Scott Tully

EOS at Federated Hermes, a leading global stewardship provider, has been appointed by Colonial First State (CFS) to provide engagement, voting and public policy support for its global equity investments.

The appointment means that EOS now provides ESG support to nine institutions in Australia, representing A$320.5 billion^[1] in assets under advice in the region, further strengthening its presence.

Gary Horton, Head of Distribution – Australia & New Zealand at Federated Hermes Limited said: “We look forward to carrying out engagement activities globally on CFS’ behalf that enable it to be a more active owner of its assets, through our dialogue with companies it invests in on environmental, social and governance issues.

“We look to engage with companies where there is a meaningful issue to resolve and where there is the ability to enact change. Issues could range from diversity on boards or in executive teams, supply chain sustainability issues, or whether plans to address climate change and offset carbon emissions are sufficiently in place.”

Scott Tully, General Manager Investments, CFS said: “We believe that active ownership, including engagement with and voting on how a company operates its business, leads to better long-term returns for shareholders and hence our customers.

We look forward to leveraging the knowledge and experience that EOS will bring to our engagement program across global markets and to expanding our advocacy efforts.”

Bruce Duguid, Head of Stewardship, EOS at Federated Hermes Limited commented: “Our global reach and leadership in stewardship gives us significant leverage to generate positive change at companies on behalf of our long-term institutional investor clients. Now more than ever, companies require a social license to operate, which is underpinned by a corporate purpose centered on being sustainable and creating long-term value for their stakeholders.

“We look forward to working with CFS and providing demonstrably effective stewardship services including engagement that address the full range of sustainability issues they are facing.”

Federated Hermes now has over 60 professionals working across its stewardship and responsibility teams, making it one of the largest resources of its kind in the world. Globally EOS has USD1.6 trillion of institutional assets under advisement^[2].

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[1] As at 31 January 2022
[2] As at 31 December 2021

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