Empowerment credentials credited

South African financial services firms are obliged to report empowerment progress under the Financial Sector Charter Code. The financial services regulators — the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority — take empowerment factors into consideration when awarding and maintaining financial services sector licenses. Progress in this area is therefore not only the right thing to do but is also a regulatory requirement. Director BRENDAN AFRICA explains Foord’s path to achieving an empowerment milestone.

Foord’s independent verification agency has now rated Foord Asset Management as a Level 1 Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) contributor — the highest level possible under the current financial sector codes. This outcome reflects the firm's commitment to building a diverse and inclusive South African business that embraces the principles of employment equity and redress.

Foord has achieved this outcome by embedding the principles of transformation within its overall business strategy and by implementing various purpose-specific initiatives. These include meaningful ownership diversification to include an empowerment trust and senior staff, achieving a balanced staff composition in terms of race and gender, proactively developing and promoting staff into leadership positions, and facilitating broad skills development programmes within the firm and externally. 

Foord has also implemented structured procurement programs to prioritise emerging black and women suppliers. The firm has developed an industry-first series of illustrated children’s books on savings and investing that also serves as the foundation for its investment in proactive consumer education, another requirement under the code. While we are pleased with the Level 1 rating, we take more pride in the small, but important, socio-economic difference we are contributing to the country and the next generation of investors.