Sustainability
By connecting with members to provide advice and affordable solutions that improve their financial decision making, we aim to retain them throughout their financial journey, from their entry into a retirement fund to the time they exit or retire and continue to preserve their savings.
Our most significant contribution to sustainability comes from our responsible investing and advisory initiatives that help to redirect capital towards inclusive growth, environmental stewardship and long-term resilience. Sustainability is integrated into strategic conversations to ensure that we build a future for clients that delivers growth, inclusivity and sustainability. Our focus on sustainability is critical to ensure we play our part towards sustainable economic development for our clients, business partners, investors and broader South African society.
As a business trusted across South Africa and beyond, we strive to lead by example as a responsible corporate citizen. Our governance framework is grounded in ethical conduct, transparency, accountability and sustainability.
Core sustainability beliefs
- A purposeful strategic focus on sustainability and our own ESG performance as a corporate entity, right from the board and throughout the group, ensures our continued relevance as an impactful corporate citizen and protects our ability to sustainably deliver on our objectives to all stakeholders.
- By incorporating sustainability (including ESG considerations) into our advice, intermediary services and intermediated discretionary financial solutions we enable better risk-adjusted returns for our clients and members.
- Incorporating sustainability (including material ESG considerations) into investment advice and our multimanaged portfolios ensures improved risk adjusted returns to clients in the long run.
Alexforbes Paragon Impact
In April 2025 Alexforbes acquired the award-winning Paragon Impact technology. This acquisition enhances the group’s ESG analysis capabilities and helps our clients and customers to understand their ESG factors and broader impact on people and the environment.
The acquisition of the Paragon Impact platform adds significant depth to Alexforbes’s highly regarded and award-winning sustainability advisory services and serves as a key differentiator in the market.
The Paragon Impact platform offers robust and verifiable impact assessments aligned with the SDGs, integrating the latest ESG and impact standards into a consolidated system to enhance value creation through data analysis and ensure compliance with evolving ESG regulations.
The platform enables organisations to monitor and report their net impact credibly, supporting performance against all 17 UN SDGs with an independent SDG impact grading.
Alexforbes SDG grading
This baseline SDG assessment, conducted using the Paragon SDG Grading Platform, reflects Alexforbes's commitment to aligning financial performance with societal and environmental impact.
The organisation achieved a positive impact score of 31.40%, corresponding to an overall B Grading, with notable contributions to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Impact was recorded across all 17 SDGs, with a strong emphasis on social performance and inclusive economic development
Our response to climate change
Alexforbes recognises climate change as a material risk to our business, clients and broader society. In line with the Paris Agreement, the group is committed to supporting a just transition to a low-carbon economy. In addition to our advocacy, collaboration and client education initiatives, we integrate climate considerations into our policy frameworks, operations and investment strategies.
Our transformation intent
Supporting South Africa’s transformation priorities is an important aspect of our responsibility to society. At Alexforbes, transformation is central to our purpose. Our commitment goes beyond B-BBEE compliance, aiming to create sustainable, broad-based opportunities for those historically excluded from economic participation.
Providing financial education and learning
Alexforbes prioritises empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools to manage their finances effectively. We enhance financial literacy through targeted consumer and member education programmes, enabling people to make informed decisions about their financial well-being.
Responsible investing
We believe in the power of responsible investing by integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into our investment decisions. We aim to generate sustainable long-term returns while making a positive impact on society and the environment. Our approach ensures that your investments contribute to a better future, responsibly.
Environmental impact
As a service-based business, our direct environmental impact is limited, coming predominantly from our network of offices. Nonetheless, we strive to make the most efficient use of our natural resources. Our impacts lie in the electricity, water and paper consumed in our buildings as well as general office waste generated.
Transformation
Our commitment to transformation is deep rooted and extends beyond compliance with the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) codes of good practice. Driving execution against our transformation vision is ultimately the responsibility of the group’s board and the social, ethics and transformation committee.
Diversity & inclusion
We are committed to building a diverse team to ensure that we can harness the benefits of diversity. Diversity and inclusion focus on inclusivity, co-existence and tolerance in areas such as gender, ethnicity, religion and generational differences.