There is mounting evidence that engagement by investors with companies and managers on Environmental, Social and Governance-related issues (ESG) can create lasting change and boost shareholder value in companies. At LGT CP, active ownership is an integral part of our ESG framework. Depending on the asset class, the engagement may take different forms.

In our newly published Active Ownership Report 2022 for Sustainable Equity and Fixed Income we report that our investment teams engaged with 59 companies in 18 countries during the last year, resulting in a total of 125 active ownership engagements; the vast majority in Europe (66%), followed by the Americas (32%) and Asia (2%).

Across equities and fixed income, most discussions were outcome-orientated (52%), which allows for a focus that is both measurable and traceable. 38% of the engagements were research-orientated, and 10% reactive, i.e. through systematic monitoring.

The main category for engagements were environmental issues (35%), followed by governance (16%) and social (15%) matters. A third of the meetings (34%) covered multiple ESG-related angles.

Specifically, the top 5 topics of the engagement dialogues were related to climate change (17%), general ESG (13%), pollution (7%), health and safety (7%), and labor practices and supply chain management (7%).

More details, as well as select case studies, can be found in our newly published Active Ownership Report 2022.

Good to know

In Sustainable Equity and Fixed Income, our investment teams have promoted active ownership since we established these strategies in 2009. Our engagement work spans various types of activities, including:

• Direct dialogue with companies
• Proactive engagement to drive positive change and measurable outcomes
• Research-related engagement
• Investor collaborations
• Reactive engagement, i.e. systematic monitoring of news flow on investee companies
• Proxy voting in equity investments
• Promoting green and social financing in fixed income investments