Ominder Dhillon
“Engagement is a long game, but it is going to become increasingly shorter and that’s partly due to reputational issues quickly percolating through social media.” Ominder Dhillon, M&G Investments
practice. There is still confusion and many non-believers, but regulation is clearly moving in the right direction.
When it comes to stewardship, I manage bonds and so I cannot participate in votes, but this has changed massively. We have sent emails to companies in China and within a few hours the CEO answered our list of ESG questions. There is clearly a new level of awareness about this issue. So there has been a bit of pushback, but I am pleasantly surprised that everybody is on the same path and feels that they have to change. Stewardship is the way to get more power. Everybody is responding positively because there’s an accountability that was not there a few years ago. It gives our voice more weight. Williams: It is important within stewardship that asset owners hold asset managers to account and that asset managers hold companies to account. You also need robust engagement with an escala- tion strategy if it’s not working. So having real engagement with teeth and not just talking about good stewardship, but voting on resolutions and, for example, disclosing a rationale for voting on controversial issues. There is a lot of transparency and active ownership because sometimes people say things and don’t follow it through in terms of voting on important resolutions. Ward: I would add investment consultants to that mix of accountability. They have so much power, particularly in the UK. The smaller the fund the more dependent it is on the skills and competencies of investment consultants.
10 May–June 2019 portfolio institutional roundtable: ESG
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