We encourage the companies we invest in to do better
Stewardship means using our power as investors to encourage companies to improve. It can involve placing votes at shareholder meetings, or talking to the people who run the companies we invest in.
Our aim is to help companies be successful, and to encourage them to contribute positively to the economy, environment and society.
What stewardship looks like at ReAssure
At ReAssure we use asset management partners to carry out some of our day to day investment management activities. For some funds we have a contract with these partners, called a mandate, that sets out responsibilities and what our expectations are.
We believe that good stewardship needs strong relationships and clear goals. We can use three paths to get there:
Asset management partners
Our partners carry out stewardship for us
Stewardship team
Our in-house team engages directly with companies
Other investors
Our in-house team joins forces with others to boost influence
Our stewardship in action
Together, our asset managers and in-house Stewardship team meet with hundreds of companies each year, ranging from big pharmaceutical suppliers to renewable energy companies. Our asset managers have placed votes at meetings on our behalf. Along with our inhouse Stewardship team, they’ve talked to leaders about climate change, nature and human rights.
We consider the risks and the opportunities faced by companies in a changing world. It’s all part of managing investment risk and supporting investment returns over the long term.
How we use voting and engagement to influence change
Voting and engagement are the main ways we can influence positive change:
As shareholders in a company our asset managers can vote for or against proposals at meetings.
Along with our asset managers, we meet with business leaders to talk about what could drive positive change.
What are the environmental, social and governance factors we focus on?
To keep our stewardship work focused, we have four themes that we prioritise in our conversations with company leaders:
- climate change – climate change presents both risks and opportunities for the companies we invest in
- human rights – we believe that companies are responsible for respecting human rights
- nature – we recognise the need for companies to protect and restore the planet’s natural resources
- international standards – incidents linked to misalignment with the United Nations Global Compact principles
What we ask our asset management partners to do
When an asset management partner carries out stewardship on our behalf we ask that they:
- sign up – to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment and if relevant, the stewardship code for their country, for example the UK Stewardship Code 2020
- respond – to the Asset Owner Diversity Charter questionnaire every year
- target net zero – support our net zero strategy and apply our exclusion policy which explains what we won’t invest in
We also encourage our asset managers to:
- be focused – choosing a list of companies to engage with
- research – to monitor and assess companies
- vote – considering our views and placing votes on behalf of our customers
- engage – set engagement objectives and take action if progress isn’t made
- report– update us regularly on engagement and voting activities
Who are our asset manager partners?
You can find out more about our main asset management partners and their approaches to stewardship and voting here:
External asset managers
As well as our main asset management partners, we work with managers who run External Fund Links (EFLs) – which means we can offer more investment choice for customers. ReAssure does not have direct control over the way external funds are run, but we still encourage these asset managers to sign up to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
The PRI is a world leader and champion of responsible investment. It helps companies to put responsible investment into action.
You can find out which of our EFL asset managers have signed up to the PRI here.
Or you can look up an asset manager on the PRI signatory website
Document links
Read the ReAssure approach to stewardship
Read the Phoenix Group stewardship policy
Read the Phoenix Groups global voting principles
Read the Phoenix Group expectation of companies
Read the Phoenix Group responsible investment philosophy
Read the Phoenix Group sustainability report
