Finance in SA remains lily-white

One wouldn’t want to wish the mining industry’s unrest and upheaval on anyone. It has, however, highlighted the strife that inequality in pay and working conditions and the need for more equitable representation can produce. The spotlight on the financial sector is considerably different. By the broadest definition of financial services, the sector controls about R12 trillion worth of assets, with around R9 trillion managed by SA’s 130 asset management companies. According to figures provided to parliament last year, only R408.3bn (or 4.6%) is managed by black asset management companies. The extent of this distortion was laid bare last year when public hearings were held in parliament on transformation in the sector by the standing committee on finance and the portfolio committee on trade and industry. Further evidence of the sad state of affairs is available in 27four Investment Managers’ annual BEEconomics survey. According to this study, black firms manage about R415.5bn of the r...