IndexMore – a Satrix and BlackRock iShares collaboration

Satrix, South Africa’s leading index manager has set up an educational collaboration with BlackRock’s iShares, the largest ETF provider globally. The purpose of this collaboration is to bring relevant and topical investing information to the South African investing public. The collaboration was launched this week with an inaugural webinar focusing on Global Megatrends – the real drivers of future growth.

“Satrix has worked closely with BlackRock over many years and being able to pool research efforts to bring our investors even more educational content makes complete sense to us. South Africans have become very comfortable investing globally and this collaboration supports this need for more product and information. ” says Satrix CEO, Helena Conradie.

The megatrends shaping our future

The webinar hosted by Satrix saw Helena Conradie chatting to BlackRock’s Lead Strategist for the Thematic Fund Range in EMEA, Rob Powell. Rob unpacked the megatrends which BlackRock see shaping our lives and investing futures. Megatrends are long-term global trends in technology, society, the environment, and demographics with a high potential to change how we live and work.

The five trends Rob outlined cover all aspects of our modern lives. In order he spoke about the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity; changing demographics; rapid urbanisation and the development of smart cities and the impending shift in global power from west to east. And all of this being underpinned and supported by increasing technological advances.

Whilst these trends are not necessary novel, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the speed with which some of these megatrends have had to develop in recent months - from genomics and immunology, to remote technology and clean energy. Even global power shifts have been heightened, as the origin and source of the virus comes under scrutiny.

These trends don’t exist in isolation, and when they collide and overlap, new investment themes occur. Identifying the potential for structural change and investing in expected transformations early can be a key driver of successful investing. This may be an opportunity for investors to position their portfolios for long-term growth potential. In other words, investing in the future is key to securing their future.

ENDS