How have we been empowering the companies we invest in toward better governance practices, which we believe will produce long-term, sustainable growth?
UBS-AM insights from the 2022 AGM season shareholder voting
- It is no longer enough to have a net zero commitment in place
- An increase in socially-themed proposals was primarily driven by racial and civil rights audits
- AGMs provided compelling evidence of the importance of stewardship
- We elected not to support approximately 65% of all ‘say-on-pay’ proposals at US companies
Highlights from the UBS-AM 2021 Stewardship Report
- Supported 100% of climate resolutions flagged by ClimateAction 100+
- Supported 67% of ESG-related proposals
- Details of companies when engagement led us to exclude companies from the investment universe
- One of few with such a voting record amongst the largest CA100+ members
Focus areas for 2022
- Firm commitment to existing 2021 policies with climate at the core
- Update topics in Proxy voting policy:
Gender diversity
- We expect at least 30% female representation for companies with at least 10 board seats
- Where this is not the case, we will vote against the board director responsible
Ethnic diversity
- We will now require the Board to include at least one director from an ethnically diverse background
- For 2022, this will apply to companies in the FTSE 100 Index and S&P500.
Engagement at a glance
- 430 engagement meetings
- +1150 meetings with Company management teams
- 25% of engagements reflected a positive outcome or progress towards objective
- In 37% of the cases, the dialogue with companies gave us specific insights in relation to AGM items and proxy voting
Our key priorities
- Driving the sustainability transition through Planet, People, Partnership
- Influencing as investors in equities, fixed income, alternatives, active and passive strategies