Sustainable and Responsible Investment

We believe that well governed companies will outperform over time and by this we refer to companies which take into account risks and opportunities in relation to environmental, social, ethical and governance issues. This core belief has meant that Threadneedle has had a dedicated Governance and Responsible Investment team for many years, working on integrating analysis on these areas into the mainstream investment process. Over the past couple of years we have also responded to the market growth for sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) products and today manage both Broad and Core SRI assets.

Our Principles

• We follow governance and responsible investment principles and procedures.
• The analysis of governance, social, ethical and environmental factors is integral to our investment decision-making process.
• We are pro-active shareholders and aim to have a high level of transparency around our operations and procedures.

The Integrated SRI approach

• We aim to fully integrate SRI in the mainstream investment management process by analysing environmental, social and governance factors as an integral part of our fundamental research, and engage with companies on key issues.
• We actively practice proxy voting to promote good governance.

Our Strategic Commitment to SRI

• Threadneedle has a strategic commitment to expand SRI practices with particular focus on the Nordic and European markets.
• Signatories to:
  • The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).
  • The Climate Disclosure Project (CDP).
  • The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
• Members of:
  • European Social Investment Forum (EUROSIF).
  • United Kingdom Sustainable Investment and Finance (UK SIF).
  • The Association of British Insurers (ABI)where the Head of Governance and Responsible Investment holds a seat on the committee.
• We were voted number 3 in the 2008 Thomson Extel SRI Survey in the category "Leading Fund Management Firm for SRI".

The Governance and Responsible Investment team

• Active since 1998.
• The team feeds SRI research and analysis into the mainstream investment process and sits on the main investment floor.
• The team is also responsible for our global proxy voting mandate and for SRI reporting.

Learn more about SRI at Threadneedle