This initiative covers regional insights, ongoing development of ESG tools, and the outcomes of engagement activities from investment teams in Edinburgh, Singapore and Melbourne.
Julian Ide, Chief Executive Officer Martin Currie notes: “In this edition, we have specifically focused on the many facets of our corporate purpose – Investing to Improve Lives™.
“At Martin Currie, our purpose of Investing to Improve Lives is more than just providing world class investment solutions and better financial outcomes for our clients. It is about us providing Outcomes Beyond Alpha. It guides us through our partnerships with clients, as investors in equity markets, our business practices, as an employer, and as members of the community.
“Previous issues of Stewardship Matters have rightly focused on key issues that face us as a society, such as the climate crisis and the importance of the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“We wanted to use this edition as an opportunity to hold a mirror to our own activities and prove that as a firm, we strive for the same exacting standards that we expect of the companies we invest in.
“I am proud to share with you some of Martin Currie’s recent, tangible actions which aim to deliver results on these key topics as a business:
- We have examined our own diversity and inclusion performance and have made public disclosures around recruitment and the make-up of senior leadership. We have set a target of gender parity of 50:50 by 2030 across the whole business. While this remains an ongoing journey, we have made real progress, with almost 70% of hires since March 2018 being female and increased female representation on the Executive and Investment Committees. Jennifer Mair, COO, discusses this more in the attached article.
- We have set ambitious targets in relation to our own Carbon Footprint. We have made a commitment to reduce our Carbon Intensity by 50% before 2030, and to offset 200% of any remaining emissions to become a net zero business starting this fiscal year.
- We have recently become a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative with the aim of aligning portfolios with net zero emissions by 2050.
“It is important we deliver on our purpose of Investing to Improve Lives across our business. When we generate market beating returns for our clients, profits for our financial stakeholders and good compensation for our employees, we can also do more to benefit the communities in which we operate.
“We are extremely proud of what we are doing to respond to the climate crisis, to foster a diverse and inclusive business, and how our investment teams work to deliver Outcomes Beyond Alpha through our active ownership agenda,” notes Mr Ide.