Digital makeover for Allan Gray
From today, Allan Gray stakeholders will have access to a completely new-look, easy-to-use website.
“Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned investor, a professional financial adviser or a pension fund trustee, the information you need will now be no more than a few intuitive clicks away. And the most frequently used information, such as fund prices and the latest investment performance, will be a single click away,” says Henk Pieterse, head of marketing at Allan Gray.
“Unlike our investment philosophy, which doesn’t change, we felt it was time our website changed,” says Pieterse. The site has become an important channel for clients and investment advisers to access information about the firm’s funds and products as well as their investments, he says.
While users of the new site will be the ultimate judge, Pieterse says when designing it, the focus was on making it simple to use and providing relevant information written in plain English.
“Plain English is not a new dialect or a 12th official language,” he says. But legislators and consumer protection lobbyists are working hard to ensure that it’s the new official language of consumers.
“Plain English is about transparency, simplicity and acting in investors’ best interests. Investing is complicated enough without the jargon that normally accompanies it.”
The site features bold black and white imagery, which is unmistakably Allan Gray. Some of the firm’s key values – such as its commitment to long-term thinking and the courage to think differently – are revealed in a panel at the top of the site with revolving images.
A secure area of the site provides individual investors and independent financial advisers with immediate access to their investments with the company. This includes investment statements, asset allocation, investor performance reports and instruction history, as well as the ability to submit transactions directly via the site.
