Insights
Emerging Markets ESG and Sustainability - 2022 Report
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Engagement Report
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April 12, 2022
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April 12, 2022
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Emerging Markets ESG and Sustainability - 2022 Report |
With more than three decades of investing in emerging markets, our team has long recognized the importance of sustainable development and ESG challenges.
When identifying and evaluating stocks, our portfolio managers place a great deal of emphasis on the quality of leadership, sustainable drivers of value and pathways for growth. We also believe that socialization of ESG factors in EM will mean an added set of disclosures and transparency over time, which will be critical not just to a fuller understanding of ESG risks and opportunities but to offer an additional lens on the quality of the businesses in which we invest.
As active managers, we have always believed in the importance of direct dialogue with company management, and since 2017, we have added dedicated ESG engagements to our process. Material ESG issues are incorporated into our general management meetings, but we also believe that specific engagements allow us to look beyond an ESG data point and understand at a deeper level how a company’s ESG risks and opportunities are evolving, and impacting corporate strategy, current operations and long-term financial performance. We are then able to evaluate qualitative and quantitative ESG factors in greater detail and integrate them into our investment decisions. Our portfolios consist of companies that we believe will remain proactive and resilient, and continue to generate sustainable earnings growth in the face of critical environmental and social challenges globally.
Finally, as responsible managers, we actively examine and vote our proxies. Voting represents the direct participation of shareholders in the overall governance of a corporation and offers shareholders a voice on important issues, such as director independence and executive compensation. In 2021, we voted at 263 meetings and reviewed 2,823 proposals across our team’s strategies. We voted against management 8% of the time, the majority of which were on board/directors’ independence issues and executive compensation. Further, investor expectations for independence and diversity of board members and increased disclosures are growing. We believe both are part of a nascent effort to refresh stale boards in EM, an effort that can bring fresh perspectives, added expertise and more accountability.