Engagement is the process whereby we interact with the companies in which we invest, to encourage those companies to improve their Environmental, Social or Governance performance. It is intrinsic to our investment strategies.
We explicitly integrate engagement into the investment process because we believe that companies with strong governance whose products and services enhance social or environmental goals should meaningfully outperform.
There are many reasons for commencing Engagement, including but not limited to concerns re board structure and governance, excessive or inappropriately structured executive compensation, management’s intention or ability to deliver shareholder expectations, disclosure of environmental information, and breaches of best practice with regard to stakeholder management.
However, while any of these factors may lead to commencement of engagement, we have decided to prioritise climate change and diversity. Our engagement priorities are supported by our voting policy, where we have a particular focus on board accountability in terms of climate and on diversity at board and senior management level.
In addition, we participate in collaborative engagement efforts. We participate in these collaborative engagements at a firm level based on materiality and items prioritised by the Responsible Investing Committee.
