Global investment firm Vanguard has written an open letter to the directors of public companies worldwide specifying its priorities that it will engage with firms about as part of its stewardship programme. The letter, from its chairman and chief executive William McNabb, stressed that Vanguard is a long term investor – shares in its index […]
Read MoreInvestors in leading Swiss companies are increasingly prepared to vote against management, particularly over executive pay, according to research by the Ethos Foundation. Ethos, a pension fund-led responsible investment foundation shows that amongst the 200 companies comprised in the stock market index SPI, the average approval rate for items put to a shareholder vote reached […]
Read MoreSustainable investment specialist, Walden Asset Management, has withdrawn a resolution due to be voted on at a Vanguard mutual fund meeting in November. The resolution had challenged the proxy voting records on shareholder resolutions addressing significant social and environmental issues. As one of the largest fund managers in the world Vanguard’s proxy voting record has […]
Read MoreInvestors are increasingly pushing some of the world’s biggest companies to commit to reducing their impact on the global forests, according to an analysis of shareholder resolutions put forward at US AGMs. The report was published by the Global Canopy Programme, a think tank aiming to accelerate a transition to a deforestation free economy. Analysis of […]
Read MoreAustralia’s Financial Services Council (FSC) which represents the country’s fund management and pensions industry has launched an Internal Governance and Asset Stewardship Standard for investment managers and asset owners. This is the first stewardship code introduced in Australia and the FSC noted that the country had lagged behind Asian markets including Japan and South Korea as […]
Read MoreA group of institutional investors with over £100 billion assets under management, coordinated by responsible investment pressure group, ShareAction, has requested that Marks & Spencer accredits as a Living Wage employer because they believe there will be significant benefits for investment portfolios, companies, and workers’ livelihoods. Strathclyde Pension Fund and large City investors wrote to […]
Read MoreThe EU’s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance, established by the European Commission, has published its interim report and made early recommendations to move Europe towards a low carbon, more resource-efficient and sustainable economy. The Commission said that this report is part of its broader efforts to map out a strategy on sustainable finance, which formed […]
Read MoreThe Financial Stability Board (FSB) welcomed the publication this week of the final report by the industry-led Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) which included recommendations for effective disclosure of climate-related financial risks. Over 100 company bosses with a combined market cap of around $3.5tn and financial institutions responsible for assets of about $25tn […]
Read MoreKenya has adopted an investor stewardship code as part of its development as an attractive market for financial investment. The stewardship code was enacted by the country’s Capital Markets Authority which last year published a corporate governance code, developed in partnership with the World Bank Group. This code succeeded the earlier guidelines on corporate governance, which […]
Read MoreThere are no legal or regulatory barriers to pension funds, whether defined contribution or defined benefit, making investments that support the wider social good, according to a new report by the UK’s Law Commission. Current barriers identified by the Commission were, in most cases, structural and behavioural rather than legal or regulatory, the report concluded. Barriers are […]
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