Responsible Investment

Independent Alternatives is committed to the promotion and support of Responsible Investing in South Africa. We consider the inclusion and integration of Responsible Investing principles to be a strategic underpin in the way we manage our business, interact with our stakeholders, and manage our client portfolios.

Independent Alternatives apply the 5 key principles of the Code:

• We incorporate sustainability considerations, including environmental, social and governance, into our investment analysis and investment activities as part of the delivery of superior risk-adjusted returns to the ultimate beneficiaries.

• We demonstrate our acceptance of ownership responsibilities in our investment arrangements and investment activities.

• Where appropriate, we consider a collaborative approach to promote acceptance and implementation of the principles of CRISA and other codes and standards applicable to institutional investors.

• We recognise the circumstances and relationships that hold a potential for conflicts of interest and are committed to proactively managing these when they occur.

• We aim to be transparent about the content of our policies, how the policies are implemented and how CRISA is applied to enable stakeholders to make informed assessments.

Independent Alternatives incorporate ESG issues as an integral part of our investment process. The UN PRI emphasises that as institutional investors, we have a duty to act in the best long-term interests of our beneficiaries. In this fiduciary role, we believe that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues can affect the performance of client portfolios.

The aim of our investment process is to generate absolute returns with a low risk of capital loss over the long term for our clients. Sustainable investing is an essential component of long-term investing and embedding sustainable investment practices is in the best long-term interests of our clients.

In our view, the incorporation of ESG factors adds value to our investment process primarily in the assessment of risk-adjusted returns. While Modern Portfolio Theory defines risk as simply the volatility of returns, it is also important to consider a broader concept of risk. ESG factors allows one to capture un-priced risks, long-term trends and intangibles in a quantifiable way. In turn, this enhances our understanding of the portfolio’s risk and potentially provides additional alpha through an informational edge.