Standard Bank Group achieved first- or second-place rankings in 20 of the 40 research categories listed in the Financial Mail’s prestigious 46th annual Top Analysts Awards, announced on 31st May 2022. These results underscore our thought leadership on financial markets and the broader investment environment across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The results of the ‘Ranking the Analysts Survey’reveal that the Standard Bank Group, and its subsidiary SBG Securities, surpassed 29 competitors in claiming top spot across 14 wide-ranging research categories.
Additionally, of the six supplementary industry service categories, Standard Bank ranked first for administrative efficiency, and placed in the top three for sales, corporate access, and equities execution.
“Our strong performance in this survey exhibits the extraordinary level of expertise in our Research team, who in turn have created enormous value for our clients and our business. The results also attests the success of the ongoing initiatives to bolster efficiencies and foster innovation, agility, and the resilience required to further improve our client service, especially in sales and administration,” said Marc Ter Mors, head of equity research at Standard Bank.
Although Standard Bank performed better across most metrics in the survey, the weighted average measurement methodology of the rankings meant the Bank ranked second overall.
“While the Standard Bank Group placed first overall in the six consecutive years prior, we do not see our silver medal this year as a relapse. Indeed,the Group ranked first in three more categories than previously, thereby retaining the top spot across seven overall league tables most notably in the AuM Weighted and Sectors Unweighted groupings. This underscores the increased breadth of the franchise and the robust client service model we have implemented,” said Ter Mors.
Based on votes weighted by brokerage paid, Standard Bank Group analysts earned top accolades in the following research categories: General Mining, Gold Mining, Commodities, Industrial Metals, Resources for Small and Medium Market Cap Companies, Beverages and Tobacco, Luxury Goods, Investment Companies, Real Estate, Food Producers, Africa Equities, Africa Ex-SA Non-equities; Domestic Economic Analysis, Political Analysis, and Credit Analysis. Notable top three positions in other categories include Investment Strategy, Precious Metals, Oil & Gas, Household Retailers, Telcos, Banks, Fixed Interest, and Global Economics.
Not only do the above accolades reflect the research strength within the Standard Bank Group, the breadth of success across the categories speak to the bank’s caliber of work across Africa.
For instance, achieving top spots in mining, commodities, metals, and oil & gas, demonstrates how the Group’s success in providing clients with specialist insights on investment potential in the resources sector. The Group has provided its clients access to multi-disciplinary expert teams who have assisted with identifying opportunities and navigating risks and challenges in these sectors.
Additionally, Standard Bank has committed to several programmes to advance racial and gender equality both inside and outside its business. These endeavors are well represented by the individual investment analysts from SBGS who claimed the top spots across the research categories – they make up a team rich in racial, gender, and age diversity.
“Our award-winning analysis serves as a window into the content through which we can identify the opportunities and risks across multiple disciplines and sectors. This not only helps us to make the right financial decisions alongside our clients, but also offers us the insight to help guide our clients in their business and investment journeys on the continent,” said Ter Mors.