The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is pleased to announce that Satrix, one of South Africa’s biggest providers of index-tracking investment solutions, listed the Satrix Inclusion and Diversity ETF (SatrixID), a first of its kind for South Africa, further enhancing the JSE’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investor offering.
The Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which will trade under JSE code STXID, will give investors exposure to 30 JSE-listed companies that are high-performers in implementing inclusion and diversity policies in their workplaces. Satrix developed the ETF in partnership with Refinitiv, a subsidiary of London Stock Exchange and the world's largest provider of financial markets data and infrastructure.
Investors in the ETF will be able to track the performance of the Inclusion and Diversity index, which measures progress made by companies in the rolling out of socially responsible policies across their operations.
The index uses metrics such as gender, race, disability, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, flexible working and daycare facilities for working mothers, black economic empowerment (BEE), and investment in training staff.
Helena Conradie, CEO of Satrix, said “We appreciate that an index can’t capture the complex nature of inclusion and diversity. These are ever-changing and sometimes controversial concepts, but by opening the conversation, raising awareness and identifying areas for change, we hope to inspire and encourage businesses and investors to participate and invest in the change we all want to see. It’s not our biggest IPO to date, I think it might even be the smallest, but it is without a doubt one of the most important ones. It’s the change we believe impact investing can bring about”.
The listing of SatrixID brings the number of ETF listings on the JSE to 84 with a total ETF market capitalisation of over R114 billion.
Adèle Hattingh, JSE’s Business Development and Exchange Traded Products Manager, said, “More often than not, ESG-linked products tend to focus on environment and governance issues, while overlooking social aspects. SatrixID addresses this challenge by placing the spotlight on diversity and inclusion and primary socio-economic issues facing South Africa.”
She pointed out that diverse and inclusive workplaces create teams that are more creative, innovative and responsive to changes.
“These teams are better positioned to understand the wide range of forces shaping their businesses, the economy and the world. Ultimately diverse teams perform better, creating the potential for their companies to yield better long-term results,” Hattingh concluded.
