Responsible Investment and Stewardship Report for 2020

Purpose, People and Planet: Impact First 

by Jason Liddle, Head of Distribution at Sanlam Investments

Executive Summary

As a leading asset manager, sustainable investing has always been part of our DNA and continues to be of strategic importance to us. At the heart of our purpose is our journey towards long-term sustainability, for South African investors, our economy and communities. As change agents, everything we do is anchored in a greater purpose.

The world is changing rapidly, and our purpose has necessarily evolved well beyond wealth creation. In 2020, the asset management industry reached a critical point of inflection with regard to sustainable investing, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the world collectively began to view things very differently.

Moving into the future, our strategic priority is to be more than an asset manager; we want to be agents of sustainable change: to help each South African build a meaningful financial footprint while significantly decreasing our harmful environmental imprint. In 2021, we will continue on our path to achieve our objective of being a leader in sustainable investing.

Our reason for this is simple. We invest in people, we are aligned with the UN sustainable development goals, and we measure our success by the positive impact we have on people, communities and the planet.

Please read  Responsible Investment and Stewardship Report for 2020 where we outline all the activities and the collective efforts undertaken over the course of the past year on the dual fronts of sustainability and impact investing.