders. “[Our current focus] is on walking the talk as we make headway on our journey towards being a carbon neutral organisation”. The asset manager is among those that have signed the Net Zero Asset Manager initiative as part of a global drive to transition to a lower carbon world. Nkosi was commenting during a Schroders’ presentation titled How sustainability will be fundamental to progress.