Investment consultants launch guide to improve stewardship reporting
Pardon the Interruption
This article is just an example of the content available to mallowstreet members.
On average over 150 pieces of new content are published from across the industry per month on mallowstreet. Members get access to the latest developments, industry views and a range of in-depth research.
All the content on mallowstreet is accredited for CPD by the PMI and is available to trustees for free.
The UK Investment Consultants Sustainability Working Group has published a new guide designed to improve the engagement reporting delivered by asset managers and platform providers to institutional clients.
The group said the guide is the first in a series of guidance for asset managers being released by the ICSWG over the coming months.
The group representing consultants said managers have cited the burden created by different information requests from different parties. The ICSWG seeks to address this by agreeing a common guide for engagement reporting. While the consultants involved can still seek other data relating to engagement activities, the agreed core framework aims to improve efficiency and transparency.
Amanda Latham, associate and policy & strategy lead at Barnett Waddingham and chair of the ICSWG Stewardship workstream, said reporting on broader engagement activities improves accountability and highlights the impact that the asset management industry has.
"Undertaking effective stewardship is one of the ways asset owners like pension trustees can create long-term value for beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society. This guide should help improve engagement reporting, bringing greater transparency and consistency to the process, and shows the importance of collaboration across the investment consulting firms to drive better stewardship," she added.
The Engagement Reporting Guide provides targeted engagement metrics and case studies to help investors evaluate their managers’ stewardship, with an emphasis on the outcomes achieved, the group added. It is designed to sit alongside the UK Stewardship Code, as well as the Pensions and Lifetime Saving Association's Vote Reporting Template, which requests and collects engagement data from asset managers and platform providers.
The ICSWG said it will shortly be releasing further guidance for asset managers, which will cover a range of subjects including ESG reporting metrics and consultants’ responsible investment manager assessment criteria.
